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Show o,o P .. f5 (brains JLoM By v AAJiH Tells of ASC Growth - Big Trainiiig Problems Are Recited r According to an announcement made by the state department Frigovernment has day, thetoJapanese allow about $10 a month agreed to each relief money to be sent American prisoner of war in the Philippines. The funds will be. relayed government through the Swiss r " after completion of negotiations which began early in 1942. The Swiss will send the funds through channels. The Japanese military also to captured agreement applies American merchant seamen, as the them prisoners Japanese consider ; ".v '"'"V of war. of last year, a total of Since May about " $25,000 monthly could be sent to prisoners of war in the neutral Philippines through ; thewar prisdelegate in Japan of the oners aid (WPA) of the 'Y, M. C. , J mm WWW J By BRIO. GEN. ELMER E. ADLER - f:'';ir' v i h A. . ' Before craft ASC could begin servicand supplying the mushroomAAF, it had to embark on an ing ing extensive training programa program for which there was no pattern. .Although confronted by prob. lems' never before tackled on a . large scale by any government ' BRIG. GEN. ELMER E. ADLER . . . Chief, Personnel and Training Division, Air Service Command. eligible personnel by the armed f theme of the early classes; experi- services. phasis was necessary on personnel Wage Handicaps on analysis of job One of the greatest handicaps in relations and under each supervisor. efficiency was the wage At the same time, because the obtaining personnel advantage which private industry young foremen were subject to the held, in many localities, over the more stress was directed to Civil Service rates which ASC in draft, of passing on knowlstallations were required to pay. the necessity to ' subordinates who might edge of. months After, many experience heads. and planning, and based upon have to replace department the and superjob Supplementing ASC's comprehensive, detailed programs are breakdown, of its mechanical and visor training courses to faunskilled' trades (the only classifi- cilitate instructional ungrading of employes: An cation ever made of 950 previously of 500 workers a month ungraded jobs). - a locality wage average sent to factory schools to faare plan Avas developed by Headquar miliarize themselves with new ters, Army Air Forces, approved equipment. These workers then and Board War Labor the later by return to conduct shop classes, all the of air force adopted by other workers new repair commands, which permitted AAF teaching and maintenance procedures. installations to meet private indusThe educational program also try wage scales according to pre- utilizes the facilities of thirty vailing rates and living costs in cooperating schools and their respective localities.. contact schools. In the twelve To avoid hindering ASC's opera two main ASC depots, more than 0 tions while releasing have received train men for military' service presented a paradoxical problem. The men ing. As students, men and women are were needed as civilians in the AAF, yet expansion of the Army treated alike; in machine shop necessitated drafting them. Be- work, welding, instrument repair cause induction of large numbers and stock tracing, women generally of them before replacements had are better than average, while they been trained would actually have are frequently as good as men in - - on-the-j- ob state-support- ed 200,-00- draft-eligib- le con-aolidit- ed al 92-ho- ur n pre-servi- j 4. Dewey i, j ce the heavier sheet metal work and aircraft repair. Approximately women are in the employ of ASC on jobs ranging from teletype operators to eiectroplatists, from 90,-0- 00 New Arrival ; -- '. -- v.- i v.' ' ffi? "m-- - - 7 ' ' - ijj 1 -- ' j f i s , , j-- son. -- . semi-idustri- ' ' agency, ASC successfully developed a civilian training organization one of the first formally established under the War Department which was distinctive not only in size and the wide number of technical sub-but in the fact that Jects. taught, a "full-timoperation. ' ' When the Air Service Command was created In October, 1041, ap-courses for the few Srenticeship being trained lasted four years. Imminence of war and increasing production of the AAF, their orderly planes necessitated rapid expan- hindered sion of repair and supply depot withdrawal was effected by adapting the replacement schedule syspersonnel, so the courses were and shortened to sis tem, which had been developed by month periods and less, Still, the Selective Service Headquarters, to