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286
THE AMERICAN REVIEW OF REVIEWS
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[[caption]] A LAND MACHINE WHICH CAN ALIGHT UPON THE WATER
(The sacks shown under the wings are filled by compressed air stored in tubes within the plane, the wheels being blown off at the same time to prevent their striking the water and causing the airplane to turn over. When not in use the sacks are folded and make very small packages; the apparatus may be put on any airplane)[[/caption]]

capable of joining a squadron until he has had at least a year's instruction. Furthermore, a flying officer's education has to be progressive. There is one thing which was absolutely proved in the European war, and that is that nobody was capable of handling air units except flying officers who had learned by experience what flying was and how these things should be handled. These officers were more difficult to get than those for any other branch of the service, largely because aviation was so new and comparatively little understood. So we adopted a system of education for our air personnel which involved the selection of young men suitable from a mental, moral, and physical standpoint.
The Army Air Service system contemplates a permanent nucleus of officers, a reserve sufficient to fill the regular and reserve cadres to war strength, and an educational system which contemplates the selection of suitable personnel, physically, mentally, and morally, for training as follows: The students first attend the pilots' schools, where flying training and elementary, disciplinary, and tactical air education are given. They are then sent to specialized schools for training in the particular branch of aviation in which they are to serve--that is, pursuit, attack, bombardment, or observation aviation. When the course at the special schools is completed, they join their squadrons for service in the tactical units, where minor tactics and the use against an enemy of the branch of aviation in which the officer is serving are continued. Certain of those who have shown themselves most proficient are selected for training at the Field Officers' School, where the use of all branches of aviation in combination is taught, including the solution of air problems, plans of employment, operations, reconnaissance, bombardment, and the various branches of work in the Air Staff Departments--that is, operations, information, equipment, lighter-than-air, and administration. Beyond this, the officer's strategical education will be continued in existing schools and war colleges of the Army.

Our Progress Largely Theoretical
All of the measures taken which are mentioned above are at least written down and ready to be applied in case of trouble. They are, however, very largely theoretical, and, to sum matters up, the American Air Service actually consists of about three hundred and fifty airplanes with the active units, and a reserve of about the same size immediately behind it. The machines with which it is equipped are not now capable of competing for air supremacy with any first-class nation.
We have no rigid airships or semi-rigid airships, nor have any ever been built in this country. We are more backward in this respect than in any other line, and we are making strenuous efforts now to make at least a showing in this field where Germany leads so far. Recent experiments that we have made with small, non-rigid airships show very distinctly that this means of transportation will serve our future Air Service as a means of supply, because it can transport everything we need through the air to wherever the airplane units are operating. We are just buying an Italian dirigible which will be able to transport over five tons of cargo at one trip. It has a cruising abil-