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inspectors as to whether the same number of women would have developed the same number of back strains if they had not been carrying hods of coal, and long discussions between the supply people and the inspectors as to whether some means of central heating was not procurable for the barracks in question. The War Department was faced with the problem of nation-wide critical shortages in building materials when it decided to construct WAC barracks along "theatre of operation" and mobilization-type" lines. It is probable that, if these shortages had not been so critical, the construction of living quarters for women which would have permitted housing two or three Wacs in a room, painting the interior of buildings, and providing for central heating, would have paid real dividends to cheerfulness, calm nerves, and rested minds and bodies. The result would have been greater working efficiency. Such housing would, of course, have been necessary only at installations at which WAC personnel was utilized over long periods of time. Wacs who were on the move with "forward headquarters" in combat theatres neither asked for nor needed any such housing accommodations.

As has been said (1), the problem of how best to select, train, and assign WAC officers had not been fully worked out when WAC officer candidate training ended. Since Wacs bring all types of skills and training to the army, and fill all types of jobs, it would seem desirable to provide them with all types of appropriate training, including officer candidate


1. Cf. p.85.

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