THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES Cilirarji of Jaufcnn Ball The Personnel System of the United States Army Vol. I HISTORY OF THE PERSONNEL SYSTEM developed by the Committee on Classification of Personnel in the Army (subsequently The Classification Division, Adjutant General's Department) C. C. P. 399 WASHINGTON, D. C. 1919 lust JUL t/S'tfu, v-l FOREWORD T""*HE great world war differs from all other wars not 1 merely in the number of individuals involved but even more in the number of technicians demanded. Because of the haste in creating the Army it was impossible to develop the experts and accordingly those already possessing such technical skill were, when properly assigned, of the greatest value to the new Army. The importance of personnel work was early recognized and the development of an adequate personnel system for the United States Army entrusted to a group of specialists who were called by the Secretary of War, "The Committee on Classification of Personnel in the Army" but who worked in the early days directly under my jurisdiction. The sys- tem worked out by this group is probably the most effective now in existence. Its purpose is (1) to secure a contented and efficient army by placing each enlisted man where he has the opportunity to make the most of his talent and skill; (2) to commission, assign and promote officers on merit and (3) to simplify the procedure of discovering talent and assigning it where most needed. In carrying out these purposes various tools were con- structed. Among such the following are noteworthy: En- listed Men's Qualification Card; Commissioned Officers' Quali- fication Card ; Trade Specifications ; Oral Trade Tests ; Pic- ture Trade Tests : Performance Trade Tests ; Personnel Speci- fications (Enlisted Personnel); and Personnel Specifications (Commissioned Personnel). The army is appreciative of this service and is pleased to record in the following chapters a history of the introduction of personnel work in the United States Army. H. P. MCCAIN, Major General, U. S. A., Formerly, The Adjutant General. 840750 TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE SECTION I. GENERAL INTRODUCTION. Chapter 1. Some Principles of Personnel Adminis- tration 3 Chapter 2. The Army Personnel Task in 1917 27 SECTION II. DEVELOPMENT OF THE COMMITTEE. Chapter 3. Forerunners of the Army Personnel System 39 Chapter 4. Early Efforts to Introduce Scientific Methods of Rating Officers 44 Chapter 5. The Establishmment of the Committee on Classification of Personnel in the Army 53 Chapter 6. Introduction of Personnel Work Into the Camps 63 Chapter 7. The Period of Development 78 Chapter 8. Committee on Classification of Personnel Transferred to Jurisdiction of the General Staff 95 Chapter 9. Status of Personnel Organization at Con- clusion of Armistice 104 SECTION III. MAN ANALYSIS. Chapter 10. Sources of Information as to a Man's Qualifications 115 Chapter 11. The Soldiers' Qualification Card 148 Chapter 12. The Actual Operation of the Classifi- cation System 153 v vi HISTORY OF PERSONNEL PAGE SECTION IV. JOB ANALYSIS. Chapter 13. Classification of Occupations and Standard Terminology 165 Chapter 14. Personnel Specifications 178 Chapter 15. Determination of Army's Needs for Occupational Specialists 202 Chapter 16. Job Analysis Applied to Duties of Officers 217 Chapter 17. Commissioned Personnel Specifications 223 SECTION V. THE PERSONNEL OFFICE. Chapter 18. Early Beginnings of Personnel Work in the Camps 235 Chapter 19. Rise of Paper Work in the Personnel Office 244 Chapter 20. Receiving the Draft 253 Chapter 21. Personnel Work in the Staff Corps Camps 268 Chapter 22. Plans for Separation of Personnel Work and Adjutant's Work 274 SECTION VI. PLACEMENT. Chapter 23. Filling Requisitions 283 Chapter 24. Balancing a Unit 292 Chapter 25. Methods Employed to Interest Officers in the Proper Placement of Men. . 308 Chapter 26. Selection of Men for Officers' Training Schools 318 Chapter 27. Use of Limited Service Men 330 SECTION VII. TRADE TESTS. Chapter 28. Forerunners of Trade Tests 347 Chapter 29. Standardized Trade Tests 357 Chapter 30. Trade Tests in Operation 371 TABLE OF CONTENTS vii PAGE SECTION VIII. THE CENTRAL DISTRIBUTING OFFICE. Chapter 31. The. Development of the Central Dis- tributing Office 389 Chapter 32. The Distribution of Occupational Specialists 398 Chapter 33. Draft Statistics and Their Relation to the Army Program 409 Chapter 34. Special Tasks of the Central Dis- tributing Office 420 SECTION IX. SUPERVISION OF PERSONNEL WORK. Chapter 35. Supervision of Personnel Work in the Camps 433 Chapter 36. "Personnel" 444 Chapter 37. Work at the Ports 454 SECTION X. SPECIAL PROBLEMS. Chapter 38. Training Schools for Personnel Officers 469 Chapter 39. History of the War Service Exchange 491 Chapter 40. Development Battalions 512 Chapter 41. The Committee on Education and Special Training and the Students' Army Training Corps 528 SECTION XI. PERSONNEL WORK WITH COMMISSIONED OFFICERS. Chapter 42. The Officers' Qualification Card 543 Chapter 43. The Development and Use of the Rating Scale 559 SECTION XII. COOPERATION WITH OTHER DEPART- MENTS. Chapter 44. The Adjutant General's Office 583 viii HISTORY OF PERSONNEL PAGE Chapter 45. Cooperation With the Provost Marshal General's Office 594 Chapter 46. Cooperation With the Medical Depart- ment 599 Chapter 47. Cooperation With the Aviation Sec- tion, Signal Corps and Department of Military Aeronautics 604 Chapter 48. Cooperation With the Quartermaster Corps 634 Chapter 49. Personnel Work in the Navy and Marine Corps 650 SECTION XIII. DEMOBILIZATION. Chapter 50. Demobilization 665 APPENDIX I. PERSONNEL OF THE COMMITTEE ON CLASSIFICATION OF PERSONNEL IN THE ARMY AND ASSOCIATES 671 APPENDIX II. ADDRESS BY NEWTON D. BAKER, SECRE- TARY OF WAR, AT EIGHTH SCHOOL FOR PERSONNEL ADJUTANTS, AUGUST, 1918 678 APPENDIX III. ADDRESS BY MAJOR-GENERAL R. HUTCHISON, C.B., D.S.O., DIRECTOR OF ORGANIZATION, BRITISH ARMY. . 684 SECTION I. GENERAL INTRODUCTION This introductory section sets forth in Chapter 1 a general statement of what constitutes personnel work as the originators of this work in the Army finally came to see it. In Chapter 2 is set forth in contrast the actual situation that confronted the Army as regards personnel. The chapters that fol- low trace the development of the work as it steadily solved the problems confronting the Army and fin- ally ripened into an organized system. CHAPTER I SOME PRINCIPLES OF PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION It is not the purpose of this chapter to summarize the rules of personnel procedure or to describe the practices which were evolved to meet the emergencies of speedy mobilization and effective organization. This is done in detail in later chapters and in the Personnel Manual (Volume II of the Personnel System of the U. S. Army). Instead it is the present intention to dwell on certain general principles of personnel adminstra- tion, principles which find broad application in industry and commerce no less than in the Army. The rules and practices of personnel work are numerous, complex, and varied as the conditions under which the work must be accomplished. They are not to be mastered in a day. Yet the general principles which underlie them and which guide in the successful development and utilization of these more complicated procedures are relatively simple and few in number. We shall see that six of these "laws" or cardinal prin- ciples, together with a few corollaries or minor principles which they imply, are adequate to guide our thought and practice amidst a wide diversity of practical problems that emerge within the range of personnel administration. THE PRINCIPLE OF FUNCTIONALIZATION The control and administration of personnel must be made the first duty of an official who gives it his undivided thought and his best energies. In the phraseology of industrial orga- nization, it must be functionalized. Responsibility in the sr*rch for talent, in personnel classification, in assigning men to the duties where their special abilities will count for most, 3 cannot safely be left as an incidental task to officers who are also charged with a multitude of other pressing duties. In small organizations where changes in personnel are infrequent or unimportant, functionalization is not necessary. The same man who looks after the records, the purchases, the arrangements for training and for operations, may also be able to select, assign and promote his personnel. But expan- sion in size of the organization soon brings the necessity for specialization in responsibility. The head of the business or the officer in command of troops delegates the function of keep- ing records to some one else. In the military machine this function rests with the Adjutant. The function of supply, of the supervision of purchase, storage and transportation, is delegated to the Quartermaster. The Medical Officer looks after health and sanitation. The Intelligence Officer is charged with the accumulation and systematization of knowledge about the enemy's forces and movements, and about the enemy at home. The Chief of Staff oversees the training and discipline of the men and makes plans for military operations. Legal functions connected with courts martial and the like are assigned to the Judge Advocate. Ultimate responsibility in all these varied branches of organization reposes with the commanding officer; but he secures the best results by dividing up the duties among his subordinates, and placing on each one a definite responsibility for his particular phase of the complex task. It has not always been recognzed in the Army or in busi- ness, that this principle of functionalization should be extended to cover also the control of personnel. In the early summer of 1917, when the preparations for mobilization of the Na- tional Army were being crystallized in the War Department, no provision had been made for any such specialized responsi- bility for the wise assignment of the recruits according to their value to the different branches of the service. To be sure, the Quartermaster Corps, the Signal Corps, the Ord- nance, and several other staff departments had their Enlisted PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION 5 Personnel Officers and their Commissioned Personnel Officers, with rapidly expanding organizations to oversee the strenuous activities of personnel procurement, recruiting campaigns, classification and assignment. Some of these corps were bet- ter prepared than others to face the personnel problem. The competition which inevitably arose between them at this time, in the absence of a completely centralized Army personnel administration with ample authority, continued almost until the time of the armistice. The new "Staff Manual" which appeared in 1917, described with a good deal of explicitness the functions of all the staff officers of a division, but said not one word about classification and assignment of personnel. A Plattsburg graduate, poring religiously over these pages, was left quite at sea as to whether this function was everybody's business or nobody's business. As a matter of fact it was both, until the order was issued early in September just before the first draft call, creating in each cantonment a Division Personnel Officer, and placing on him and his assistants the responsibility for classifying the recruits and seeing that each of them found his niche of greatest use- fulness. Before the National Army was many weeks old it was found necessary to carry this principle of functionalization much farther than had at first been attempted. For instance, the Division Personnel Officers were originally instructed to have the soldiers' qualification cards prepared by the company com- manders. The results were sometimes disconcerting. The information on the cards was occasionally inadequate or mis- leading, due to lack of skill in eliciting full and exact informa- tion from the soldier and all too frequent instances came to light where the company commander had deliberately hidden the good men by reporting them as laborers or farm hands instead of as the engineers, accountants and telegraphers which they were, thus reducing the likelihood of losing them by transfer to other companies. However strong the plea for justification of such camouflage might have been in a well HISTORY OF PERSONNEL organized unit about to move toward the zone of combat, little extenuation for this blindness to the paramount needs of the Army as a whole could be advanced during those early weeks of preliminary training. For these reasons and also for rea- sons of economy in administration, the procedure of classifica- tion was soon modified. The plan of entrusting the prepara- tion of the qualification records to- a board of specially trained interviewers, first tried when the National Guard Divisions were classified in November, soon became universal. The over- burdened company commanders were relieved of an irksome duty, and the interviewing was done on the whole much more thoroughly and reliably. Within the personnel office functionalization spread also. Some of the men became skilled interviewers ; others special- ized on classification and became expert in determining and designating the recruit's best army usefulness. Still others had the more mechanical work of affixing tabs or maintaining the files, or typing duplicates of the requisitions and orders. Officers of the soundest judgment were trained in selecting the recruits to fill requisitions for men of special ability. Specialization of duties to correspond with the different func- tions within the Personnel Office became the rule. Not only in the busy cantonments where recruits were pour- ing in by the thousands, but in the central office in Washington also, the principle of functionalization spread. Most impor- tant was the differentiation within the Personnel Committee between the planning group and the operating group. While one section was working days, nights, and Sundays perfecting the hst of army occupations, tabulating the anticipated needs for men of special skill, or devising improved forms of record and report, another portion of the force was equally engrossed in the immediate direction and operation of the personnel system. One member was charged with the responsibility of directing the field supervisors. Another handled the requisi- tions for specialists as they came from the staff corps, and determined their priority. A third prepared a table of allot- PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION 7 ments of men from the current draft, matching demand and supply. A fourth supervised the periodic rating of officers, etc. The vitally important subdivision of functions, however, was the one first mentioned, which set aside, distinct from the administrative or operating group, a planning group whose duty it was to anticipate the future, to study conditions, to initiate changes and improvements of method, and to develop the best possible procedures for the use of the operating group and of the personnel forces in the camps. Here was personnel research in the immediate service of personnel administration. Each was more effective through being dis- tinct and separate from the other, while maintaining the closest proximity and interrelationship. Large commercial and industrial organizations have quite generally recognized the principle of functionalization of per- sonnel administration by establishing departments of employ- ment management. But not many have as yet carried this principle to its logical conclusion by making these departments fully responsible, not only for the initial hiring and assigning of employees, but also for the supervision of their transfers and promotions, for the selection of employees to be trained for posts of responsibility, and for policies affecting all the personnel from the scrub women and errand boys up to the executives. Yet the success of these great enterprises is bound up in their personnel. Concerns which are fully alive to this fact have recognized it by creating a division of person- nel co-ordinate with the divisions of finance, production, engi- neering, or sales, and by placing in charge of personnel a vice-president or an assistant to the president, equal in calibre and in authority to the sales manager or the vice-president in charge of finance. The main functional divisions in army administration are clearly seen in the form of organization that was finally assumed in 1918 by the General Staff, with its Executive Division, including the sections of Intelligence, Statistics and Morale, its Purchase and Supply Division, its Storage and 8 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL Traffic Division, its War Plans Division and its Army Opera- tions Division. Within the Operations Division there was finally created a Personnel Branch, with Brigadier General P. P. Bishop in charge, and this Personnel Branch was given authority to control the procurement, appointment, assign- ment, promotion, demotion and discharge of officers for the en- tire Army. Thus functions which had been scattered among the staff corps, well administered in some and neglected in others, were gathered together and the responsibility for their administration placed in the hands of specialists whose sole duty it was to utilize all the available officer personnel to the greatest advantage of the Army as a whole, and not of any one corps or arm of the service. Thus was effected for the commis- sioned personnel of the Army, a centralized control and a functionalized administration comparable with that which had already proved its worth in the classification and placement of the soldiers. No better illustration is needed of the application of the principle of functionalization, the principle that person- nel control is best administered when it is made the sole busi- ness of specialists instead of being left to chance or to the in- cidental attention of officials whose primary interest is focussed on other responsibilities. . THE PRINCIPLE OF HUMAN DIFFERENCES The personnel executive needs full, explicit and accurate information as to the men's qualifications. It is important to recognize the great variety of human traits that go to make up these qualifications, and to know how wide is the range of excellence in each trait in any considerable aggregate cf human beings. However profoundly one may be committed to the social theory of Rousseau and Jefferson that all men are created equal, every employer and every officer in command of troops knows that there are enormous inequalities of skill and talent. The personnel officer knows that his office exists precisely because these inequalities are extremely important to the PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION . 9 Army. It matters not to him whether the differences between people are chargeable to differences in their native inheritance, which might account for certain variations in physical endur- ance or brain power or leadership; or to differences in oppor- tunity, which might explain superiorities in speaking French or in driving a six-mule team. The practical consideration is that these varieties of ability do exist and must be reckoned with. Ninety-eight per cent of the recruits sent to Camp Taylor from a certain district in Gary, Indiana, could not understand the English language. Six per cent of all recruits claiming trade skill actually have the proficiency of experts in their trade. Among three and a half million American soldiers there are plenty of barbers, tailors, and lawyers for all mili- tary needs, but there are not anywhere near enough experi- enced men to meet the demands of the Army for soldiers who can drive a truck, send a wireless message, or supervise the training of a dispatch dog. About half of one per cent of all the recruits are so stupid, so near the lower borderline of intelligence, that they cannot learn soldiering at all and have to be returned to their homes. Fifty-five different kinds of chemists and chemical workers, and forty-two distinct kinds of machinists required by the Army were found among the men in the receiving camps. Some recruits were cowardly shirkers, posing as conscientious objectors; others really were conscien- tious objectors, sane and sincere but determined; still others were equally sincere perhaps, but so cranky and ego-centric and unstable that they needed to be treated like borderline cases of insanity. At Camp Devens, Massachusetts, and Camp Lewis, Washington, more than twenty per cent -of the soldiers, a surprisingly high fraction of the total, hnd the native ability and high intelligence required in army officers. Thousands of the new soldiers were physically unfit to take the training in combat units until they had first spent some weeks in the Development Battalions. It is unnecessary to continue further with illustrations of individual differences 10 HISTORY OF PERSOXXEL or variations of physique, temperament, mental alertness, knowledge, previous training, integrity, interest, skill, stamina and similar traits, every one of which contributes toward the determination of a soldier's place of greatest usefulness. The conclusion follows inevitably that the personnel officer must have adequate, dependable information of the qualifications of the men. Perhaps this accounts in part for the otherwise surprising fact that the army personnel organization, the Committee on Classification of Personnel, was headed by a psychologist. Colonel Walter Dill Scott, and that three-fourths of the origi- nal members of that Committee were university psychologists, men trained for years in the observation and scientific study of human nature in its varied aspects. These scientists, like most Americans, knew next to nothing about war. But they did know men. They had concentrated their attention for years on the measurement of human traits and the determina- tion of capacities. They realized more acutely than others, the magnitude and range of the differences between people; and they had certain elements of technique in the determina- tion of abilities which they knew could be adapted to military requirements. Eager to do whatever they could do best toward helping in the prosecution of the war, it is natural that they found their own places of usefulness on the research and plan- ning staff of the functionalized personnel Organization. Here they initiated many undertakings directed toward an improve- ment in the accuracy and value of the available information regarding the qualifications of both officers and men. In co- operation with experienced army officers and leading employ- ment executives, they prepared the first qualification card and continued to revise and improve it as the results of its use showed how it could be made a better means of recording significant facts. They adapted the rating scale to military requirements, as an instrument for focussing attention on the really essential traits in an officer and for enabling these traits to be judged and recorded with greater accuracy through PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION 11 systematic comparison between the officer being rated and other officers who served as concrete standards of measure- ment. They cooperated with the Surgeon General's Office in its highly important enterprise of developing workable methods of measuring a soldier's general intelligence ; and with the psychologists of the Aviation Service in finding the best tests of a man's capacity to become a flier. They inau- gurated brief personnel schools in the course of which officers received training in the technique of interviewing, for it is no easy matter to get the full truth about a recruit's experi- ence, schooling, facility in French, or demonstrated leader- ship ability. They prepared a procedure for getting explicit reports from the former employers of tool-makers, ship-fitters, and other relatively rare specialists, regarding whose profi- ciency it was peculiarly important to have dependable informa- tion. And they initiated the preparation and standardization of the army trade tests, which came to be a most useful aid to the personnel office in ascertaining what degree of skill and technical knowledge was actually possessed by a recruit claim- ing trade ability. In all these directions it was the constant endeavor to refine the available information about officers and men, to make it a more reliable statement of qualifications, and so to diminish in a measure the tremendous waste of precious human material through misplacement. THE PRINCIPLE OF DEFINITE PERSONNEL REQUIREMENTS No degree of excellence and completeness in the inventory of a man's qualifications will lead to his placement in the right job unless the requirements of the job are known. Conse- quently a third principle underlying successful personnel administration calls for definiteness in the description* of duties and in the statements of the qualifications sought in the men who are to discharge those duties. This principle of definite requirements was frequently vio- lated, at heavy cost, particularly during the confusion of the 12 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL earlier months. Sometimes ambiguities of terminology led new civilian officers astray, as when they assumed that the army term "Wagoner," which appeared frequently in the Tables of Organization, always meant a man capable of mak- ing wagon repairs. In some units those were the requirements, while elsewhere the term was used to mean merely "wagon driver," and even "truck driver." Similarly a "Horseshoer" is a man who shoes horses, except in motorized regiments. In some outfits the duties of the "Master Signal Electrician" re- quire him to be an experienced telephone lineman, while in others he need know no electricity but must be a tailor or an experienced pigeoneer. The personnel officers soon discovered that while these army names sometimes have a clear-cut occu- pational significance, more frequently they mean merely a certain grade and rate of pay, so that an explicit statement of duties was indispensable before a wise selection could be made of the men to be trained for those posts. Another frequent source of uncertainty was the ignorance in which some commanding officers found themselves as to the precise equipment their outfits were to have when they reached France. A certain colonel of artillery knew, for instance, that he was to organize and train a regiment of "light artillery, motor transported." He knew that when he got his guns they would be of a new type, to be moved rapidly where emergency demanded by running them up on light speedy motor trucks. But he found it difficult to estimate just how many men qualified to drive and repair those trucks he was going to require in addition to his gunners. Infantry cap- tains of rifle companies were in doubt as to just how much of the minor repairs on rifles, clothing and shoes would be handled for them by the supply company. The question whether a rare acetylene welder was wasted when assigned to a six-inch howitzer battery could not be answered until it was known whether the battery equipment was to include an acetylene torch. Similarly the question was raised whether the lithographic equipment for reproducing the maps pre- PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION 13 pared daily by the Intelligence Service was to be operated by that service at division headquarters or by the engineer regiment. Not until the answer to these and a thousand simi- lar questions of equipment and organization had been found, could the assignment of skilled personnel proceed without grave danger of error and waste. It was not sufficient to know merely the civilian occupa- tion which would nearest approximate the requirements of the army job and so shorten the time required to make the recruit competent in his special army duties. The first require- ments for a good machine-gunner, for example, are not occu- pational but physical. He has a much heavier load to carry than the infantryman, which is heavy enough ; hence the re- quest of the commanders of the machine-gun battalions for short, stocky, strong-backed soldiers. They had no need for skilled machinists, turret-lathe operators, tool makers and similar masters of the machine trades. Every expert of that sort was more needed in the Ordnance, the Motor Transport or the Air Service. But they did want a suitable pro- portion of men who had some native mechanical aptitude, and they did insist upon the importance of securing substantial, able-bodied, husky specimens. Imagine the despair of the commander of the Machine Gun Replacement Center at Camp Hancock, when in the haste of the over-crowded spring mobilization, the War Department sent him a few thousand raw recruits who on arrival were found to be for the most part, small, frail garment-makers just drafted from the lower East Side of New York City. It was the need for definiteness in personnel specifications that led first to the preparation and refinement of the Index of Occupations, and the distribution of this Index not alone among the personnel offices, but wherever officers were prepar- ing lists of needed personnel. It gave them a common lan- guage, a working basis of standard terminology. A much more vital step toward precision in the specification of personnel requirements was taken when the volume of 14 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL Trade Specifications was published, containing statements of duties and qualifications in each of the 714 civilian trades and occupations which the Army utilized. Improved requisition forms, supplied especially to the Staff Corps officers, helped to make the statements of their require- ments more precise. These blanks called for a listing of the number of soldiers of each occupational designation needed, and provided space for giving the occupational sym- bol, or key number to correspond with the corresponding defi- nition in the Trade Specifications, and for indicating whether skilled "journeymen" or partly skilled "apprentices" and helpers were required. Space was also set aside for use in making supplementary stipulations as to intellectual, educa- tional or personal qualifications. The blank proved to be a help to both the makers of the requisitions and the officers who were called upon to fill them. Tables of Occupational Needs were also prepared, showing how many men of a particular occupational designation are required for each of the many sorts of platoons, companies, batteries, squadrons, trains, battalions, regiments and brigades, and these tables greatly facilitated both the original assign- ment of troops and the final "balancing" or readjustment of personnel to insure that every outfit had its proper quota of the available skill and talent. Many experienced officers cooperated in compiling these Tables of Occupational Needs. They were officers who had commanded troops on the Border or who had had the chance to observe British and French troops in action, and who could answer the question, "Just what does he have to do" ? when interrogated regarding each Serjeant Major or Corporal or Mechanic or Instrument Man in their commands. It is gratify- ing to know that when the first tentative mimeographed edition of the Tables of Occupational Needs of an Infantry Division was submitted for examination and criticism to the officers commanding two American divisions then on the firing line in France, it stood the test unexpectedly well. PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION 15 These tables were, however, only a step toward a more ade- quate instrument for accurate placement, the volumes of "Per- sonnel Specifications." The preparation of these brief state- ments of duties and qualifications for all of the many thous- ands of posts to which soldiers and officers are assigned in our Army, was a monumental undertaking which was only par- tially completed when on the memorable day of the armistice mobilization abruptly ceased. But the permanent value of these volumes was so apparent that their printing was con- tinued. A portion of the Officers' Personnel Specifications have been issued; and for the enlisted personnel the specifica- tions are available for practically all units of all branches of the military organization. If by some miracle these descriptions of duties and qualifi- cations could have been placed in the hands of assignment officers at the beginning of mobilization, they would have saved much time and forestalled many mistakes. Lacking them, it devolved upon the personnel officers to insist as far as practicable that each requisition for men should be explicit in its statement of requirements ; that precious "stenographers" were not specified when mere "typists" would do; that appren- tices and helpers were sprinkled through the list in suitable proportion, along with the rarer journeymen, experts, and foremen ; that coppersmiths were not requisitioned to do a tinsmith's work, and that when the General wanted a secretary who could meet strangers, handle personal accounts, work fourteen hours at a stretch, and manage a skittish horse, he should say so in the first instance instead of merely asking for a good stenographer and then placing the blame on the person- nel office when the recruit sent him failed to qualify. All too frequently the investigation of instances of dissatisfaction with drafted men supplied from the Depot Brigades disclosed that the officers had gotten just what they had requistioned, but they had not asked for what they really required. In the Army, as in business and industry, the first move toward securing the right personnel is to determine precisely what 16 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL the duties are to be, and to state explicitly, in writing, just what are the minimum qualifications which the adequate per- formance of those duties demands. THE PRINCIPLE OF ORGANIZATION To effect a speedy adjustment between the personnel requirements and the available supply, a suitable organization is essential. Usually when men are wanted they are wanted at once. The camp Quartermaster Supply Department finds itself behind the game in issuing shoes to new recruits, and appeals to the Personnel Office for an additional stockkeeper and six experienced shoe salesmen. A cable signed "Persh- ing" requests the early shipment of an additional hundred railway car erectors, or electric crane operators, or refrigera- tion experts, or troops for the mobile ordnance repair shops. The commander of a division which is suffering serious cas- ualties in the Argonne Forest calls on the great Replacement Depot at St. Aignon to forward a thousand infantrymen and specifies the proportions that should be qualified signal- men, truck-drivers, photographers, cooks, scissors-instrument operators, bridge carpenters and telegraphers. No matter how clearly these requirements are formulated, and no matter how adequately the men in the depots have been examined and classified, the results are disappointing unless there is a smooth-running personnel machine to match up promptly the supply with the demand. It is the pride of many an officer that his personnel organi- zation was able to meet just such emergencies as these. His qualification cards were well classified, tabbed, and filed so that they could be consulted readily. His assistants were thoroughly familiar with his system and knew each what was expected of him. He had instant telephonic connection with the various company headquarters, with the headquarters of the depot brigade, with the division adjutant, with the camp surgeon and with the transportation officer. Someone was on duty nights and Sundays. Everyone in the organization knew PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION 17 that whatever he had to do in interviewing, trade-testing, transcribing intelligence scores, or preparing tedious tabula- tions for Washington, it was all merely preliminary to the real test of whether the organization could, on demand, deliver the goods as wanted. This is not the place to enter into a discussion of the varied aspects of the personnel machinery which experience proved to be best suited to the military exigencies. Its broader out- lines called for an adequate staff, including at least a stable nucleus of thoroughly trained assistants, and for attention to the elementary principles of effective office organization, such as clear-cut assignment of responsibilities, provision for the simplest workable system of adequate records, economical routing of work, careful planning ahead to reduce the strain at the time of the peak load, etc. Such a machine accomplished its purpose partly because it was rightly set up, and partly because the intelligent human gears and levers in it realized that they were part of a system that had a direct and vital though unspectacular share in the prosecution of the war. Sergeants, typists, interviewers and orderlies knew that the better their work was done, the more rapidly would proceed the training of our forces, and the sooner would they be ready to meet the approaching crisis on the Western Front. Thus application of the principles of organization in per- sonnel administration, introduced in large part by officers and civilian experts who in the days before the war had been executives in large business or manufacturing concerns, contri- buted toward the realization of the army personnel idea, namely, the speedy placement of the varied elements of America's man-power each in his place of greatest military usefulness. Records of Performance. One essential feature of any ideal personnel system is a provision for adequate records. Periodic reports must be secured on the actual performance of the men who have been placed, so that the information on the qualifi- 18 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL cation records will be constantly brought up to date. When a man is exhibiting unusual ability in his work, that fact should be known, and when he is not making good, that fact too should be recorded, so that plans can be made for shifting him to an assignment better suited to his capacities. Little was done by the personnel office to secure such sys- tematic information regarding the soldiers, other than to keep the records of their changes of status and successive assign- ment posted. But each officer's card had also the record of his rating made quarterly by two of his