NewsLetter

• INFORMATION SECTION, FIRST ARMY, 90 CHURCH STREET, NYC•

VOL. II, No. 9

1 September 1948

Members of the Reserve Corps:

## CHANGE IN PROCESSING FOR EXTENDED ACTIVE DUTY TOURS

Effective 23 August 1948, applicants for extended active duty tours will obtain their final type physical examination prior to submission of application. The completed report of physical examination (WD AGO Form 63) will accompany the application form (DOA AGO Form 160).

Applicants will obtain physical examination at the nearest Military Medical Facility at no expense to the government for travel for those who are on inactive status. No authorization is required to obtain a physical examination.

Chaplains and officers of the Medical Department (less Medical Service Corps) will continue to submit applications direct to The Adjutant General without accompanying physical examination report.

Applicants who are accepted for extended active duty will be issued active duty orders by Department of the Army Special Orders instead of by Area Commands as formerly.

## RECALL OF OFFICERS TO EXTENDED ACTIVE DUTY - AGE LIMITATIONS

Latest interpretation of Department of the Army directive on age limitations for extended active duty tours restricts recall to Category III only. Officers cannot be recalled to extended active duty in Category I and II, except for certain specialists. This is a change from the interpretation published in the Newsletter of 19 July 1948.

Warrant officers and company grade officers must not have reached the age in grade which would preclude serving the length of time required to complete three (3) years before reaching age 50 (i.e., not have reached their 47th birthday). Field grade officers must not have reached the age in grade which would preclude serving the length of time required to complete three (3) years before reaching age 60 (i.e., not have reached their 57th birthday).

## PROMOTION IN THE ERC

All grade 7 members of the ERC who have had a minimum of four months active service, and who are deemed qualified for promotion, may be promoted to Grade 6 without taking the basic training determinant tests.

ARMY REQUIREMENTS FOR OFFICERS

These Army-wide requirements for officers for recall to extended active
duty were announced as of 9 August 1948:

| AGD | Lt. Col. | Major | Company Grade | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CE | 0 | 0 | 632 | 632 |
| CHAP | 8 | 91 | 1669 | 1768 |
| CML | 5 | 2 | 382 | 389 |
| FD | 1 | 9 | 234 | 244 |
| JAGD | 0 | 0 | 416 | 416 |
| CMP | 5 | 13 | 101 | 119 |
| ORD | 6 | 23 | 819 | 848 |
| QMC | 0 | 0 | 1199 | 1199 |
| SC | 27 | 103 | 827 | 957 |
| SpSv | 2 | 18 | 261 | 281 |
| TC | 52 | 30 | 1093 | 1175 |
| CAC | 8 | 36 | 1726 | 1770 |
| FA | 3 | 177 | 2497 | 2688 |
| INF | 48 | 681 | 4395 | 5124 |
| CAV | 9 | 69 | 1405 | 1483 |
| WAC | 0 | 9 | 20 | 29 |
| **MED DEPT** |  |  |  |  |
| ANC | All grades |  | 542 |  |
| DC | " " |  | 355 |  |
| MC | " " |  | 790 |  |
| VET C | " " |  | 118 |  |
| WOMENS' MED SEC | " " |  | 46 |  |
| MED SERV C |  | 686 |  |  |
|  |  |  | 2537 | 2537 |
|  |  |  | **TOTAL ........** | **21938** |

LONG-RANGE ORC PROMOTION PLAN ANNOUNCED

A new Department of the Army policy will soon be issued in detail pre-
scribing the procedures and requirements for the promotion of Reserve
officers while assigned in the Active Reserve. Officers while assigned to
the Inactive Reserve or the Honorary Reserve are not eligible for promotion.

Beginning January 1, 1949, a Reserve officer must obtain in each
calendar year 30 hours of credit in order to remain in the Active Reserve,
and thereby retain eligibility for inactive duty training pay, promotion,
assignment to an active reserve unit or mobilization position, and credits
toward retirement.