the peculiar deferment situation training program could not accom- which existed in the ASC installa modate the thousands of civilians tions. The adaptation proved ex being employed each week. tremely satisfactory and earned the Specialised Cearses commendation of the war Depart asIn courses Specialized engine ment's Deferment Committee. Air instrustock records, gyro sembly, Command personnel who ment repair and about seventy Service were working out responsible other subjects were standardized. the first of these forASC schedules Because existing textbooks and were later called upon by manuals were too old and involved, quarters, Army Air Forces to Headassist 180 new training manuals were other installations. aaf educato the written speed up Problems tional program; Instruction was Training we had procured new em After limited to periods of two to fifteen the weeks, Actually; training was put ployes, we were confronted by problem of properly trainin capsule form and to prescriptions difficult were made according the quali- ing them for jobs. Mechanical ap fications and adaptability of each titude of our applicants dropped new employe. Ultimately, civilians so low that we had to introduce were trained for new and special- a special course on the use and ized Jobs at the rate of 60,000 a care of basic hand tools for many people we were forced to year more than any other school of the for mechanic training didn't accept or university in the world. how to hold a wrench or know was ASC to destined Although hammer. It was a pleasant surinto one of the largest, therefore, to discover that prise, conever organizations these persons, with little or no ceived, training proved to be more knowledge were eager to than a problem of mass produc- learn their of tools, use and caught proper tion. In addition to mechanics and on quickly when shown how to stock clerks, there was a need for shipping and transportation ex- handle them. Simultaneously, at the other ex perts, office managers and person- treme we were teaching our highly nel advisors, aeronautical and civil technicians to repair and skilled and engineers, purchasing agents contract lawyers, accountants and adjust a new, delicately designed with its gyroscopes and financial consultants. All of these auto-pilo- t, had to be trained In new and spec- its scores of electrical and control ialized phases of work before they cable connections. could be molded into their impoRapid expansion of shop facilities rtant roles as an unmilltarlzed ci- and personnel made it essential to vilian army expediting the logisti- inaugurate courses for supervisors cal requirements of the AATs aer- and foremen. The training courses of ten to twelve hours In private ial battles against the enemy. aH industry were developed into a Major problems through course by Stages of this industry-bu- rt mprehemive were to obtain persos&rU SC and more than 21.CC9 men Erogram face of competition Icr id women have learned shoo sxuiea laoor oy essential wriv-fsvrjrviio- I from this course. Castries and comDctition tst tfr3 cement was tea canted e" Thomas A. Tokyo has indicated that it will consider requests made by the Swiss government to transfer funds to American prisoners on an individual . basis amounting to a maximum of $10 monthly per per 0 Oft0' Y' - - nt -- : ' ; - v3 V5 1 Can Receive Help 3, Chief, Personnel and Training : Division, Air Servlee Command,: (Reprinted from August issue of Air Force Magazine) ' "Wanted: Half a million men and .women for vital Jobs in the AAF; technical skills required for eighty percent of applicants." I; This was the civilian force need ed when the AAF started to build the world's largest aircraft repair fall of 1941. During industry in the two the following years, despite keen competition for machinists and experienced mechanics from the booming aircraft industry, 500,- -, 000 men and women were emtrained and molded into ployed, Air Service Command the AAF'S the home-frorepairmen and stockboys for our sixteen Air Forces throughout the world. Today, these civilians are doing the technical job in the States that GIs are doing overseas overhauling engines, repairing damaged aircraft and equipment, expediting the flow of supplies from warehouses and embarkation "points to our bases in theatres of operations. But few of these employes had r any technical skill. Thirty-fouof percent were men over 38 yearsnew age who had to be trained for jobsengine maintenance, repair of accessories, machine shop work, job and shop supervising. Forty-fou- r percent were women, many of whom never