superior officers; so that the foundations were laid for a sound system of promo- tion by merit as contrasted with promotion by seniority or acquaintance or favoritism or alphabetical order. In an effective personnel organization, such systematized judgments on the man's proven qualifications for their posts are not merely secured and recorded, but used, in a constant endeavor the better to adjust the supply of available talent to the ever-changing needs. THE PRINCIPLE OF ECONOMY OF PERSONNEL Any decision regarding the most judicious disposition to be made of available personnel involves a multitude of consider- ations. It is not sufficient to ask, "What are the duties of this position?" and "Can this applicant or this officer or this recruit meet its requirements ?" After the personnel executive has assured himself that he has a man who can fully qualify for the post the question arises, "Would this man be still more useful somewhere else?" An officer who has spent several years in stock breeding and marketing in the West may be thoroughly competent for an assignment in the Quar- termaster's Department as a purchaser of artillery draft horses. His expert knowledge there might save the Govern- ment thousands of dollars; yet if this officer has already demonstrated his ability as a commander of a company of infantry, and if infantry officers who can be absolutely depended upon are pressingly needed in the combat zone, there PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION 19 is little doubt but that his place is in the line instead of the service of supply. One recalls the old pleasantry about the perfectly good chef assigned as a railway worker, and a gradu- ate in transportation engineering doing the cooking. Clearly the principles of good personnel administration were over- looked even though each soldier was performing his tasks satisfactorily. Determining the Man's Best Usefulness. The first step toward economy of personnel involves a decision as to the man's greatest value to the service. To this end, it was early recognized that the qualification record must provide information, not only regarding a recruit's main vocation, but also as to other occupations he has followed and as to his avocations and hobbies. One business man of twenty- eight, experienced in accounting and office management, was considered as an assistant to the Ordnance Officer until the fact emerged that he had indulged in ballooning as a pastime. Many of our regiments have been hard put to find com- petent musicians, particularly bandmasters, and every general, especially after he arrived on the other side and heard the magnificent bands of our French comrades in arms, felt keenly the military value of really inspiring band music. But of course there were very few soldiers who had ever earned their livelihood as professional band musicians, and so it was neces- sary to seek out those who had become proficient on the tuba or the clarinet "on the side." and set them 'to coaching their less skilful mates. Yet it would never do to make even a regimental band leader out of a draftee who was a capable meteorologist, competent to serve the Artillery and the Air Squadrons in their hourly weather predictions. As Emerson wrote, "That man is idle who can do something better." The personnel officer's assistant whose duty it was to study the newly made qualification cards and indicate on each his decision as to the soldier's main army classification, was often confronted with a pu/zling problem. Should a foreman in a knitting factory who had never finished high school but who 20 PI I STORY OF PERSONNEL spoke English, French, Czech, and Norwegian, who under- stood all about woolens, sox and sweaters, who drove and repaired his own automobile, and who because of some youth- ful experience in Bohemia was able to pass an examination for optical glass makers with the rating of an apprentice, be checked for army purposes as first of all an interpreter, a chauffeur, a woolen expert, or a glass maker? Or should he because of his fine physique, good intelligence and demon- strated leadership ability be considered for assignment to an infantry unit with the expectation that he might eventually make good as a non-commissioned officer? Obviously an answer is possible only in the light of the relative need at the time for men of those different abilities. There were exigen- cies during the winter of 1918 that might have warranted evaluating even a partly skilled optical glass maker as worth as much to the Army as three woolen experts or a dozen ama- teur automobilists. And always the question was a pertinent one whether trade skill of any sort outweighed real leader- ship and fighting quality. It is clear that judicious classifi- cation and placement could be made only by one who had knowledge of the various army requirements and who appre- ciated the relative ease or difficulty of satisfying those different demands. The Hierarchy of Requirements. What was needed in the personnel office was a scale of military values, a priority list, a pyramidal chart at the top of which would be listed the optical instrument repairmen, chemists, lead burners, die sinkers, topographical draftsmen and other "rare birds" which, at least for the time being, were sorely needed and extremely difficult to find. Below them would appear a larger list of highly useful specialists such as surveyors, crane opera- tors, ventilation experts, railway engineers, sailmakers and farriers, men whose occupational skill placed them in a group where the Army demand, while not so pressing, yet clearly exceeded the supply. Next would be found the great bulk of skilled occupations needed in the Army. Here would be those, PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION 21 like truck-drivers, who were very essential, and numerically in great demand, but who could be trained in a relatively brief time. Here also would be certain of the more highly" skilled trades and occupations such as engraving or accounting, difficult to acquire but relatively less in demand. Another stratum would include the barbers, carpenters, garment workers and the like, some of whom are needed in every regiment, but who are numerous enough and need only to be properly distributed. Finally at the base of the pyramid would come the unskilled workers and also the teachers, lawyers and others whose vocational proficiency as such is not much of a military asset and whose superior use- fulness must emerge if at all from their superior general ability and personal qualities. Such a schedule of priorities or hierarchy of requirements, with the most rare and precious names at the top, and the others grouped according to their relative army value, would have proved a boon to classifiers whose work was to designate each soldier's best army useful- ness. In the absence of such a complete tabulation, they were compelled to use their best judgment in each separate instance, aiming to give due consideration to all the evidence, including the facts about the man's schooling, his weekly earnings, his age, his intelligence and his physique, as well as his vocational experience, and the relative demand at the time for men in the posts for which he seemed able to qualify. Use As Assigned. This determination of a man's usefulness fails of its purpose unless precautions are taken to insure that, after placement, he is actually employed in the capacity for which he has been selected. A statement must go with each specialist when he is transferred to his new post, indicating precisely whether he is sent in response to the request for a leather worker or a veterinarian or a demolition man. Other- wise the company commander in the course of his multifarious responsibilities may mistake the new arrival for one of the many non-specialists he is receiving, and may later duplicate his original request. In the winter of 1917-18, literally hun- 22 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL dreds of valuable technical troops, procured after the most painstaking search in response to cabled requests of the Ex- peditionary Forces for men of unusual qualifications, were lost, wasted, simply because on their arrival at the Base Depot of the Service of Supply at Blois, nothing on their papers showed clearly just which special requisition they were intended to fill. Consequently some of them were put to work as stevadores, while the parts of the locomotives or the refrigeration plants they had been sent over to assist in assembling continued to congest the over-crowded wharves. Of course as soon as this dangerous leak was brought to the attention of The Adjutant General in Washington, the necessary steps were taken to insure that a suitable "bill of lading" went with the men, to identify them fully, and to insure their utilization in the posts for which they had been specially chosen. Dilution. Extravagance in personnel distribution no less than in automobile driving is often traceable to the use of too rich a mixture. The Sanitary Train of a certain Guard Division had been recruited from a university and was made up almost exclusively of college men. Here was an organization of nine hundred soldiers with an inordinate proportion of excellent leadership material, much needed elsewhere. And about half of them were devoting their energies to the most menial of routine duties which could have been done as well or better by others. Some Engineer Regiments of sappers were made up so largely of trade specialists and high grade men that they were hard put to find enough strong-backed laborers to do the vitally essential pick-and-shovel work. Such organiza- tions needed to be diluted with non-specialists, if economy of personnel was to be effected. Avoid Unnecessary Transfer of Personnel. It is obvi- ously good personnel economy when seeking for any needed specialist to look first -within the ranks of the organiza- tion which needs him. Like charity, the search for talent should begin at home. Such a policy not only saves time, trouble and the money post qf transportation in effecting a PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION 23 transfer. It also encourages loyalty to the organization when men see that superior ability is recognized with promotion. When the question first arose in October, 1917, whether the classification should be extended to the National Guard Divi- sions also, the point was raised that the officers in the Guard Divisions already knew their men so well that a systematic inventory of their qualifications would be superfluous ; but many rapid changes and consolidations were in progress, and the decision was made to undertake the classification immedi- ately. While this work was in progress at Camp Shelby, the Colonel of Engineers came to the personnel office with a request for help in finding a man whom he could make his regimental serjeant major, the most responsible assignment to which a non-commissioned officer can aspire. The person- nel officer asked just what kind of a man the colonel wanted. "He ought to be mature enough and with physical presence enough to command the respect of the men of the regiment. He should have had military experience and be able to exer- cise authority. I want a man who has done clerical work, preferably bookkeeping or accounting, because he will be responsible for many of the regimental records. And it would be well," the colonel added, "if he has also had engi- neering training." The personnel officer searched the qualifi- cation records of the entire division and selected three soldiers for the colonel's consideration. The one who was finally chosen had as a lad enlisted in the Navy and risen to the rank of machinist's mate, demonstrating his capacity to com- mand. He had then left the Navy and worked for about three years as a bookkeeper. He was 26 years old, had the desired physique and presence, and at the time of his enlist- ment in the National Guard two months previously he was Junior in the Engineering School of Tulane University. More- over he was a private in that colonel's own regiment ! Principles of economy that apply within the camp have also governed the administration of the central assignment office in Washington, Millions of dollars in the cost of rail- 24 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL way transportation alone were saved to the taxpayers through the pains taken to select specialists for transfer from these camps and depots geographically nearest the places where the technical units were to be organized. THE PRINCIPLE OF MORALE Any shifts of personnel, including assignments, transfers, promotions and demotions, should always be made with due consideration for their effect on the spirit of the men and the organizations concerned. Men accept new assignments with better grace if pains is taken to make it clear to them why the transfer is made. Bri- tish practice, as observed in the Transfers Centers and Army Posting Stations of England during the summer of 1918, was in this respect superior to the typical American procedure. The officer took the time necessary to assure himself of the soldier's qualifications and physical limitations, and also of his personal preferences. When the current needs of the Army coincided with the preferences of the soldier he was assigned accordingly; and when they did not, the posting officer ex- plained to the soldier very frankly why he was being sent elsewhere, so that he went away feeling that he had had a square deal and that he was going where he could do the most for his country's cause. Frequent changes are subversive of good team work. Noth- ing is more disheartening to officers or soldiers than to see some of their best personnel suddenly removed, just at the time when strenuous enthusiastic training has brought about a measure of group competence. Extensive transplanting while intensive training is in progress usually proves to be an extravagance. It should be avoided just as far as possible through correct initial assignment. Local pride is a tremendous stimulator of group loyalty in a company, a regiment or a division. It was a wise provision in the original National Army mobilization order which directed that drafted men from each locality should, as far as PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION 25 practicable, be kept together. To be sure this injunction was by some commanders interpreted too literally and carried to absurd extremes, as in the case of the division in which all the men from one local board were put in the ammunition train, from another into the machine gun battalion, and so on, quite without reference either to the differing needs of the units or to the widely varying average qualifications of the recruits from city wards, mining towns, and rural localities. When original assignments were made according to such a purely geographical scheme, later shifts and readjustments were necessarily numerous or else training was unnecessarily slow. During the early months, the men transferred out of com- panies in training were frequently tradesmen and technicians. Naturally these were also the very men of superior native ability whom the company commander had selected as promis- ing material for his non-commissioned officers and whom he was loath to lose. It was to diminish this demoralizing effect of transfers that the practice then grew up in personnel offices of placing a check mark on the qualification cards of soldiers designated by their commanders as pivotal men, and this "pre- ferred stock" was not requisitioned so long as other men of the required occupational designation could be found. At the same time it had to be borne in mind that morale is dampened unless it is clear that the line of promotion on merit is open. An officer loses his grip on his men if they come to suspect that he is holding back his best sergeant from a chance to go to Officers' Training School because he seems indispensable to his company. The officer himself cannot put forth his best efforts if he has reason to imagine that his own promotion hinges partly on the caprices of favoritism, or if he knows that it depends solely on the mechanical operation of the seniority rule. In the Army as in business, morale is definitely strengthened if it is obvious that changes in status are direct and adequate measures of individual worth. 26 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL SUMMARY The rule of economy of personnel resources is perhaps the most comprehensive of all the principles of personnel adminis- tration. It necessarily implies each of the other cardinal prin- ciples. An executive who strives to give every man a chance at the work where lies his greatest usefulness, will find himself compelled to set up a simple but adequate machinery of records and a smooth running organization for adjusting the supply to the demand. He must aim to use this organization so as to stimulate and maintain rather than shatter individual and group morale. He must know with precision the require- ments of each of the places to be filled. He must secure an accurate inventory of the qualifications of the men to be placed. And to accomplish all this he must be a real personnel executive, devoting his best thought and energies to the multi- form problems that constantly emerge, rather than trying to supervise the control of personnel incidentally, amidst the pressure of other crowding duties. His work must be func- tionalized as it had to be in the Army, and as it is bound to be in any great industrial, commercial or governmental enterprise. In the following pages is recorded the story of how these cardinal principles operated to shape the policies and pro- cedures of the Army, in its effort to absorb the youth and talent of the nation and to make of it most speedily an offen- sive engine of overwhelming power. CHAPTER 2 THE ARMY PERSONNEL TASK IN 1917 When Congress declared on April 6, 1917, "that the state of war between the United States and the Imperial German Government which has been thrust upon the United States is hereby formally declared," the nation was committed to a most radical reversal of policy and interest. Overnight, we changed from a nation desiring peace and no foreign relations, with an army that was scarcely more than a national constabu- lary, and with reserve munitions that totalled almost nothing, to a nation determined to send soldiers and arms without limit to a front on French soil 3,000 miles away. The appreciation of what this determination actually meant in numbers grew as the months went by, but the spirit of "spend all that is necessary in men and in money" was present at the beginning and remained constant. To conceive what this determination accomplished, one must see a Combat Divi- sion on review, or witness the hoisting of a complete loco- motive from the hatch of a cargo ship, or visit the Bethlehem Steel works at night, but some notion of what was done in mobilizing our man-power, and through it our supplies, can be gained from the tables on the following pages. The accomplishment which these tables represent was the result of the labors of Americans working under a pressure and with an intensity, enthusiasm and interest never before experienced in this generation. The nation's fund of energy thus released had to be directed. Men had to be brought into the army service and men and women had to enter and speed up industry, trans- portation and agriculture. The first great step was taken on May 18, 1917, when with 27 28 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL Comparative strength of service March, 1917, and November, 19 18 1 Old Army, New Army, March, November, 1917. 1918. Infantry and machine gun 85,000 974,000 Engineer . 3,000 394,000 Field Artillery and ammunition train , , 9,000 389,000 Medical 7,000 300,000 Quartermaster 8,000 228,000 Coast Artillery 21,000 137,000 Ordnance . . . 1,000 64,000 Signal . . . . 3,000 52,000 Cavalry . 22,000 29,000 Air Service .... 202,000 Motor Transport 103,000 Militia Bureau ... 27,000 Chemical Warfare 18,000 Tank 14000 In training 549 000 All other 31,000 185 000 Total 190 000 3 665 000 Comparative figures on Supplies, June 1917 and November, 1918 1 Cargo shipped June, 1917, 16,000 tons October, 1918, 750,- 000 tons Army fleet June, 1917, 13 ships, 94,000 tons Nbvember, 1918, 431 ships, 3,004,445 tons Rifles, 1917 models Accepted, Aug., 1917 2,000 Accepted, October, 1918, 207,247 Browning Machine Accepted, April, Gun, heavy 1918, 12 Accepted, October, 1918, 13,747 Ball Cartridges, Caliber 30 Rounds produced, September, 1917, 12,000,000 Rounds produced October, 1918, 254,- 000,000 1 From Annual Report of the Secretary of War. 1918. PERSONNEL TASK IN 1917 29 the support of the country, Congress decided what age-groups would be called on for military service and made their decision binding in the "Act to increase temporarily the military estab- lishment of the United States." The next step was the placing of war contracts which gave to manufacturers the power to bring an army of workers into industry. This led later to the creation of the Federal Em- ployment Service, intended to regulate the supply of labor much as the draft machinery regulated the supply of men for the army. Then came federal control of transportation, coal and trade and the stimulation of agriculture and the control of food. Expansion in artillery equipment 1 Total con- On hand On hand Artillery (complete units). tracted for. Apr. 6, Nov. 1, 1917 1918 Trench 11,700 5,000 Light . 10,113 779 3,850 , 5,385 114 1,070 Heavy . < 3,472 695 Railway . . . 211 19 Total 30,881 893 10,634 In each of these administrative expressions of the Nation's determination to win the war there was a common feature human beings of many kinds of ability were needed in stag- gering numbers. For the army alone 9,587,000 men were registered on June 5, 1917, and later 14,122,000 more added. The numbers are large; but one is even more bewildered by the detail involved in handling each man as an individual, from his registration at a Local Board, through his mustering into the Army, placement in a unit, training, shipment over- seas, return and ultimate discharge. 1 From Annual Report of the Secretary of War, 1918. 30 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL Each officer and soldier had to be treated individually, how- ever, not merely because records must be kept for each, but because each had some special ability which had to be dis- covered and used where it would contribute most to the Army. To describe the growth of the personnel methods by which men were handled as individuals from the day they reached the camp until the day of their discharge is the purpose of the present volume. In a second volume (The Personnel Manual, published in May, 1919), the detailed directions for use by the various parts of the organization are printed as a manual of operation. THE ENLISTED PERSONNEL The machinery which existed in April, 1917, for handling the army personnel problem was adequate for our small Regular Army as then organized. It was never intended for war conditions, and the changes which it underwent were indi- cations of competence to meet new conditions. The Man-Power Supply. In the year before the war men were recruited at 189 Central Recruit Stations, each responsi- ble for specified areas. In the fiscal year of 1917, the total number of stations, including auxiliary and temporary sta- tions, reached as its maximum 724. Here men were recruited for different arms of the service, mainly for the line, Medical Department and Quartermaster Corps. Normally recruits were sent to Recruit Depots for examination and enlistment, and assignments were made semi-annually. After April, 1917, recruits were also sent direct to camps where new regiments were forming and in addition the assignments from Depots were made as speedily as possible. After December 15, 1917, no voluntary enlistments of draft registrants was permitted, but Recruit stations for men not registered were continued. The recruitment from July, 1917, to April, 1918, was 250,058. From May 1, 1918, the enlist- ments into the Regular Army were discontinued, but the Recruit Stations handled special inductions for registrants amounting to 58,411 by July, 1918. PERSONNEL TASK IN 1917 31 Under Section 55 of the National Defense Act of June 8, 1916, men could be obtained for the army by enlisting them in the Enlisted Reserve Corps of the Engineer, Signal, and Quartermaster Corps and the Ordnance and Medical Depart- ments, and subsequently calling them to active duty. To June 30, 1918, approximately 80,000 members of the Enlisted Reserve Corps had been ordered to active duty. The Enlisted Reserve Corps was a device to provide a reserve during peace time, and it naturally was not adapted to expansion during the period of the war. The official recruiting "service was supplemented throughout the war by the work of special recruiting missions authorized to induct for special army duties registrants who were outside a current call. The Engineers, Ordnance, Air Service, Signal Corps, Medical Corps, Motor Transport and other corps all independently sought men specially qualified for their own services. These campaigns, while they did yield specialists, were harmfully competitive, since they frequently sought the same kind of personnel, and the most active, rather than the most needy corps got the recruits. Undoubtedly, had the war continued, arrangements would have been completed for sup- plying all specialists through one central agency. The Operation of the Draft. From September, 1917, the main source of supply of men for the Army was the selective service induction carried on by the 4,648 Local Boards of the country. The dates and numbers of these inductions appear in the table on the following page. The administration of the draft had to do something more than supply men to the army. It had to classify the regis- trants, select those who could serve in the army with the least national social and economic loss, and reserve for the industrial and agricultural service of supply the men competent to fill key positions requiring years of previous training. There took place, consequently, in the Local and District Boards, the first rough classification and placement of men. 32 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL Men inducted into the Army under Selective Service Law, by months 1 Month. Men in- ducted. Month. Men in- ducted. 1917 September 296,678 October 163,644 November 35,721 December 20,320 1918 January 23,288 February 83,779 March 132,484 April 174,377 1918 May 373,063 June 301,941 July 401,147 August 282,898 September 252,295 October 250,000 November 10,000 Total 2,801,635 Each registrant indicated his occupational ability in the ques- tionnaire, using the standard army table of occupations as his guide. This information, supplemented by other evidence, aided the draft authorities in determining where the men should serve in civil life, in war industry, or in the Army. The prompt acceptance by the nation of the principle of selective service won the admiration of our Allies. The wis- dom with which the principle was applied and administered commanded the increasing confidence of the country. No other nation has ever raised a great national army so rapidly and with so little resulting popular irritation and hostility. Administration of Enlisted Personnel. In peace times the control of personnel within the Army was a comparatively simple matter. For the line, the Field Headquarters, the Department and The Adjutant General kept the records and issued the orders for troop movements. For the var- ious staff corps, the Office of the Chief of the Bureau kept records and made allotments and assignments of the very limited personnel, frequently as the result of first hand personal knowledge of the men available. An officer long in the service might easily know the needs of the various 1 From Annual Report of the Secretary of War, 1918. PERSONNEL TASK IN 1917 33 stations and be acquainted with the best sources of supply for men of a given kind. Recruits were, in general, assigned to units twice a year, and there was plenty of time to muster them in and prepare their records. There was also time to train green men for the duties in the Army requiring trade skill, and as compared with the great number of technical jobs in the war army, the need for trade skill was small. Under war conditions, men were received by the hundred thousand, and technical units had to be formed with the utmost speed from a personnel already possessing trade ability. The old system resembled a craftsman's shop where each article is made by hand and finished by one individual. The new system had to be like a great factory where each process is separated and volume production is assured through rigid functionalization and organization. Men had to be sorted, recorded and assigned as goods in some great ware- house are received, checked, sorted, stored and shipped on order. And not one but sixteen great personnel establish- ments and twenty smaller ones had to be created and the necessary administrative overhead in Washington called into existence. In this emergency the Army availed itself of the abilities of men already expert in personnel work. It established on August 5, the Committee on Classification of Personnel in the Army, under the direction of The Adjutant General. The Committee in turn, called in experienced employment mana- gers from great commercial enterprises and placed them in the field. There they aided the officers of the Regular Army in setting up a system capable of receiving, examining, classify- ing, clothing and reporting to Washington, 1,500 men a day from each of the great receiving camps. The central office directed the work. It listed the trades and compiled the numbers the Army needed. The organiza- tions in the field classified the soldiers by these trades and occupations and reported them to The Adjutant General. Then on order of the Operations Division of the General 34 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL Staff, the men whose trade experience qualified them for special duty in the Army were assigned to the units whose requisitions for these specialists had priority. The chapters that follow describe the development of the personnel organization and the way in which each step of the process was evolved. The principles of organization and the statement of the process are simple. The details of development and operation are more complicated. The results represent the achievement of Army officers and civilian spe- cialists working together to make possible the speedy fulfill- ment of the nation's determination to win the war. COMMISSIONED PERSONNEL In many ways, the Army faced a more difficult problem in securing officers than in securing men, even technical enlisted specialists. Many thousands of men knew trades which, with slight adjustment could be used in the Army work, but very few indeed knew the details of military procedure or field operation. Yet when the war closed there were 194,228 offi- cers, a number larger than the whole of our Army in 1917. The National Defense Act of June 3, 1916, had established the Officers' Reserve Corps, and by July 1, 1917, 21,543 offi- cers had been commissioned in this corps. Officer training had received a great stimulus in 1916 through the Plattsburg idea, for which Major General Leonard Wood was largely responsible. Camps, somewhat after the Plattsburg model, for testing and training reserve officers and candidates were conducted in four series, beginning May and September, 1917, and January and May, 1918. Thereafter, continuous schools for officers were maintained at five permanent replacement camps. The table on the following page indicates the result of the earlier phases of this program. In addition officers were obtained from a camp for colored officers, from Staff Corps Schools, from Reserve Officers' Training Corps Units at educational institutions (later the PERSONNEL TASK IN 1917 35 Commissions granted through first three series of Officers' Training Camps* Rank. Inf. Cav. F. A. C.A.C. Eng. Q. M. Statis- tics. Ord. Sig. Total. 2 2 1 1 185 18 37 1 50 2 i 294 3,379 251 849 329 419 147 55 5 429 7,665 258 2,128 575 747 75 407 519 12,374 Second lieutenant. 23,346 1,371 8,540 1,158 750 3,067 77 211 687 39,207 Total 34,578 1,898 11,554 2,063 1,966 3,067 152 767 1,262 57,307 Students' Army Training Corps) from promotion within the Regular Army, and from commissioning specialists direct from civil life. For officers as for men, methods of selection, classification, and promotion had to be devised. For the selection of the successful candidates in the Officers' Training Camps, and for estimating and recording the efficiency of officers, the Officers' Rating Scale was prepared and introduced. In addition, the Officers' Qualification Cards were prepared and ultimately used for all officers at home and abroad. The competition present in recruiting enlisted personnel was also an unfortunate feature in obtaining officers. Not until the establishment of the Personnel Branch of the General Staff shortly before the cessation of hostilities, was this waste- ful duplication of effort eliminated and central control of commissioned personnel established. The entire personnel task of the Army in 1917 and there- after was complicated by frequent revisions of plans for the size of the force needed, and by the distance of the organizing centers from the front. An accurate forecast of needs for officers and men, with a statement of numbers and grades for each kind of ability, could not be made. Operations had to provide a safe estimated margin. This complicated the train- ing as well as the procurement program. 'Annual Report of the Secretary of War, 1918, p. 16. 36 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL In spite of difficulties, however, the task of forming the Army at maximum speed was pushed night and day, and the German request for an armistice on November 11 must be attributed in part to their certain knowledge that a successful national mobilization military and industrial had been accomplished in the United States. SECTION II. DEVELOPMENT OF THE COMMITTEE This section describes the origin and development of the organization created by the Secretary of War to build a personnel system in the Army and outlines its sources and antecedents. In consider- ing this subject, a brief outline (in Chapter 3) of the sources of Personnel Work traditional Army practice, the employment management movement, and applied psychology is followed (in Chapter 4) by an historical review of the circumstances sur- rounding the early efforts to introduce a scientific method of rating officers. Chapter 5 deals with the establishment and first work of a personnel commit- tee designated by the Secretary of War as the Com- mittee on Classification of Personnel in the Army. How Personnel Work was first introduced in the divisional camps of the country is described in Chapter 6. The last three chapters of the section carry on the history of development, through the period of expansion (Chapter 7), the transfer of functions to the General Staff (Chapter 8) and the status of the personnel organization at the time when mobilization ceased with the consequent transition of personnel duties to conform with the processes of demobilization (Chapter 9) . 