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Show linked Power Is en Upgrade U. S. Regaining Ground 1 ost in Demobilization; Hot Ready for fiction. WASHINGTON. Military and nnval power of the United Suites is on the upgrade To some extent the ground lost during the helter-skelter helter-skelter of demobilization is being re-pnined. re-pnined. The hnv was p;i?sr-d lost spring nrd e:r"y summer, nccord ins to the opinion' of officers who are In a position to know. But, these officers s:y, if the nation na-tion were forced Into wiir in the near future, a Ion? period would 'elapse before it could muster enough strength to take the offensive. The most optimistic estimates have come from Admiral Nlmitz. chief of naval operations, and from Secretary of War Patterson. Nimltz told the house naval affairs af-fairs committee last March that "a minimum of six months would be required to bring the navy up to its strength of last fall." Six Months to Get Ready. Patterson, asked at a press conference con-ference how long it would take the army to prepare for major operations, opera-tions, also gave six months 'as his estimate. But other top military and naval leaders believe it would take much longer. One naval officer, whose information informa-tion is authoritative, estimates it would take "several years" for the navy to regain the strength it had on V-J Day. Within a year, he reckoned, it could be brought to three-fourths of its full strength, because It could capitalize quickly on its millions of recently demobilized veterans and its still useful laid-up ships. But the last 25 per cent of its potential strength would be achieved very slowly, he believes. A war department officer whose job is to plan for all contingencies feels that the army "could start some kind of offensive in nine months," but that it would not be capable of "a major, sustained attack." at-tack." About Air Forces. Full preparation would take much longer, he says, and most of the manpower that would be available in the first year of mobilization would be needed to train recruits so that the army could reach full strength in the minimum of time. A high-placed army air forces officer of-ficer said it would take a year and a half to get army air power back where it was at the war's end. Units of the army air forces now overseas, he says, are fairly well up to strength, but "they are not in a condition to fight over a long period pe-riod of time " They would lack heavy replacements, both in aircraft and personnel, which would be essential for prolonged operations. - As to what would happen to the ; occupation forces now overseas (the European and Pacific theaters each has about 400.000 troops) there seems to be no doubt in the minds of many of the military leaders interviewed in-terviewed that they would be able to fight only a, brief delaying action if subjected to a full-scale attack. at-tack. Available in this country now are only four full divisions, and they are in a state of partial training. |
