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workers. On 30 January 1943 Maj. Gen. George E. Stratemeyer as Chief of the Air Staff wrote a letter to the commanding generals of the various defense commands stating that the Secretary of War had directed that volunteers take over the AWS activities from the Waacs except in cases in which - because of isolation of AWS stations, etc. - it was impossible to obtain volunteers. A flurry of planning followed, which resulted in a recommendation from AAF to the Director, WAAC, 16 March 1943, to retain several small clerical WAAC AWS detachments at regional and wing headquarters within the First Fighter Command of the First Air Force (east coast) and the Fourth Fighter Command of the Fourth Air Force (west coast); to send one AWS company to the Central Defense Command; and to send 500 Waacs to the AAF School of Applied Tactics at Orlando, Florida, to man an AWS installation there. This plan, which absorbed about half of the 3000 women performing AWS duties in 26 AWS units, was approved and was put into effect during March and April. Early in March it had been decided by the War Department to permit all women who had been recruited specifically for AWS work, with a promise of assignment to their home communities, to resign rather than to accept "general duty" assignment, if their home responsibilities were such that they had to remain at home. Few women felt it necessary to do this, however, and most of the three thousand remained on duty. (1) Of those who were not absorbed at Orlando or in the clerical units of the First and Fourth Fighter Command, all were

1. Page 18, footnote.

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