Gambar halaman
PDF
ePub

way to be an aggressive force, and that was pretty well controlled by the fact that we controlled their ammunition supply.

In the beginning we armed them with Japanese weapons. They started out with Japanese uniforms, which is the one thing in the world they hated. Of course, they soon modified it.

It was from weak beginnings like that that they were not ready to cope with a force that from the beginning had been trained undoubtedly, as we see it now, as an aggressive force to win South Korea at all costs.

Senator LONG. We have been led to believe that an effort is being made now to make a modern fighting force out of South Korean divisions. Do you see any reason why they should not become first-class fighting troops if properly trained and equipped?

Mr. THOMPSON. There is no question in my mind that the Korean soldier will make as fine a fighting force as we are likely to find anywhere in the world, outside of the United States, properly led and properly equipped and with a reason for which to fight.

In the absence of a reason for which to fight, no army is particularly effective.

Senator LONG. Thank you.

Now we will hear your views on this Reserve bill to which you have been giving some study.

VARIOUS OBLIGATIONS OF A RESERVIST

Mr. THOMPSON. There are several factors which are fundamental to the design of adequate Reserve legislation, but the most fundamental of those I consider to be the recognition and acceptance of a reservist's obligation to his home, to his family, to his employer, to his Reserve commitments, and those are fundamental in the design of Reserve legislation if it is to remain effective and adequate over a continuing period of time.

The full and sympathetic support of the reservist's family is essential to the development of a good reservist. Unreasonable interference with this obligation to his home caused by the demands of Reserve membership will preclude such supporting fact, it will cause the family to work against the reservist perhaps unknowingly as he seeks to fulfill his Reserve responsibilities.

The reservist depends upon his employer for a daily living for himself and his family. Unreasonable interference with a reservist's obligation to his employer caused by the demands of Reserve membership will both jeopardize the reservist's ability to earn a living and militate against his advancement in a civilian profession, which in itself is important to the maximum development of the individual as a reservist.

Lastly, the reservist, must fulfill a planned Reserve obligation if he is to attain and maintain the proficiency required for the effective discharge of his responsibilities in time of emergency.

I consider that based on personal experience and the experience of many I have known for more than 20 years of service to be the fundamental consideration of a design of fundamental Reserve legislation.

In addition to these fundamental concepts, there are other important considerations which should not be overlooked in the design of adequate Reserve components legislation. The more important of these are as follows:

NEED FOR EQUALITY AMONG RESERVE COMPONENTS

Legislative provision should be made for absolute equality among Reserve components, and between Reserve components when on active duty and the Regular component.

I have used the term "legislative provision" intentionally. I do not mean something subject to administrative decision of the Department of Defense, but rather legislative direction.

In the past, it has been possible for an enlisted man in the National Guard to hold a commission in the Organized Reserve Corps, but not vice versa.

It is now possible for an enlisted man in the Regular component to hold at the same time a commission in a reserve component.

Officers of the Reserve components on active duty in the past have not had equal treatment in promotion.

The Organized Reserve Corps has been handicapped by inadequate facilities in which and with which to conduct training, while the National Guard has enjoyed generally adequate housing and ample facilities for organization and training.

Many other conditions of similar nature have occurred in the past; many now exist. The effect of them generally is threefold: (a) To demoralize a segment of the Reserve components. (b) To lower the prestige of the Reserve components.

(c) To "pad" the number of persons actually in National Defense.

INTEGRATION OF RESERVES WITH REGULAR COMPONENTS

Legislation should provide for thorough integration of the Reserve components with the Regular component.

"Paper work" in the Reserve components varies considerably from that used by the Regular component. Conversion from Reserve component types of records to those used by the Regular component is one of the major hurdles faced by a Reserve unit ordered to active duty.

The Organized Reserve Corps usually has found itself with branches of service which have no counterpart in the Regular component. Prior to World War II there was, for example, the Sanitary Reserveto which were assigned such specialists as psychologists and classification officers. Today, there is the Staff Specialist Reserve-to which is assigned such specialists as military government personnel-and the Military Intelligence Reserve. Lacking a counterpart in the Regular component handicaps the planned and progressive training of personnel thus assigned, and creates conditions which require correction when individuals thus assigned are ordered to active duty. Complete integration should be accomplished and practiced during peacetime rather than incurring the necessity of resolving such problems during periods of emergency.

Legislation should provide for the utilization of all willing man

power.

Leadership reaches its highest peak among those who serve willingly. Leadership in the individual-and the ability to develop leadership in others-is perhaps the most important single factor in the development of a reservist. Failure of individuals to attain this objective relegates the Reserve component to ineffectiveness.

Utilization of willing manpower-and womanpower-even though an appreciable part of it is classified as limited service, makes for a more satisfied and hence more effective force when mobilized, and reduces the number of individuals who must be drafted involuntarily from industry where they would serve more effectively because they were better satisfied.

Senator LONG. It also makes for a more orderly expansion of your services when you have people who know what their job is, who have done it before, and can step in on a specialized task and go to work with some understanding of it.

Mr. THOMPSON. I think it does very much.

Senator LONG. That is more important than to have people who do not know what they are going to be doing and have no understanding of what their future duties might be, but would have the advantage of being transferred to the far ends of the world.

Mr. THOMPSON. Yes, sir.

TRAINING OF RESERVES

Legislation should assure that training for the Reserve component is planned, progressive, and phased.

The manner of conduct of war-the methods available to an enemy to destroy us are so many, so varied, and changing so rapidly that the limited time available for training does not allow a reservist to once learn a subject then periodically repeat the learning of the same subject. If this is permitted, a point will be reached rather early in each reservist's peacetime career when repetitive training in elementary subjects will consume all of the available training time and the reservist will not be kept abreast of current and changing conditions. If the Reserve components are to attract and hold alert, intelligent, and energetic individuals of high caliber, it must reduce repetitive types of training to a minimum in order that maximum development of individuals can be achieved during peacetime.