37 CHAPTER 3 FORERUNNERS OF THE ARMY PERSONNEL SYSTEM The history of the Army personnel organization during the war exhibits a development that is traceable to three dis- tinct sources. The first source is found in traditional Army practice. The second is a contribution of business and indus- try, namely the employment management movement. The third source of ideas and methods which merged with the others to develop a practicable Army personnel system, is found in the scientific approach to the study of human abili- ties which has been fostered in university laboratories of psychology for a generation, and which more recently has been applied by certain large business concerns to the practical problem of discovering talent and selecting the right man for the right place. The classification and placement of officers and soldiers would not have gone forward as expeditiously as it did if there had been lacking any one of these three com- ponents, the military, the industrial, and the scientific. Employment Management. When America entered the war, the practice of employment management was just beginning to emerge into the status of a profession. Not very many years had elapsed since large manufacturing and commercial concerns first began quite generally to place responsibility for their personnel in the hands of one executive, the employ- ment manager. This executive was selected for his post because he was an organizer and systematizer, and a good judge of men, and not because he had had any special train- ing for his new duties; for there existed neither the school to train employment executives, nor any considerable body of knowledge and accepted practice which could have been 39 40 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL taught in such a school. But very rapidly during the past fifteen years, such a substantial body of standard theory and procedure in employment practice has taken shape. Men of broad experience have crystallized their thought in books and in numerous, technical articles on employment procedure, an- alysis of the causes of labor turnover and of the methods of lessening it, sources of labor supply, forms, record blanks, the routine of employment office management, and the like. Interchange of ideas and experience took place also through frequent periodic meetings of various local Employment Man- agers' Associations, the first of which was organized in Bos- ton in 1911. The annual convention of the National ^Associa- tion of Corporation Schools and the annual Conference of Employment Managers likewise brought together the ablest of the men and women who were engaged in the selection, placement and development of employes. From these and other sources grew a fund of information of a more or less technical sort. In 1914 the Tuck School of Business Admin- istration at Dartmouth College introduced a course of train- ing for prospective employment managers and during the next year a research course in employment management was given at Northwestern University. The result of all these tendencies was the steady building up of a professional con- sciousness among men engaged in employment management, and the creation of a nucleus of standard personnel practice which, at the critical moment, was whole-heartedly made available for Army use. During the war the employment management movement received a tremendous impetus. The acuteness of the labor situation in thousands of factories, munition plants and ship yards forced many employers to contemplate for the first time the functionalizing of their employment practice. Under the leadership of Capt. Boyd Fisher of the Ordnance Department, detailed to the Council of National Defense, short intensive l Bibliography of Personnel Management, by Coss and Outhwalte. War JJepartment, 1919. PERSONNEL SYSTEM 41 courses for the training of employment managers were given in several industrial centers. The graduation of the first class of these emergency-trained managers at Rochester in May, 1918, coincided with the meeting there of a convention of employment managers, eight hundred strong, at which was completed the organization of the National Association of Employment Managers. Perusal of succeeding chapters of this volume will show not only how the employment man- agement movement has helped the Army, but also how the development of methods and practice in the Army personnel work has given in turn a powerful stimulus to the further spread and development of employment management in in- dustry. Applied Psychology. The scientific approach to problems of personnel has its roots in the psychological laboratories of the universities. There, for more than thirty years scientists have been busy with systematic researches into human traits, and with measurements of differences in people's abilities. The interest of these investigators has been chiefly theoretical. They wanted to be able to give a more complete and accurate scientific account of human nature and of the laws of behavior than is possible without the use of a rigorous experimental method. But more recently there has been an increasingly insistent demand from commerce and industry as well as from education and medicine that the methods of the ex- perimental psychologist should be applied to practical prob- lems of human adjustment and control. If a person's in- telligence or alertness or retentiveness or ease of learning or mechanical aptitude or esthetic sensitivity could be determined and compared with that of other people in the psychological laboratory, why should not these same methods be adapted to the requirements of employers who want to ascertain where each of their employes can work with a maximum of satisfaction to himself and of advantage to the organization? The Bureau of Salesmanship Research. Of the attempts to bring psychological methods into helpful relation with 42 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL business, perhaps the most significant was the Bureau of Salesmanship Research at the Carnegie Institute of Tech- nology in Pittsburgh. This Bureau was a cooperative enter- prise, founded in 1916 by Mr. Edward A. Woods, a promin- ent and successful business man of Pittsburgh, with the participation of thirty concerns doing business of National scope. Its purpose was to study the best methods then used in selecting, developing and supervising salesmen, and also to try out new methods which showed promise. The Bureau maintained a small scientific staff of experts who developed the new methods and put them to the test of actual trial, with the help of the employment managers and sales managers of the cooperating firms. The Director of this Bureau was Dr. Walter Dill Scott, and its Executive Secretary, Dr. Walter V. Bingham. Associated with them were Dr. G. M. Whipple, Dr. J. B. Miner and a group of research assistants. During the first year of the Bureau's activities they worked out a manual of "Aids in Selecting Salesmen" which embodied the best available ideas, old and new, in personnel selection. There was a Personal History Blank which went straight at the essential facts about an applicant's career. There was a model Letter to Former Employers, designed to secure a more accurate, illuminating and pertinent response than is usually received through correspondence with an ap- plicant's references. There was a form to guide the employer during his personal interview with the applicant, designed to focus his attention on those essential personal traits which it is possible to evaluate under such circumstances. There was a Rating Scale, ingeniously devised so that the inter- viewer could make concrete comparisons of the applicant with successful and unsuccessful salesmen whose traits were well known to him, and so that he could express in numerical form the resulting judgments about the applicant's char- acteristics. And finally there was a set of mental tests, for use in getting a measure of the applicant's general intelligence, his range of information, his facility in the use of language, PERSONNEL SYSTEM 43 his imagination or foresight, and his speed and accuracy in such routine clerical work as a salesman must often do when making out orders and reports. All five of these "Aids" the mental tests, the rating scale, the interviewer's blank, the letter to former employers, and the personal history blank had been prepared with a view to their use in selecting successful high-grade sales- men, and were proving their worth for that purpose; but the principles which they embodied were applicable, with only slight modifications, to the selection of men for any post call- ing for superior intelligence and personal qualities. Recog- nizing this fact, the business men present at the .annual meeting of the cooperating members of the Bureau June 1, 1917, voted unanimously to tender the services of the scientific staff of the Bureau to the War Department, and to make available for Army use whatever of the Bureau methods might be found applicable to military needs. Already Dr. Bingham and Dr. Whipple had left at the in- vitation of the National Research Council to join with R. M. Yerkes of Harvard, E. L. Thorndike of Columbia, L. M. Terman of Stanford, and other psychologists in working out suitable methods for use in making mental examinations of recruits. And Dr. Scott, with his research assistants, had been busy adapting the rating scale so that it might be use- ful as an aid in selecting successful candidates at Officers' Training Camps. But no one at that time foresaw what a vital contribution toward the organization of the National Army would emerge from the initial investigations into scien- tific personnel work, made possible by the Bureau of Sales- manship Research. No one realized how the intense stress of effort and devotion and patriotic impulse was destined to fuse into one effective personnel system the best knowledge and experience of the theoretical scientist, the practical em- ployment manager and the trained Army officer. CHAPTER 4 EARLY EFFORTS TO INTRODUCE SCIENTIFIC METHODS OF RATING OFFICERS ORIGIN OF RATING SCALE Early in May, 1917, the first form of the rating scale for the selection of officers was devised by Dr. Scott and his associates in the Bureau of Salesmanship Research of Carnegie Institute of Technology. It was similar in form to the scales previously used in several business houses for selecting em- ployees for executive and other positions. It applied the principle of comparing the individual with men of known ability in the position for which he was a candidate. The qualifications used as a basis for comparison were, of course, differentt in the case of the Army from those used in the business houses, inasmuch as the requirements for military success are somewhat different from those for civilian success. This first form was then printed, in order that it might be subjected to a further refining process, which would make it more completely satisfactory for the purpose intended. The printed blanks were sent to various people who were thought likely to be able to suggest improvements, and who might also be in a position to bring it to the attention of military authorities. One copy was sent to Mr. Paul S. Achilles at Plattsburg. He submitted it through military channels to the Commanding Officer at Plattsburg in June, and toward the close of the month it was returned with the following nota- tion: "The Commanding Officer will not be able to use this." MILITARY AUTHORITIES BECOME INTERESTED Meanwhile, another copy sent to Dr. E. L. Thorndike of 44 EARLY EFFORTS OF RATING 45 Columbia University had been shown by him to Mr. F. P. Keppel, then Assistant to Secretary of War Baker, later appointed Third Assistant Secretary of War. Mr. Keppel became much interested and asked for further data. On June 15, Dr. Scott sent him a full explanation of the rating scale, and Mr. Keppel brought the whole matter to the attention of The Adjutant General of the Army, Major General H. P. McCain. The impression which the scale made upon General McCain and his associates in the Adjutant General's office is indicated by the following letter : WAR DEPARTMENT Washington, D. C., June 30, 1917. Professor Walter Dill Scott, Carnegie Institution of Technology, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Dear Sir: Your letter of June 15th with inclosed rating scale and rating sheet received. If promotion by selection is adopted for the National Army, the War Department contemplates using this method of rating officers. Your assistance is much appreciated. Faithfully yours, F. P. KEPPEL, Assistant to Secretary of War. A few days after writing this letter, Mr. Keppel wrote again suggesting that Dr. Scott come down to discuss the matter at length with the officers of the Adjutant General's Department. Dr. Scott was at the time away on a Western trip and there- fore did not receive the letters until July 5, whereupon he telephoned to Mr. Keppel expressing his willingness to come to Washington on the first train. He was told that they would be very glad to see him. On the morning of July .6, Dr. Scott arrived in Washington and met Mr. Keppel, who introduced him to General McCain and Colonel (later Brigadier General) Eugene F. Ladd, who 46 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL was in charge of commissioned personnel. Both had examined the scale and believed that it might possibly have some value. Colonel Ladd had not thought of the possibility of the use of the scale for selecting officer-candidates but only for the promotion of officers. He assumed that the method in vogue at the schools was entirely satisfactory. When the request was made that the scale be tried out in an experimental way at one of the officers' training schools, Colonel Ladd called Major (later Brigadier General) Alfred W. Bjornstad and Major (later Lieutenant Colonel) Grenville Clark, and turned the whole matter over to them with the order that they investi- gate the proposed method and take any necessary action. Major Bjornstad was just about to leave Washington and suggested that Major Clark take care of the matter alone. To this Colonel Ladd agreed. The pressure of work upon Major Clark was so great, however, that he found it impossible to give the necessary time that day to the consideration of the scale, and as the work at the office was urgent, he asked Dr. Scott to return to Pittsburgh and come back to Washington five days later. To this Dr. Scott agreed. His first great task had been accomplished, that of securing the attention of the Army authorities and their interest in the possibilities of the rating scale. During the next few days Dr. Scott spent much time in trying to make improvements in the scale. As a result of this consideration, and of suggestions received from various sources, some changes were made. By the night of July 10 he was confident that the scale in its revised form would prove a really practicable and satisfactory method of selection. When he met Major Clark in Washington again on July 11 he found conditions much as they were at the time of his previous visit. To accomplish anything at all it was necessary to go to Major Clark's apartment, where they could work undisturbed. During the three hour conference which followed, the scale was completely analyzed and dissected, EARLY EFFORTS OF RATING 47 and was then reconstructed in very much the original form, but with the change in the fifth qualification from "Value to the Regiment" to "General Impression." At a conference at Fort Myer, on July 16, this expression was changed to "General Value to the Service." This form was essentially the same as that of the scale in all subsequent editions and revisions. It provided for ratings on five essential qualifications. To the first four of them a maximum of 15 points was assigned. To the fifth, "General Value to the Service," a maximum of 40 points was assigned. Tests at Fort Myer. Before it could be certain that the scale would prove a satisfactory method of selecting officers, it was necessary that it be subjected to a test. Dr. Scott, therefore, suggested that he be permitted to demonstrate the scale to the officer in command at Fort Myer. Mimeographed copies of the scale were prepared and the following letter of introduction was written by Major Clark and Colonel W. T. Johnston of the Adjutant General's Department, who had also become interested in the matter: July 11, 1917. From: The Adjutant General of the Army, To: Commanding Officer, Officers' Training Camp, Fort Myer, Virginia. Subject: Method of selecting those suitable for commis- sion in each training unit. 1. In view of the fact that the present method of selecting and classifying men in the Officers' Training Camps under instructions of May 18, 1917, is not deemed entirely satisfactory, it is desired to work out a more careful and scientific system for the second series of camps. It is desired to experiment with the method re- ferred to below in one or more companies of your camp. For this purpose you will select the commanding officer of the company or companies whose judgment and comment on the method will be most valuable. 2. A plan for this purpose has been worked out by Mr. Walter Dill Scott in consultation with Officers in the War Department, which is believed to be of value. Mr. 48 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL Scott will present this letter and you will permit him to explain the method to the company commander or com- manders selected and afford him proper opportunity for giving the method a thorough test. By order of the Secretary of War, W. T. JOHNSTON Adjutant General. On July 12, Dr. Scott presented his credentials to the Com- manding Officer at Fort Myer, Colonel Charles W. Fenton, and the senior instructor, Colonel William J. Glasgow. Major George R. Spalding and Major E. O. Hunt were called into conference with these officers and in a short time all of them were converted to the value of the scale. As the letter suggested that the system be tried out by company com- manders, Captain Edmond R. Tompkins and Captain H. D. Schultz were asked to make practical tests with it. After about an hour's work they became fully convinced of the value of the scale and submitted the following report upon it: FORT MYER TRAINING CAMP FOR RESERVE OFFICERS (Copy) Fort Myer, Va., July 12, 1917. From: Captain H. D. Schultz, 37th Infantry. To: Commanding Officer, 5th Training Regiment. Subject: Report on individual rating for selecting candi- dates. 1. I have studied and put to an actual test the individual rating sheets for selecting candidates, presented to me by Mr. Walter Dill Scott, and find the system practicable. Care is necessary in making the scale, care being taken to select officers of diversified ability. After this scale has been prepared the time required to grade the candi- dates will be very short. 2. The good points in Mr. Scott's system are: (1) That you have a concrete standard upon which to base your judgment of the candidates. (2) You select officers well known to you and have them as living examples of what you consider a candidate for commission should be. EARLY EFFORTS OF RATING 49 (3) It enables you to get the independent judg- ment of any assistants who may be assigned to your company. H. D. SCHULTZ I concur in the above. EDMOND R. TOMPKINS This system is the one for which I have been groping. (Capt.) J. B. Bennet. It was agreed,, however, that a more thorough try-out was necessary, and for that purpose all the officers at Fort Myer were assembled on the following day. Each of them made out a scale and rated ten of the men in his own command according to the rating scale method. They then voted unanimously that if the War Department permitted they would use the rating scale in rating the men and in recommending them for commissions in the first series of Officers' Training Camps. Tests at Plattsburg. These favorable reports on the prac- ticability of the rating scale were most reassuring to the Adjutant General's Office. It was felt, however, that it was best not to regard the judgment at Fort Myer as in any sense final, but inasmuch as Plattsburg was the head of the Officers' Training Movement, the judgment of the officers there should be secured before recommending the formal adoption of the rating scale. Dr. Scott thereupon set off for Plattsburg im- mediately with a letter of introduction from Colonel Johnston to the Commanding Officer. Madison Barracks and Fort Niagara were also notified to send representatives to Platts- burg to confer with Dr. Scott and the Plattsburg officers. This visit to Plattsburg was, of course, the most critical situation that Dr. Scott had to face. The rating scale had already been submitted and rejected there. The only hope was that its rejection had been due to the fact that the scale had not been personally presented and explained to them, and therefore had not been thoroughly understood. If Platts- burg could be persuaded to reverse its decision, then the scale 50 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL would be adopted and would be used in the Officers' Training Camps. If the previous rejection was reaffirmed, then the work which had already been done would be wasted, and the rating scale method would probably never be used in the Army. The circumstances of Dr. Scott's reception at Plattsburg were not encouraging. The camp adjutant informed him that the scale had been considered and rejected, and that the Commanding Officer could not be seen that day. It was not until the following day (Monday, July 16), when the officers from Madison Barracks had arrived, that Dr. Scott was called into conference with the Commanding Officer and the Senior instructors of the two training camps at Plattsburg. There- upon Dr. Scott was given an opportunity to present the facts about the scale. The Plattsburg officers were skeptical and were not so easily convinced of the merit of the scale as the officers who had previously examined it had been. When suggestions for improvement were invited they ripped the scale to tatters. As the views they expressed regarding improvements were almost diametrically opposed to one another, they did not come to any agreement, and consequently, toward the end of the conference reinstated the scale in almost its original form, but put more emphasis upon previous military experience. They finally agreed that the scale should be presented to the officers of the two camps at Plattsburg. Here again the rating scale met the test in every respect. In each camp the officers voted that they believed in the scale and would prefer to use it as a method of ranking men and recommending them for commissions at the end of this, the first series of the Officers' Training Camps. When these results were reported to the Commanding Officer he imme- diately dictated a telegraphic report to Washington. In it he incorporated his reply to an inquiry he had just received as to the advisabilty of sending Dr. Scott to Fort Sheridan and Fort Benjamin Harrison, where other Officers' Training EARLY EFFORTS OF RATING 51 Camps were being conducted. The telegram as a whole was as follows: ADJUTANT GENERAL OF THE ARMY, Washington, D. C. Professor Scott's plan is useful and practicable. It will be used here to assist in selection of officers at end of this camp. Recommend it) be made universal for all future camps, but not compulsory for this camp. Believe it would be of material assistance at Harrison and Sheri- dan Camps. WOLF. Tests at other Officers' Training Camps. The tests at Fort Benjamin Harrison and Sheridan resulted in much the same conclusion as those previously reached. In both cases the officers became enthusiastic for the scale and accepted it. At Fort Benjamin Harrison, Brigadier Gen- eral E. F. Glenn took special interest in the work, and at Fort Sheridan, Colonel William J. Nicholson, the Com- manding Officer, stated that the rating scale was the ideal system which he had always intended? to work out and have used. Dr. Scott then went on to Chicago, where he had a con- ference with Major F. F. Stebbins of the Central Depart- ment, Major W. G. Sills from Fort Snelling, and Captain A. M. Ferguson from Fort Riley. They likewise approved the scale and agreed to return to their camps and attempt to present the matter to their officers, so that the rating scale would be used. It may here be noted that Captain Ferguson became much interested in this and other phases of the per- sonnel work, and was later appointed as Officer in charge of the Personnel Work at Washington. On July 22, Dr. Scott wired to Major Clark his report on the progress in presenting the scale. To this he received the following reply: Dear Prof. Scott: Your wire of July 22nd just came on my desk. Con- gratulate you on your patriotic services and success. The 52 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL telegraphic reports of your plan are uniformly favorable. I suggest unofficially that you come here for a day soon and tell Gen. McCain about it and go over plans for next series of camps with Capt. Hayne and me. A comprehen- sive system to be used from the start in all camps should be installed. I am much interested personally in seeing this worked out well. Very truly yours, GRENVILLE CLARK, July 23. Room 365. Upon his return to Washington a few days later, Dr. Scott found Colonel Johnston and Major Clark much pleased with the reception the rating scale had met with in the various training camps. At their suggestion a simplified set of printed forms was devised and printed for use in the second series of Officers' Training Camps, which was to begin shortly. Assistant Secretary Keppel was also gratified by the success of the movement and introduced Dr. Scott to Secretary Baker. Dr. Scott demonstrated the rating scale to him as an instance of the kind of service which the psychologists of the country could render in the mobilization of the Army. As a result of this conference and the investigations and reports which followed it, Secretary Baker soon afterward authorized the organization of the Committee on the Classification of Per- sonnel in the Army. CHAPTER 5 THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE COMMITTEE ON CLASSIFICATION OF PERSONNEL IN THE ARMY August 5, 1917, is remembered by personnel officers as a significant date, because it marked the establishment of the Committee on Classification of Personnel in the Army. This was the culmination of a chain of events that brought to the aid of the War Department the experience of men who in their civil pursuits had dealt with problems of personnel classification and placement. MOBILIZING AMERICA'S MEN OF SCIENCE From the moment that America's participation in the war against Germany was decreed, it was evident that the Nation's resources of men, brains, energy, money and materials would all be at the disposal of her military chiefs. Only organi- zation was lacking to harness these immense resources and drive them toward the common goal. The Council of National Defense proved to be an effective project for bringing about a measure of the needed organiza- tion and for securing the cooperation of able men of affairs. This body early took over the National Research Council, which thereafter served as its medium for guiding and co- ordinating the war activities of American men of science. Uni- versity laboratories of chemistry, physics, biology and medi- cine were turned into experimental stations for the develop- ment of new and improved methods of wireless telephony, submarine detection, airplane construction, computation of the trajectory of projectiles, poison gas manufacture, gas mask design, transfusion of blood, antisepsis, and the like. 53 54 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL Activities of the Psychologists. One of several main com- mittees of the National Research Council was the Psychology Committee, which worked in close affiliation with committees of the American Psychological Association. During the spring of 1917, this committee, under the leadership of Dr. R. M. Yerkes of Harvard, was encouraging a number of researches pertinent to military personnel problems. For example, Dr. Bentley, at Illinois, was assembling and digesting all the available scientific literature in English and foreign langu- ages on military psychology. Dr. Raymond Dodge of Wes- leyan, was busy perfecting an apparatus for use in selecting and training naval gun pointers. Drs. Burtt and Miles in Boston, Dr. Thorndike in New York, Dr. Stratton in Berkeley, and several others were analyzing the qualifications of suc- cessful aviators and trying out tests that might aid in predict- ing the likelihood that a candidate would make good as a fighting flier. Dr. Woodworth of Columbia, was attacking the difficult problem of tests for courage and self-mastery under condition of strain and terror. And a group of seven psychologists, chosen because of their contributions to the technique of testing intelligence, were working night and day on the preparation of practicable methods of measur- ing the intelligence of recruits. Skepticism was expressed as to whether this group could produce methods which would really be workable under camp conditions, and which would yield information of much value to the officers responsible for assigning and training the soldier whose native intelligence and mental alertness were to be tested. "If the Kaiser had waited five years longer," wrote one eminent psychologist, temperamentally cautious and conserva- tive, "we might have been in a position to furnish the Army with workable psychological methods of proven reliability." To which the inevitable rejoinder was, "Since the Kaiser did not wait, it is up to the psychologists to accomplish in five months what would ordinarily require five years of plodding research." The methods and information recently accumu- COMMITTEE ON CLASSIFICATION 55 lated by psychologists at the University of Illinois, the Car- negie Institute of Technology, Stanford, Columbia, Harvard, and elsewhere were all pooled. Improvements were suggested and tried out. And a technique of both group and individual examinations of intelligence was developed which stood the test and demonstrated its worth when tried out in July on five thousand soldiers and sailors in four different training camps. The results of this trial convinced the psychologists that they at last had methods of mental testing which they could heartily endorse for Army use. The National Research Council made recommendations which Surgeon General W. C. Gorgas accepted, that the new methods of mental testing be adopted as a part of the routine of the examination of re- cruits, and that Dr. Yerkes who had initiated the preparation and trial of these methods be commissioned as major in the Medical Department, to direct their installation and adminis- tration in the Army. PLANS FOR THE COMMITTEE Parallel in point of time with the movement to apply to Army personnel problems the best available methods of mental testing, was Dr. Scott's successful campaign for the introduction of systematic methods of judging and rating the qualifications of officer candidates. (See Chapter 4.) The results obtained by the use of the rating scale in eight of the Reserve Officers' Training Camps, first series, convinced the Adjutant General and the Secretary of War that other branches of the Army might also find advantage in the adoption of similar ways of disclosing ability and talent. They made arrangements for Dr. Scott to confer with the chiefs of all the War Department Bureaus regarding some of their personnel problems, and to prepare a plan for mak- ing available for them in meeting those problems the assist- ance of a group of specialists. Such a plan was drawn up on July 28, by Dr. Scott with the assistance of Dr. W. V. Bingham, Head of the Division 56 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL of Applied Psychology at the Carnegie Institute of Tech- nology, who at the time was working in the psychology office of the National Research Council on the projected arrange- ments for mental testing of recruits. The plan was patterned roughly after the type of organization which had been used by the Bureau of Salesmanship Research at Pitsburgh, with which Scott and Bingham were associated as Director and Executive Secretary. There was to be a scientific staff, a nucleus of civilian experts who would constitute a research and planning group, and a board of military representa- tives of the various bureaus who would bring to this group the problems to be attacked and who would also see to the installation in their respective departments of such methods as were developed. In the course of a few days which seemed very long to the originators of the plan, impatient to see it put into operation, it was considered by the War College, by the Chiefs of the Bureaus and by The Adjutant General; and met with their endorsement, and on August 5, 1917, the Secretary of War ordered its adoption and directed that a sum of $25,000 be set aside to cover the necessary expenses of the work for six months. The descriptive name selected by Secretary Baker for the new organization was The Committee on Classification of Personnel in the Army. It was placed under the jurisdiction of The Adjutant General, rather than in the War College, or in the Council of National Defense, because it was felt that its work should be done in most direct contact with the officers who were immediately responsible for the personnel of the army. Major General H. P. McCain kept it under his immediate personal supervision, instead of incorporating it in one of the already established divisions of the Adjutant General's Office, because its duties were without precedent and also because he had the vision to see as not many men did at the time, what a tremendously far reaching and diffi- cult task was being undertaken. COMMITTEE ON CLASSIFICATION 57 THE COMMITTEE ORGANIZES The original membership of the Committee consisted of ten university psychologists who had specialized in the study of human traits and abilities, and two employment man- agers who had had extensive practical experience in the selection and placement of workers. The Committee began operations at once. At its first formal meeting in the Mun- sey Building offices of the National Research Council, August 7th, Drs. Bingham, Dodge, Scott, Thorndike and Yerkes were present. Dr. Thorndike was elected Chairman, and Dr. Scott, Executive Secretary. Provisional assignments of re- sponsibilities were agreed upon, not only for the members present, but also for those who had not yet reached Wash- ington, including J. R. Angell, R. C. Clothier, H. L. Gard- ner, J. F. Shepard, E. K. Strong, Jr., L. M. Terman, and J. B. Watson. Two weeks later a new position was created, that of Di- rector; and the man elected to fill it was Dr. Scott, who more than any one else had been responsible for initiating the whole enterprise. Dr. Thorndike continued in the capacity of Chairman. The functions of these two men became analagous to the functions of the President or General Manager of a concern, who is responsible for administration, and the Chairman of the Board, who retains the reins in the determin- ation of general policy. The position of Executive Secretary made vacant by Dr. Scott's acceptance of the Directorship, was filled by Dr. Bingham who held that post throughout the period of the Committee's activities, and who also, as second in command to the Director, exercised his functions in his absence. Some Early Tasks. Among the first duties assigned to the Committee was an apparently insignificant one; namely, the revision, for the Air Division of the Signal Corps, of the application blank for recording the personal history and qualifications of applicants for admission to the aviation 58 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL schools. The supply of the long four-page folders then in use was exhausted, and the printing .of a fresh edition had been ordered. Although the old blank called for a great deal of detailed information that was never used, and failed to provide for other information that would have been helpful in deciding on the prospective officer's qualifications, the officers in charge were going ahead with re-printing .without attempt at revision because they were so overwhelmed with work that they had no time to pause to make improvements. So as soon as the responsible officer, Major Van Horn, learned of the establishment of the Committee, he asked that it under- take the revision of the application blank. This work had to be done in the briefest possible time, and so all available members of the committee turned to. The results of their combined efforts were presented to the Signal Corps by J. B. Watson, and crude as they were, were so gratefully received that Dr. Watson was forthwith asked to accept a major's commission in the Signal Corps, and to as- sume responsibility for organizing and supervising the exam- ining boards which were to make recommendations of candi- dates for training in the Air Service. Dr. Thorndike, an in- defatiguable and prolific worker, also cooperated with the Signal Corps in improving the methods of selection of both officers and men. The Quartermaster Corps asked help in preparing qualifi- cation record plans for use in the training courses soon to be opened at Camp Joseph E. Johnston, and Mr. Gardner and Dr. Shepard were detailed to adapt the principles of the rat- ing scale to the requirements of that school and to work out a convenient system for recording progress. Dr. Dodge was assigned to cooperate with the Coast Artil- lery, and made a visit to the Coast Defenses at Fort Monroe, Va., to, see whether there was any need there for methods of selecting gun pointers and men to be trained for the fire- control squad, similar to those he had been developing for the Navy. COMMITTEE ON CLASSIFICATION 59 Dr. Angell, who had some familiarity with the training of Ordnance officers, was asked to keep in touch with the per- sonnel problems of that Corps. He also helped Dr. Scott and other members of the Committee in adapting the officers' rating scale to the requirements of different bureaus and Corps. Dr. Scott's chief task aside from his multifarious executive duties was to work with Major Grenville Clark and the other officers of the Adjutant General's Department who were re- drafting plans for the next series of Reserve Officrs' Train- ing Camps. Dr. Terman gave full time until October 1, as the special representative of the Committee to assist the Medical Depart- ment in the further development of psychological methods, a task in which he had some help from other members of the Committee, particularly Dr. Thorndike and Dr. Bingham. Intelligence Testing Separated From Personnel Work. The question has been frequently asked why this intelligence testing was done under the Surgeon General instead of being an integral part of the personnel system as administered by the Adjutant General. The answer is not a logical but an historical reason. When the project for establishing the Committee on Classi- fication of Personnel was first beginning to take shape, Dr. Yerkes was already arranging his personal affairs prelim- inary to accepting a commission in the Medical Department pursuant to the recommendation of the National Research Council. Dr. Bingham wired urging him not to accept the commission because of the prospect of what appeared to be a larger opportunity for usefulness on the proposed Committee on Classification of Personnel. When the Committee was finally organized Dr. Yerkes was appointed one of the mem- bers; but his original project for developing the psychological work in the Surgeon General's Office was already so well ad- vanced that it seemed clearly unwise to abandon it, and to begin anew with another project which if successful would 60 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL have resulted in the development of the psychological exam- ining and its incorporation as an organic part of the camp personnel work, all under the supervision of the Adjutant General's Department. To this sequence of circumstances rather than to any well considered principle of organization, is attributable the fact that personnel classification, including the systematic interviewing and trade-testing of the recruits, was administered by the Adjutant General's Department, while the mental testing was done by the Medical Depart- ment, and only the results of the tests turned over to the per- sonnel adjutant's office for recording on the soldiers' qualifi- cation cards. Indeed, the question of a merger of the psycho- logical service with the personnel service was raised repeat- edly during the fifteen months following the establishment of the Committee on Classification of Personnel, such a sug- gestion originating sometimes from the office of the Secre- tary of War, and sometimes from the Surgeon General's Office, or from the War Plans Division, or from officers in the camps. But the answer always seemed clear that, although the services logically belonged together, it was unwise under the circumstances to swap horses in the middle of the stream. Quarters in the War Building. At the beginning of its work the committee was provided by the National Research Council with office quarters in the Munsey Building on E Street, near Fourteenth, which at that time housed the Coun- cil of National Defense. But it was evident from the start that the best work could be done only if the Committee were located right in the War Building, where were not only