Viewing page 54 of 150

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

increased to only 24 officers, 115 enlisted men, 7 civilian employees, and about 20 airplanes, though the World War was daily demonstrating the great value and use of aircraft in military operations.
During the next three years, while excellent work was accomplished by the few officers on aviation duty, little progress was made toward building up an adequate air arm. The National Defense Act, approved in June, 1916, made an attempt to improve the situation by increasing the strength of the Aviation Section to 148 officers to be selected from the Army-at-large and detailed for a four year period of duty, and by creating a Reserve Corps and authorizing the establishment of flying schools for the instruction of reserve pilots. This proved to be of some assistance when the country entered the World War, but the total strength had been increased to only 65 officers, of whom 35 were pilots, 1087 enlisted men, and 55 airplanes.
From the signing of the Armistice until the passage of the National Defense Act of 1920, the Air Service was in a very chaotic state. The war machine was being torn to pieces as rapidly as possible, and at the same time the War Department was making every effort to submit to Congress recommendations for the reorganization of the Army. This was finally accomplished and resulted in the National Defense Act, approved on June 4, 1920, and under which the Army is now functioning. It authorized a regular army of 18,000 officers and 280,000  men, created an Air Service as a separate branch of the Army, provided a Chief of Air Service as a separate branch of the Army, provided a Chief of Air Service with the rank of Major General, an Assistant Chief with the rank

-6-