OCR Text |
Show Retirement Orders Will Release Many Key Men Mandatory retirement of overage over-age officers of. the Army will become be-come effective September 30, it was announced this week at the headquarters of the Commanding Officer of the Ninth Service Command, Com-mand, at Fort Douglas, Utah. A recent War Department directive dir-ective requires that officers who have reached the statutory age will be relieved from active duty not later than September 30. The statutary age is 60 lor officers up to and including the rank of colonel, 62 for brigadier generals and 64 for major generals, gener-als, lieutenant generals and all officers of-ficers of the Medical and Chaplain Chap-lain Corps. Enforced retirement affects a number of officers in the Ninth Service Command. Many are occupying oc-cupying key positions on the head quarters staff and in command of large posts, camps and installations. installa-tions. In their assigned duties they are giving the Government the benefit of their experience and judgement gained during long years of faithful and efficient service. According to the policy announced announc-ed by the War Department the expansion of the arirfed forces. Air. Ground, and Service, has now reached a point of a gradual leveling level-ing off which probably will be completed com-pleted by early fall. This leveling off process results for the time being be-ing in an overproduction of officers offi-cers which must be met by the readjustments best calculated to maintain and improve the efficiency effici-ency of the Army as a whole. The Government owes a salute to the stout-hearted older officers who volunteered their services at the outbreak of the limited emergency1.' emer-gency1.' Their patriotism is evi- denced by their leaving the peace and comfort of retirement to take up diffucult tasks of war admins-tration admins-tration or to remain at such tasks after reaching an age when retirement re-tirement could be accepted. In the early period of the expansion expan-sion program there was a shortage short-age of senior officers of experience who could assume positions of extended responsibilty. Accordingly, Accord-ingly, a large number of officers beyond the statutary age for retirement re-tirement were continued or placed plac-ed on active duty where they have rendered very valuable service to the nation. However, as other officers have become available to perform the important tasks the War Department states it is desirable for the generable good of the Army to return to an inactive in-active status those officers who have passed the retirement age. |