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Show Our Government How It Operates By William Bruckarl NATIONAL DEFENSE SINCE the Armistice ended hostilities In that cataclysmic eruption known as the World war, enormous strides have been taken nmong nations to preserve pre-serve the peace. The movement has exemplified Itself In many different ways and with varying shades of opinion opin-ion shown, from the type of citizen desiring to He still and play dead on through the list to those fostering the belief that only the greatest army and the greatest navy can bo expected to assure permanent pence for our country. Fortunately for the nation, there Is only a negligible number of those who are willing to chance the future of their homeland without an army or a navy. All of the advocates of peace contemplate a system of national defense de-fense of some kind, and advocate It in a size according to their light But the point Is that, desiring peace as we do, our desires cannot govern what course or policy some other government govern-ment may elect to follow. I believe It Is safe to say that now s never before the average citizen Is acquainted with the need for national na-tional defense and tlie way that need It met. Programs have been worked out since the World war ended that are predicated on a more general knowledge by every one of what constitutes con-stitutes the needs of the army and tlie navy In n condition of crisis. Although Al-though the two services are skeleton ized now. should the emergency arise It Is correct to state that a million men can spring to arms over night, anl It scorns that the number probably prob-ably would he three times that If the carefully arranged plans may be Judged properly by the layman. While It Is necessary that a great deal of the planning by the army and navy Is done In secret nnd must remain re-main so for the obvious reason that any nation learning of them Is able to map counter methods. It can be stated that officers of the army and the navy constantly are engaged In study of theoretical attacks and defense. The Army War college and the Naval War college are the higher Institutions of learning, so to speak, where the officers offi-cers delve Into the more Intricate problems of war tactics, where they deal In theory nnd figure out what would happen In practice, and from these eventuate war plans which, let ns hope. It never will be necessary to use. These plans, of course, cannot be said to represent our national defense policy. That Is a question which the President, as commander In chief of the army and navy, works out Jointly with congress. The legislative branch obviously has the final sayso whether we will have a big navy or a small one, and whether the army will number num-ber 11S.W) enlisted men and 12.0no ofTicers or more or less. From this It Is seen that the system of national defense de-fense Is one of fact and not of theory, for It is. true to American tradition, left in the hands of the representatives of the people. Aside from the determination of policy, however, administration of the army and the navy constitutes a tremendous tre-mendous business. There is. of course, an independent department for each, nnd each has a cabinet member at Its head. But the cabinet members are civilians, more often than not, without military or naval training. Consequently, one has to drop down the ranks a step to find the men who actually command the regular army and the navy, with its marine corps arm. So we find in the War department, a general staff, and we find in the Navy department, a general board. Each functions to a greater, or less extent as a board of directors for the service It represents, and each Is dominant dom-inant In its own baliwick. for It Is from these two groups that the actual direction Issues for the respective services. Under each exists the individual indi-vidual control that is necessary always al-ways in administration and the number num-ber of those individuals expands as the power exercised by each one decreases, de-creases, even to the rank of corporal. cor-poral. In conjunction with the army, the navy and the marine corps, there Is that recently developed, but highly necessary, aviation service. Aviation has become so Important In the system sys-tem of national defense that congress has seen fit to create the post of assistant as-sistant secretary of air In both War and Navy departments. While their primary function obviously is that of promoting an efficient air service In each branch, the air division does much more; It Is constantly fostering development of civil aeronautics, and It Is working constantly with commercial commer-cial interests engaged in production and use of airplanes In commercial lines. The air services of the army, the navy and the marine corps, therefore, are carrying a tremendous Influence into the field of air transportation in these day of peace. Highly trained men from the services are going into private life, day after day, to devote their skill and their time and attention to further air transportation. It is not meant that the army, navy and marine corps are losing all of their good men, hut they are losing some of them, yet replacements are made without with-out difficulty and the nation gains from the exchange. Jh 1022. Wofitarn Kau-BiuLnar ITnUm. |