the offices of the Secretary of War, the Chief of Staff, and the Adjutant General, but also the chiefs of most of the other War Department Bureaus. So the Committee counted itself fortunate when on August 24- it was given Room 526, a sort of attic room with one small window, on the fifth floor of the State, War and Navy Building. Adjoining it was Room 528, a large and ornately furnished "cathedra.1," as it was dubbed. As the work of the Committee grew, the space assigned to it COMMITTEE ON CLASSIFICATION 61 steadily expanded until it included not only the "cathedral" but ten other rooms as well. The record of this expansion in the scope of the Com- mittee's responsibilities is found in later chapters of this volume. Only one step in that development will here be touched upon, but that is a step of utmost moment. The Beginnings of Expansion. At one of the first informal conferences of the Committee the question was raised as to what provision was being made to render available for the use of mustering and assignment officers in the National Army cantonments the information regarding the occupations and qualifications of drafted men which had been obtained by the local draft boards by means of the questionnaires. It was thought that the Committee might be of some assistance in perfecting the blanks and forms which would be utilized for this purpose when, three or four weeks later, the stream of selective service men would begin to flow from all parts of the nation into the cantonments. Some preliminary inquiries were made as to who was preparing those plans. It was found that the Provost Mar- shal General's Office had taken no steps in that direction because it was charged only with responsibility for examining and selecting the recruits and delivering them to the Army. It had nothing to do with them after their arrival at camp. The information on the questionnaires, as far as that office was concerned, would remain with the local boards. Inquiries in various offices of the War Department brought the assur- ance that the matter was being provided for, but no one seemed able to tell just who had it in hand; so that soon the apprehension deepened into the conviction that no one at all had been definitely charged with responsibility for classifying the recruits of the new National Army, and assigning them according to their abilities. When the situation was brought to the attention of Major General McCain he directed the Committee to undertake this work, to draw up plans for an adequate soldier classification and placement system, and also 62 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL to prepare to put those plans into operation. The Committee empowered Mr. Clothier to supervise the preparation of these plans and arrangements. This move marked the early transition of the Committee from its original status as an advisory, research and planning group, to an organization with executive and supervisory responsibilities as well. Here was to be its largest single task and its greatest opportunity for service. If this duty could be fully met, the wealth of skill and talent and special- ized experience which the nation was about to pour unstintedly into the ranks of the expanded Army, would not be wasted or lost, but would be judiciously used where the most pressing military needs required. The establishment of the Committee on Classification of Personnel in the Army is to be credited to five men: Secre- tary Newton D. Baker, who recognized the necessity for the utilization of the best ability of the country in this phase of the task of mobilization and training; Major General H. P. McCain, who foresaw as few regular army officers did, how complex and how vital was the impending personnel problem; Major Grenville Clark, who was deeply concerned about the need for an adequate supply of able, trained officers, and who from the very first perceived the value of systematic per- sonnel work in sifting and conserving officer material in the training camps; Dr. Frederick P. Keppel, who as Assistant to the Secretary of War, in early July first brought the whole matter to the attention of the military authorities and who in countless instances since that day has proven himself a power- ful supporter of the work; and Dr. Walter Dill Scott, who first conceived the idea, and whose faith in the cause, coupled with his tremendous energy and devotion, enabled him to accomplish for the Army a truly distinguished service. CHAPTER 6 INTRODUCTION OF PERSONNEL WORK INTO THE CAMPS ADOPTION OF SOLDIER'S QUALIFICATION CARD Shortly after the Committee on Classification of Personnel was organized, it was realized that the work to be done was so diversified that particular assignments must be given to the individual members of the Committee. Accordingly, the matter of installing personnel work in the National Army was assigned to Mr. Clothier and Dr. Angell. Several days were given over to the preparation of a classi- fication card to record the individual abilities and qualifications of the men in the national army. Finally, on August 23, the form was sufficiently completed to go to press. The form decided upon was a card, comprising questions covering all essential information about the man, a list of the principal kinds of skill needed by the army, so far as it was possible at that early date to determine them, and a set of numbers along the top of the card corresponding to numbers indicating the kinds of skill below. The plan provided for colored celluloid tabs to be affixed on the proper numbers at the top of the cards to indicate at a glance the cards belonging to men having certain kinds of skill. On the afternoon of August 23, 1917, The Adjutant Gen- eral, Major General H. P. McCain approved the card and gave orders to go ahead, stipulating only that the card should be shown to the officer who had charge of all forms, in order to avoid any conflict with existing forms. Due to certain difficulties, among which was the impossibility of filing the card due to the tabbing system according to the 63 64 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL A. G. O. system, it was finally decided not to print the cards as an A. G. O. form. In consequence, the form was given the initials of the Committee on Classification of Personnel and became Form CCP-1, the first of the many forms devised and issued by the Committee. For this printing a supplementary appropriation of $26,000 was approved. (A more detailed discussion of the development of this card is presented in Chapter 11). INTRODUCTION INTO NATIONAL ARMY CAMPS Early Plans at Washington, On August 29th, Dr. Scott, Dr. Bingham, Major Grenville Clark and Mr. Clothier went to the War College to see whether the War College had devised any plans for assigning men in the canton- ments to places in the Army for which they were specially fitted. The group was introduced to Colonel P. D. Loch- ridge, Director of the War College, who explained that he had just ordered telegrams issued to all the national army and national guard cantonments ordering them to give atten- tion to the placement of men according to their kinds of skill. These telegrams, however, failed to suggest any method of accomplishing this result. When Dr. Scott explained the Committee plan to Colonel Lochridge, Colonel Lochridge reacted favorably at once and called the War Department on the telephone to hold the telegrams which he had ordered sent out. Colonel Lochridge requested that the plan be applied at once to both national army and national guard camps, but it was recognized that by attempting too much the group might accomplish too little, and Dr. Scott explained, therefore, that for the present the Committee would restrict its efforts to the men of the national army. Colonel Lochridge's telegram was sent to the Commanding Generals of the national guard can- tonments but later reports showed that the results were almost negligible. It was felt that the \vork would not properly function in INTRODUCTION OF PERSONNEL 65 the camps unless it were supervised by an officer with at least the rank of captain. It quickly became apparent that the camp work would require a man of intelligence and ability, corresponding in a crude way to the employment manager of an industrial concern and that in no manner could this work be regarded as statistical or clerical in nature if it was really to prove of value to the army. On August 25, 1917, therefore, Major (later Col.) Jens Bugge sent the following telegram to each of the national army cantonments : "Division Commander: You will detail for work in assignment of drafted men in your cantonment a Captain of Reserve Officers' Corps to cooperate with Committee on Classification of Person- nel in Army. Should be trained business man, an em- ployer of labor if possible and familiar with advanced employment practices. Order him to report to Scott Saturday morning, Sept. 1, 9 A. M., Room 526, War Building, Washington. McCAIN." Because of the shortness of the time remaining before the first drafted men would reach camp, it was felt desirable to undertake the work at first in only four cantonments, thereby in actual practice determining the best ways and means of getting the maximum results. On this basis the Committee would be prepared, when the second draft entered camp, to install a system tested in actual experience. Owing to the postponment of the draft by ten days, however, Major Bugge's advice to go ahead at once in all sixteen cantonments, pre- vailed. He explained that this was not the time to take half- way steps ; that the nation was at war and that it was better to go ahead on a big scale and make mistakes than to go ahead on a small scale and make none. Plans for Supervision of Work. From the very outset the Committee recognized the need for supervision of the work in the camps. It was felt that owing to the geographi- 66 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL cal distance between the camps, an artificial means of co- ordinating the work in all would be necessary, if individ- ual practices were not to spring up in each which would tend to nullify the effectiveness of the whole organization. Furthermore, the Committee appreciated the need of in- structing the personnel officers in their duties and of educat- ing them to a full conception of the possibilities and the value of their work. It was decided, therefore, that for this supervisory work the Committee should procure from industrial concerns, which had installed advanced employment methods in their own organizations, employment managers of training and experience. The appropriation for the salaries and expenses of these employment managers had not yet been approved, but so great was the confidence of the Committee in the necessity for the help of these men and in the inevitable approval of the work that Mr. Gardner and Mr. Clothier started out on the morn- ing of August 30, 1917 to secure these sixteen men. Mr. Gardner went to New England and through New York state to Buffalo; Mr. Clothier went to Philadelphia, Newark, New York and Chicago. Dr. Scott operated from Washington by telegraph. This campaign for men took about a week and re- sulted in enlisting the service of Philip Brasher, Chile Explor- ation Company, New York City; William Clark, International Harvester Company, Chicago; N. F. Dougherty, Pennsylvania Railroad Company, Philadelphia; J. W. Dietz, Western Elec- tric Company, Chicago; C. R. Dooley, Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company, East Pittsburgh, Pa.; R. B. King, Hyatt Roller Bearing Company, Newark; W. S. Mac- Arthur, Armour and Company, Chicago; W. A. Sawyer, American Pulley Company, Philadelphia; J. E. Sheridan, Crane Company, Chicago; A. J. Turner, Washington Water Power Company, Spokane, Wash. ; Kendall Weisiger, Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Company, Atlanta, Ga. ; C. J. Whipple, Hibbard, Spencer, Bartlett and Company, Chicago; M. M. Jones, Thomas A. Edison Inc., Orange, N. J.; Philip INTRODUCTION OF PERSONNEL 67 J. Reilly, Dennison Manufacturing Company, Framingham, Mass. ; R. H. Puffer, Larkin Company, Buffalo. Original Orders to Camp Commanders. In order that the Division Commanders might be acquainted with the Army's plans for the proper placement of personnel and the purpose of the telegram of August 25, the following telegram was issued on August 29 : "Commanding General: A careful study will be made of the abilities of the drafted men of your command with a view to ascertaining their special qualifications for duty in the different branches of the service. To assist you in doing this work in a systematic manner a plan has been formulated by the Committee on Classification of Personnel in the Army recently appointed by Secretary of War. Plan provides for securing data concerning the educa- tion, occupation and special qualifications of each drafted man. There will be a simple qualification record for each man, these to be assembled and analyzed in a Personnel Office in each cantonment under charge of a Personnel Officer selected by Division Commander. Forms, filing cases and expert civilian assistance will be furnished by the Committee on Classifica- tion of Personnel. Further details will be furnished shortly. The meeting of Personnel Officers which your Division Per- sonnel Officer has been directed to attend in Washington, September 8th is in connection with this work. McCAIN." Supplementing this telegram the following letter was issued on September 5, in which the relationship that was to exist between the Committee and the Army was emphasized. "From: The Adjutant General. To: Division Commander at Subject: Classification of Personnel in the Cantonment. "1. The classification of men in the cantonment as to their occupational qualifications will be made jointly by a civilian expert supplied by the Committee on Classification of Per- sonnel in the Army and the Personnel Officer already ap- pointed by you. Major Jones of the Statistical Department, The Adjutant General's Office, Washington, D. C., is direct- ing the three statistical officers in your camp to cooperate in so far as they are not otherwise occupied. 68 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL "2. The relationship between the expert supplied by the Committee on Classification of Personnel in the Army and the Personnel Officer is that between a manager in a concern and a certified public accountant temporarily called in by the firm to install a new system of accounting. The Personnel Officer will report to the Division Adjutant concerning all matters dealing with the classification of men in the cantonment. But in all matters dealing with the installation of the system the expert supplied by the Committee will have full charge. As soon as the Committee feels that the system has been thor- oughly established the expert will be withdrawn and the Per- sonnel Officer will be left in full charge. It is anticipated that the services of the expert will be needed for ten weeks and they have volunteered their services on that understanding. "3. The furniture for the Personnel Office has already been ordered by the Quartermaster General's Office and shipped in care of the Personnel Officer. " ! ! ! ! i O" it c-fl _ C-" w v 8 a O P*a jilliii] 122 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL For the first card ignores the item entirely, and there was no thought in September, 1917, of subdividing trades except into the 49 main groups listed upon the card. By October, 1917, however, the necessity of such details had been recognized and the edition of October 20 gives two lines to this item. There- after there was a steady increase in emphasis upon it, until in the edition of November 1, 1918, (never actually used; see Figs. 10, 11, Vol. II), a total of eight lines was devoted to this item covering the main occupation, the 2nd best and the 3rd best. Strangely enough the importance of recording the details as to the 2nd and 3rd best occupation, did not appear until the February 1, 1918 edition. Before that date such informa- tion was recorded only to the extent of underlining the occu- pations as listed, once for apprentice skill, twice for journey- man skill. From then on until the November 1st edition there was no change in this respect. From the very beginning it was planned to divide all the men into three groups with respect to their main occupation ; first, those with very little experience ; second, apprentices ; third, journeymen and experts grouped together. This divi- sion has been maintained throughout almost without change. Dating from the February 1 edition of the card, a fourth group, i.e., the experts, was recognized as distinct from jour- neymen. But it has played but small part in the system. The method of determining whether a man belonged to one group or another has, however, changed very markedly. At the beginning, the interviewer underlined the occupation in the list, once for apprentice skill, twice for journeyman skill. After the man had been interviewed, a classifier read over the card and made the estimate. This was shown for an apprentice by affixing an orange celluloid tab to the top of the card directly over the index number corresponding to his trade. In the same way a green tab was used for a journey- man. For example, if a man was an apprentice draftsman and a journeyman carpenter, an orange tab was affixed at 29 and SOURCES OF INFORMATION 123 a green tab at 8. Dating from the February 1 revision, the interviewer was called upon to record his estimate of the man's skill by circling one of the three letters, "A.," "J." and "E." This forced him to do better interviewing as he had to secure sufficient details to enable him to make such a judg- ment. The classifier would then revaluate the card. Dis- crepancies in their estimates were utilized as the basis for discussion at regular conferences, as a result of which there came about better and better interviewing and classification. In May, 1918, trade-tests (see chapter 30 for details) were introduced into Army camps. On the basis of these actual try-outs of a man's skill, he was judged a novice, apprentice, journeyman, or expert. This was recorded in an appropriate space on the card (See June 1, 1918 edition, Figure 1.) The classifier was still looked upon, however, as one who was privi- leged to grade the man for example, as journeyman, if his judgment dictated such a classification, even if the interviewer and trade-tester had both graded him apprentice. But actu- ally the trade-test determined the rating of the man's skill in practically every case where it was used. (Further discus- sion of classifying and tabbing cards is presented on pages 109 to 115, Volume II). A further improvement in recording the man's occupational history appears in the sub-division of occupations and the requirement that interviewers, trade testers and classifiers assign the men to definite sub-divisions. At first carpenters were either apprentice or journeyman carpenters. No dis- tinction was made between bridge carpenters and cabinet makers so far as the classification of the men went. In prac- tice it was not so bad as it sounds, for if a requisition for cabinet makers or railroad car carpenters was received, the cards of all carpenters would first of all be taken from the file and then the descriptive matter on each card would be read over in order to discover the cabinet makers or railroad car carpenters. Thousands of men were properly selected in this manner, but many others were not selected so well. This 124 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL V OD S > . m | ~ '- S 6 e U S jc u . 3 o, y. i? i 'rt- ,|i j i g 1 i & ^ M O- 8 69 VI F* A II u G& S X C a 6 O 8 H ff I ^.coooodoj o. it it ej a N> 5* 1 1 *i X = -fc II i t S S ' '1 S *J ^ s. a t .5 E a^ 8 >. ^ *C a X 4 ?r e V T s *s e t 4 I i s . E X CO s |? '| . a | 4 el r ' : * g'B'-^CS^^^O*' S"*< s r* *3 i < s < <3 K a y > b ' Q H * 3 C S S A V. u. c A 44 * id j o - ~- n- ri ^ 4 vi i r '& i f ; *o E O h _ 1 1 S It" S g. -o E S r c 3 a *J w ^ i * V .e ' k 1 J I E -I 1 pj 1 -b t 's I * 2 t e ? ; i -s 3 j 33 H H.S ii 1 J3 * 5 u o Sou y c .5 j, ".S tJ 2 S o ^ a "5 o^.-p^ ui;--j= o c 1 1 'S ^M '*" ^ 00 > ' 2 = =':::??" t'tt'is? 8 5 O ' ! 1 S ; S i S 1 r B Ls 1 j | i S , 03 >: 1 | Oij i 1 ^H i l!,]R |c ifflC M "!il|j g **" . S S - g >> [ 2 >. a . ^^ (N ^ 2 T 1 ; M '- ^1-7- a H H A a o" l s -s 1 J i I i s ?-s < -i : S Pi E -a H O ,-g g.I j^ 3 a w ! o? -HO H 0) H c o .s| { * ill .2 .. oj.2 -H | CM -P H .ti .s -S gi ! > 2 "I .s e3 cri a i* * ** c *o a i - 5 "-S go EL 9 *9 >,J B K A B g ii2 5^ >S _g ^ ^ 3 1 * ro : "^* ** e 1 o - 1 -g "f - 1 ^1 1 1 S c a rt 1 ! i J !| - s 1 Jj wi ^. x s * x B S "^ > ** ! ^ a 1 - 3 & - -JS SB U s 8 * g 1 "9 1 1 1 ' ^ 5 " z6izta<^ j >-" .2 Jj .2 -c 56 S JJJIS o > o Q 1 1 S -S g-S 1 ^'6-WOOOI-l-dDD -N J SOURCES OF INFORMATION 125 126 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL method threw upon the file-clerks the task of determining ability, rather than upon the classifier, whose special duty it was to do just this. On October 20, 1917, the first index of occupations appeared. It contained in addition to the 49 main occupations, 37 supplementary occupations and these 86 main groups were sub-divided into 165 sub-divisions. Each sub- division was given a code letter, for example, 8. Carpenter at Boat Builder y Carriage Maker av Form Carpenter cy Saw Filer j 1 Wagon Maker mg 67. Chemical Industry Worker bb Etc. Instructions were issued to classify men under these 165 sub-divisions and to record at the top of the card next to the tab the appropriate code letters. In this way when such sub-divisions as boat builders, were required, cards tabbed at 8 could be quickly inspected and only those cards with the letter "y" beside the tab would be considered. This scheme was put into operation in only a few camps, largely because of the difficulty of remembering the meaning of the symbols. On February 1, proof of what was then on hand of a rather complete index of Army occupations was issued. This index listed 50 main occupations and 45 supplementary ones with a total of 575 sub-divisions. A new code system was introduced, made up of a number and letter or letters, the letters in each case being suggestive of the occupation. For example: Carpenters 8 Boat 8b Bridge (Timber) 8br Cabinet Maker 8cb Car Decker 8cr Etc. SOURCES OF INFORMATION 127 This mnemonic device was immediately taken up by the men in the personnel offices and shortly after a bridge carpenter was referred to almost generally as "8br." But the symbols were not placed at the top of the cards to any great extent. On the June 1 edition of the qualification card appeared for the first time a definite place for the symbols (see page 120). Thereafter they were used universally. The interviewer was required to record under what sub-division of an occupation the man should be put and how good he was at it. This resulted not only in having the facts recorded but also in a decided improvement in the interviewing as it forced a com- plete statement of just what the man had done in order to make the classification. Education. In recounting a man's achievements, we have besides his occupational history, his education to consider. The first qualification card to be used (see page 125) called for: Grade reached (last reader used) in school Years in High School Did you graduate ? Years in College Did you graduate ? Subjects of specialization Years in Technical School .... Did you graduate ? Name course pursued Years in Trade or Business School Name course pursued A month and a half later, the new revision called in addition for the name of the College, the Technical School, and the Trade or Business School. So much confusion had arisen because interviewers did not know the nature of an educational institution and so were crediting "years in college" for a business college, etc., that this measure became imperative. No further changes were made except to reorganize the arrange- ment for the space devoted to this subject (see page 121). The February 1 revision included space for the first time for "Army Training School Certificates, etc." No change was made in this item until the June 1 revision when the space was doubled and information was called for as to location of 128 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL school, weeks spent at school, whether man graduated or not, the nature of the course, and the rating in terms of apprentice, journeyman or expert. There were three kinds of schools to which this space was devoted. First pre-enlistment courses conducted by the Federal Board for Vocational Education; second, post-enlistment but pre-service courses conducted by the Committee on Education and Special Training; and third, army courses to which soldiers were detailed as an integral part of their training. Such courses gave instruction in wire- less telegraphy, horseshoeing, auto repair, etc. Certificates were furnished students in the first two types of courses as to their proficiency and it was data taken from these certifi- cates that was recorded in this space. Due to a lack of a thorough-going standardization of instruction or manner of expressing the results obtained by the students, a great deal of trouble was experienced in classifying the graduates to the satisfaction of the students, their instructors and the Army personnel system. As far as possible, however, such students were assigned to units where their training could be put to use. (See telegram of March 23, 1918, from A. G. O.) In- formation as to graduation from the third type of instruction was much more difficult to handle as the men were constantly attending such schools and division or camp headquarters was ordinarily not notified. As early as February 12 it was recog- nized that such information should be secured and in one division orders were issued requiring instructors in charge to report to the personnel officer. Ability to speak foreign languages was called for on the first card. The information desired was : Do you speak French well? German? Any other language? The wording of the first question was changed in the Febru- ary 1 revision to "Can you carry on a conversation in French?" This was done in the expectation of eliminating all but those who could actually speak fluently in the foreign tongue. In SOURCES OF INFORMATION 129 the June 1 edition this was revised to provide space for "fairly well" and "fluently." Just before this change a sur- vey had shown that only 10% of those claiming ability in French and but 40% in German could really speak well enough to act as interpreters. Following this disclosure most personel offices established the custom of checking all state- ments as to language ability through the use of interviewers who could speak the language. At one time one office main- tained interpreters in 26 languages. Commencing with the February 1 revision, the cards of men unable to speak English (non-E), or who were illiterate (L), were checked. Such men were not assigned important positions. To some extent also they were assigned to com- panies where they could secure training in speaking English. But most of this latter function was handled as a company matter. To what use was all this information concerning education and languages put? The amount and kind of schooling was utilized mainly as background information as to how good the man probably was at his civilian trade. The presence of technical training always counted in favor of the man's experience. Its absence also counted against him. For example, a "civil engineer" with no schooling above grammar school was scrutinized most carefully before being recorded as more than a surveyor. Besides serving in a background way, high school or college graduates were very frequently selected when men of leadership ability were called for. It has already been explained that students in the Army Training Schools were assigned as far as possible to units where their training could be utilized. In the case of foreign language ability, we have a situation directly comparable to occupational ability. Requisitions from the War Department for men who could speak French were frequent. And as far as possible men who could speak French and German were distributed so that each company would have one of each. But there were far too few such linguists to accomplish much 130 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL along this line. The system of classifying linguists was not upon their ability to speak the language but upon their ability to act as interpreters. As a good interpreter must speak and write both languages and be fairly intelligent and well- educated, foreigners were not tabbed unless they knew Eng- lish. They were green tabbed at 52 for French, 53 for German, and 54 for other languages if they knew both lan- guages and had had some high school work or its equivalent. They were orange tabbed if they spoke both languages but had had less education. Leadership Experience. The first card carried the state- ment, "Describe the job or enterprises in which you exercised the greatest authority or leadership; such as foreman, mana- ger, captain, etc.," with four lines for the answer. The space was cut to three lines in the October 20 revision and to one line in the February 1 revision. During the first few months the answer to this question was found of very great value as it recorded the most important thing the man had done in the way of leadership. When the space carried such statements as "Taught Sunday School class of 8 boys," or "Managed farm, 2 laborers," one did not select the man for a job calling for leadership qualities. In the last few months this space was largely ignored for leadership information, the psycho- logical intelligence rating having largely taken its place in this respect. The fact, however, that the November 1, 1918 revision provides two lines of space for the information and it is still retained on the face of the card is positive proof of its very great value in aiding the classifier properly to evalu- ate the man. The first card provided that leadership should be tabbed at 50. The second card (Oct. 20) eliminated this feature, substituting construction foreman ;instead. Leadership is hardly a primary quality and only primary qualities should be tabbed. If one wants a boss carpenter, he will first of all "pull" all carpenters tabbed at 8, and then go over the cards to find that one with the greatest boss experience. But he SOURCES OF INFORMATION 131 would not first of all select "leaders" and then look for carpenters. It was found that this was universally the case. There is no question that the majority of men who have shown leadership ability in civil life made good as leaders in the Army in the United States. Experience at the front has demonstrated, on the other hand, that many men judged in terms of past performance fail at the crucial moment and that often a man who has never before shown any aptitude for leadership assumes command in time of emergency. The world has much to learn before leaders may be selected with any high expectation of ultimate success. Military History. The fourth record of achievement is that of military experience. Information of that sort was called for on the first card under the caption "Outline any previous military experience you have had, giving grade, period of service and organization," and four lines of space was reserved for the information. Military experience was to be tabbed at 54, but that was eliminated on February 1. At the same time the space devoted to this subject was cut to two lines. Exper- ience has shown that this information is little used by a camp or division personnel officer. And it is a fair question whether space should be devoted to it on the card. The company commander has the information in the Service Record and discovers the fact as soon as the recruit appears. Another phase of military history has reference not to the man's military experience before entering the Army but after he has been in the Army some time. Provision for recording this was made on the June 1 revision of the card. Twenty-six army specialties were listed and a system of tabbing provided to indicate proficiency in them. As request for this innovation came from France it was assumed that it would be used in the Expeditionary Forces. So far no reference to its use in any way has been received at Washington. Conclusion: Record of Achievement. The four sub-divisions of his previous record; occupational history, education, capa- city for leadership, and military career have been reviewed. 132 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL The Army experience has been that the facts can be ascer- tained if trained interviewers are employed. And that experi- ence has demonstrated the great value of knowing and utiliz- ing all this information the first three items by the personnel officer and the fourth by the company commander, if not by the personnel officer. THE SOLDIER'S SCORE IN SPECIAL TESTS It will be recalled that four principal methods of estimating a man's worth and usefulness were set forth. His record of achievement has been discussed and the second his score in special tests is now before us for consideration. Two such tests were used, one to test his general intelligence and the other to test his ability in a specific trade. Intelligence Tests. These tests are discussed at some length in Chapter X of Vol. II and it is sufficient to state here that in each camp a Psychological Examiner was stationed, com- missioned in the Medical Department. All soldiers were given the tests and as a result were graded either "A," "B," "C-f ," "C," "C ," "D," "D ," or "E." "E" men, including approximately one-half of one per cent of the recruits, were ordinarily discharged. The meaning of the letter ratings is as follows: A. Very Superior Intelligence. This grade is earned by only four or five soldiers out of a hundred. The "A" group is composed of men of marked intellectuality. Such men are of high officer type when they are also endowed with leader- ship and other necessary qualities. B. Superior Intelligence. "B" intelligence is superior, but less exceptional than that represented by "A." The rating "B" is obtained by eight to ten soldiers out of a hundred. The group contains a good many men of the commissioned officer type and a large amount of non-commissioned officer material. C+. High Average Intelligence. This group includes about fifteen to eighteen per cent of all soldiers and contains a large amount of non-commissioned officer material with occasionally SOURCES OF INFORMATION 133 a man whose leadership and power to command fit him for commissioned rank. C. Average Intelligence. Includes about twenty-five per cent of soldiers. Excellent private type with a certain amount of fair non-commissioned officer material. C . Low Average Intelligence. Includes about twenty per cent. While below average in intelligence, "C " men are usually good privates and satisfactory in work of routine nature. D. Inferior Intelligence. Includes about fifteen per cent of soldiers. "D" men are likely to be fair soldiers, but are usually slow in learning and rarely go above the rank of private. They are short on initiative and so require more than the usual amount of supervision. Many of them are illiterate or foreign. D and E. Very Inferior Intelligence. This group is divided into two classes (l) "D " men, who are very inferior in intelligence but are considered fit for regular service; and (2) "E" men, those whose mental inferiority justifies their recommendation for Development Battalion, special service organization, rejection, or discharge. The immense contrast between "A" and "D " intelligence is shown by the fact that men of "A" intelligence have the ability to make a superior record in college or university, while "D " men are of such inferior mentality that they are rarely able to go beyond the third or fourth grade of the ele- mentary school, however long they attend. In fact, most "D " and "E" men are below the "mental age" of 10 years and at best are on the border-line of mental deficiency. "B" intelligence is capable of making an average record in college, "C+" intelligence cannot do so well, while mentality of the "C" grade is rarely equal to high school graduation. The principal use to which this information was put was to see to it that each company or battery had its pro rata share of intelligence; in other words, that each had its share of super- ior men intellectually, of average men, and of inferior men. 134 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL The information was also utilized as an aid in determining how good a man was at his trade. For example, a carpenter of two years' experience, earning $30.00 a week before the war and of "B" intelligence would be rated a journeyman, whereas a carpenter of five years' experience, earning $18.00 a week and of "D" intelligence would be rated an apprentice. The "B" man could undoubtedly learn in 2 years what the "D" man could not learn in five years, hence it would be fair to rate them in terms of their earnings instead of their years of experience. These intelligence scores were used in many camps in select- ing men for Officers' Training Schools. In some camps men of "C " or lower intelligence were not accepted, as it was learned from experience that practically none could do the work. And to a limited extent when the armistice was signed, men were being assigned to units in terms of their intelligence. Headquarters Companies, Machine Gun Companies, etc., were being made up of men of "A" to "C " intelligence, but not of "D" men. The intelligence score was recorded in the space marked "I" (Intelligence) upon the qualification card. Provision for this was made, dating from the very first card. Trade Tests. A trade test measures the ability of the man to do the work of a particular trade and gives him a score in terms of "N" (novice), "A" (apprentice), "J" (journeyman), and "E" (expert). Some tests are oral in nature and test his knowledge; others require him to do some carefully selected task which is known to be typical of that trade. They are discussed at some length in Chapter 29 and also in Chapter VI of Volume II. They were first introduced into the army at Camp Joseph E. Johnston in May, 1918, and by August, 1918, were established in all the Depot Brigade camps and several of the Staff Corps camps. Space for the record of one trade