Evening star., 1951-01-21

$4,000 men each plus II regi-
mental combat teams and lesser
units to equal six more.
This is not an impressive eX-
panSion as far as combat units
are concerned. It still leaves us
far behind Russia's huge army.
But our aim never has been to
match the Soviet in manpower,
but rather to produce better
weapons and more skilled indi-
vidual soldiers, augmented with
great sea and air power.
The budget does, however, al
low the Army to get set for a
rapid expansion in combat units,
should requirements dictate.
More camps are being activated.
training facilities established and
Army and Corps Headquarters
units set up.
The Army also is buying vast
amounts of hardware" including
thousands of postwar designed
tanks like the Tai, which can
spew deadly fire while laundering
at 35 miles an hour. 1t is boil
stering Alaskan defenses to the
maximum possible. spending more
on guided. missile and rocket de-
velopment and other research
and. of course. carrying on the
Korean campaign.
AIR FORCE: We will have the
most potent Air Force in the
world by mid-1952. Many more
giant B-36 bombers. planes cap
able of delivering the atomic
bomb to any target in the Soviet
Union, will be turned out. And
the production line on the BAT.
an all-jet medium bomber in the
600 mile an hour class, will
really get rolling.
Plans for Navy
The Air Force is building up
to 95 groups or wings. The call
up last Thursday of SO Air Ma
tional Guard and Organized
Reserve groups was a big step
toward meeting the goal.
Actually, the group basis in
itself is NOT all-significant. Group
strengths range from the fighter
plane unit with IS to the heavy
bomber unit of 80 planes and its
tanker aircraft. Numbers of
trained personnel and operating
aircraft are the real basis for
gauging strength. The Air Force
manpower goal is 97l,000 by next
June 80.
NAVY: No nation in the world
now can match our surface and
air naval forces. By 1852, the
Soviet submarine threat is ex-
pected largely to be Cancelled out
by the reconversion of 1876 destroy
ers, involving improved detection
devices. and the addition to the
fleet of new killer submarines.
About 500 combat ships, includ-
ing many amphibiouS craft, will
be added either by new building
or demoJhballing. Our 5000
man Navy will have at least 81
aircraft carriers in commission
three 45,000-tonners, nine of the
27,000-ton Essex class and is of
two classes of light flattops weigh
ing 14,500 and 10000 tons. Re-
ports are circulating. however, that
as many as 13 of the remaining
Is Essex class ships will Undergo
reconversion to handle the heavier
jet planes.
The Navy also will have guided
missile cruisers, two rocket ships
and perhaps its first atomic-pow-
cred submarine.
MARINE CORPS: Presen
strength of about 100000 prob
ably will be increased to 200 900.
The I'd Division will be brought
up to a full wartime strength of
$4,000, just as the 1st is in Korea,
and at least another regimental
combat team or third division
is expected to be added. At least
three more air squadrons will be
activated to join the. 18 now on
duty.
From funds outside the Defense
Department budget our military
power is being augmented by the
acceleration in the output of
atomic bombs and weapons and
the delivery of more than Sc bill
lion in arms to our allies. .
Figuring the Figures
The $41,421 100000 President
Truman requested in defense
funds for fiscal 1852 was the
amount actually to be spent.
The $60,971, 900, 900 he asked for
in obligational authority for the
same period was to give the De-
fense Department the right to let
contracts for that much with the
guarantee the money would be
available in the Treasury when
needed.
While the SAL billion and the
$60.9 billion do not represent en-
tirely different sums, they come
close to it. Thus, in spending SAL
billion in the next fiscal year, the
department will use about S. bill
lion left over in obligational au-
thority for fiscal 80, $40 billion
from 81 and SIG billion out Of 80.
It follows, then, that the bulk of
the 5000 billion in obligational au-
thority to be voted for fiscal '52
actually will be spent in fiscal '53.
The question often is asked why
the military requests more money
than it plans to spend in any
given year. A Defense fiscal ex-
pert answers this way:
Take for example the medium
tank. You can't finance just
through June 80 because that
would mean everything would be
at a standstill. You have to
finance nine months ahead so
when you come up to July /, you've
got orders for your engines. treads.
drives and oil that tn keen pnjnr