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Show Adjutants General Assn. Opposes Cutback of Guard The Adjutants General Association Asso-ciation of the United States last week strongly opposed the Defense De-fense Department's proposed cut back in strength during its conference con-ference in New York, Major Gen, Maxwell E. Rich, Utah's Adjutant General, stated after returning to Salt Lake City. The general officers from each state in the U.S. said that the Defense De-fense Department plan, if implemented, im-plemented, would severely limit the capability of the Army National Na-tional Guard to fulfill its federal and state missions as the nation first line reserve force. They listed the following reasons in which the plan is deficient: 1. It is, in fact, a reduction of our conventional forces placing plac-ing increased reliance on nuclear weapons. This contradicts the need, so sadly lacking, for flexible flexi-ble response to varying levels of aggression. 2. Reduces the capability of the states to carry out vital recovery re-covery missions in post thermonuclear thermo-nuclear attack period. 3. .Limits the opportunities lor the youth of our country to participate par-ticipate voluntarily in part time military training. 4. Decreases the strengths of non-priority force units to levels below those at which effective training can be conducted requiring re-quiring an excessive number of "fillers" (persons not actually in the unit but taken from other units to fill a unit quota) upon mobilization and greater post-mobilization post-mobilization on training time. 5. Establishes strengths of the Priority Force Units at unrealistic unrealis-tic levels requiring commanders to devote the greater portion of their time to recruiting and administration ad-ministration and correspondingly less time to training. 6. Concentrates and freezes the liability and hazard for repeated recall to active service on a relatively rela-tively small number of men, organizations or-ganizations and communities as the Priority Force and precludes rotation of Priority Force designation desig-nation among available units. The association, Gen. Rich continued, countered these cutback cut-back plans with plans of its own which included a proposed hike in the manpower now present in Guard units. The group strongly recommended recom-mended and respectfully urged that these specific actions be taken: 1. Raise the strength level of the Army National Guard to 412,000 to provide the required additional strength for high priority pri-ority units. 2. The existing 27 divisions and other non-divisional units of the Army National Guard be kept and the necessary realignment of non-divisional units be accomplished ac-complished by conversion of the existing units to types necessary to meet the Army's mobilization requirements. Gen. Rich noted that several Utah National Guard armories would be closed if the cutback is made. He said the Utah units which would be eliminated, consisting con-sisting of some 550 officers and men, are the 1071st Transporta-toin Transporta-toin Company of Bountiful, the 3659th Ordnance Company of Salt Lake City which is now on active duty at Fort Lewis, Wash., and either the 115th Engineer Battalion of Murray and Vernal which is also oh active duty for a year at Fort Lewis, or the 1457 Engineer Battalion, which is stationed sta-tioned in American Fork, Price, Lehi and Springville. The standing volume of the commercial forest land administered admin-istered by the Bureau of Land Management in Alaska was 180 billion board feet in 1960. |