test was provided in the March 15 revision of the card, space for three tests in the June 1 revision, and for eight tests in the November 1 revision. SOURCES OF INFORMATION 135 It was found from experience that some men had to be given as many as four or five tests and sometimes more than that before all of their varied experience had beenj properly covered. The reason for so many tests can be appreciated when it is realized that seven tests were sometimes necessary to test a general auto repairman, i.e., carburetor, magneto, general engine, general chassis, vulcanizing, battery repair, and radiator tests. In addition there was a test for driving an auto and another for driving a truck. It is needless to recount the value of such tests determining as they do with great accuracy just how good a man is at a particular trade. The following notice issued in the official bulletin of one of the large eastern camps indicates a new use for the trade tests, and at the same time shows how com- pletely they were established asr a means of determining the degree of trade skill possessed by a claimant. "All drivers of touring cars, motorcycles and trucks will be issued a driver's license by the Trade Test Officer. Any unlicensed drivers found driving touring cars, motorcycles or trucks will be reported to their company commanders. Licenses will not be interchangeable." Conclusion: Special Tests. The use of intelligence and trade tests in the Army marks the first great step toward a real science of personnel work. For here we have adequate methods of measuring the individual as to certain definite qualifications, and the results can be apprehended and used by any one at all familiar with them. The next steps in extending this science will be in the establishment of tests to cover the material discussed in the following section. THE ESTIMATE OF THE MAN AND OF OTHERS AS TO HIS QUALIFICATIONS The third principal method of estimating a man's usefulness is to be obtained from what he thinks of himself and from what others think of him. This third method was used in 136 estimating the man's interests, his character, and his occupa- tional skill as based on the opinion of former employers and friends. There is no other way of handling the first two. The latter has been very well taken care of in Army person- nel work through the use of trained interviewers and trade tests, as far as estimating his ability to do specific kinds of work, but not as to his personal habits of industry, faithful- ness, etc. The man's interests. From the earliest edition of the quali- fication card space was reserved in which to record the man's preference as to the branch of service he should enter. In the February 1 revision the item was changed to read, "State preference for branch of service and special duty in that branch." The additional information was requested as it was found that most recruits did not have a clear idea of the functions of the various branches of the service and conse- quently their preference for "Engineers" or "Signal Corps" was based on totally erroneous impressions. But recruits did know very often that they wanted to "work with horses," "drive a truck," "do electrical work," or " go over the top." The next revision (March 15) changed the wording to read, "Branch of service or special duty preferred," which freed the idea of "special duty" from any definite reference to "branch of service" a decided improvement. The information thus secured from the men was used to a considerable extent in the early days. When several men were being considered for special assignment, those were selected as far as possible who preferred that work. But later on, due to the shortage of specialists, the man's preference was considered less and less. This was undoubtedly a weakness of the system but came about very naturally in the rush of filling requisitions for thousands of specialists of all sorts and kinds each month. Future improvements in personnel work will make possible greater use of the man's preference and interests since it is very clear from many investigations, that what a man wants to do is generally indicative of what he SOURCES OF INFORMATION 137 can do, and when he is so placed he is much more contented and so raises the general morale of the whole unit. The Man's Character. In the early days no provision was made to secure information as to the man's character from interviewing him. But a special form CCP-3 (see Figure 3, next page), was prepared which was to be sent by the personnel officer to the man's former employer. It will be noted that the form calls for an estimate of the man's (a) trustworthiness, (b) general intelligence, (c) ability to super- vise and direct men, (d) ability to work with others, (e) his skill as a (trade entered on blank), and (f) the general esti- mate of the man's character and qualifications. The blank was never used, except in one camp, and no particular value was found for it there. Actually such information as "trust- worthiness" and "ability to work with others" is of little value in the Army although it is without doubt very important in industry. This is due to the organization of the Army under which the men must be fairly trustworthy and must work with others or suffer immediate consequences. The other items on the blank were covered in other ways: "General Intelligence" through actual tests; "ability to supervise and direct men" through information secured under leadership; "skill as " through careful interviewing and later trade tests. A new situation arose in June, 1918, which called for defi- nite information as to a man's character and ability. The draft was taking from essential industries many men needed therein, despite the regulations supposedly operative in the local boards. This brought about "furloughing to industry" many men thus drafted. On July 1 instructions were sent out by letter from The Adjutant General's Office, providing that a revised Form CCP-3 (see Figure 22, Volume II) be sent the former employer in the case of specialists designated by the War Department. These forms were mailed direct by the employer to The Adjutant General, where the claims for furloughing were considered. In the case of chemists a two- 138 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL page questionnaire (a mimeographed CCP form) was filled out by the man concerned and this was forwarded to The Adjutant General. Both papers were considered together be- fore assigning the man to a chemical unit, returning him to industry, or assigning him to other Army work. In the latter WAR DEPARTMENT The Adjutant General's Office (Commute, on Clnificiion of Pcrtonnel in the Army) From: Personnel Officer, To: (Name) The man whose r i (Job) appears . the T side states that he > Since he is being c< is employed by you at (P 1 ""*) sidered for a responsible position in the army, you are re- quested to answer the questions on the reverse side of this card. If you are not personally acquainted with his work, kindly have the questions answered by the manager, superintendent or other official in your Company best able to supply this information accurately. The Government assumes that you will answer fully, carefully, and with the utmost frankness. Your reply will be considered strictly confidential. A franked envelope is enclosed for your reply. Immediate attention to this matter is important. Form No. CCP-J. Pe Your estimate as to his ability in the following? How )6tog was he in your employ? years. In what capacity? 1 2 What was his last weekly wage? % . When did he leave you ? 3 Indicate answers by X in appropriate brackets. Very Aver- Very How do you rate hii Good Good age Poor Poor. a. Trustworthiness? ( )()()()(). b General intelligence? ( )()()()() c Ability to supervise and direct men ?-( )()()()() d Ability to work with others? ( )()()()() e. His skill as a ?-( )()()()(). General Remarks. _ Your personal estimate of the man's character and qualifications FIG. 3. Questionnaire to Employers (CCP Form 3, First Edition) (Original Size 4x7%) case such action resulted when it was felt that his claims as a chemist had little or no merit. This represents all that was attempted in the matter of sizing up a man's character as far as the personnel organiza- tion itself was concerned. And to date no adequate solution to the problem has been suggested which is operative for SOURCES OF INFORMATION 139 enlisted men in the Army. Attention should be called, how- ever, to one attempt at solving this problem. In introducing personnel work into the National Guard and Regular Army divisions a flying squadron of officers and enlisted men was established who handled the classifications by going from camp to camp. This group under the direction of Mr. Kendall Weisiger graded men as they interviewed them according to: A Physique B Intelligence C Leadership D Loyalty (1) Robust (1) Keen (1) Self-confi- (1) Intense dent (2) Average (2) Average (2) Average (2) Average (3) Poor (3) Dull (3) Retiring (3) Antago- nistic The instructions merely stated that "the great majority of men will fall within the middle class. To be significant both extremes should be used sparingly. After the interview is completed the interviewer will place the personality rating under 'Remarks' using the symbols shown in the table ex- pressed in the following manner: A-l, B-2, C-2, D-l." This system was utilized in classifying thousands of men but soon fell into disuse when it became apparent that inter- viewers showed great differences in the way in which they would rate the same man. For example, three exponents of the system rated a heavy built man as A-l, A-2, and A-3, on the different grounds that "he was robust," "fine-looking, but too fat to be called more than average," and "poor because too fat." Interest in "loyalty" survived after the other three items dis- appeared. And on the next revision of the card (Feb. l), space was provided for the birthplace of the soldier, of his father, of his mother and whether he was a citizen, had taken out first papers, or was an alien. In addition a square with the letters S. D. (suspected of disloyalty) was included. Those suspected of disloyalty on the basis of their birthplace or of their general behavior were checked in this square and their cases called to the attention of the Intelligence Officer. This 140 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL was a valuable addition to personnel work and has rendered very great service. THE MAN'S PHYSICAL CONDITION In the early days of the war there was no need for noting the man's physical condition as only physically fit were ac- cepted for service. Gradually, however, the feeling developed that this was a mistaken idea. Examples of this sort accumu- lated. A first class stenographer was not accepted because of flat feet, even though there was a great shortage of stenog- raphers. A $5,000 a year wholesale and retail shoe man was not accepted because he had poor eyesight, when he was needed by the Camp Quartermaster to handle the issuing of shoes and could be employed by the Government for $30.00 a month. Finally, in June, 1918, authority was granted to accept limited service men for service. This is' not the place to record the gradual development in regulations and methods pertaining to this subject. For that see Chapter 27. Suffice it to say that in the June 1 revision space was reserved for "Med. Class" (Medical Classification). In this space was written rating 1, 2 or 3. A rating 1 man was "satisfactory physically, mentally, and morally." Rating 2 included men physically fit yet found lacking in other respects, as for instance, uncertain ability to speak, read and write English, or of slow mentality. It also included men not quite fit for general military service but free from serious organic disease, and otherwise competent and desirable. These could be used for any domestic and any but the heaviest combat service (overseas). Rating 3 included those of such physical classi- fication that they could be utilized and their retention was warranted for restricted or limited domestic service. This classification was made by medical officers and per- sonnel officers and at first was recorded on a 5 x 8 card kept in the development battalions. This system was unsatis- factory as it involved the use of a second card and the records were not in the hands of the personnel officer. Besides this a SOURCES OF INFORMATION 141 still more serious objection was found in the rating system itself. These ratings involved a summary estimate of the physical, mental and moral condition of the man. Once made and recorded it meant little to one who then encountered it, for he could not tell, for example, whether rating 2 was due to poor physical condition, illiteracy, low intelligence or low morality, and weakness in these different qualities called for very different assignments. In consequence of this situation the November 1 revision of the qualification card was prepared. Upon the back of this card space was reserved for the Physical Findings with extra space for subsequent changes. As the card was never used, no evaluation of it from actual experience is possible but it was prepared after consideration of the whole situation. The plan provided that men accepted as limited service should be either immediately assigned to the depot brigade or, if their condition could be improved through special training, to the development battalion. In the former case their physical classification would be recorded on the face of the qualification card in the square entitled "Final Physical Classification." In the latter case the classification would be recorded on the back of the card in the square entitled "Preliminary Physical Classification." When the man graduated from the develop- ment battalion and was ready for assignment a final classifica- tion would be given him and entered on the face of the card. These physical classifications differed from the ratings first used in that they referred only to physical condition and did not include such factors as illiteracy, intelligence, etc. It was felt that such a system would provide the best results as in this way the personnel officer had before him on the card a complete statement as to the man's condition and each factor was recorded separately. In addition to this, the card provided space for the "Surgeon's O. K." opposite the man's main, second best, and third best occupations. If in the judgment of the medical officer his physical condition was such that he should not 142 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL engage in any particular occupational work in the Army the word "No" would be written in the appropriate square. For example, a construction foreman with a weak heart might be allowed to act as foreman but not as a carpenter. It is believed that this system would have made it fairly easy to handle rapidly and accurately limited service men, as well as the physically fit. Up to the time of the armistice it required considerable time per man to place them with due regard to their physical disqualifications; and if they had to be rapidly assigned as was so often the case, then little atten- tion to their individual defects was possible. Commencing with the October 20, 1917, revision the items "Height" and "Weight" were included on the card. They have been of considerable value in selecting men for certain units, as Machine Gun Battalions and Truck Units which required men of at least 150 pounds weight almost exclusively. CHAPTER 11 THE SOLDIERS' QUALIFICATION CARD The Soldiers' Qualification Card contains a record of all the information about him that is .deemed necessary in order to utilize his services to the greatest advantage in the Army. The first card used in the Army (September 1st, 1917) is illus- trated, pages 124 and 125. One subsequent revision, on June 1, 1918, is also shown on pages 120 and 121. These two editions with the edition of November 1 (see Fig. 10, 11, Vol. II) represent the important changes in the development of the card. In the preceding sections many details of the card have been discussed. It is the purpose of this section to present more general problems relating to the card as a whole. REQUIREMENTS FOR AN IDEAL CARD The fundamental requirements for the card were five in number. It should be as simple as possible; it should be ade- quate for the needs of the Army ; it should provide for a simple method of cross-indexing; it should provide for distinguishing between degrees of skill in a trade ; and it should fit a standard filing system. Because of the first two requirements, which were maintained to the end, items were never added until it was clear that they were really needed. The third requirement relative to cross-indexing demanded very careful study at the beginning. It was recognized that men would be useful along more than one line; and that the use of duplicate and even triplicate cards to show secondary and tertiary usefulnesses would be out of the question because of the difficulty of keep- ing all cards on one man properly located. A card suitable for use in the Hollerith machine was considered. Such cards 143 144 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL are admirable for statistical work. But a personnel card, altho used to some extent as the basis for statistics, is employed much more for other purposes. The cards are filed by com- panies and the main problem is to so organize the company that the right number of specialists are contained therein. Such balancing can be done better by glancing at the cards again and again than by running all the cards through the machine to discover how many men there are of a certain specialty. And again in selecting specialists one must always take into account not only the question of whether a man can do the work then needed but what else he can do. It would be folly for example, to assign a man to the Signal Corps because he was an electrician when the card shows also that he is an X-ray operator, most needed in the Base Hospital. Such dis- tinctions can hardly be made with Hollerith cards. The tab- bing system which was adopted eliminated the need for dupli- cate cards and seemed in every way superior to the Hollerith card system. All machinists are tabbed at 6, all blacksmiths at 7, etc. And in a few minutes the cards of any trade can be pulled from the file. At the same time each such card carries with it tabs on any other trades at which the men are skilled, thus serving as warning signals against using a man in a trade at which he is less valuable to the army than in some other. The fourth requirement that different degrees of skill in a trade should be readily indicated also favored the tabbing system- as compared with that of the Hollerith card. For by the use of orange tabs for apprentice and green tabs for jour- neymen or experts and no tabs for unskilled men, three degrees of skill were readily shown. The fifth requirement for an ideal card was that it should fit into standard filing systems. The adopted form in the Adjutant General's Office is a form 8^x3% inches which is filed on end. As there were needed at least 50 tabs for the qualification card occupying 8 inches of space, it was impos- sible to use the A.G.O. filing system which gave but 3% inches of tabbing space. The earliest form of card was of this A.G.O. SOLDIERS' QUALIFICATION CARD 145 shape but had to be filed on the side. Filing cases for such an unusual form could not be secured under 60 days and with little assurance of shipment then. This situation forced the use of an 8x5 card. But for such a sized form it was impos- sible to secure authorization from the A.G.O. in September, 1917. In consequence the Committee on Classification of Per- sonnel was forced to start its own system independent of tue A.G.O. Thus arose the "CCP" group of forms. DEVELOPMENT OF THE ORIGINAL CLASSIFICATION CARD It is very clear from the early records of the development of the Committee on Classification of Personnel that the original idea of its founder, Dr. Walter Dill Scott, was the introduc- tion of the rating scale into the army for selecting officers. (See Section II.) In the letter of July 30, 1917, to the Secre- tary of War the name of the Committee is first mentioned and there the phrase "Classification of Personnel" is emphasized. But there the only mention of personnel work as now under- stood was as follows: "4. If a demand arises for services on a large scale such as classifying all of the 500,000 men in the first National Army, an added expense of ten cents per man would be necessary." This was the letter upon which final action was taken by the Secretary of War. In the August 3rd letter, a revision of the earlier letter, the second one of the "immediate problems" was "Assistance in preparing personal history blanks and efficiency blanks for training camps." This item represented what would be the duty of the Committee along these lines, i. e., to help in preparing the blanks that the Army would use in classifying men. During the next three weeks it was discovered that no one in the Army was working on the problem of utilizing specialists as they came into the Army in the draft, yet every one assumed 146 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL that some one else must know all about it, and had made plans accordingly. In the notes of August 15, there appears, "we began to formulate cards for the National Army, taking as a point of departure the card we had drawn up for the Officers' Training Camp, for the Quartermaster, and for the Signal Corps." "Mr. R. C. Clothier drew up a tentative plan which had three parts. One part was to be torn off and used for Post Office address, another part to be torn off and used to keep records of progress of the individual men in the com- pany, and the third and main part was to be the qualification card." About August 21st the name "Qualification Record Card" appeared and on that day, so the records show, "Mr. Clothier put the finishing touches on our card for the National Army work, and we all felt assured of great success." Little did they know then of the long history of revisions ahead of the card. This occurred three days before the arrival of Dr. Strong who has spent a good share of his time for fifteen months in the development of the card. And in the next ten days there averaged one new proof from the printer a day. During those days "all worked industriously on getting ready for the vocational survey. We interviewed representative offi- cers for each branch and arm of the Army, requesting that they should give us the list of occupations in which training was valuable for their particular service. By frequent per- sonal interviews we were enabled to secure thoroughly good lists from all branches of the Army. When these lists of occu- pations were combined, we had the list of occupations as it appears on our qualification record cards." It is really quite surprising how well this work was done under the circum- stances. Subsequent experience brought about but few changes in the list. On August 28th another letter was addressed to the Secre- tary of War, as follows : "A new problem is facing the Committee on Classification of Personnel in the Army. How may drafted men with special SOLDIERS' QUALIFICATION CARD 147 fitness, such as cooks, auto repairmen, switchboard men, bac- teriologists, etc., be discovered immediately upon entering the cantonments and assigned to those units where their services will be of the greatest value to the Army? " This let- ter asked for an appropriation of $26,000 to carry out the classification plan. On September 1st a small supply of the qualification cards were printed and several individuals spent two days having them filled out by soldiers in the District of Columbia National Guard and in other units. Several changes resulted, the prin- cipal one being that the plan to have enlisted men fill out their own cards was abandoned in favor of having them made out by the company commander. A few days later the qualifica- tion card, illustrated on page 124 was printed for use in the first draft. SUBSEQUENT EDITIONS OF THE QUALIFICATION CARD Many items in the gradual evolution of the card have been already discussed in the preceding chapter. A few others which pertain not so much to the means of evaluating the soldier himself, but rather to the efficient functioning of the system, need mention here. The introduction of personnel work into the National Guard Divisions brought about many transfers of men from one unit to another in order that each should have its share of the specialists it needed. It was soon recognized that some system must be adopted whereby the men most valued by a company commander should be indicated so that they would not be transferred by the division personnel officer except after care- ful evaluation of the relative merits of the men in his present and proposed unit. Otherwise such an amount of friction and opposition would develop as to prevent the personnel officers from accomplishing their work. In consequence on the Feb- ruary 1st revision appears the square marked "Preferred." All such preferred men were checked after consultation with 148 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL the company commander and it was understood that they would not be transferred without consultation with him. In most instances the company commander showed a high sense of his duty to the division and Army as a whole and asked for but few men to be "preferred." The system aided very mate- rially in that the cadre was protected thereby winning the sup- port of many officers who would otherwise have fought the system. When a man had been assigned to a unit because of special fitness it seemed very desirable to keep a record of the action, else later on he might carelessly be re-transferred to another unit. And also if a man had been assigned as cook and later the company commander claimed he had no cooks, the record would show that so-and-so was a cook and had been assigned to his company as such. To accomplish this in the February 1st revision the items "Vocational Assignment" and "Military Assignment" were added. Here such information was to be recorded. Much confusion arose as to the terms and in the March 15th revision the terms were stated as "Vocational As- signment" and "Rank." The former item was again changed in the June 1st revison (see page 120) to "assigned by Person- nel Officer as ." In some camps this information was recorded and used; in others it was largely ignored. Experi- ence has demonstrated its value especially in the office of a division personnel office as contrasted with a camp personnel office, as many otherwise unpleasant controversies can be eliminated. The space for recording the soldier's organization was kept on the back of the card until the November 1st revision when it was placed upon the face of the card. The need for this change was long realized but there seemed to be no way of accomplishing it until it was decided to eliminate the list of occupations. The greatest gain by the change affects the type- writing of lists of names. Under the old system the typist had to look at the face of the card for "name" and "army serial number/' on the reverse for "organization" and on the SOLDIERS' QUALIFICATION CARD 149 face again for "occupation." The change eliminated the need for turning the card over. Space for recording information as to the man's "talent in furnishing public entertainment" was provided from the start. On the February 1st revision appear in addition "Religious preference" and "Member of what fraternal organization." The three items were never used directly by the personnel adjutant, but the information was utilized many times by chaplains, Y. M. C. A. and other welfare workers, and by local churches in getting up entertainments. At one camp nearly every such organization called upon the company com- mander for such information. The presence of the information on the cards also eliminated the need for the circulation of cards of inquiry by such organizations. The addition of the item "Physical Findings" in the Novem- ber 1st edition was designed not only to furnish that informa- tion to the personnel adjutant who needed it in properly plac- ing limited service men but it was also included in order to make unnecessary the use of a second qualification card in de- velopment battalions. The plan contemplated the assignment of an assistant camp personnel adjutant to handle the qualifi- cation cards of all men in development battalions and to keep the qualification cards of such men in the development bat- talion as long as they were unfit for service. Such changes as just enumerated were thus in line with one of the general policies of the personnel organization ; namely, to eliminate all unnecessary blanks. THE S. A. T. C. RECORD CARD As the personnel card for college men in the Students' Army Training Corps (see Volume II for illustration) was pre- pared very largely by the personnel organization and was to be paid for by this organization, it deserves mention at this point. Since all soldiers must have a qualification card (G. O. No. 46) it was necessary to use either the Soldiers' Qualification Card or devise a new one. As these college men had had little occu- 150 HISTORY OP PERSONNEL i i 4.r Hi kl? n 1 ! J^ i III I j] 1 i j i i i i a i | . i i 2 ei r > ffl -luf 5-1 1; -i I 1 ! <* J u 1 u - - n 2. Yo |Hj ] 3 j ^ N H i ill :! f>< "9 4 S 3 N J . U.U I APPLICANT'S QUALIFICATION CARD FIG. 4. Face (CCP-1120.) (Original Size 8 Card Qualifica App SOLDIERS' QUALIFICATION CARD 151 4* i r I 1 i 1 /. I-H 3 1: ! i ^N GO 4 1 i J I 1 cc a . G A a o ' ' i ' i g l-H r-H j 1 i i 1 n ' if' ' i 1 J 4 1 ^u _] i ! \ I J * -9) c- ~ z l t 6 i T | | \ $ K - -S i ' 8 i I g | Sp 3 it ! ! 1 i 6 I 1 : ; I? ^1 c i '+"" ! '! \ s * i O , | j 1 1 i Ii 3 i k - ; J I \j III ' j J j i &- ! i .; j ! i: ; j j 1 1 1 a a J 3 2i i I i i 1 i ! 152 - HISTORY OF PERSONNEL pational experience it was felt that the former would not be particularly applicable. In consequence the S.A.T.C. Record Card (CCP-50) was adopted. The signing of the armistice prevented its use and no estimate of its real usefulness is at hand. See Chapter 41 for further discussion. APPLICANTS' QUALIFICATION CARD In connection with the work of the War Service Exchange, which was organized as a part of the Committee on Classifica- tion of Personnel, a card was prepared, known as "Applicants' Qualification Card" (Form CCP-1120), see Figure 4, page 150. Thousands of civilians desirous of securing service in the Army or in governmental organizations used this form to set forth their qualifications. The card was found very valuable. Largely due to experience with it the change was made in the Soldiers' Qualification Card on November 1 (See Volume II), whereby the list of occupations was omitted from the card and greater space was provided for giving in detail what the soldier had done. The Applicants' Card was classified by men specially trained, and filed according to the classification of occupations given in the Index of Occupations, CCP-4. One valuable finding in the use of this card should be rec- orded. In the case of many men, when given sufficient space, it is found that they record very trivial performances as tho they were important. This enables the classifier to get a bet- ter line on their small calibre or lack of judgment than in any other way. In the light of this experience application blanks should provide more than sufficient space for writing. Following the establishment of the Personnel Branch in the Operations Division, General Staff, a standardized application blank for all candidates for a commission was developed. This card showed clearly the influence of the Applicants' Qualifica- tion Card (Form CCP-1120) and other forms developed by the Committee. CHAPTER 12 THE ACTUAL OPERATION OF THE CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM The classification of soldiers developed into five separate steps. First was the interview, second the trade test, third the classification, fourth the tabbing of the cards, and fifth the tallying of occupations for an occupational report to Washing- ton. Each step was performed by different men specially trained for the work. INTERVIEWING SOLDIERS Due to the experience gained on September 1, 1917, in having several companies of soldiers fill out their own cards it was realized that the soldier must be individually interviewed and the card prepared by the interviewer. In consequence the first plan called upon the company commander to do this interviewing. The plan was thoroughly tried out in all na- tional army camps during September, October and November, and voted largely a failure. Some company commanders always did a first class job, but most did the work in a very perfunctory manner. And as time went on they did poorer and poorer work. One reason for this was that they quickly came to realize that if they reported a man as exceptionally good they ran a good chance of losing him to some other unit. Many good men were camouflaged as farmers with little or no education. This was particularly true of stenographers, typists and cooks. At one camp in October when 100 very poor men were transferred as laborers to the Remount Station a veritable howl went up and delegations of Captains, Majors, Colonels, and even one Brigadier General came to the per- sonnel office claiming that their best men were being taken 153 154 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL from them. The cards showed no such talent. The most serious objection to company commanders preparing the cards, however, was the lack of standardization in the work. As a result of all this, when the classification was extended to the national guard divisions in November and December, it was insisted that all men should be interviewed by commis- sioned officers after training in the work. For example, at Camp Kearney one hundred lieutenants and captains were utilized. Much better work resulted. But there was a con- stant change in the personnel detailed to the work causing instruction to be given almost every day to new officers. And -as the officers most likely to remain detailed were officers not needed elsewhere because of inferior qualities, most of the in- terviewing was done by the poorer officers who showed little interest in the work. Recognition of the inferior interviewing resulted on Feb- ruary 1st in an order (letter of A. G. O.) being issued requir- ing that all men about to be transferred from one camp to another on War Department requisition for specialists should be re-interviewed. Emphasis upon this was maintained for several months. During the spring of 1918 interviewing by enlisted men detailed to the personnel office commenced. The substitution of enlisted men for officers was not formally recognized until some time later. The change wrought a great transformation in the work as the enlisted men were selected on the basis of their ability to do good interviewing. They became very much interested in the work, as it really is a fascinating j ob for those who like it. And in addition there gradually developed in most camps a regular series of conferences in which inter- viewing was systematically studied. A great impetus to such training followed the series of Schools for Personnel Adju- tants which were held during the months of April to Novem- ber, 1918. During lull periods the interviewers in many camps were allowed to visit nearby cities in which they visited the various CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM 155 industrial plants and thereby came in personal contact with many phases of occupational work. As an illustration of the interest in good interviewing, when the interviewers at Camp Gordon learned that draft men were to be shipped there from Ohio they made up a list of all the industries of that state and read up on the subject quite extensively. TRADE TESTING During the spring and summer of 1918, trade tests were introduced into the National Army camps and men claiming ability in many trades were tested as to their actual ability. (See Chapter 30 for further details.) The ratings from these tests were recorded on the qualification cards and utilized in finally classifying the soldiers. Psychological intelligence scores were also utilized in esti- mating a man's general value to the service. These tests were conducted by the Psychological Examiner, under the direction of the Surgeon General's Office. Such tests were given at first in only four National Army camps. Later they were intro- duced into all the camps. CLASSIFICATION After the interview and intelligence and trade test a classi- fier looked over the card and determined (a) how skilled the man was at each trade and (b) which trade was of most value to the service. The former was determined upon the basis of all the information on the card. Roughly speaking one to three years' experience was accorded an orange tab (apprentice) and more than three years' a green tab (journeyman). Under one year of experience was ignored except in special cases where there was a great demand and a decided shortage of certain specialists, as wireless men, pigeon fanciers, etc. In the same way a man coming under $25.00 to $30.00 a week was gen- erally rated an apprentice and over that amount a journey- man. But very early it was recognized that local rates of pay 156 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL had to be taken into account. Information as to education, leadership experience, age, and experience in other occupa- tions, was considered. Very shortly a noticeable standardization as to classification in any one camp was apparent. This occurred because the classifiers worked together and discussed the merits of all doubtful cases among themselves. But there was equally a noticeable lack of standardization between camps. This was particularly true in the case of camps that had a large or small supply of certain specialists. There was a decided tendency to underrate the skill of specialists if they had many of them, and to overrate the skill of specialists if they had few of them. For example, lumbermen at Camp Lewis in Washington had to be. foremen to be green tabbed, whereas lumbermen of slight experience at Camp Taylor in Kentucky were green tabbed, since they had but thirty-five all told among ten thousand. Visits of supervisors travelling from camp to camp aided very materially in effecting a fairly good standardization as between camps. The Schools for Personnel Adjutants at which this subject was emphasized accomplished much more. It is fair to add, however, that classification never became thorough- ly standardized until trade tests were introduced. These tests helped greatly in this respect. Prior to the introduction of trade tests a small handbook, "Aids to Interviewers" TT-1, (see Figure 15, Chapter 28), was issued. This was prepared under the direction of Mr. M. M. Jones ; much of the actual compilation having been done by Mr. Max Watson. A series of questions with their answers were given for about one hundred trades. It was thought that its use would aid in determining the man's skill. In some camps the hand books were used considerably; in other camps indifferently. The greatest use of the "Aids for Interviewers" resulted indirectly in focusing attention upon the difficulties of making adequate classifications. A different sort of effort was made to standardize the CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM 157 classification. On June 14th, a table after the following scheme was issued: A. G. O. Desig- nation. No. Occupation. 