Evening star., 1952-05-15
By Martin S. Hayden
North American Newspaper Alliance

The reasons of 20 graduating
West Point cadets for rejecting
Air Force. glamor and extra pay
in favor of careers with the lowly
infantry are revealed at the
Pentagon in answer to charges
that the new officers fear aerial
combat.
The fact that the Air Force
for the first time in history
failed to get its 25 per cent quota
from the 1852 West Point class
was recently reported by some
American writer's as another
facet of the "sitdoWn strike" by
Air Force reservists unwilling to
fly. It was subsequently grabbed
up by a gloating Radio Moscow
In answer, the Army revealed
that, while passing up pilots ca
reers, the graduating cadets over
subscribed the quotas for both
the infantry and for hazardous
training with airborne troops. AT
the same time, Brig. Gen. Frank
Dorm Of the Army Public Rela-
tions Division released a memo
Irandum to his superiors, relating
explanations given by one cadet
group for preferring the dirt of
ground combat to the more
,glamorized life of pilot.
Reasons Listed.
The 20 cadets had been brought
to the Pentagon for an orienta-
tion course. After questioning
them, Gen. Dorm reported as fol-
lows their IL reasons for reject
ing the chance for pilot training
and Air Force careers:
l Air Force officers stationed at
West Point were unimpressive. BY
comparison, the Army officers at
the academy looked better, were
more direct, took more interest in
cadets and, in general, presented
the look of leaders.
2. Training at West Point was
geared more to the Army than the
Air Force. Cadets know more
about the Army and, therefore,
have more confidence in it.
3. Visits to Air Force bases left
cadets unimpressed and created
the impression that as young Off
GERS they would be too much ia
mechanics and techniques, but
would neither lead nor command
men.
4. The Air Force offered little or
no opportunity to lead men, either
in combat or out of it.
S. The Army's foundation is
leadership. This means that, as
young officers. they would work
with troops and lead men. Con-
tinual references were made to
leadership and the very strong
desires of the cadets to be leaders.
Unimpressed by Glamor.
6. Cadets were unimpressed with
so-called Air Force glamor and fly
ing pay. The glamor was brushed
aside as having no real meaning
The extra pay did not constitute
deciding motive.
z. The Army emphasized the
individual, whereas the Air Fora,
and Marine Corps emphasized the
group or mass. Rather oddly, this
was brought out in relation to the
public information programs of
the services where the Army's en-
Iphasis on the individual soldier
was considered to mean a direct
interest in the man as an indi-
lvidual.
8. The Army offers more oppor-
Itunity for advanced education
than the Air Force.
8. The Army offers more variety
than the Air Force, not only in
conventional branches, but in
guided missiles. aviation, atomic
weapons, airborne, armored. etc.
10. The Army offers better op-
portunities for promotion than the
Air Force; this was a surprising
statement but several cadets be-
Ilieved it to be so.
II. In the Air Force, if an officer
lis not a pilot. or if, for physical
reasons, he goes off flying status,
he has no chance for advance
ment or worthwhile assignments.
Not Starry-Eyed.
The generals memo added that,
although no one said so, even
after a little prodding on my part,
I got the definite impression that
most of the cadets felt they would
be prouder to be in the Army than
the Air Force.
However," Gen. Dorm added,
they were not starry-eyed about
their ideas on this subject. All
who had chosen the Army plainly
indicated that the Army could do