Contracting Horizon

Until recently an average bright Army recruit could reasonably tell himself that he had a pretty good chance of being commissioned an officer. But times have changed. Throughout the country's training camps last week many an aspiring soldier was learning that the process is no longer easy. Men now facing the draft are likely to learn that the chances of a commission are even slimmer.

In Washington, War Department officials revealed that the Officer Candidate Schools have been tapering off since Feb. 1. Reason: the Army now has almost all the officers it needs.

When Congress passed the Selective Service Act over bitter isolationist protests after the fall of France, the Army set out to build up a "protective mobilization force" of 2,800,000. For command, there were about 150,000 officers--14,000 regulars, the rest a grab bag of civilian reserves and National Guardsmen, many over age. It was to give the drafted men a chance to rise from the ranks, rather than to fill great gaps, that War Secretary Stimson and General Marshall set up small Officer Candidate Schools.

Rise in Demand. It was a stitch in time. No army is any better than its officers, and Pearl Harbor found the U.S. Army faced with a demand for scores of thousands of officers. To officer the first outfits sent overseas other units were stripped. Training suffered.

The General Staff threw the candidate system into high gear, ordered 350,000 additional officers. Men who showed prom ise were called from the ranks in a hurry. The educational index of new officers dropped from 80% college graduates to less than 20%. But the Army got its officers.

Fall in Demand. The selection of officers must be kept at least three months ahead of the induction of men those officers will command. The rate of selecting men for Officer Candidate Schools has al ready been cut (as much as 85% in some units) and it will drop steadily. By Oct. 1 all the 675,000 officers needed to command the 7,500,000-man Army (at this year's end) will be commissioned. By July 1 the last of those officers will have been selected for training.

This does not mean that the highly successful officer candidate system will be abandoned. Each of the 19 schools in the U.S. will be continued, at a slower clip, and with stiffer competition for the available appointments. So will schools for officers in England and Australia (schools in two South Pacific islands have been abandoned). The rate of attrition among officers--due to battle casualties and health--has been high, especially in the South Sea jungles, where Jap snipers lie in wait for the man who issues commands.

Tested in Battle. To some it seems unfair that single men who were drafted last year have opportunities beyond this year's crop of father-soldiers, but the exigencies of war rarely make for absolute fairness. The noblest method of becoming an officer is still open to all soldiers who face the enemy: commission in battle. Many officers were "made" on Guadalcanal and in New Guinea.* Like the machines of war (see p. 69), not all men of war can stand the test of battle. For those who meet the test of leadership in battle, there are still ample rewards, including commissions. Since Jan. 1 at least 650 have already earned such commissions.

* Example: heroic Sergeant Herman Bottcher of the 32nd Division, commissioned a captain at Buna after he led a detachment which cut off the Japs at Buna and held the corridor under repeated counterattacks.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.