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in the appropriation bill and that the number to be called, etc., must be based upon the funds appropriated taking into consideration Reserve Officers of other branches.
The Quartermaster General states increase in funds will be required for changes of stations; crating and packing of household goods; subsistence; clothing and equipage; increase of personnel motor equipment; operation of motor vehicles; disposition of remains; housing facilities, etc.
G-4 considers the addition of officers, other than in a proper distribution by grades, undesirable as it would simply show up a promotion already too slow. The evident plan of the Air Service is to give its own officers temporary increased rank, presumably bring in 403 second lieutenants and give them increased rank too, and to create an anomalous situation.
Additional action recommended by G-4: - page 10, line 7. Insert words to make the last sentence read; - "When the Regular Army consists of not less than eleven thousand, five hundred officers and one hundred and forty thousand enlisted men, including Philippine Scouts [[strikethrough]]The[[/strikethrough]]the President is authorized, etc."
Our first care should be to see that we have a good Regular Army of the required size. No consent should be given to a law which will introduce budget complications which may have the opposite effect. Only when the Regular Army is of proper size and properly supported should we undertake additional burdens in the military appropriations.
(p) Section 11.
Action recommended by G-4: Eliminate the entire section.
The Chief of Field Artillery states this official should not be placed in a position with respect to the Air Corps as a combatant arm that will bring him between the Chief of Staff and the Secretary of War.
(See comments of Chief Signal Officer on Section 5)
The effect of the proposed law is to create a civilian Chief of Air Service and place him under the immediate orders of the Secretary of War without the interposition of the Chief of Staff. No practice could be more unsound. Any agreement which will apply to an assistant secretary of war for Air Corps will apply equally well to an assistant secretary of war for every other arm of the service. The law would be the entering wedge to break down the system set up by Secretary Root, to return to old conditions he remedied and worse ones, for, instead of too great a number of advisers with
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