6. Machinist. 7. Blacksmith. 8. Carpenter. 9. Concrete worker, etc. Hate as an appren- tice, with ORANGE tab, enlisted men who have the years of experience in a trade indicated be- low. 2 2 2 1 Rate as a journey- man with a GREEN tab, enlisted men who have the years of experience in a trade indicated be- low. 4 4 4 3 But men cannot be classified with regard to their skill at a trade on the basis of years of experience alone. Some strik- ingly bad illustrations of this table are: 27. 45. 61. 94. Care of horses Barber Airplane Me- chanic Rubber worker The camps were deluged with men who had had care of horses. In consequence, the standard had to be raised not lowered else most every card would be orange tabbed at 27, although most such men would be of little use in that work in the Army. Most barbers become full jonrneymen by a year and vulcanizers become experts in many cases in 3 months time. As there were practically no airplane mechanics, it was a mistake to require two years experience before tabbing. Rather should 3 months or even two months be set as the lower limit, so as to have a record of any such experience. The table is recorded here to indicate a subject never properly standardized and which should be done. But it cannot be so standardized in any such easy manner as indicated here. Rather must one include wages, age, education, other expe- rience, intelligence and possibly other factors. The need for 158 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL such standardization is however lessened by the use of trade tests. The question as to which occupation a man was most valu- able at to the Army was an equally trying problem. In the first few months of personnel work the problem was present but not clearly recognized. In placing men as early as Sep- tember 1917 it was felt that some occupational experiences were more valuable than others. But no set of instructions were issued, as far as now known, until April 20. Then Chapter V of the Personnel Manual was printed. It called attention to the fact that the man's main occupations should be determined, "taking into account (1) the man's experience and (2) the needs of the Army. His main occupation may or may not be the same as that which is recorded on his card as the main occupation, since here the needs of the Army are also considered." This statement was aimed just as much at defining "main occupation" on the card as "main occupation" in classifying. The former referred to what was actually the man's m^in occupation in civil life what he considered his main occupation. The latter considered what was his main usefulness to the Army. Much confusion had existed prior to this time and in many cases interviews made main occu- pation mean main usefulness. This was a mistake as again and again the man's main occupation was desired. Moreover, it was realized that this information might be needed when the men returned from France. This has been shown to be true in the case of wounded soldiers needing reconstruction training and would have been most valuable if the army had been demobilized industrially as has been done in England. The whole problem of "main occupation" in terms of army needs arose in the necessity of reporting occupational strength to Washington. It never was felt in the camp except in this connection. There was no workable scheme whereby men could be reported except as skilled or partly skilled in one occupation. Hence a decision was forced on the camps con- concerning each man and once the decision was made it was CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM 159 necessary to count the man that way ever after, since, the camp was credited with the man until ordered transferred. In order to make clear how this was done it will be necessary to take it up in connection with the system of tabbing. TABBING QUALIFICATION CARDS The original system called for orange tabs to represent "sufficient knowledge or experience to make him of substan- tial value in any of the branches of the service." A green tab represented an "expert in that occupation" (Instructions of September 1917). Very rapidly the meaning of orange and green tabs came to mean apprentice and journeyman skill as outlined above. On October 15th, semi-monthly re- ports were instituted calling for the total number of green and orange tabs for each occupation. As many cards carried more than one tab these totals did not represent men but the number of occupational usefulnesses. As long as requisitions from Washington for specialists totaled far less than the supply, allotment on the basis of the total number of tabs worked all right. But as soon as demand and supply com- menced to approximate each other, trouble arose, as mani- festly a man could not be transferred as both a carpenter and draftsman, although he might be so reported. In order to rectify this, orders were issued on February 1st, 1918, that where there were two or more green tabs on index numbers G to 50, that occupation which represented the man's best usefulness to the army should be noted and the green tab retained there. The other green tabs were to be removed and black ones put in their place. The tabs then meant: Green Journeyman experience, main usefulness to army. Black Journeyman experience, secondary usefulness to army, Orange Apprentice experience, either main or secondary. This Semi-monthly report called for the total number of green, black and orange tabs for each occupation. Following a conference in Washington, April, 1918, it was 160 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL decided that the orange tabs should be similarly distinguished. But instead of using another colored tab, it was ordered that when an orange tab represented the man's main usefulness a cross mark (X) should be made on the tab. All orange tabs representing secondary usefulness were left as they were. The tabs then meant: Green Journeyman experience, main usefulness to army. Black Journeymen experience, secondary usefulness to army. . Orange X Apprentice experience, main usefulness to army. Orange Apprentice experience, secondary usefulness to army. The change from two tabs to four tabs was largel}' made in order to make it easy for the personnel officer to tally his cards, since all that was necessary was to count the tabs. But when the reports of occupational specialists commenced calling (February, 1918), for occupations not by group head- ings but by sub-divisions this convenience disappeared. Now it was necessary to handle each card and to call off the par- ticular sub-divisions to which the man was assigned. No ad- vantage accrued from the presence of four colored tabs over the two. In consequence, the order was issued discontinuing black and orange X tabs. All journeymen whether of main or secondary usefulness were to be green tabbed. All appren- tices were similarly orange tabbed. Thus changes in the system of reporting specialists to Washington resulted in changes in the tabbing systems. Another very real cause for the change back to the two color tabbing system was the fact that the four tab system was too complicated and many in the personnel office did not seem to be able to use the system properly. In the light of this experience it is extremely doubtful if the Army should ever adopt any more complicated tabbing system than now in force. Tabbing Military Qualifications. As already shown the qualification card of June 1st revision (see page 120) listed 26 Army Specialists. These were to be tabbed by affixing white tabs to the top of the card according to the second row of CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM 161 small index numbers. As frequently such a tab could not be placed squarely over its appropriate number because of the presence of green and orange tabs, it was arranged that they should be placed as near as possible in their correct position and that the appropriate number be written on the white tab. This system, however, was never used in France. TALLYING QUALIFICATION CARDS FOR OCCUPATIONAL REPORT After the cards were classified and tabbed they were turned over to another group of enlisted men who prepared a report for Washington of the occupational strength of the newly arrived drafted men. The report blank (CCP-15) is illus- trated on page 168 of Volume II. The list of occupations to be reported on was changed every month. The more impor- tant of the occupations for army needs were starred and the most important were marked with a "*3." A study of such changes from month to month gave the chief classifiers a fairly accurate knowledge of the needs of the Army, and they classified men as to their main occupations accordingly. As they thus reviewed the cards they checked with a blue pencil close to the tab and appropriate symbol letters the particular occupation under which the man was to be reported. He was so reported and held subject to a requisition calling for that particular occupation. This was necessary during the last months before the armistice as the total supply of specialists was much below the demand and once a camp was credited with a specialist, it was essential that Washington could obtain the man when called for. USE OF QUALIFICATION CARD BY COMPANY COMMANDER Originally, a duplicate qualification card on buff stock was to be made out by the company commander for his own use. This was purely optional, however. Experience showed that 162 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL few officers desired such cards nor made use of them, even if supplied with them. In consequence, in April, 1918, the prac- tice of supplying buff duplicate cards was abandoned. There were certain officers, more often in engineer organizations, who did make considerable use of the cards. One engineer regiment had a set for the regiment in the Adjutant's Office, and another set for each company maintained in the several company offices. Page 6a of the Service Record was prepared to give the company commander the most important items on the quali- fication card covering education, language ability, intelligence rating, occupational experience and military qualifications. This feature was not introduced until after the armistice was signed so no record is at hand as to how far this procedure might supply all the uses that company commanders found for the buff card. SECTION IV. JOB ANALYSIS It is not only necessary to "size up" the man ac- curately in order to assign him to that duty where he can be of greatest advantage to the Army, but it is also necessary to "size up" the duty he is to perform. If requisitions for skilled men are inac- curately prepared, then even though they may be most carefully filled, placement will not be made as efficiently as it should be. Job-analysis for Army purposes falls into four general sub-divisions, three of which are concerned primarily with the problems of the enlisted men. First, there had to be a classification of occupations useful for Army purposes and a standard termin- ology which would make this classification effective. (See Chapter 13.) Second, Tables of Occupational Xeeds and the more elaborate Personnel Specifica- tions showing the requirements of different kinds of Army units had to be prepared (See Chapter 14.) Third, summaries showing the number of specialists of all kinds needed in the Army had to be compiled, as a basis for the proper allocation of such numbers as were available. ( See Chapter 15. ) The fourth subdivision is concerned with the problems of job-analysis as applied to Officers. (See Chapters 16 and 17.) CHAPTER 13 CLASSIFICATION OF OCCUPATIONS AND STANDARD TERMINOLOGY CLASSIFICATION OF OCCUPATIONS Classification of Occupations on the Qualification Card. The records are extremely fragmentary as to what was done during August, 1917, everyone being too busy to stop and write down what he or anyone else had done, nor did any one feel that such matters were of any moment. The earliest reference to job analysis is on August 15, when plans were "begun to formulate cards for the National Army." Such a card required a list of occupations in terms of which men would be grouped. And such a list could only be drawn up on the basis of what civilian occupations are made use of in the Army. The records show that, "During the next two weeks all worked industriously on getting ready for the vocational survey. They interviewed representative officers from each branch and arm of the Army requesting that they should give us the list of occupations in which training was valuable for their particular service. By frequent personal interviews they were enabled to secure thoroughly good lists from all branches of the Army. When these lists of occupations were com- bined, they had the list of occupations as it appears on our Qualification Record Cards." This list is shown below in the first column, dated August, 1917. The card upon which this list appeared was never used however, except in some units of the Coast Artillery. It was immediately revised, based on experience in trying it out on soldiers in the Dis- trict of Columbia National Guard. The first card (September, 1917) used in classifying selective-service men (illustrated on 165 166 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL page 121) contained the list of occupations shown in the second column below. The final list of occupations, adopted on Feb- ruary 1st is shown in the third column. [NOTE: In reading lists of occupations read each occupation from left to right, the development and changes in the list being shown in parallel lines in the subsequent lists.] August, 1917 September, 1917 1. Factory worker 1. Factory worker 2. Farmer 2. Farmer 3. Laborer 3. Laborer 4. Lawyer 4. Lawyer 5. Teacher 5. Teacher G. Machine hand 7. Machinist | 8. Blacksmith {8. Wheelwright 9. Carpenter 10. Concrete worker 11. Electrician 12. Locksmith 13. Miner 14. Painter 15. Plumber 16. Railroader, traffic 17. Rigger (Included in "Factory worker" 1) 6. Machinist J7. Blacksmith | 7. Wheelwright 8. Carpenter 9. Concrete worker | 10. Electrician | 10. Dynamo expert 5 11. Locksmith (11. Gunsmith 12. Miner 13. Painter 14. Pipe-fitter f 15. Railroad, oper- \ ating man [16. Section-hand 18. Rigger 18. Engineer, rail- road 19. Engineer, sta- tionary 20. Engineer, grad- uate 21. Engineering student 17. Railroad fire- man 17. Steam Engineer 21. Engineer uate grad- February, 1918 1. Factory worker 2. Farmer 3. Laborer 4. Lawyer 4. Teacher 5. Business man (Included in "Factory worker" 1) 6. Machinist 7. Blacksmith 8. Carpenter 9. Concrete worker 10. Electrician 11. Gunsmith 12. Miner 13. Painter 14. Pipe fitter 15. R. R. operating man 16. Road worker (See supplementary list Occupa- tion No. 100) 17. Engineman, fire- man CLASSIFICATION OF OCCUPATIONS 167 August, 1917 September, 1917 February, 1918 19. Sheetmetal 19. Sheetmetal worker worker 20. Foundry man 20. Foundryman 21. Structural steel worker 22. Auto driver 5 22. Auto driver 22. Chauffeur auto ) 23. Motor-truck 23. Chauffeur truck driver 23. Auto repairman J 24. Auto repairman 24. 1 24. Gas engine re- 25. pairman 524. Horseshoer 25. Horseshoer 1 24. Hostler (horse- man) 25. Mule-packer 26. Mule-packer 26. Teamster 27. Veterinary 27. $28. | 28. 28. Draftsman 29. f 29. Lineman 32. (29. Phone repair- f33. man { 30. Phone operator [33. 31. Photographer 34. (still) 32. Photographer 35. (moving) 33. Surveyor 30. f34. Telegrapher f 31. I 34. Wireless opera- | 31. tor 35. Visual signaller Care and hand- 27. ling of horses Veterinary { 28. Farrier { 28. Draftsman 29. Lineman 32. Phone - repair- 33. man Phone operator 33. Photographer f 34. Moving picture [ 34. expert Surveyor 30. Telegrapher $ 31. Wireless oper- | 31. ator 35. Auto mechanic Gasoline engine re- pairman (not auto) (Included in Blacksmith See Occupation No. 7) Bricklayer (See supplemen- tary list Occu- pation No. 100) Horse, care of Veterinary Farrier Draftsman Lineman Telephone repair- man Telephone operator Photographer, still Photographer, mov- ing Surveyor Telegrapher Wireless man Lumberman 168 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL August, 1917 [36. Boatman \ 36. Navigator [36. Seaman 37. Accountant 38. Clerk 40. Storekeeper 39. Stenographer J41. Baker {41. Cook 42. Butcher 43. Grocer f44. Chiropodist | 44. Dentist \ 44. Druggist | 44. Medical student | 44. Nurse [44. Physician 45. Band Musician 46. Barber 47. Canvas worker September, 1917 5 36. Navigator { 36. Seafaring man 37. Accountant [38. Clerk -{38. Bookkeeper [38. Shipper 38. Stockkeeper 5 39. Stenographer {39. Typewriter J40. Baker {40. Cook 41. Butcher 42. Grocer [43. Chiropodist | 43. Dentist | 43. Druggist \ 43. Medical Student | 43. Nurse [ 43. Physician [44. Brass wind in- strument [44. Other band in- strument 45. Barber 46. Canvas worker February, 1918 J 36. Boatman {36. Mariner 37. Accountant 38. Clerical worker 18. Stockkeeper $ 39. Stenographer {39. Typist f40. Baker {40. Cook 41. Butcher 42. Merchant, jobber, wholesaler 43. Medical man 48. Harness maker 49. Shoemaker 50. Tailor 51. Watchmaker I 47. Harness maker { 47. Shoemaker 48. Tailor 49. Watchmaker 44. Band musician 45. Barber (See supplementary list Occupation No. 76 46. Printer 47. Leather worker 48. Tailor (See supplementary list Occupation No. 72) 49. Inspector 50. Construction fore- The most striking thing about these three lists is the few changes. "Engineer graduate" and "engineering student" CLASSIFICATION OF OCCUPATIONS 169 were dropped entirely as "it was found from practice that they could readily be found when wanted, among the college grad- uates, who number less than 1% of drafted men. "Rigger," "Mule-packer," "canvas worker" and "watch maker," although important occupations from the army standpoint occur in too few numbers to warrant a place on the main list and so were relegated to the supplementary list. "Visual signaller" was dropped entirely as not being a civilian occupation. In the place of these occupations were added "sheet metal worker," "foundryman," "structural iron worker," "lumberman," "in- spector" and "construction foreman," all trades found in con- siderable number in the draft and of value not in combat units so much as in construction work, particularly in France. The Index of Occupations. The first edition of the Quali- fication Card provided for a "supplementary" group of occu- pations in addition to the group numbered from 1 to 49. It was recognized that there were other occupations not listed which would be of value in organizing the Army. At that time no attempt was made to list them. On September 28, a short additional list was issued with instructions that all such occupations should be tabbed at "S" on the card. Another list was issued on October 20, and called "Index of Occupations." It contained in addition to the 49 main occupations, 37 supplementary occupations and these 86 main groups were subdivided into 165 subdivisions. On February 1, a second revision was issued listing 50 main occupations and 45 supplementary ones with a total of 575 subdivisions. And this was further extended in the revision of April 10, to 50 main and 47 supplementary occupations with a total of 693 subdivisions. On November 1, the last revision appeared with a total of 714 subdivisions. The three revi- sions did not consist merely of adding occupations but also included some eliminations and many consolidations of items and rearrangements. Particularly was this true of the second revision. No trouble was experienced in tabbing all the supplemen- 170 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL tary occupations at "S" with the" single exception of the group "Airplane Mechanic" and then only in the Division of Military Aeronautics. In those offices they had a large enough number of men belonging to each of the eight sub- divisions of that group to warrant having several separate groups. As has been pointed out in a preceding chapter the Index of Occupations of October 20 had a code system of one or two letters representing each subdivision as: 24' Auto Repairer k Magneto repairer fs Motorcycle repairer gg Upholsterer mb tefe . 40. Baiter t 45. Barber v This code system was never employed to any extent because of the difficulty of remembering the meaning of the symbols. With the February 1 revision was introduced a new code system, made up of a number and letter or letters, the letter in each case being suggestive of the occupation. For example : Auto Mechanic 24 Assembler 24a Battery 24b Carburetor 24c Chassis and body, also truck 24ch Designer, expert, etc. 24d Baker and Cook 40 Baker 40b Caterer, dining car con- ductor, steward o r restaurateur 40ca Cook 40c Etc. This mnemonic device was immediately adopted by all as there was no difficulty in remembering the occupations for which the code symbols stood. CLASSIFICATION OF OCCUPATIONS 171 At the time the February 1st Index of Occupations was being developed considerable attention was given to the propo- sition of using the Census Bureau's system of classification of occupations and their symbol numbers. The Provost Mar- shal General was preparing to obtain a card for each man in the draft upon which would be recorded his occupational fitness. And they had decided to use the census classifica- tion. If both systems could be harmonized, it was felt that much would be gained. On the other hand, it was pointed out that the census classification was on the basis of indus- tries while the classification already found extremely useful in the Army was on the basis of the tools a man used. A car- penter according to the former would be listed many times, once for each instance at which he was found in the various industries. According to the latter all carpenters' were grouped at 8 and the various significant subdivisions were given letter subdivisions of 8. In consequence when a man was needed in the Army to use a saw and hatchet and drill he could be found under one heading, not under many. It was further urged against the census system that the code numbers could never be remembered and consequently much of the advantage accruing from their use would be lost just as had happened with the code system of October 20. The February 1st revision of the Index of Occupations was drawn up very largely by Dr. Strong utilizing material secured by different members of the Committee. Much of the credit of the work was due to Mr. Swan who was engaged upon standardizing the terminology of occupational terms. A full list of army organizations which were being formed or were to be formed was obtained. These were analyzed with the help of officers intimately connected with them and all the kinds of occupational specialists who would be useful in the speedy organization of the units were noted. From this material was developed the list of civil occupations useful to the Army. All other civil occupations were ignored. The occupations had then to be grouped to fit the tabbing system 172 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL on the qualification card. Because of this certain occupa- tions were grouped together that under other circumstances would have been assigned separate groups. About the middle of January the pressure became so great for the use of some sort of a list of occupations in connection with plans for supplying the Staff Corps with specialists that proof was distributed of what then had been prepared. A little later when the work was completed, it was found that it could not be issued as it differed in many details from the proof, and plans for 250,000 men had already been drawn up in terms of the proof. The completed work, consequently, had to be tabled, even though it was much more free from misunderstanding and faulty classification. This proof became the February 1 Index of Occupations. The April and Novem- ber revisions because of the same condition merely consisted of additions and a few minor corrections. The February, April and November editions were all printed in two forms. One appeared in sheet form approxi- mately 20 x 17 inches and tabulated the group headings and their sub-divisions. The other appeared in booklet form, 9x4 inches and tabulated in addition all sub-divisions in alphabetical order. In order to distinguish them apart the sheet was called "Classification of Occupations" (CCP-7) and the booklet "Index of Occupations" (CCP-4). Those familiar with the whole classification system and using it constantly found the sheet form preferable as items could be found very quickly by them. The booklet, on the other hand, was handier for the infrequent users since they could locate any item in its alphabetical place. Extension of Occupational Classification to Provost Mar- shal General's Office. The first questionnaire issued about December 15, 1917, contained eighty-seven main headings and fifty-four sub-headings corresponding in general to the then existing Index of Occupations. It was supplied the Pro- vost Marshal General at his request. The list was expanded to about four hundred headings in the revised questionnaires CLASSIFICATION OF OCCUPATIONS 173 used for the draft of men from 18 to 45 years of age. See Chapter 45 dealing with cooperative measures between the Committee and the Provost Marshal General for further details. Conclusion. The Index of Occupations became the official classification of occupations for use in the Army and in the draft and its list furnished for ready reference practically all the civil occupations found useful in army organizations. From an industrial standpoint it is probable that a differ- ent classification and larger scope is desirable. As time went on and the Government took over for direct operation or general supervision a wider range of industries, not in any sense army functions, and hence not included in the original list of occupations or specifications, the need of a broader classification was more and more felt. This became increas- ingly evident towards the last as the Government gradually took one civilian industry after another, such as, the manu- facture of revolvers and the manufacture of various forms of gas and gas appliances, charging of gas shells, manufacture of nitrate and explosives of various sorts. When such a classi- fication of all occupations has been prepared in terms of the functions of the work and not of the industry, employment managers will have an exceedingly useful instrument for classifying employees and for standardizing wages throughout the country. STANDARDIZATION OF TERMINOLOGY After the jobs or occupations have been listed and classified the next step is to define the terms. In fact, definition must run along parallel to classification. But historically the need for such work does not arise until classification has been be- gun. Shortly after the first Index of Occupations was pre- pared (October 20) Mr. Swan commenced gathering informa- tion about occupations useful to the Army. Army officers most familiar with the work to be performed by soldiers in the Army carefully prepared definitions of the terms used 174 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL and statements of the qualifications needed for efficient service. These were carefully edited often after several conferences on the subject. They were issued on March 21, 1918, in a book of 239 pages, "Trade Specifications." The book is offi- cially referred to both as War Department Document No. 774 and -as CCP-504. A specimen page follows : 7 BLACKSMITH BLACKSMITH, GENERAL 7-g BAMSC 47 DUTIES 1. All around general hammer and anvil work, and light forglngs of any kind. QUALIFICATIONS 2. Must be capable of doing all kinds of welding, and able to make, from drawings or samples, any and all kinds of medium and light machine and hand forgings, and familiar with the use of either coal or coke forge or small furnace. Some experience on a light steam or power hammer desirable. Should be able to figure stock. Must be capable of making repairs to automobiles, frames, axles, springs, general machinery, wagons, wheels, chains, tube bending and tool dressing, and shoeing horses and mules. Should have a good knowledge "of heat treatment of steel, In- cluding oil and water tempering and air hardening. Should have had similar experience with contracting railroad or mining company or as country general blacksmith. SUBSTITUTE OCCUPATIONS 3. Machine shop blacksmith, contractor blacksmith, forge shopman, or as country general blacksmith. BLACKSMITH, LOCOMOTIVE 7-1 BANON 48 DUTIES 1. General blacksmith work, in connection with erecting new or repairing and rebuilding damaged locomotives and equipment. QUALIFICATIONS 2. Must be an experienced blacksmith, familiar with general, light and heavy forging, such as connecting rods and main frames, using gang sledges or power driven hammer. Must thoroughly understand heating large pieces, such as slabs and billets in coal, coke, oil or gas furnaces. Must be able to work to drawings or samples, and be able to calculate stock required. Must be thoroughly skilled In making all kinds of welds in iron and steel. Also thoroughly skilled in the use of hand tools, such as cut- ters, flatters, fullers and swages, and capable of working from templates and blueprints to close dimensions. Should have had similar experience in railroad shop, locomotive familiar with the use of tools used in flanging and forming plates, angles and braces used in boiler work. Should have had similar experience in railroad shop, locomotive plant or heavy blacksmith in any industrial concern. SUBSTITUTE OCCUPATIONS 3. Forgesmith, heavy forgeman, heavy blacksmith, flange turner. FIG. 5. Trade Specifications (CCP-504) Sample Page CLASSIFICATION OF OCCUPATIONS 175 By reference to the specimen page one obtains the best pos- sible idea of the nature of this book and its value. Each occupation is described in terms of the duties to be per- formed and the qualifications necessary. Several substitute occupations are also listed, so that if a man of the proper qualifications is not available the next best choices are at hand. The name of the occupation is listed as it appears in the Index of Occupations, with the code symbol and also a five letter symbol for use in cabling. The specifications de- scribe the ideal skilled man from the army standpoint. It was not expected that all the stated qualifications would be found in each man. The immediate and large needs of the Army for specialists had to be met by utilizing the substitutes stated, or less skilled workers and apprentices. A revised edition of "Trade Specifications' was issued on October 12, 1918, in which a few minor corrections were made and a number of occupations were added. A special supplement appeared shortly after expanding the "67-Chem- ist" classification. (See Chapter 28 for certain other phases of the subject.) Use made of Trade Specifications. "Trade Specifications" was used by many officers in preparing requisitions for special- ists and by personnel officers in the camps in accurately deter- mining what was wanted by these requisitions and in classi- fying men. A good illustration of the need for such an aid in preparing requisitions is furnished in the case of General Pershing's request for forty "multiplex puncher operators." This requisition was relayed on to the camps with the result that all sorts of "punch operators" were received. Then it was discovered that what was wanted were operators of a multiplex telegraph typewriter. The original term used in the requisition was perfectly intelligible to telegraph men but not so to any others. If this term had been standardized this confusion and resulting delay in shipping men would not have occurred. In addition to this use of the "Trade Specifications" within 176 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL MILLWRIGHT (General) Other Names by Which Occupation is Known: Factory Millwright. Occupations Most Nearly Allied: Machinist, Carpenter. Trade Requirements: He installs and maintains general power and transmis- sion machinery and equipment in shop, plant or factory for any purpose; must be able to install and maintain hangers, shafting, pulleys, belts of all types, machine tools, frames, and general equipment; should be a prac- tical power transmission man, able to lay out and erect stringers, hanger and braces ; must be familiar with handling tackle and heavy machinery with the use of jacks, hoists, slings, blocks, skids and cribbing. Education : Common school. Physical Requirements : Average strength ; ability to work overhead. Mental Requirements : Average intelligence. Experience. Must have experience in laying out from drawing or sketches, and be familiar with blue prints and mechani- cal drawings ; knowledge of concrete forms, and concrete work desirable. Experience in rolling mill or large manufacturing plant, machine shop or railroad construc- tion work would be beneficial ; should understand appli- cation and repair of belts. Entrance Requirements for Training School: Common school education, average strength and intelli- gence. Rate Established: CLASSIFICATION OF OCCUPATIONS 177 the Army, five thousand copies were also furnished the local boards of the country for use in classifying selective service men. Extension to Labor Department and U. S. Shipping Board Emergency Fleet Corporation: The basic idea expressed in "Trade Specifications" has been taken up by the Labor De- partment. Already a number of pamphlets have appeared under the heading of "Descriptions of Occupations" covering Water Transportation; Office Employees; Textiles and Clothing; Boots and Shoes; Harness and Saddlery; Tanning; Medicinal Manufacturing;. Mines and Mining; Cane Sugar Refining; Metal Working; Building and General Construc- tion; Railroad Transportation; Shipbuilding, etc. The United States Shipping Board, Emergency Fleet Corporation has also issued a similar work covering "Shipyard Occupa- tions." In this work, published July, 1918, they have added a number of headings to be discussed under each occupa- tion. A sample page is included here. Conclusion. This activity directed toward the standard- ization of occupational terminology and the setting forth of the necessary qualifications for a job has already had pro- nounced effect in industry. Much more is to be expected as men extend the idea to other activities. For when we defi- nitely know what we want a blacksmith or sales-manager to do, then are we in a favorable position to select the right man and to hold him accountable. When similar precise information is at hand as to what we want in a grammar school or college graduate we shall have a pronounced im- provement in the activities of those institutions. CHAPTER 14 PERSONNEL SPECIFICATIONS Personnel Specifications of the Army are a development of this war made necessary primarily by the demand for occu- pational specialists, and secondarily by the necessity .of utilizing to the last degree every available bit of human mate- rial. The need of such specifications increased as the organi- zation of units of a great variety were authorized and as the reserve of man-power decreased. They are, in brief, an expression of the relation that exists between the man's quali- fications and the duties of his job in the Army. As the classi- fication of the specialists coming into the Army provides the supply of human material for distribution among the Corps and Arms of the service, so Personnel Specifications classify the demand, making it possible to achieve the aim of per- sonnel work to put "The Right Man in the Right Place." NECESSITY FOR PERSONNEL SPECIFICATIONS Lack of Organized and known Demand for Specialists Supplied by Occupational Classification of the Army. Speci- fications of personnel were not arrived at either in form or substance without considerable experiment, and experience in the use of substitutes. The occupational classification of the Army, begun in September, 1917, and expanding by de- grees in all branches of the Army until May 9, 1918, G. O. No. 16 W. D. prescribed it for all soldiers, provided a growing reservoir of occupational specialists. This supply was assembled by occupations. Except by occupations, therefore, there was no proper way of drawing on it. But the demand for occupationalists, although vaguely known, was nowhere defined. Before the occupational classification of the Army 178 PERSONNEL SPECIFICATIONS 179 was begun, it was felt there would be a large demand for workers of many varied trades and for all degrees of skill from apprentices to experts. The demand soon manifested itself. Scattered requests came to The Adjutant General for various kinds of occupational specialists from the Air Service, Quartermaster Corps, and from General Pershing, who early in the War needed "buckers-up and holders-on" to complete the assembling of railroad cars shipped to him knocked down. Yet in no central office was there any exact knowledge of what the demand might be. A few of the staff corps alone had accurate and complete knowledge of what it was. TABLES OF OCCUPATIONAL NEEDS To remedy this state of affairs, work was started in Septem- ber, 1917, by Dr. R. B. Perry to organize tables of an infantry division upon the basis of what trades should be used to provide the proper occupational balance. The Tables of Or- ganization of the Army, although providing the allowances of various grades, sergeants, corporals, privates, etc., for each organization on a unit basis, did not, except in few instances, provide what occupational skill was required in order that the unit might properly perform its function. For each unit the Tables of Organization allowed a certain num- ber of cooks, horseshoers, wagoners, etc., each of which is an army grade, but in many instances the civilian occupational need was not correctly indicated by such grade, since by horseshoer (grade) of a motorized regiment an auto mechanic is intended, and by wagoner (grade, in same regiment) chauf- feur or truck driver is intended. Nothing of the kind had ever been attempted before in the Army, so there was neither any foundation on which to build, nor any trustworthy information from which tables could be compiled. The commanding officers of several Infantry and Field Artillery Regiments were asked to submit estimates of the minimum number of occupational specialists required for 180 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL the efficient operation of their regiments. These estimates in many cases exhibited such an extreme degree of divergence as to indicate upon the part of these commanding officers fundamentally different ideas of the manner in which certain parts of their organizations were intended to function. For instance, one colonel estimated that a large number of truck drivers and mechanics would be required by an Infantry Regi- ment; another thought a very few would suffice; and the estimate of still another fell between these extremes. The first probably expected that he would be called upon to do most of his motor transport work himself; the second believed he must rely entirely on the Quartermaster Corps to bring up supplies, and the third thought that he ought to provide a reserve in case he could not obtain all the help he needed from the Quartermaster Corps. This is perhaps an extreme case; yet it illustrates not only the vital necessity for stand- ardized tables of occupational needs, but also the practical difficulties which were encountered in attempting to construct these tables. P'rom cases like the above it was seen that, in framing the occupational tables, entire dependence could not be placed upon the judgments of officers who differed so widely among themselves. A preliminary study of the Tables of Organi- zation with special reference in each case to the function which the unit was to perform, and to the equipment trucks, horses, motorcycles, caissons which would have to be handled and operated by the personnel of the unit, was therefore made. The first occupational summary was issued in October, 1917, and consisted of a table showing the specialists required in each regiment of Infantry, Field Artillery and Engineers, each Machine Gun and Field Signal Battalion and each Sup- ply Train of an Infantry Division, on the basis of their mini- mum strength. It was very simple in form, consisting of only one large sheet, and was called Chart A. This was PERSONNEL SPECIFICATIONS 181 shortly revised on the basis of maximum strength and was issued as Chart B. (See Figure 12). It was recognized that Chart B was only a stop-gap which was to be replaced as soon as further investigation and study would permit the compilation of more complete and reliable tables. Dr. Bingham undertook this investigation. Once more the advice of a number of Commanding Officers in the field was asked and the resulting suggestions for improve- ment in Chart B were given careful consideration. Many officers in Washington who were qualified to speak authori- tatively on the subject were interviewed. Numerous visits were made to the Army War College where was obtained from the officers who had compiled the Tables of Organization, de- scriptions of the functions and duties which they had con- templated would be performed by the units and the indi- viduals within the units whose strictly military structure they had so meticulously defined. In other words, the Tables of Organization stated explicitly for each kind of company the exact number of non-commissioned officers, of privates first-class, privates, cooks, mechanics, wagoners and horse- shoers which were to constitute that company, but they gave almost no indication either of the duties these men were to perform or of the qualifications which were required in order to perform these duties most efficiently. It was the intention of those who were preparing the Tables of Occupational Needs to find out the duties to be performed by the individual men and then to define the dutes in the terms of the occupa- tional qualifications which best fitted a man to perform them. The first Tables of Occupational Needs of an Infantry Division were drawn up during February, 1918 by Dr. Bing- ham, assisted by Mr. L. R. Frazier and Mr. Kendall Weisiger, and were published and distributed to the Army in March. This first edition contained about seventy separate tables, one for each kind of unit, and a dozen charts on which were summarized the occupational requirements of the larger units of the division. 