had worked before. They had to be trained for clerical work and office supervision as well as for repair and overhaul of air- Good Attend Internees Held in Philippines Personnel Now Totals Half Million Workers - Relief Money Can Be Sent I- storekeepers to electricians, from photographers to crane operators. They have stepped into thousands' of jobs formerly held by men now serving the armed forces overseas. Although it was feared at first that male students might not accept shopwork instruction from women instructors, the women solved this problem themselves by proving complete mastery of their respective jobs. ir - ' William L Lonr Soon Was Teaching The first woman trainee in pro peller work at one of our depots was the chief instructor s wife. So quickly did she learn that she was added to the teaching staff and. after her husband died a few months later, succeeded him as head instructor. Without a pool of aircraft me chanics to draw upon, faced by the high labor turnover common in the aircraft industry (75 percent) and confronted by shortage, of man power in all areas, we began hir ing blind and crippled workers on an experimental basis. When they proved they could perform duties capably in certain occupations. more were hired for placement ac cording to their abilities. Four blind workers at one depot proved able to pack bolts and nuts as fast as eleven normal workers. Special recruiting caravans help ed us through one critical labor shortage season by enlisting the services of an extra 1,000 employes. Despite the rapid increase of men and workers with middle-age- d women tackling jobs entirely new to them, with the blind and crip d work' pled replacing ers, the incidence of accidents was reduced forty percent and accident severity seventy percent The sav ing to ASC through "accidents that didn't happen" was 3,544,000 man hours of work. For this record. ASC was awarded the nation's highest safety honor for 1943, the Distinguished Service to Safety" citation of the National Safety able-bodie- 4 " " A, ' r " i ' Bessie L. Messencer f 'Presenteeism' Is Shown by Record on Job re tia molt St' inree w. records Perhaps j, r i..sjar,r sxancuns "m llioi lished here at OASC of y Thomas A. Dew wuu- i. training administration, Long and ""..tt. both of supply Mr. Dewey, who 1941. ns . Our task of keeping the planes of the AAF flying has been accom ii.u i iiMuinhpr. has been and plished. We have trained person missed a day during that nel to be versatile repairmen ca three times P'j to his presen in pable of repairing and maintain Prior an instructor ing equipment manufactured by all was Jordan OIJWJ aircrait ana accessory companies education- - nat mpmber i Our men have been responsible for taiiu nw AAF. engineering and producing many Mr. Long, who worta ttJJ original modifications while turn80. branch 7, has out house rush ing jobs and expediting supplies for overseas squadrons ployed here at the that are completely dependent up- years and during but wi on the work of the folks back never been absentto i three times due nome, our civilian AAF. portatlon facilities. Salt Lake City, Uken a leave since here. iAhrV The third record64,U wh MaJ. Lavon L. Lash sle L. Messenger. A new arrival to OASC is MaJ. a Janltress in the who comes here The nraptloA nt tiMin mM. since August 3, 9iKloi . irora second air xorce headquar plaints from an V lunnnnd mill. tardy marks against absence ters, Colorado Sorinas. Cola tarjr or civilian, during aU month- - one ii MaJ. Lash arrived on the field been ordered of Mrs. Messenger !s. ?,?llonB " August 14th and will work with the ii uasu subordinate commands, dent supply and maintenance diviinn, Lt. Col. W. C. Ingram, acting ad- A where he will assist with relating. '7'" announced last NEZD BIATJTT OPEKAl 'l, senerai, between tfcts depot and the bases wk.,,n n OASC memorandum. os accona air lorce. set"n ,'orth time .and loThere U an atacute PatiA u Aside from actlnc as llai arn be' will Sn lf posted beauty operatorsaccordlnl tween Second air force and Ann on ftuon, Beauty here. MaJ. Lash will keen ail Lr.8t.d?,y of inspection. Supervls- - Helen Stuart, manager. aw- fand depots informed on changes in experienced Permission aU to Anyone , v.. Ammlrt WOT IWU---7. ll training programs and pass on in- who ? appear without wiiw linn formation regarding the operations 1 natur o the 4:30 and 10 p. d? lyg to,.the x supply ana maintenance, rCE we siHVCUi"etlon, the memo. tact um. Stuart at Interview. ) ' 1 Council. - JJj; t "J 71V A Complaints May Be Heard Each Month M5W nt isn ""oJ(Il . iL t.. . W -- |