Credits may be accrued by Reserve officers by participation in classes
or schools either as a student or instructor, completion of extension sub-
courses, administrative work with Reserve units, court board, and tours of
active duty.

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Officer promotions in the Active Reserve will be made to fill avail-
able positions within grade authorizations established by the Army to meet
procurement objectives for any possible mobilization. Such authorization
includes not only TO&E and T/D units, but also certain percentage alloca-
tions by section for those active officers unassigned to units.

REENLISTMENT OF ERC

Latest Department of the Army directive on the Enlisted Reserve Corps provides that reenlistment within 20 days from date of last discharge from the Enlisted Reserve Corps may be made in the soldier's own vacancy. Individuals who reenlist within 90 days from date of last discharge may be reenlisted in the grade held at time of discharge. Individuals who reenlist after the expiration of the 90 day period may be reenlisted in grades commensurate with their training and experience.

ENLISTED RESERVISTS NEEDED AS ESCORTS FOR WORLD WAR II DEAD

100 specially qualified veterans to serve as military escorts for the
return of World War II dead are needed by First Army.

The return to active duty on a volunteer basis for periods of six,
nine, or twelve months is offered. The rate of per diem while traveling as
escorts has been increased from $5.00 to $7.00. Rank and pay will be
determined by prior service, former rank, and personal qualifications.
Applicants must be in the first five grades.

Accepted applicants will be assigned to distribution centers at the
Brooklyn Army Base, New York, and Schenectady, New York. The men will serve
in the United States only and will not be subject to overseas shipment.

Applications should be addressed to the Reservist's Unit Instructor.

OFFICER RANK OPEN IN ORC TO EXPERTS

Circular #210, Department of the Army, 14 July 1948, provides for direct
commission from civilian life for certain types of specialists. Reserve
officers are requested to assist in disseminating its provisions to interested
individuals.

Commissioning of specialists is intended to provide a continuing source
of officers experienced in fields in which it is not feasible or economical
for the Army to give training. The establishment of standards under the new
policy now opens the way for those who previously applied for direct commissions
in specialist fields to resubmit their applications.

Among the 75 various fields listed are artwork, dietetics, dramatics,
various branches of engineering, motion picture production, printing, and sub-
marine diving.

In addition to specific schooling or experience in the particular field, applicants for direct appointments must be at least 21 years old, citizens of the United States, be physically qualified, and must have an Army intelligence score of 110 or higher or have a bachelor's degree. Some special fields require only a high school education or equivalent preparatory school education.

Individuals desiring further information should consult the nearest ORC Instructor.

## INTELLIGENCE COURSES AT FORT RILEY

The Ground General School, Fort Riley, Kansas, has announced the following Intelligence courses designed primarily for reserve personnel:

Officers - Intelligence Course - 13 weeks - 25 Oct 48 to 11 Feb 49

Officers - Intelligence Course - 13 weeks - 14 Feb 49 to 20 May 49

Enlisted - Photo Interpreter Course - 9 weeks - ) Courses will start

Enlisted - Order of Battle Course - 9 weeks - ) on 27 Nov 48 and

Enlisted - Interrogator Course - 9 weeks - ) 14 March 49

Applications should be forwarded to the State Senior Instructor at least forty-five (45) days before the beginning date of course.

## ECONOMIC MOBILIZATION COURSES PLANNED

Information has been received from the Army Field Forces that the Economic Mobilization courses conducted so successfully last year will be repeated this coming year. It is contemplated that one course will be held at Boston, Mass., 13-24 November 1948; one at Buffalo, New York, 11-22 April, 1949, and one at New York, New York, 9-20 May, 1949.

Fifteen reserve officers will be authorized to participate in each course.

Further instructions on the qualifications necessary and the final date for submission of applications will be published later.

## MANHATTAN CHAPTER OF THE ROA SPONSORS JOINT MEETING

The Manhattan Chapter of the Reserve Officers Association will sponsor its annual joint meeting of all chapters of the ROA in the New York City area on September 27, 1948, at the Essex House, at 8:00 P.M. Because of the recent consolidation of ROA with the Reserve Officers of the Naval Service, the New York Chapter of RONS has also been invited to participate.