182 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL The Tables were probably of most value in assisting divi- sion personnel adjutants properly to distribute among the various units the drafted men who were assigned to the divi- sion by the War Department, thus assuring to each unit its proper proportion of the available specialists. They were employed to a lesser extent in the assignment of individual men to duty within a company or battalion. Incidentally the final summaries were of assistance to the Operations Branch, General Staff, in determining what proportion of specialists from the draft should be left for assignment to line troops and what proportion might be transferred to technical branches of the service. It was realized that the first edition was in no way perfect and that the opinions of officers in the field, particularly those who had seen active service in France, should be secured and embodied in a revised edition. Accordingly, a repre- sentative of the Committee who happened to be leaving for France on the day the first numbers were published, took a few copies along with him and at his first opportunity sub- mitted them to the commanding generals of two of the divi- sions then at the Front. They and their assistants were able to offer but few suggestions and accordingly the tables, as revised in France were returned to this country to be edited and republished. Taking the comments made by the officers of the American Expeditionary Force, and the latest esti- mates of the Chiefs of the several Staff Corps having per- sonnel in an infantry division, as the basis, a second edition was prepared under the direction of Mr. Alvin E. Dodd, and issued in September, 1918. This edition received general distribution. Limitations of Tables of Occupational Needs. Although the Tables of Occupational Needs were a great advance in the proper placement of men, they had two important limitations. In the first instance, there was a limitation upon their suc- cessful use by personnel adjutants. The qualifications, even of the occupational specialist, cannot properly and definitely PERSONNEL SPECIFICATIONS 183 be described purely by a name which indicates his occupa- tion. For instance, wireless operators, in addition to their ability to receive and transmit wireless messages at varying rates of speed, possess other inherent occupational qualifica- tions. Some have a wider and more scientific knowledge of the use of wireless apparatus than others. Physical limi- tations may even play some part in the determination of the assignment of an occupational specialist. A wireless sergeant of Heavy Artillery must be able to stand up during the strain of continuous work in action, while the radio sergeant in the Air Service in the Repair Unit need not be possessed of nearly so perfect a physique or physical condition, but should have a more extensive and accurate knowledge of a wireless instrument than the heavy artilleryman. Yet both of these men are described by the term "wireless operator." In a Table of Occupational Needs this is as completely as they can be described by the occupational title. In consequence, it was felt necessary to attempt some further definition of the qualifications than the mere statement of an occupational name. The second limitation was found in the difficulty unit com- manders experienced in assigning specialists to positions with- in a unit after they had been allotted by the personnel adju- tant. It is no disparagement of these unit commanders to state that the exact duties a man performs were not at all times clearly and prominently present in their minds. The qualifications a man possessed, in many instances, were well indicated on the soldiers' qualification cards, but to take the cards and make the proper assignment of men to jobs within an organization required more than the knowledge of the name of the job to be filled it required some conception of the exact duties of the man to be uppermost in the mind f the person making the assignment. In order, therefore, properly to relate the qualifications to the duties some concise but comprehensive description of the duties was necessary. 184 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL PERSONNEL SPECIFICATIONS In August, 1918, Mr. Dodd was placed in charge of revising the Tables of Occupational Needs then in existence and of developing further tables for staff corps organizations. An organization was effected, later known as the Personnel Speci- fications Unit, which was able to handle the editing of tables as they came from the various staff corps, and further, to com- pile specifications for staff corps which had no facilities for collecting such material. With the aim of overcoming the limitations of tables of occupational needs discussed above, Captain James Gregg, A.G.D., was given the task of devising a form that would re- late the duties of the job to the qualifications of the man, and distinguish the qualifications necessary for the different types of job to which men of the same occupation would be assigned. The present form of Personnel Specifications resulted from this experimentation. Except in the case of Field Artillery, they give first, the army title; second, the nearest equivalent civilian occupation, degree of ability at it, and symbol; third, a suggested substitute civilian occupation ; and fourth, a con- cise but comprehensive explanation of the duties of the job. In order to save printing, and to make the definition of duties compact, very frequently qualifications have been stated in terms of duties ; that is, the method of expression of the duties served to indicate what qualifications, other than occupational, were required in order to assure the proper execution of the duties. Two examples will illustrate these points: 1st, Radio Sergeant, for Heavy Artillery: 1 Radio Sergeant. . . . Wireless operator 1 Jour. 31w/ Substitute : Telegrapher. Cares for and operates wireless apparatus, and makes repairs under adverse conditions. Sends and receives messages at the rate of fifteen words per minute. Abbreviation "Jour." stands for Journeyman. "31W" is the code symbol used in "Index of Occupations" for "wireless telegraphers." PERSONNEL SPECIFICATIONS 185 2nd, Sergeant in a Tank Repair and Salvage Company: 1 Mechanic. . . .Gen. auto repairman 1 Jour. 24g. Substitute: Auto engine mechanic, or engine bl<#ck tester. Times and grinds valves; repairs and adjusts car- buretors, and lubricating and ignition systems ; lines up shafting and fits bearings; welds aluminum, steel, cast iron and bronze parts of motor equipment. May be called upon to do general blacksmith work and to read mechani- cal sketches and blue prints. In the first case, in stating that the Radio Sergeant "sends and receives messages at the rate of 15 words per minute," a certain standard of ability as a radio operator is required; in the second example given, the fact that the general auto repairman called for in the Tank Repair and Salvage Com- pany "may be called upon to do general blacksmith work and to read mechanical sketches and blue prints," elaborates his qualifications beyond the name of his occupation. Insufficiency of Occupational Qualifications. The tendency that predominated very largely in the Committee was to call for- any sort of a man by his occupational name. 40.1 percent, of the personnel of an Infantry Division according to the revised Tables of Occupational Needs published in September, 1918, were designated as occupational specialists. In a very real sense, the Tables of Occupational Needs were inaccurate. What was meant was not that 40.1 percent, of the personnel of the Infantry Division had to be occupational specialists but that 40.1 percent, of the duties performed by men in the Division had occupational character. In other words, the tendency was to give the company commander who needed a man to perform slight carpentering operations an apprentice carpenter, or if he needed a man who was required to make a few wire ties, an apprentice electrician. In lieu of any- thing better in the way of expressing a demand for men this method was permissible. If a wire must be tied one is much more sure that the tying will be accomplished by assigning to that job an apprentice electrician than by assigning a crane 186 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL operator or a clerk. Yet there was much wastage in this method. Leadership must be Considered. Again this tendency toward assigning occupational specialists to perform every job ran itself into the ground in other directions. Theoretically the best person for a first sergeant is a man who has had con- siderable experience in handling men. Inasmuch as his con- nection with the men is not of an overly refined or highly intellectual character, a college professor or a business exec- utive is not required. If one had to pick an occupational specialist for this position one would naturally pick some such individual as a construction boss, and the pity of it is that in many instances in Tables of Occupational Needs the con- struction foreman was actually specified for the position of first sergeant. The trouble with this is not that the construc- tion boss would not make a good first sergeant, but that some- body else might make a better one. In assigning a specialist to a job which requires a good deal more than mere occupa- tional ability one cannot be sure that the occupational special- ist so assigned, will be able to perform the duties. In other "words, a man cannot be warranted for a non-commissioned officer's job purely on the basis of his occupational qualifica- tions. A non-commissioned officer must in addition to occu- pational skill possesses other qualifications which will fit him for the business in the army for which he is warranted. Although the foreman, boss, or superintendent theoretically makes the best first sergeant for a Rifle Company in many particular instances it has been found that in that company it is the telegrapher, clerk, benchhand, miller or bricklayer who in the ordinary run of events looms up as the best material for a first sergeant. There have been no endeavors to influence the company commander's selection of non-com- missioned officers even by sending him occupational special- ists for non-commissioned jobs; the mistake, however, was made in attempting to embody qualities of physique, education, intelligence and character in a mere occupational name. PERSONNEL SPECIFICATIONS 187 Intelligence. In the third place, the more the various jobs of the Army were studied the more it became apparent that in order to put "The Right Man in the Right Place" one had to consider more than occupational qualifications. It became apparent that not only was it impossible in all instances to assign men on the strength of their occupational qualifications but that in many instances occupational qualifications were a hindrance. In the first days of the new draft army and the occupational classification of it, commanding officers were very willing to have all the occupational specialists assigned to their organizations that personnel adjutants would assign simply because they found that the average of intelligence was higher in occupational specialists than in men who had no training or skill. But with the development of the Army Mental Tests a new measure of intelligence and a more accu- rate one was arrived at. From the time that these were adopted universally by the Army, it was possible to specify a certain grade of intelligence and to secure it. Command- ing officers, moreover, discovered that in the present army men had to do a great deal more than walk or write, (to some extent, complete qualifications for many enlisted positions of the old army), in order to be able to produce the kind of or- ganization that was required. Intelligence was a factor ; and in addition to maintaining a certain level of intelligence in an organization there were some men who necessarily had to have more intelligence than others. Furthermore, command- ing officers realized that the sooner they got this intelligence functioning in the right place the more quickly would their organization be fit for overseas service, and so in Personnel Specifications in such places as were necessary there were in- corporated requests for men of a definite amount of intelli- gence to perform the duties of the job. Education. Other qualifications that were essential to proper functioning in a particular place were looked for by those training the men for these positions. In certain posi- tions in the Army education was a requisite. For example in 188 ' HISTORY OF PERSONNEL many instances it was necessary to specify that certain indi- viduals be able to read and write English, as not only was our Army made up of men in large proportion who could not read or write English but also of men who were illiterate in any language. Again, it was found necessary to stress certain technical qualifications. Qualifications akin to those men- tioned above in the cases of the man who had to do minor carpentering, and the man who had to tie wires were asked for. Such qualifications did not actually amount to technical qualifications but did involve some skill at one thing or another. This situation was the same as that already brought out in regard to leadership, where it has been found that a leader can not in every instance be picked upon the basis of his prior experience, nevertheless the indications on a soldier's quali- fication card provide a very good clue for assigning a man to a position in which this qualification plays an important part. Physical Qualifications. In the last place, physical quali- fications play a large part in the assignment of men to the various organizations which any modern Army employs. Many places can be filled by men of limited physical abilities. It is not necessary that a physically perfect man be assigned to all jobs. Here is felt the need of an extended study by the Medical Department in conjunction with the specialists of all arms of the service in order to determine once and for all those positions for which men of limited physical ability can be used to advantage. In some places defective eyesight, defective hearing, a malfunctioning heart, or lameness would not be a drawback, but these are not matters of guesswork ; they should be matters of scientific study and elaboration, and Personnel Specifications have generally declined to specify accurately the physical qualifications of a man, mainly ex- pressing desired physical excellence, because it has been real- ized that anything short of scientific knowledge on the subject would be useless. Therefore the development of Personnel Specifications has PERSONNEL SPECIFICATIONS 189 progressed to the point where for every position in the Army a detailed study or job analysis had to be made. It was im- possible to arrive at any accurate information as to what con- stituted the qualifications of a man for a job until the duties of the job were analyzed and set forth. Throughout the whole course of this matter the endeavor has been to put the horse before the cart but this arrangement can not be made until job analysis gets into the Tables of Organization. It is im- possible to lay out the organization of any functioning depart- ment or unit in the Army until one is aware of the duties of the various positions. To allow a certain number of sergeants, a certain number of corporals, a certain number of privates to a given organization without knowing what jobs they are to perform is like sending ammunition to the front without the assurance it is going to be used. And so in the study of Personnel Specifications made from August, 1918, to the present day an effort has been made to master the details of the job and to reduce to writing a brief but comprehensive definition of the duties thereof in order to arrive at the point where the qualifications of the person to perform those duties could properly be determined. EXPANSION OF PERSONNEL SPECIFICATIONS While the second edition of the Tables of Occupational Needs for an Infantry Division were being completed in Sep- tember, 1918, Personnel Specifications for other arms of the service had been commenced, upon the basis of the develop- ment mentioned above. A detail of Coast Artillery officers who had attended the 10th School for Personnel Adjutants at Camp Meigs was started working on Personnel Specifications for Coast Artillery. The method of procedure was new and to a. very large extent the rules for making definitions had to be formulated as the work progressed. Nevertheless, within three weeks Personnel Specifications for the entire Coast Ar- tillery Corps (exclusive of fixed armament), including trench 190 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL mortars, artillery headquarters, anti-aircraft artillery, railway artillery, motorized artillery, and trains and parks, were com- pleted. The publication of this book, however, was delayed because it was felt necessary to have the work approved by officers who had seen service with these units in the field in France. Captain Joseph M. Larimer, A.G.D., therefore, one of the detail of officers, who was later detailed as an assistant to Captain Gregg, took this work to Camp Eustis, Virginia, where it was thoroughly checked by the officers of the Coast Artillery Corps who had been with these units in service over- seas. The work was approved almost verbatim and was issued in December, 1918. The first of the series of Personnel Specifications to appear in print was the Air Service, Division of Military Aeronautics, in three sections: Section I., Headquarters and Balloon Sec- tion, Form CCP-470, published November, 1918; Section II., Service Units, Form CCP-471, published November, 1918; Section III., Construction, Repair and Supply Units, Form CCP-472, published December, 1918. This work was com- piled almost entirely by First Lieutenant John W. Dissette of the Air Service, who had assisted in the preliminary organ- ization of some flying fields. This officer later compiled a supplement to the Air Service M'hich contains the Personnel Specifications for a single unit flying field, this book (CCP-473) being published in January, 1919. Shortly afterwards appeared the Coast Artillery Corps, a book of 102 pages (CCP-465). In rapid succession thereafter .appeared Personnel Specifications for: Motor Transport Corps, complete (CCP-458). Decem- ber, 1918. Cavalry Regiment (CCP-460), December, 1918. Signal Corps, including Field Signal Battalion, Telegraph Battalion and Pigeon Company (CCP-475), December, 1918. Tank Corps, complete (CCP-459), December, 1918. Corps of Engineers, in three sections, January, 1919: PERSONNEL SPECIFICATIONS 191 Section I. (CCP-480) : Part 1. Divisional Troops (Fully Armed). Part 2. Corps and Army Troops (Fully Armed). Section II. Special Troops, except Transportation (Partly Armed). Section III. Transportation Troops (Partly Armed), Gas Regiment of the Chemical Warfare Service (CCP-479). March, 1919. In addition to the books published there were also prepared Personnel Specifications for the Field Artillery, Quartermaster Corps, Medical Department, Ordnance Department and In- fantry Machine Gun Units. The Tables of Occupational Needs, Form CCP-457, had been published in December, 1918, for the Quartermaster Corps to satisfy the immediate needs for an occupational survey in that branch of the service. The expansion of this work to cover the entire Army was largely the result of the insistence of Mr. Dodd, whose theory it was that the Personnel Specifications Unit must function for the entire Army inasmuch as it was found that the various units of the Army were not able to codify the demand in a standard fashion. The work of editing these Specifications, iii addition to the officers mentioned above, was aided by Captain Charles C. Dilley, A.G.D., who was one of the original detail of Coast Artillery Officers which drew up the specifications for the Coast Artillery. METHOD OF MAKING PERSONNEL SPECIFICATIONS Standardization of Needs. The occupational classification of the Army has standardized, at least for Army purposes, the various trades. The qualifications and duties of each par- ticular vocation have been clearly and definitely set forth in "Army Trade Specifications." Staff Corps, therefore, in order to secure the specialists needed have been required to use these standard definitions of what constitutes the different grades. Each staff corps, except in rare instances, determined 192 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL the requirements of the corps as to (1) a man's trade skill, (2) other qualifications necessary for his proper functioning, and (3) the description of his army duties. In order, how- ever, to standardize the expression of the needs of the various corps and arms, it was necessary to clear the requisitions for personnel through a central office which possessed the requisite facilities for making this demand uniform. In this way the terminology for qualifications and duties for each organization was simplified and standardized. Qualifications of Members of the Personnel Specifications Unit. The men who composed this unit were selected from those who possessed three qualifications. No less than two were required to be present in each individual; it being pos- sible so to divide the -work that it passed successively twice through the hands of those possessing all the qualifications. Following are these qualifications: 1. Knowledge of army organization and resultant military functioning. The essentials of military relationship must always be borne in mind. Even when an army unit is per- forming a function almost purely vocational it is frequently necessary to estimate to what extent the military relationship will affect the performance of these duties. Further, if there are military duties to be performed, in addition to and inde- pendent of the vocational functioning, only a person who has had varied or extensive military service can qualify in this respect. 2. Ability to understand the functioning of the various trades. In order properly to describe the duties of -any army job, and to determine what sort of man will be required at that job in the light of the duties he performs, one must be able to visualize the job being performed. This qualification depends upon the person having actually seen the operation being performed, or upon a wide experience with trade special- ists, from which he can determine what the specialist would do under given circumstances. 3. Ability to collate, unify and edit demands for trade PERSONNEL SPECIFICATIONS 193 specialists. This calls for more than ordinary editorial ability. It requires good judgment, and some knowledge of the trades. Necessity for Supervision of All Specifications by One Staff. Whether the work of compiling personnel specifications is initiated by the Personnel Specifications Unit or by officers within a Staff Corps who arc expert in matters of its per- sonnel, it is necessary that all specifications be edited and gen- erally supervised by the Specifications Unit. Otherwise it is inevitable that deviations from the general plan will creep into the specifications which will make it difficult to handle personnel matters for the Army as a whole. UNDERLYING PRINCIPLES IN MAKING PERSONNEL SPECIFICATIONS Function of the Army Unit. Before one can intelligently demand specialists for the formation of an army unit, the functions of that unit must be well defined in all particulars. For the purpose of conveniently classifying the primary func- tion of the unit, army organizations, ranging in size from a detachment to a brigade, can usually be placed under one of the following three heads: 1. Combatant units armed, equipped and organized for attacking the enemy. 2. Administrative- 1 units which administer the affairs of the army in accordance with regulations. 3. Technical or vocational units which perform duties which call for the employment of technical or occu- pational specialists as such. This classification may, at first, seem illogical or contrary to the general method of classification. But when it is remem- bered that it is made purely upon the basis of the primary function of the unit, the reason for it will be apparent. Thus a regiment of sappers (Corps of Engineers) is not classified as combatant, but as technical, for its primary function is to work with the pick and shovel, although armed, it utilizes these arms only in emergencies and for its own 194 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL defense ; similarly, an organization of military police, although armed, has primarily an administrative function, and is so classified. A rifle company in an infantry regiment, a machine gun company, and a battery of artillery would obviously fall under combat. A supply company would be administrative. Engineering troops, in general, and a motor mechanics regi- ment (air service) would fall under technical. Determination of Subsidiary Operations of Unit. The method in which the unit accomplished its primary function will depend to a large extent upon the nature of the function. The primary function of a combatant unit being to fight, the method of accomplishing this, and the consequent division of the work will be largely tactical. So that in a machine gun company of an infantry regiment the work of the unit will be divided among the tactical divisions of the company which are the company headquarters, the three platoons and the combat trains. But for the purpose of finding out what duties each man performs, and what qualifications each must possess, a stop cannot be made here. Each of these tactical divisions must be further analyzed. So that it is found that in each platoon, there are headquarters and two sections. Each sec- tion is composed of two squads and the function of each squad is to fire one machine gun. Thus, the smallest operation in the unit is arrived at, and the matter of deciding upon the qualifications and duties of each person who assists in the operation is simplified. In a similar manner consideration of functions of the operations performed by each sub-division are reduced to the simplest operation it performs. 1 1 Note: In this connection, therefore, there may first be , aiiu UUUKB are nepi to ueierrnme me amount 01 loou a company r. The system of feeding, housing: and equipping the men, is a function constant with every unit. Others may vary, but except that the number of men for which it functions is variable this one is fixed. The persons who draw the supplies and issue them, provide the food may draw, therefore a 1 a F ^ o H 1 i 4 S t | * ^ 5 S a J5 3B f | S 1 B i t in t* wj cv t-i CM n 41 10 i < i I ] III j 1 P. h |lg i S -^ _ _ ^ q0 r-l CM n i i * * < g 6P i o M fefl H 4 1 h 1-1 t* 10 ff ^ 5 a 2 i e- 9 f , \ U E 1 ' P CO P 3 f o n M g * P. i! S * 5 " o t-i CM n 41 i I 1 1 4. i o I 1 M g 5 9 H | B M 1 I 1 S T !t H er <3 E t> g o o g i o CO S E B S fa c 1 a a O h S * H a p -. 0. o E4 fc I S s 4 i* > 3 Vl M o * a It i I t I i 1 1 1 2 5 a & w -d h CO M ID O * V C p o * G i s M H 5b o JJ 1 o b Si * i* rH 1 9 fl X I i >-i CM n Jl 10 196 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL Definition of Duties. Having sifted the operations of the organization down to those performed by each individual, one comes to the point where the analysis of the individual job is the inevitable step. The range of each job must be clear in the mind of the person who is defining its duties. Consequently in describing these duties no function that the man will natu- rally perform, or might in all probability be called upon to perform, must be overlooked. Right here is seen the necessity for visualizing the man at his work in the Army. The rules governing the expression of the duties are too numerous to discuss in this volume. Determination of Number and Placement of Specialists. Having analyzed the job of each man, one is now in a position to determine what sort of a man is needed in each place. Not only must one consider the exact duties of the individual in fixing his qualifications, but also his relation to the functions of the others in the unit must be taken into account. An instance of this sort of analysis of the work of a unit for the purpose of deciding upon the placement of specialists is seen in the accompanying diagrams. Figure 6 shows the organization of the work of a Landing Gear Repair Company of a Motor Mechanics Regiment, the primary function of which is to repair the landing gear of forty airplanes which daily pass through the regiment for repair. First appears the function of company administration which has to do with the messing, quartering and equipping of the individuals of the company, the factor constant for all military units. The operations of the company vocationally are divided into four parts: 1. Inspection, 2. Dismantling, 3. Assembling, and 4. Stock Room Supply. The landing gear of the plane to be repaired passes successively through all of these stages. These are further subdivided, as they naturally would, into the dismantling of the wheels and tires, fittings and axles. Then the number of men needed to keep this operation going on forty planes daily is determined. How many journeymen are required for the more intricate processes, how many PERSONNEL SPECIFICATIONS 197 I 1 ill If- s* '[ 3 t J * I .*... $fe at | _i o PI 93 s o g rj ja -< rt |H f* j CQ CM -^ rt a CM tO 2 - a > 58 ? S,^ I- CO o P. P4 *j i O g o o a o o o +> i *| P,l-> rt W 198 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL apprentices to assist these journeymen, and how many laborers to supply both, and to assist in the work of handling the heavier pieces. In the second diagram, Figure 7, the num- bers of such specialists are shown accordingly as they are needed for the different operations. Relation of Trade Ability to Army Grade. Civilian occu- pation and degree of skill having been discovered, some attempt must be made to relate them toi the army position which the specialist will occupy. Expertness in a given grade in the army unit, functioning on vocational lines almost requires that such expert be given an army grade consistent with his degree of skill in civil life. The general connection between his civilian occupation and his army grade, however, must be studied. The following questions naturally arise : 1. In connection with his army duties, does he control men, if so, how many? 2. If the organization is purely vocational, will his army grade depend purely upon his experience at the trade ? In the third diagram, Figure 8, appears the determination of the army grade of the specialists in the company according to the relation that exists between the duties of the position and the army grade. Other Qualifications. It is well known that men cannot be classified by occupations alone. This pertains to functions they perform in the army as much as it does to what they do in civilian life. The authority that comes to a man because of his being warranted in a particular grade must be a matter of concern to those who draw up tables of personnel specifica- tions. Indiscriminate assignment of men to army grades can- not usually be made purely upon a basis of vocational ability. Whether or not the man is to be a non-commissioned officer, is not, however, the determining factor in the consideration of his other qualifications. It may happen he must be poten- tially a non-commissioned officer in which instance he must have leadership ability. Likely he must possess a certain -. * x ( s 1 1 ilJ . ' rH " B 2 *> * . rH > v H " " t> B t> l -f , <* M S M 2 cSiS ^" 15 ^ Hi rH rni j^" ^b& |i" ^^ 1 & * p > Pi O c&R ?J ^ I !b b 5. ^ 5 '' IT> < Sol P4*PV t*- O O t-3 jo OO] t-tOO^i O 0* CO *> WrH rH rHrHdrHfl i w . . i a m "_ ' f r 1 I "-* n n I 3 i 6 ^ *> a "3 n i- s^ i s IH f 1 ^ 5 rM (rt * a p, ^ O ffl t. O 4 s S F \t\ CO 1- S I. ^ 5.3 i I 5 JKK a i *- E - - en rH 5 ! "5 E CM ? s 8~ & cJ xJ PI a ;" M 9 2 6-4 o 8P f O 8 IP 3 I IB < rH rH 60 M b O iH B +> 3 *> n *" g 2 C co o g o g . ^3 S "- 3 h * 99 O * rH WCV) SO 2 K. -9 A % 1*. P* J| J m _ m L, 4^ rH OT CM CO i-l V g ** *< C a jo S. ** "a +> cS * & +> 1 rH || || E- 4 4 8 e rH BOO O <0 4 On 4> o> o g o rirH t en n ^*jM^8 1 ^' *< E P S 6rH CO & 4- i * V n*> (>> OCOO rH^.> * c CO ^g ^r^ H> > O-H^l E ] *> H 11 G rH CO rO o t}M- a S 9 rH ^ rt S i**^^ 3 n< @ . O rH CM 10 200 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL amount of intelligence as determined by the army mental tests. In other places in the Army it may be necessary that his phys- ical qualifications be taken into account. Some positions are more of a strain upon the physique of a man than others. Jn many jobs in the Army, a man with a physical defect may be used, if so, this physical limitation must be specified. It may be again that for the purpose of the job he must have a certain amount of education. Army Schooling. It may be that the army position will draw upon his trade ability only to a small extent. It may be that no trade ability will fit him for this job. Consideration must therefore be given to these three points. 1. Can the man function in the army directly from civil life in a purely vocational way? 2. Will his civilian occupation provide merely a background of knowledge upon which he must draw, properly to function? 