GOVERNMENT
Where A r e the Volunteers? M i l i t a r y reserve recruiting b o g s d o w n as t e e n - a g e r s show little interest i n p r o g r a m , House g r o u p hears A
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Name CompanyStreet City
-Zone-
_Ftate_ A-4447A
2 3 2
C&EN
JAN.
16,
1956
GOOD DEAL for American youth w a s
the Military Reserve L a w passed at t h e last session of Congress. Under t h e law, a young man could volunteer for six months of active duty training a n d complete his military obligation b y serving in the reserve. Yet, as Congress reconvened, a House subcommittee heard testimony that so f a r only a handful of young men have volunteered u n d e r the reserve program. Disturbed by criticism t h a t the reserve program is a failure, R e p . Overton Brooks (D.-La.), chairman of a subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee, opened hearings on t h e operation of the program. Chairman Brooks said that h e realized t h a t the reserve program h a d been in effect only a short time, but h e was disturbed over the apparent lag i n the program. H e wanted to know whether the D e fense Department was making an allout effort to make the volunteer plan work. • Pentagon Speaks. Refusing to concede that the reserve program is a failure, Carter L . Burgess, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manpower, testified that "the Department of De= fense has a single objective—and t h a t is to make the program work." H e said that the basic ingredient for success is hard work—getting out a n d selling the ready reserve i d e a on a man-to-man basis from the local to t h e national level. And, h e added, this is not an easy product to sell. Principal reason for the sxmll number of volunteers, according t o Burgess, is t h e fact that the program i s too n e w . It takes time to get across to people the idea of what is at stake and w h a t must be done to help. T h e Defense Department is using every possible means of communication to p u t the message over—films, pamphlets, speeches to large a n d small groups, radio, and television. In one army area, 2680 speeches were m a d e to interested groups in a four-month period. Positive indications as to how well the reserve program is working will come after high school graduations in February a n d June, Burgess said. N u m bers of volunteers should increase greatly at these times. Then, too, in the spring t h e first groups of volunteers will have completed their six months of active duty training a n d will be going home. Judging from conversa-
tions with these men during their training, Burgess expects that they will b e ardent salesmen for the reserve program on their return to civilian life. Although parts of t h e program were started immediately after t h e President signed the Reserve Act on Aug. 9, the program did not get into full swing until early October, Burgess said. Some parts of t h e Act are not yet in operation, notably t h e provisions dealing with men of any age engaged in scientific work or specialized industrial work. Burgess explained that an Executive Order should b e forthcoming in t h e next few days to implement this section of t h e Act. ^ W h y Few V o l u n t e e r . At present there are t w o principal reasons, according to Assistant Secretary of t h e Army Hugh M. Milton, w h y high school students are reluctant to volunteer under the reserve program. ( 1 ) There is a strong feeling that a young m a n may escape any military service. ( 2 ) Soaring employment a n d high civilian p a y make reserve training u n attractive. Selective Service d e m a n d s for men are a t a rather low level in current months. Statistics based on these u n usually low draft quotas are widely quoted by teen-agers to show that a young man's chances of being drafted are about one out of 15. Thinking that there is a good chance of not being called for military service, young men overlook t h e benefits available under the Reserve Act, Milton said. interpolating a comment, General Lewis B. Hershey, Selective Service chief, said that t h e figures just quoted are absolutely meaningless, and t h e wide circulation of such figures does a great deal of harm. N o one can predict the chances of a man's being drafted. Secretary Milton, continuing his testimony, said that many industrial concerns are cooperating by explaining to young employment applicants t h e benefits of the six months active duty program. H e called to t h e attention of t h e House group a glaring inequity in p a y that is hurting the reserve program a n d asked that corrective action b e taken. Under t h e Act, volunteers for a similar reserve program in t h e National Guard receive $ 7 8 a month, while volunteers under the plan in other branches of t h e Armed Forces receive onlv $50. a