The principal speakers will be General Wendell Westover, Executive for Reserve Affairs, and Colonel Clarence E. Barnes, National President of ROA.

All Reserve officers, whether or not members of the ROA, are invited to attend.

Published by Authority of GENERAL COURTNEY H. HODGES, COMMANDING FIRST ARMY

NewsLetter

VOL. II, No. 10

1 October 1948

Members of the Reserve Corps:

## RESERVES TO TAKE IMPORTANT PART IN ORGANIZATION OF M-DAY FORCE

Organized Reservists were given an important role by the Army in plans announced on 10 September for further organization of an M-Day mobile striking force.

Many Reserve officers are receiving mobilization assignments in Organized Reserve units in which they will be prepared to serve in the event of a military emergency. In general, mobilization assignments will be given Reservists in units supporting combat divisions of the M-Day force. In other instances, assignments will be made to training units especially organized to train officers according to their military specialties. Where assignments of this nature are prohibited by geographical residence of the individual officer, assignments may be made to authorized governmental agencies necessary for national defense, or to posts, camps and stations near their homes.

Responsibility for mobilization assignments of all Reserve officers on extended active duty and others whose assignments are controlled by the Department of the Army has been delegated to the Director of Personnel and Administration, Army General Staff.

Assignment vacancies exist in units of all branches of service, including Armored Cavalry, Coast Artillery, Field Artillery, Engineers, Medical Department, Signal Corps, Quartermaster Corps, Intelligence and Ordnance.

A Reserve officer will be notified promptly upon being given a mobilization assignment. It was emphasized that such assignments for active Reserve Officers are in no way to be considered as extended active duty assignments except in the event of emergency mobilization of the armed forces. A Reserve officer entering on extended active duty will be relieved of any current mobilization assignment to accept the assignment for which he is called to extended active duty. His prior mobilization assignment will be filled by the appointment of another Reserve officer.

## DEMOTION EXEMPTIONS

Section IV, Circular 7, Department of the Army, 1947, has been amended as follows:

1. To provide that effective 2 September 1948, officers being recalled to active duty, whose dates of appointment in grade Colonel AUS were prior to 1 December 1944 and who have served continuously on extended active duty for minimum of one year in that grade may be exempted from demotion to lower grade unless no vacancies exist in the grade concerned and the officer volunteers for recall in lower grade.

2. To provide that effective 2 September 1948, officers being recalled to active duty, whose dates of appointment in the grade of Lieutenant Colonel, AUS, were prior to 1 January 1946 and who have served continuously on extended active duty for minimum of one year in that grade may be exempted from demotion to lower grade unless no vacancies exist in the grade concerned and the officer volunteers for recall in a lower grade.

## PROCEDURES FOR RETIREMENT OF RESERVES IN PREPARATION

The Department of the Army has announced that the procedures and necessary forms are being prepared for the use of Reservists eligible for non-disability retirement. Public Law 810 grants non-disability retirement pay privileges to those Reservists who have completed twenty years of satisfactory Federal service and have reached the age of sixty. Eligible Reservists who have applied for retirement without the aid of proper instructions and the required forms, will have to resubmit their applications when the forms become available in the near future. Those Reservists not yet eligible must earn fifty qualifying credits toward retirement during each fiscal year beginning 1 July 1948. Credits may be earned by extended active duty, active duty training for short periods, attendance at drills (training meetings) and by membership in the ORC.

Women officers of the Army Nurse Corps Reserve are now eligible for reserve retirement benefits under provisions of the law.

Retirement pay for all Reservists is at the rate of 2-1/2 per cent of the pay of the highest grade held during period of service, multiplied by the number of years of satisfactory service as determined by the total credits acquired toward retirement.

