forthrightness and your frankness, not only Louisiana, but the entire Nation will be more proud of you than ever. General COLLINS. Thank you, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. We say "amen" to that.

Now, gentlemen of the committee, tomorrow morning at 10 o'clock we shall take up the Davis amendment. The committee will stand in recess until that time.

General COLLINS. Thank you, sir.

(Thereupon, at 11:05 a. m., Tuesday, February 3, 1953, the hearing was concluded.)

[No. 3]

FULL COMMITTEE HEARINGS ON H. R. 2332, TO REQUIRE ANNUAL REVIEW OF MILITARY PERSONNEL REQUIREMENTS

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES,

Washington, D. C., Wednesday, February 4, 1953. The committee met at 10 a. m., the Honorable Dewey Short, chairman of the committee, presiding.

The CHAIRMAN. The committee will please be in order.

We are meeting this morning to consider H. R. 2332, a bill to require an annual review of military personnel requirements and to repeal section 634 of the Defense Appropriations Act of 1953, commonly known as the Davis amendment.

(The bill is as follows:)

[H. R. 2332, 83d Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To require an annual review of military personnel requirements, and for other purposes Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That upon the submission of annual requests for appropriations for pay of military personnel, the Secretary of the Army, the Secretary of the Navy, and the Secretary of the Air Force shall present to the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives and the Senate, the estimated active-duty personnel requirements for his respective service for the next fiscal year, the estimated number of commissioned officers in each grade on active duty, whether by permanent or temporary appointment, to be promoted during the next fiscal year, and an analysis of the current distribution by grade of commissioned officers serving on active duty, whether by permanent or temporary appointment.

SEC. 2. Section 634 of Public Law 488, Eighty-second Congress, is hereby repealed.

The CHAIRMAN. In my years in Congress, I know of no provision of law that has more seriously affected the morale of our officer personnel, particularly our junior officers. Promotion has been retarded to such an extent that the armed services are having difficulty obtaining young officers. Their attitude is "There's no future in it." We ran into this wherever we went, whether in Honolulu, T. H., Kwajalein, the Philippines, Japan, Alaska-wherever we visited. In fact, unless we take action, and fast action, the Navy in particular will be required to demote 5,400 lieutenants. And already many officers who had planned to stay on active duty as reservists have requested release because their promotions are so far off in the future. The Air Force will be stymied in its efforts to properly organize additional air wings. And should the so-called Davis amendment be continued, the cumulative effects will be even more serious.

I think it is very regrettable that the Congress ever passed this amendment, because I am confident that the consideration that was given to this provision of law was insignificant compared with the long and extensive hearings that were conducted by this committee

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