If Reserve components are to be fully integrated with the Regular component, their training should be reasonably phased with that conducted for equivalent Regular component units. If the one group becomes more broadly or better trained than the other, then professional jealousies and loss of prestige and respect occur.

Legislation should provide for an equitable promotion program for reservists during peacetime as well as during periods of emergency. If legislative provision is made for equality between the Reserve components and the Regular component and if thorough integration is achieved, then the promotion of reservists on active duty should be handled by normal procedures.

During peacetime it is essential that provision be made for the progressive advancement of individual reservists. Ample opportunity exists for a reservist to progress through various nonmanagement and supervisory levels in his civilian profession, which advancement is recognized both by added prestige and increased money. If the individual is unable to make comparable advancement in his Reserve status, he becomes dissatisfied and may suffer a loss in prestige, which reflects unfavorably upon his civilian status.

A suitable peacetime promotion program should not provide for advancement simply because an individual has waited for a pre

scribed amount. of time in grade to accumulate. Requirements for promotion should be exacting and should include demonstrated proficiency for advancement as well as a time-in-grade control.

Legislation should assure that the Government is getting full value per dollar expended in the support of the Reserve components.

If doubt exists concerning the value of the Reserve components as compared to their cost, the Congress will be forced to curtail the funds available for them, thereby weakening the effectiveness and jeopardizing the continuance of portions if not all of the Reserve components. I feel that any legislation which falls within the framework of those six, and perhaps the first one I mentioned, which is the fundamental point, cannot help but be progressive and sound legislation.

The legislative considerations of availability of individual reservists to serve have been omitted from the foregoing. It is considered that availability of manpower cannot be predetermined. Availability is a function of the time, of the location, and of the scope of the

emergency.

The extent of the emergency generally will determine availability. When an emergency occurs, it is relatively easy to defer a portion of the individuals comprising an adequate, well-trained, and organized Reserve for essential industry is required. On the other hand, it would be disastrous if the number of reservists available were reduced by rejections of persons willing to serve simply because at specific times in their lives they might not be able to respond to a call to active duty. If the emergency is carried to the mainland of the United States-a condition which we face in another general emergency-then everyone in the affected areas is available for service, including individuals essential to industry, women with children under 18, and persons with minor physical handicaps.

Availability to a large extent is synonymous with willingness to serve. Trained and organized Reserve personnel who are confident of their proficiency and proud of their Reserve status are far more likely to be willing to serve and hence available than those who are not engaged in training, not organized, not confident of their ability, and not proud of their membership.

This concludes a statement of the general considerations bearing upon the design of adequate Reserve components legislation. The remarks which follow apply specifically to H. R. 5426, the Armed Forces Reserve Act of 1951.

My remarks concern principally the present Organized Reserve Corps, referred to in H. R. 5426 as the Army Reserve. In a broad sense, however, they apply to all Reserve components.

I go now to my second part.

Senator LONG. It has seemed in some respects to me that we haven't planned to have Reserves enough to relieve someone who is on a Regular Army assignment during peacetime on a position that doesn't require a well-trained member of the armed services for fighting service, who could be immediately replaced, someone watching the gate of an Army base. He could be immediately replaced even by a lady if necessary, to take care of that assignment, or certainly by a reservist who need not be particularly well-trained for immediate combat. This person could then be used as a fireman, you might say, to rush to

the scene of the fire, rather than leaving that person at the gate and training some reservist overseas.

Mr. THOMPSON. Or a receptionist or a personnel clerk or anyone closely occupied with an administrative position.

Senator LONG. It has often seemed to me that one of the greatest prospects for economy in the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force, would be to have these forces insist upon having people available to serve all over the entire world; that those on regular duty should have sufficient training so that they could be rushed to the scene of the fire when it breaks out; and back of them would be reservists who would be immediately available to fill their places.

Mr. THOMPSON. I feel those remarks are as sound as they can be, sir.

CHANGES IN WORDING THAT WILL CLARIFY THE BILL

The Armed Forces Reserve Act of 1951 substantially meets a need of long standing for adequate, coordinated Reserve forces legislation. This proposed legislation is a firm and far-sighted approach to strengthening the national defense. While the considerations cited in the foregoing appear to have been in the mind of those who drafted this legislation, it is felt that the text should be changed in minor respects to set forth the intent of the Congress in a manner less liable to be misunderstood or misapplied as the time passes, and to provide for certain considerations not originally envisioned.

I feel anything that is subject to misunderstanding in some echelon of the Regular Establishment will be misunderstood and misapplied, and that is where inequities stem from, not at the top in national defense.

You have copies of my testimony. Unfortunately, when I prepared my testimony it was based upon this smaller version of the bill. However, I have entered in red the line numbers and page numbers which apply to the committee copy, so that whichever one you are using you can follow readily.

Many of these are rather minor.

For instance, on page 8, line 13, it reads:

and qualified individuals to be available for active duty.

I recommend striking out the phrase "to be available", leaving that to read:

are maintained for the purpose of providing trained and qualified individuals for active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States.

There are too many words, too many qualifying phrases. I feel it merely causes confusion and does not add anything. On page 10, line 13, that now reads:

The Ready Reserve consists of those units or members of the Reserve components, or both, available for prompt entry into the active military service of the United States.

I recommend that the term "prompt entry" be replaced by the term "entry within 30 days". The reason I suggest that is that if we do not adequately define "prompt entry" by legislation, the Regular Establishment will be forced to define it, and I think it is a legislative consideration growing out of some of the testimony we heard here this morning, that people were called too quickly.

20261-52--5

« SebelumnyaLanjutkan »