After 20 years of satisfactory service, a Reserve officer may discontinue active participation in Reserve affairs and still qualify for retirement at age 60, or may continue earning credits until he or she reaches age 60, and retire at a higher rate up to 75 per cent of base and longevity pay.

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NewsLetter

• INFORMATION SECTION, FIRST ARMY, 90 CHURCH STREET, NYC-

VOLUME III, No. 1

1 January 1949

Members of the Reserve Corps:

MILITARY AMATEUR RADIO SYSTEM ACTIVATION IS ANNOUNCED

Activation of a Military Amateur Radio System (MARS) to provide a backlog of trained radio communication personnel in case of local or national emergency was announced recently by the Army, and the Air Force.

The Army Signal Corps and the Air Force Director of Communications are authorized under joint regulations to use military equipment wherever practical in the training of MARS members. Experimental work will be encouraged. Training also will be furthered by an official bulletin.

Membership will be open to any individual in the Military Service, Organized Reserve Corps, National Guard, or the Reserve Officers Training Corps who possesses a valid amateur radio operator's license issued by the Federal Communications Commission or issued under regulations of an oversea commander. Applicants must agree to operate under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Army and the Secretary of the Air Force. Membership of civilians not in a civilian component of the Army or Air Force is not presently authorized, but plans are being made for such membership.

Application for membership may be submitted to Signal and Communications officers of the Army Area or Air Force Area in which the applicant resides.

Personnel for supervision and control of MARS activities will be furnished by the Chief Signal Officer for the Army and the Director of Communications for the Air Force. There is no authority for additional personnel at other levels to conduct MARS activities. These activities will be assumed by officers in addition to present duties.

MARS policies will be guided by an advisory committee with both military and civilian members.

The full purpose of MARS, according to the official announcement made in Army and Air Force Regulations is "to create interest and further training in military radio communication; to promote study and experimentation in military radio communication; to coordinate practices and procedures of amateur radio operations with those of military radio communication; and to provide an additional source of trained radio communication personnel in the event of a local or national emergency."

## PLANS FOR ORC FIELD TRAINING, SUMMER, 1949

The general plan of this Headquarters is to initiate ORC summer field training in May and June of 1949, with only certain Technical and Administrative Service units of the 18 Division Army training at Class II installations during those months. The bulk of the summer field training will be conducted during July and August 1949, at both Class I and II installations.

At major camps where both ORC and NG field training will be conducted next summer (Pine Camp and Camp Edwards), ORC training periods have been made to coincide generally with planned NG training periods. This has been done to facilitate coordinated and possibly combined training of NG and ORC units, and to effect maximum utilization of funds required for the support of summer camps.

Summer field training attendance schedules based, in part, on planning policies announced by the Department of the Army, are shown below. The field training of affiliated units which are included in these plans is subject to adjustment where necessary and with the sponsor's concurrence, in order to conform with the frequency of training agreed upon in the affiliation agreement in each case.

### Attendance at Annual Field Training

<table><thead><tr><th></th><th>18 Div Army Units</th><th>Non-18 Div Army Units</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Training Category I</td><td>100% of units</td><td>---</td></tr><tr><td>Training Category II</td><td>100% of units</td><td>100% of units</td></tr><tr><td>Training Category III</td><td>50% of units</td><td>33 1/3% of units</td></tr><tr><td>Training Category IV</td><td>33 1/3% of units</td><td>33 1/3% of units</td></tr></tbody></table>

ORC Project 511 Funds for the pay, travel and allowances of the reservists concerned are available to First Army only insofar as FY 1949 is concerned (May - June 1949). No information is available at the present time as to the amount of such Project 511 Funds to be made available for FY 1950 to cover the cost of field training scheduled in July and August, 1949. Approval of final field training plans for July and August 1949 will be dependent, in part, upon the amount of ORC Project 511 Funds to be made available to First Army.

