No Mulvaneys

Oh my time past, whin I put me jut through wry livin' wan of the Tin Commandments between Revelly and Lights Out, blew the froth off a pewter, wiped me mustache wid the back av me hand, an' slept on ut all as quiet as a little child!

Thus Kipling's Private Terence Mulvaney, a professional fighting man to the tip of his mustaches, but a private after years in the Queen's service ("I was rejuced aftherwards, but, no matther, I was a Corp'ril wanst"). Last week the U.S. Army announced, in effect, that no Mulvaneys were wanted. After their three-year enlistment, regular privates will not be allowed to re-enlist unless they are worthy of promotion to higher grade (i.e., noncommissioned rank) or have specialists' ratings.

"With Selective Service now the law of the land," said the Army, "quantity of personnel is no longer an Army problem but ... the quality of the small three-year enlistment nucleus of the Regular Army is of extreme importance."

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