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In the next few weeks, a large number of personnel now in the reserves may be ordered to active duty for a brief period at their respective reserve training centers where the [[underline]]individuals will be screened for delay in recall in accordance with established policies of the Department of Defense[[/underline]]. These policies now reflect a consideration of the fact that a major portion of the personnel employed by Colonial must be retained if our company is to remain sufficiently staffed to perform our mobilization responsibilities. The Company intends to request deferments for those individuals who have been classified as essential to our operations. We are confident that a substantial majority, if not all, of these deferment requests will be granted. 

The overall plans for deferment of essential personnel in the airline industry have been carefully contrived to fit in with broad military defense objectives and can be successfully executed unless they are thwarted by the ill-considered action on the part of the individual employee. Patriotism may encourage key employees to fail to cooperate with management in the procurement of deferments. In this regard, employees must appreciate that the military authorities have recognized that those airline employees now classified as essential to the industry can best serve the national welfare by remaining in their present jobs.

In World War II, airline employees were repeatedly admonished to stay on the job. In December, 1941, General Hershey advised essential airline employees not to enlist, but to remain with the airlines. In May, 1942, the Secretary of War urged upon airline employees the importance of continuing their civilian tasks. In August, 1942, the Air Transport Command made a similar request. In November, 1942, the plea came from General Marshall himself. Speaking of the Transportation operations in which airline employees were regularly engaged and particularly stressing the importance of pilots, General Marshall wrote:

"Although in a civilian status, air personnel engaged in these operations have been performing not only a very great service for the Army and Navy and therefore for the nation, but, to my mind, equally patriotic service with that of Army and Navy pilots.

I very much hope that your personnel will keep on with this job which is essential to our business of getting on with the war."

In spite of these encouragements during World War II to stay on the job, many airline personnel left the airlines for military duty while other individuals in the same occupations and equally necessary to airline operations were being occupationally deferred.