It is planned that Light Aviation ORC field training will be conducted at Pine Camp, N. Y., and Camp Edwards, Mass., on a similar basis as was done last year. All ORC Light Aviation officers will be contacted individually and will be given the opportunity to request a fifteen (15) day active duty training tour. In those instances where the individual's unit is scheduled to attend camp, he may elect to go to camp during the same period with his unit. Separate instructions on this matter will be issued at a later date.

## EXTENSION GRANTED FOR ACTIVE RESERVE STATUS

A thirty-day respite has been granted Reserve officers to make their decision on retention in active reserve status. The deadline, originally set for January 1, 1949, has been extended to February 1, 1949. This will permit the holiday-busy Reservists further opportunity to contact local Reserve unit instructors or Senior Army instructors.

To maintain active status, reservists must agree to participate in the Organized Reserve program. Failure to indicate this willingness will automatically result in their transfer to the inactive reserve on February 1. This transfer will preclude opportunities to obtain promotion, drill pay and retirement benefits, although those on the inactive list will be subject to call in the event of a national emergency.

The action contemplated by the Department of the Army on February 1 follows the program outlined early in 1948 for the strengthening of the Reserve component. Questionnaires were mailed to each Reservist asking for his preferences. Failure to answer this questionnaire and subsequent lack of any effort on the part of a Reservist to become aligned with an active status assignment will culminate in transfer to the inactive list.

## EDUCATION TRANSCRIPT REQUIREMENTS EASED

Reservists applying for commissions as second lieutenants under Department of the Army Circular 330 may now submit the following statement, together with some documentary evidence showing college attendance (report card, statement of acceptance, payment of registration fees, etc.), in lieu of the transcript of grades from college or university formerly required:

"I swear that I have completed at least 2 years, one half of the normal course for baccalaureate degree at (name of college). I am at this time unable to present the necessary transcript of grades required to accompany my application for appointment in the ORC. I have made application to (name of college) on (date) for same. I understand that this statement in no way relieves me from the responsibility of securing the transcript. I understand that if I fail to secure documentary evidence of education level as required by Circular 330, 1948, or if I fail to meet the necessary educational requirement, I will be relieved from active duty and discharged from my commission as a 2nd Lt. in the ORC."

- 3 -

This sworn statement will be accepted only from those individuals who are to attend schools commencing in December, January, and February.

## RESERVE OFFICERS QUALIFICATION RECORDS PLAN

One of the most important objectives of the long-range program for the Organized Reserve Corps is to provide for each Reservist an assignment which will as nearly as possible be most desirable to the individual and, at the same time, make the maximum use of his own particular qualifications.

The most important step to date toward attainment of this objective has been the implementation of a program known as the Reserve Officers Qualification Record Plan, details about which are being furnished each Reservist through Senior Army Instructors and Unit Instructors. Briefly, this is a plan to establish a new type of continuing record for all Reservists, by means of an initial comprehensive questionnaire, and to perpetuate such record through a brief annual report of change.

By maximum use of machine records facilities, it will be possible to maintain a complete, current and readily available inventory of the qualification of each Reserve Officer. On the basis of such information each Reserve Officer will be given a primary and secondary mobilization MOS, which will be changed whenever the qualifications of the officer indicate the necessity therefor. Not only will this facilitate over-all planning for the ORC, but also it will assure the reservist of that type of assignment for which he is best qualified and for which he is most needed.

## ENLISTED RESERVISTS WITHIN DRAFT BRACKET MAY VOLUNTEER

Any member of the enlisted reserve who is eligible for the draft may volunteer for 21 months' active service at the grade he holds in the reserve. In accordance with the provisions of the Selective Service Act of 1948, it is necessary for an enlisted reservist to avail himself of this privilege before he is ordered to report for examination prior to induction. Otherwise he is subject to induction as a Recruit, in Grade 7.

## TRAINING ADMINISTRATORS

There is an urgent need for training administrators at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. The fields are Artillery, Automotive, Administration, Small Arms, Fire Control, Depot and Supply, and Shop. Grade CAF-9; salary $4,479.60.

All Ordnance Reserve Officers interested may contact Civilian Personnel Division, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.