3. Is it required that he attend an Army Training School in order to learn the duties of his job? The answer to any of these three questions provides a quali- fication which is in the newer tables, expressed as Army Schooling. Any or all of these may be important. It is essential that their potential importance be considered. Table of Occupational Organization. Personnel Specifica- tions in the newer tables, are summarized in table form showing relationship between occupations and army grades, and indicating organization totals. (See Figure 9). RESULTS ACHIEVED THROUGH THE USE OF TABLES OF OCCUPATIONAL NEEDS The following quotation from a letter of September 25, 1918, is typical of the attitude of many officers as to the value of the specifications. "I believe that your Tables of Classification for the Medi- cal Department permit of the organization of sanitary for- mations which are at least doubly as efficient at the outset as they otherwise could be, and that even after long train- ing the organizations created under the hit-or-miss arrange- PERSONNEL SPECIFICATIONS 201 ment could never hope to be even more than fractionally as efficient. It is a great step in advance and something I had personally hoped for over 25 years." Colonel M , Medical Corps. CovnDurruL For Offidil UM Only | MODEL Table of Occupation*! Orjanizalion] HEADQUARTERS COMPANY 75 MM. (3-INCH) FIELD ARTnAjjRr REGIMENT (Tables of Organization Nc T. O. O. 14 i. 13 and 14) 1 2 * 4 5 c 7 1 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18J 19 j 21 22 23 i Jp | Specficalion No. OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALISTS. Symbol. Decree of skill ARMY GRADE. 4 4) I |l Battalion Sergeant* Major. j - I 1 7. Supply Sergeant. Stable Sergeant j } 1 j Mechanic* Saddler , Privates, litClaaa. 1 j General Mechanic 1 1 IS H.,r*^ocr 7h 1 JO General Carpenter U 1 7 Stockkeeper 18 i i ai Auto Chauffeur 22a 4 ! t 4 as Motorcyclist 22m I : < a Honrtnaa 27 :, .1 IS 10 H s 9uh) Boat 27h 1 1 1 1 Topographical Draftsman 2t p 1 1 1 Surveyor, Topographer .iut 1 i i.-v Surveyor. Transit and Level 30 u 12 ! Gen. Clerical Worker u ! 1 1 ' 1 2 4 Stenographer Ml ~ ; .1 17 Cook 40 c = i Caterer 40 ca ' 1 Musician, Band 44 b y ^W_ 4* aa Bugler 44 bu -' 2 1 ai Saddler 47 a 1 i Gen. Con.L Foreman SO, 1 Office Manager lOoo A. 1 Tot.li J. - _ 1 - l 1 1 .1 1 1 -' 1 ' 1 ,.i 41 IN 1 :. :, : ' " - ! - a Total Mm J . 1 J l 1 1 H H 3 2 ^ 1 3 =7 " H M FIG. 9 CHAPTER 15 DETERMINATION OF ARMYS NEEDS FOR OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALISTS In the course of the development and expansion of the Committee it was found necessary to compile several sets of statistics relative to the occupational qualifications of the men who were drafted into the Army and to the occu- pational requirements of the Army itself. The immediate purpose of compiling such statistics was, in most cases, to enable that part of the Committee which was assisting the Operations Branch, General Staff in its work of assign- ing drafted men to army organizations, to perform this work with the added efficiency which full information on the large aspects of their problem would make possible. However, the value of these statistics was by no means limited to the work of distributing the draft. From the very beginning of the compilation of the Tables of Occupational Needs the figures on the proportions of various kinds of spe- cialists in the draft were a guide in so framing the Tables as to avoid specifying a ridiculously large number of more or less rare men in cases where men of related occupations or of lesser skill would serve nearly as well. The statistics were also of value in forecasting the occupational shortages which would have to be made up somehow by special training in camp, by special draft, by individual induction or by train- ing in the War Department's trade schools and thus to enable the Operations Branch or the Committee on Education and Special Training to prepare to supply the anticipated defi- ciencies a month or two before they were actually due to occur. These uses to which such statistics were put are de- scribed more in detail in Chapter 33, but it is the purpose 202 OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALISTS 203 of this chapter to give some of the actual statistics and to describe how they were compiled. OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENTS FROM JANUARY 1, TO MAY 1, 1918 The first important statistical investigation was undertaken early in January, 1918, under the direction of Dr. Bingham, for the specific purpose of demonstrating the necessity of establishing special Army trade schools to overcome the seri- ous shortages in skilled personnel, with resulting retardation of the Army's training program and impairment of its effi- ciency, with which it would be faced within the next four months unless energetic action was taken at once. The result- ing figures, when brought to the attention of the proper authorities, exerted considerable influence in leading to the establishment of the Committee on Education and Special Training whose principal function, during the remainder of the war was to train, by intensive courses in colleges and schools throughout the country, large numbers of trade special- ists for technical army units. This summary of occupational requirements, which is printed below in Table 1 is largely self-explanatory. It will be remembered that at the time this summary was prepared the policy of calling into the Army large monthly increments of men had not been adopted. After the first call of the draft in the fall of 1917, no more men had been drafted and in January it was still quite undecided as to when the next call would be made. Therefore the only supply from which specialists for technical units could be drawn was from within the Army itself as then constituted, with the exception of a comparatively small number of men, who were voluntarily inducted. Accordingly the first column in the summary in- dicates the total skilled (journeymen) personnel among the 779,772 enlisted men in the National Army and National Guard cantonments on December 15, 1917 from which prac- tically all the specialists for the Army must come for the 204 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL next few months. The second column indicates the esti- mated needs of the thirty divisions at those cantonments. These estimates were based on 'Chart B,' the fore-runner of the Tables of Occupational Needs, and were necessarily rather rough and imperfect. The third column indicates the resulting surplus or shortage, as the case may be. The figures in the fourth main column were based upon special state- ments from the Chiefs of all the Staff Corps as to their esti- mated requirements from January 1st to May 1st, 1918; and in the fifth column appear the estimated shortages or sur- pluses. (The shortages are in black-faced type.) Table 1. Needs of the Army for Enlisted Men of Special Qualifica- tions Reqwred by May 1, 1918. 1 Occupation Total Skilled Personnel Estimated Needs of 30 E Divisions Surplus or H Shortage Needs of _ Staff Corps < Surplus or _, Shortage Accountant 1313 540 773 853 80 Aeroplane Mechanic 49 49 6700 6651 Artist 611 611 31 580 Auto Driver 8551 5880 2671 20717 18046 Auto Repairer 5807 5340 467 5611 S144 Baker 1780 2220 440 2072 2512 Barber 6295 5880 415 1180 7fiS Blacksmith 1401 3120 1710 4063 5782 Boiler Maker . . . . 535 535 164 371 Bookkeeper 3940 540 3400 670 2730 Bridge Carpenter 222 222 2379 2157 Butcher 2150 420 1730 289 1441 'This estimate Is made without allowance for the skilled men needed In the Regular Army Divisions now forming-, some of whom will doubtless be Included among- the troops to be transferred from the National Army to the Regular Army. Neither is any account taken of possible demands of the Expeditionary Forces for technical men. Over against these consider- ations stands the fact that the National Army has, in certain vocations, a reserve of partly skilled men not included in these totals, but capable of being trained to the technical work required. OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALISTS 205 Table 1. Needs of the Army for Enlisted Men tions Required by May 1, 1918. of Special Qualifica- Occupation Total Skilled Personnel Estimated Needs of 30 S Divisions Surplus or y Shortage Needs of Staff Corps << Surplus or Shortage Care and Handling Horses... Canvas Worker 14883 110 3 134 4810 227 ' 39 18058 1227 3362 875 386 1141 1296 245 3245 1596 353 163 1848 1808 48 1202 135 460 421 1087 391 72 308 61860 120 120 10500 120 11220 5430 17880 300 2190 1530 4170 1530 1470 150 270 2130 5220 300 46977 10 3 14 5690 227 81 6838 4203 14518 875 86 1049 234 245 925 1596 1177 163 1848 338 48 1052 135 1670 421 4133 391 228 308 4874 1087 37 700 4500 5975 919 7402 1103 3325 1335 950 5605 1628 1843 251 277 817 9723 1228 1085 536 840 1494 1287 45 51851 1097 34 686 10190 227 81 863 5122 21920 228 86 4374 1569 705 6530 32 1843 1428 114 1031 9385 48 1052 1363 2755 115 4973 1103 1515 263 Carbon Lamp Man Carrier Pigeon Expert Carpenter Chemical Industry Worker .... Chiropodist Clerk Concrete and Cement Worker. . Cook Construction Foreman Dentist Draftsman Drucforist . Dynamo Expert Electrician Engineer Graduate Engineer, Locomotive. (Sec Fireman) Farrier Firefighter Foundryman Gasoline Engine Repairman . . . Gas Works Man Grocer Gunsmith Harness Maker I loistman Horse Shoer Inspector Instrument Repairer Interpreter . 206 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL Table 1. Needs of the Army for Enlisted Men of Special Qualifica- tions Required by May 1, 1918. Occupation Total Skilled _ Personnel Estimated Needs of 30 ^ Divisions Surplus or >- Shortage Needs of ,_ Staff Corps ^ Surplus or ^ Shortage Laboratory Worker 159 228 2025 66 2555 1248 5476 1272 243 138 160 3871 530 459 7402 93 321 3228 405 507 108 3554 168 733 1944 136 7 365 102 2929 540 1920 720 5580 5400 180 1320 12780 12000 540 5730 3720 4740 720 720 240 381 228 105 66 2555 528 104 1272 243 138 160 1529 350 861 5378 93 11679 2688 405 5223 108 166 168 4007 1224 136 7 355 102 2689 98 3095 18 1805 1976 8068 283 280 316 446 359 837 2941 1225 295 1516 1353 611 300 608 5232 1034 381 130 2990 48 750 1448 8172 989 243 142 156 1975 9 1698 8319 93 11679 1463 110 6739 108 1519 168 4007 613 136 7 300 963 5130 1655 Laundry Expert Lineman Locksmith Locomotive Fireman Lumberman Machinist Mason Medical Student Metal Finisher Millwright Miner Moving Picture Expert Mule Packer Musician Navigator Nurse Painter Pattern Maker Photographer . . .* Physician Pipe Fitter and Plumber Plaster Molder Policeman (M. P.) Printer Purchasing Agent Psychological Examiner Propeller Maker Quarryman and Explosives Expert R. R. Construction Man R. R. Operating Man . OCCUPATIONAL' SPECIALISTS 207 Table 1. Needs of the Army for Enlisted Men of Special Qualifica- tions Required by May 1, 1918. I II III IV V 73 'g 2 M *" - u M c >- t *> c bo oj 0^ c 08 2 . ^ (A VJ (1 Occupation o H i c ^ .2 u OH O no O "H. o *"* en fe "^ 3 3 "^ 5Z sj 3 2 W fc en M en en M R. R. Shop Mechanic 161 161 37 124 Rigger 476 360 116 593 477 Sanitary Expert 26 26 26 Seafaring Man 813 600 213 186 27 Section Hand (see R. R. Const.) 1452 1452 1452 Sheet Metal Worker 1256 180 1076 1630 554 Shipper 1001 1080 79 79 Shoemaker 977 2130 1153 287 1440 Steam Engineer 2153 960 1193 1459 266 Stenographer 4263 3000 1263 1800 537 Stockkeeper 1246 540 706 1606 900 Struc. Steel & Iron Worker 676 676 367 309 Surveyor 719 2460 1741 2105 3846 Tailor 1670 1080 590 1782 1192 Technical Instructor 17 17 17 Telegrapher 1688 3390 1702 7839 9541 Telephone Operators 393 5190 4797 4797 9594 Telephone Repairer 611 3540 2929 2938 5867 Tool Maker 344 344 527 183 Truck Driver 4228 27450 23222 30184 53406 Typewriter 1043 3000 1957 1722 3679 Undertaker 196 196 8 188 Ventilation Expert 8 3 81 78 Veterinary 226 660 434 1341 1775 Vulcanizer 197 197 328 131 Watchmaker 346 120 226 18 208 Water Supply Man 44 44 196 132 Welder 164 120 44 457 413 Wheelwright 129 420 291 1129 1420 Wireless Constructor 10 120 110 110 Wireless Operator 209 1740 1531 7575 9106 208 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL OCCUPATIONAL CENSUS OF NATIONAL ARMY (1917) Immediately after the preparation of the above summary, work was started on another tabulation which proposed to indicate the numbers of journeymen and apprentices in each occupation in the first draft call of 1917. It was found nec- essary to omit the men transferred to National Guard Divi- sions, because no occupational record of these transfers was available. When completed, however, the summary was based on a total of approximately 425,000 men including men in National Army camps on December 15, 1917 and all men who had been transferred therefrom except to National Guard Divisions. For convenience the figures were reduced to a basis of 100,000 men; i. e., it was stated that among the total of 425,000 men, there were 1311 skilled accountants and 1034 partly skilled accountants to each 100,000. This scheme of employing a common basis of 100,000 men so simplified com- parisons of different sets of figures that it was used in prac- tically all similar statistical tables thereafter. GENERAL PERSHING'S SIX-PHASE PROJECT Upon the receipt of General Pershing's six-phase project for the construction, step by step, of a well-balanced oversea Army, the Chiefs of the various Staff Corps were asked to define in terms of occupations the requirements of the units which would be organized under their jurisdiction. The re- sulting reports were then summarized occupationally by the Central Distributing Office of the Committee and used as a guide in distributing the draft as soon as monthly calls began to be made. OCCUPATIONAL STATISTICS OF DRAFT INCREMENTS OF 1918 After draft calls began to be made monthly, it -became the custom to compile occupational summaries of each of them OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALISTS 209 on the 100,000 basis, which is described above. The study of the July 22nd draft, covering over 200,000 men, is prob- ably the most reliable of any of these single-draft summaries. The large number of men, the well-distributed sources from which they came, the variety of occupations represented (over- 300 sub-occupations), the fact that practically all the men were inducted at camps which were exceptionally well- equipped to interview and classify them, and the particular oare that was taken in making the tabulation all conduced to making this summary a particularly valuable one. Although it is too detailed to be reproduced here, it has been combined with subsequent reports and condensed into a form suitable in this volume. In this condensed form the more than 300 sub-occupations have been combined into less than 100 main headings and no differentiation has been made between jour- neymen and apprentices. The figures are based on a total of 427,048 general service white men in the draft increments of July 22nd, August 26th, and September 3rd, but they have been reduced to a basis of 100,000 men in order that they might be compared with such figures as those in the second column, representing the requisitions submitted by the Staff Corps reduced to the same basis. These requisitions, received between July 1st and November 1st, 1918, represent 423,865 men. The hundreds of thousands of men whom the Opera- tions Branch 'requisitioned' for Infantry and Field Artillery are not included in this total. The figures in the second col- umn must not, therefore, be taken as typical of the entire Army, but only of the specialized organizations of the Staff Corps. Table %. Showing Probable Supply of the Army and Demand of the Staff Corps for Occupational Specialists Demand by Symbol Occupation Probable Supply Staff Corps per 100,000 per 100,000 6 Machinist and Mechanic 1970 4835 7 Blacksmith 708 3730 8 Carpenter 2301 2976 210 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL Table 2. Showing Probable Supply of the Army and Demand of the Staff Corps for Occupational Specialists Demand by Symbol Occupation Probable Supply Staff Corps per 100,000 per 100,000 9 Concrete or Cement Worker 376 44 10 Electrician 687 1219 11 Gunsmith 30 608 12 Miner and Quarry Worker 1724 665 13 Painter 810 435 14 Pipefitter 770 761 15 Railroad Operating Man . . 921 1153 16 Road Worker 874 314 17 Engineman and Fireman . . 1762 1770 18 Stockkeeper 1292 1984 19 Sheet Metal Worker 276 286 20 Foundryman 489 52 21 Structural Steel Worker . . 312 339 22 Chauffeur 5686 5581 23 Chauffeur, Heavy Truck . . 1906 7538 24 Auto Mechanic 2139 7633 25 Gas Engineer or Repairman 622 344 26 Bricklayer 495 370 27 Horseman 14854 5951 28 Farrier and Veterinarian . 38 635 29 Draftsman 118 722 30 Surveyor 81 1158 31 Telegraph or Wireless Man 225 2665 32 Lineman and Cableman . . . 335 1540 33 Telephone man 134 921 34 Photographer 105 92 35 Lumberman 2021 3144 36 Mariner and Boatman 199 146 37 Accountant 191 39 38 Clerical Worker 3990 3820 39 Stenographer and Typist . . , 779 1953 40 Baker and Cook , 1318 3565 41 Butcher 622 566 42 Merchant 447 105 43 Medical man , 283 84 44 Musician 449 1874 45 Barber 506 352 47 Leather Worker 344 743 48 Tailor 504 507 OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALISTS 211 Table 2. Showing Probable Supply of the Army and Demand of the Staff Corps for Occupational Specialists Demand by Symbol Occupation Probable Supply Staff Corps per 100, 000 per 100.000 49 Inspector 69 271 50 Construction Foreman 157 1203 61 Airplane Mechanic 37 1695 63 Boiler Maker 248 301 65 Balloonist 1 49 66 Pigeon Fancier 35 5 67 Chemist and Chemical Worker 1 181 60 68 Fire Department Man 68 47 69 Gas Plant Worker 2 67 70 Crane Operator 248 392 72 Instrument Maker and Repairman .... 70 254 74 Bacteriologist 11 12 75 Laundryman 120 277 76 Canvas Worker 20 199 77 Compressor Operator 11 3 79 Millwright 73 114 80 Cooper 61 18 82 Policeman and Detective 119 297 84 Purchasing Agent 89 10 88 Sanitarian 3 26 89 Mathematician 9 61 90 Mule Packer 14 13 91 Munitions Worker 231 94 Rubber Worker 169 197 95 Water Supply Man 19 75 % Welder, Cutter 86 168 98 Refrigeration Operator 12 51 100 Rigger and Cordage Worker 30 324 102 Transportation Man 32 684 105 Civil Engineer 45 41 106 Commercial Engineer 15 3 Miscellaneous and Unclassified 45345 19633 (Includes factory workers, farmers, laborers, lawyers, teachers, business men and salesmen who are not experi- enced in any other occupation) 'Note: Names of drafted chemists were referred to Chemical Warfare Service for placement. Hence there was no necessity for requisitioning them. The demand greatly exceeded the supply. 212 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL OCCUPATIONAL STATISTICS OF THE A. E. F. A very interesting report covering the qualifications of approximately 600,000 men of the A. E. F. was prepared in France during January, 1919. It is unusually complete and gives in great detail the number of journeymen and ap- prentices in each of 704 occupations in the Army and Corps troops of the 1st and 2nd Armies, in each of sixteen divisions and in each of the Staff Corps. It also distinguishes be- tween main and secondary occupations. The report occupies an immense volume of over ninety very large pages, and is far more elaborate than any of the summaries described above, which, having been prepared primarily to assist the Committee in prosecuting the war and not as records for the information of experts after the war, were gotten up as simply and with as little detail as possible. The A. E. F. report was summarized in two forms: (a) by organizations, and (b) by main occupations. This second summary, with the text of the letter accompanying the report, is reproduced below. It will be noticed that five occupations, which, in all reports and summaries prepared in the United States were combined under the heading 'Unclassified' because they were of slight military value, are listed in detail in the A. E. F. tabulation. This accounts for the very small number of 'un- skilled' men. These five occupations are: Factory Worker, Farmer, Laborer, Lawyer, and Teacher, and Business Man and Salesman. PERSONNEL DIVISION CENTRAL RECORDS OFFICE ADJUTANT GENERAL'S DEPARTMENT AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES FRANCE February 8, 1919. From: Personnel Division, Central Records Office, A. P. O. 902. To: Statistical Division, G. H. Q. A. E. F. Subject: Occupational Report for January 10, 1919. 1. The following report of the occupational strength of OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALISTS 213 the A. E. F. as of January 10, 1919, is herewith submitted. This report is a compilation of the reports made by such units of the A. E. F. which had, on the above date, the qualification cards of the enlisted personnel completed and in proper condition to submit the required information. 2. The Index of Occupations (From CCP-4) includes 704 items and this report shows the number of enlisted men in the units of the A. E. F. reporting which have had experience in these itemized occupations, if they are skilled or partly skilled therein, and also a distinction is made between their main and secondary civil occupation. 3. The Personnel Adjutant of each reporting unit for- warded tally sheets compiled by him to the Central Records Office and the Personnel Division thereof has consolidated this information and assembled it in detail within this report. The report of those units of Staff Corps such as Air Service and Engineers which are attached or assigned to Armies, Corps or Divisions are included in the totals of the respective Armies, Corps and Divisions and not in the totals of the Staff Corps. 4. For the combat units which reported the qualification cards tallied represent approximately 75 per cent, of the total strength of the combined organizations and the reports for other units represent a somewhat smaller percentage of the total strength. This report, therefore, covers approxi- mately 600,000 men of the A. E. F. H. D. McBRIDE, Major, A. G. D. Table 3. Index and Tabulation by Primary Occupation Showing Vocational Skill in American Expeditionary Forces Occupation Main Occupation Secondary Occupation Skilled Pt. Skilled Skilled Pt. Skilled Accountant 1311 1034 233 666 Airplane Mechanic 203 152 323 393 Architect 65 62 26 42 Artist 289 208 39 125 Auto Mechanic 9004 9400 2075 8190 Bacteriologist 58 45 22 57 Baker and Cook 6205 7073 703 4209 214 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL Table 3. Index and Tabulation by Primary Occupation Showing Vocational Skill in American Expeditionary Forces (Con't) Occupation Main Occupation Secondary Occupation Skilled Pt. Skilled Skilled Pt. Skilled Balloonist 13 4 9 9 Banker and Broker 62 89 8 33 Barber 2088 1711 137 851 Blacksmith 2763 3162 328 1825 Boilermaker 1036 1018 102 395 Bricklayer 1390 1079 144 572 Brush Maker 26 14 4 8 Business and Salesman 6875 11154 941 4165 Butcher 2398 2406 235 1308 Canvas Worker 74 130 28 71 Carpenter 7025 7794 864 5311 Chauffeur 10057 16199 4290 19323 Chauffeur, heavy truck 4970 6788 1904 6283 Chemist and Chemical Worker . . 365 562 87 226 Civil Engineer 412 265 42 104 Clerical Worker 14642 25577 2323 12019 Commercial Engineer 82 23 12 23 Compressor Operator 27 35 14 43 Concrete and Cement Worker . . 1052 1764 318 1435 Construction Foreman or Supt . . 1074 675 262 788 Cooper 190 185 30 78 Crane Operator, hoistman * 817 850 148 439 Detective and Policeman 410 455 53 260 Dog Trainer 9 35 6 38 Draftsman 1046 1446 250 925 Education extent of 12fi7 3670 4228 21100 Electrician 4290 4715 538 2559 Employment Manager 30 51 3 18 Engineman and Fireman 5340 11202 830 4044 Engraver, Stencil and Die 38 54 4 18 Factory Worker 4556 11080 683 4957 Farmer 34520 78003 3276 17567 Farrier and Veterinarian 227 379 117 303 Fire Department Man 175 193 45 123 Foundrvman 1637 2622 200 985 Gas Plant Worker 73 71 24 41 (las Engineman Repairman 988 1327 397 1592 OCCUPA TIONAL SPECIALISTS 215 Table 5. Index and Tabulation by Primary Occupation Showing Vocational Skill in American Expeditionary Forces (Con't) Occupation Main Occupation Secondary Occupation Skilled Ft. Skilled Skilled Ft. Skilled Gunsmith, Armorer 208 368 65 213 Heating Vent. Engineer 30 28 6 25 Horseman 10688 30667 3363 23543 Hydraulic Press Oper. 26 12 2 19 Inspector 616 729 125 520 Instrument Maker and Repairer 806 665 84 229 Interpreter French 270 514 1167 2415 Interpreter German 578 1020 3053 5641 Interpreter Other Languages . . 979 826 5185 11238 Laborer 8685 29349 839 7181 Laundryrnan 335 401 30 139 Lawyer and Teacher 1510 2051 223 967 Leather Worker 1950 2360 155 1033 Lineman and Cableman 2015 2021 219 1419 Lumberman 2469 5020 492 2712 Machinist and Mechanic 11806 14691 1094 5729 Mariner and Boatman 976 1579 126 947 Mathematician, expert 4 1 4 7 Medical Man 2302 1839 166 590 Merchant, Jobber or Wholesaler 1457 1862 215 1176 Metal Finisher 274 334 41 128 Millwright 250 336 58 196 Miner or Quarry Worker 5004 7235 475 2529 Mule Packer 38 51 30 60 Munitions Worker 258 616 90 422 Musician, Band 1317 1680 457 117 Painter 3283 3788 340 2398 Photographer 1040 949 237 1085 Physicist 16 7 5 8 Pigeon Fancier 73 112 53 204 Pipefitter 3658 4589 482 2715 Plasterer 283 250 108 88 Printer 2517 2729 231 1153 Psychologist 3 8 4f Purchasing Agent 250 229 39 163 Railroad Operating Man 6183 5141 664 2266 Refrigeration Operator 104 93 12 58 216 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL Table 8. Index and Tabulation by Primary Occupation Showing Vocational Skill in American Expeditionary Forces (Con't) Occupation Main Occupation Secondary Occupation Skilled Pt, Skilled Skilled Pt. Skilled Rigger and Cordage Worker . . . 287 310 103 241 Roadworker 1629 4866 279 2013 Rubber Worker 605 677 94 376 Sanitarian 46 29 11 24 Sheet Metal Worker 1548 2197 202 1045 Stenographer and Tvpist 2219 2533 794 3713 Stevedore 514 820 37 216 Stock, Stores, Keeper 2945 6386 667 3857 Structural Steel Worker 1503 1796 181 894 Surveyor 435 644 145 535 Tailor 1534 1900 95 758 Telegraph and Wireless Man . . 2262 1377 146 1090 Telephone Man 1160 1167 194 1204 Transportation Man 249 153 60 122 Undertaker . . : 233 219 17 62 Upholsterer and Trimmer 201 126 24 72 Water Supply Man 89 91 7 64 Welder, Cutter 257 218 63 181 Writer 334 319 41 117 Miscellaneous, unlisted occupa- tions 425 399 11 27 Total 219,915 365,163 49,491 221,549 Total Skilled and Partly Skilled Add Number unskilled Men . 219,915 585,078 7,776 49,491 271,040 Total number of men on whom report is made 592,854 CHAPTER 16 JOB-ANALYSIS APPLIED TO DUTIES OF OFFICERS The method of classifying officers according to their previous civil experience was entirely different from that of enlisted men. This led to a noticeable difference in the study of job analysis for officers and enlisted men. Personnel specifications for officers were not developed so early as were those for enlisted men, nor so extensively, nor in so great detail. The main reason for this was that enlisted specialists perform very largely in the army the same duties they do in industry. Officers who are specialists, on the other hand, direct occupational work, but do not perform it. And so far, good personnel specifications for executives and administrators have been exceedingly difficult to write. For example, contrast the ease of describing what a bridge carpenter will have to do in an engineer regiment with the difficulty of recording what his captain has to do. The system of classifying civilian experiences of officers is discussed in this chapter, whereas the subject of personnel specifications for officers is taken up in the following chapter. CLASSIFICATION OF OCCUPATIONS FOR OFFICERS The First Officers Qualification Card. The first card was printed on November 5, 1917. This was a 5x8 inch card (see Figure 21, Chapter 42) and was used in several divi- sions about to sail for France and in many posts of the Coast Artillery. At the time the cards were printed there existed only the small Index of Occupations of October 20th con- taining but 86 occupational groups and 165 sub-divisions. This list was thoroughly unsatisfactory for the use of classi- 217 218 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL fying officers as it contained hardly an item but those of trades- men, whereas officers, as leaders, must be classified largely in terms of executive and administrative positions. Dr. James R. Angell, in consequence, prepared a list of 74 occupational group headings, some of which were subdivided. For example, "Inspector" was subdivided into 14 items. To give an idea of these groupings the first twenty are listed: 1. Accountant 15. Contractor 2. Architect 16. Computer 3. Armorer expert 17. Dentist 4. Army paper expert 18. Druggist 5. Artist, including camouflage 19. Electrotype expert 6. Balloon expert 20. Engineer 7. Banker a. Aeronautical 8. Blue print expert b. Automotive 9. Broker c. Chemical 10. Cable worker expert d. Civil 11. Carrier pigeon expert e. Electrical 12. Castor bean expert f. Mechanical 13. Conservation expert g. Mining 14. Contract expert h. Sanitary The 74 occupational groups were to be tabbed by the use of four colored tabs. Index numbers 1 to 52 were to be marked by orange or green tabs according to the skill of the officer at the occupation. Index numbers 53 to 78 were stag- gered with the numbers 1 to 52 and were to be tabbed with yellow and blue tabs. Experience soon showed that this idea was not convenient. Later experience has taught that a tabbing system of four colors on two rows of index num- bers is too complicated to be installed in a large organization involving the work of many officers and enlisted men. Later Officers' Qualification Cards. Because the Novem- ber 5th card did not contain reference to military qualifications it was necessary to revise it in order to include such informa- tion. And because of the inadvisability of tabbing 78 items on a 5x8 card the whole question of revising the occupational list was brought up. After considerable study it was deter- JOB-ANALYSIS 219 mined that 47 numbers should be allotted to occupational experience and 20 additional numbers for military experience and miscellaneous items. A total of 67 index numbers forced the use of a 1 1 inch card. In cutting down the 74 original occupational groups to 47 it was necessary to group many of them together under one heading. Thus, No. 1 "accountant" and No. 57 "statistician" were included under the new head- ing, "Accounting and Clerical Worker"; No. 7 "Banker" and No. 9 "Broker" under the new heading "Banker or Broker." Several items were eliminated, e. g., "Armorer expert," as being the work an enlisted man would do, not an officer; "Army paper expert," as a purely military qualification ; "Blue print expert," not an officer's duty; etc. And on the other hand several new items were added, mainly as sub-divisions, however. In the main, items were grouped on the basis of the industry as it was felt that the civil experience of the officer would be used as fitting him to direct others in much the same way that administrators direct subordinates in industry. Moreover, when officers are requisitioned in terms of de- signated civilian experience they are generally called for in terms of the general field of activity in which they are to be used. For example, they are asked for as, railroad men, as lumbering men, as construction men, etc. This is not the ideal manner and the Army was gradually educated up to stating specifically what the officer was to do. But in January, 1918, it was the common procedure and the card was prepared with that situation in mind. To meet these considerations a 8^x11 card was issued on January 5th, 1918, (illustrated as Figure 22, Chapter 42). This card has been revised several times, the last time on October 1st, 1918, but the changes have been cf minor char- acter and have been primarilv for the purpose of better fitting the card for use in one Staff Corps or another as its use \vas extended to them. During this time the list of occupations was changed in only one respect as to main group headings. "Meteorologist" was included under "Physicist" and "Metall- 220 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL urgist" was put in its place. The number of sub-divisions, however, was increased from 143 to 173. Recommendations as to a New Officers' Qualification Card. Was the development of a different occupational classification for officers from that of enlisted men a wise procedure? We have seen that the officers' list did develop because the Index of Occupations for enlisted men was inadequate for the pur- pose in January, 1918. But since the present Index of Occu- pations does cover all the items on the officers' qualification card there seems no reason now why it should not be substi- tuted for the present list of occupations on the officers' card. This will provide one standard list of classifying all officers and enlisted men in the Army, and it will do away with the grouping of occupational experience by industries which inevitably leads to overlapping and confusion. A seemingly wise division of the possible 68 index numbers possible on an 8x11 card would be as follows: S and 1-40 Occupational experience. 41-57 Military experience (allowing one more than now used) 58-62 Rank (58-2nd Lieut, 59-lst Lieut., 60-Capt, 61-Major, 62-Lieut-Col. and above). 63 Education. 64 Membership in Societies. 65-67 Foreign Languages. 68 Regular Army Officer. The occupations for which tabbing would be made possible are as follows, utilizing the classification set forth in CCP-4. S. Supplementary. 37. Accountant. 2. Farmer. 40. Baker and Cook. 4. Lawyer and Teacher. 42. Merchant, Jobber, Whole- 5. Business Man and Salesman. saler. 6. Machinist. 43. Medical Man. 10. Electrician. 49. Inspector. 11. Gunsmith. 50. Construction Superintendent. 12. Miner. 61. Airplane Mechanic. 15. Railroad Operator. 62. Artist, camouflage. 17. Engineman. 64. Architect. 18. Stock Storekeeper. 67. Chemist JOB-ANALYSIS 221 24. Auto Mechanic. 71. Banker and Broker. 25. Gasoline Engine Man, not 72. Instrument Maker. auto. 82. Detective. 28. Farrier, Veterinarian. 84. Purchasing Agent. 29. Draftsman. 85. Personnel Director. 30. Surveyor. 88. Sanitarian. 31. Telegrapher and Wireless 102. Transportation Man. Man. 104. Writer. 33. Telephone Man. 105. Civil Engineer. 34. Photographer. 106. Commercial Engineer. 35. Lumberman. 36. Mariner. This list includes far more than appears at first because many of these headings are very broad. For example, take the case of "6 Machinist." This group includes such sub- divisions as: Acid Plant, Machinist 6ap Assembler 6a Lathe Hand 61 Locomotive 61o Marine engine 6m Mechanical engineer 6me Railroad shop mechanic 6rs Tool room expert 6tr Etc. During peace times officers' cards would not be tabbed at 68 Regular Army Officer, since when all cards are tabbed at the same point they make it difficult to handle them in the file. But on declaration of war all cards would be tabbed and there- after they would be readily distinguished from Reserve Offi- cers' cards. Another improvement in the officers' cards would be to eli- minate the list from the card entirely and to use most of the space for the officer to record in detail what he has done. An expert classifier should then consider each card and classify the officer just. as is done in the case of enlisted men. This change would be in line with the development that has taken place in the case of the Soldiers' Qualification Card (See illus- 222 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL tration of the November 1st, 1918, edition, page 86, Vol. II.). After the card had been classified it would be tabbed accord- ingly, all occupations not provided for on index numbers 1 40, being tabbed at "S," if of value to the army in any way. CHAPTER 17 COMMISSIONED PERSONNEL SPECIFICATIONS Further than the efforts described in the proceeding chapter to analyze the needs of the Army in so far as they concerned commissioned personnel, no centralized effort was made to define the various jobs, which the officers of the Army in all of its branches had to perform. To be sure, individual efforts of the various arms and staff corps of the service were con- tinually exerted in the procurement of officer material both from civil life and from enlisted men, and the formulation of policies both as to the procurement and as to the training of these men for duty as commissioned officers, necessitated a certain amount of job analysis. However, the chief result was the rise of competition between the various staff corps in discovering and procuring this officer material. This com- petition resulted in seriously impeding the progress of the mobilization of the Army as a whole, as was plainly indicated in the situation which arose in the late summer of 1918, when plans were launched for doubling the number of officers in the Army. Out of this situation arose a compelling necessity for centralizing the procurement and placement of commissioned personnel, and out of this necessity came the organization of the Personnel Branch of the General Staff, in September, 1918. At the beginning of the war, the demand for officers rested chiefly upon the infantry and artillery arms of the service. At first, calls for officer material came in the form of the Reserve Officers' Training Camps, in May, 1917. The pri- mary intention of such camps was to produce nothing but Infantry, Cavalry, and Field Artillery officers. Incidentally officers for the Coast Artillery, the Aviation section of the 223 224 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL f 5 ~ 1 111 Elg;; |rjf :&;*ifiigj is isis J * v ' X S 5 iiilIililiiMlllSSlli iiifflld o r-i a X bO CS - OFFICERS' SPECIFICATIONS 225 I I a a 226 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL Signal Corps, the Adjutant General's Department, the Ord- nance, and the Quartermaster Corps, were trained and com- missioned. The first two of these classes were, it will be observed, as much line officers as Infantry, Cavalry and Field Artillery. The third class was filled by candidates from the training camps of two general categories, namely, those having ability to speak French or German, and desiring to function in the capacity of interpreters and intelligence officers, rather than in the line; and those selected for statistical duties. The fourth and fifth classes were filled by those officers who, it was apparently felt by commanding officers of training camps, had not the qualifications, or had not at one training camp received the development necessary to fit them to become offi- cers of the line. These latter classes were selected super- ficially, the implication being that inasmuch as they were not good enough for the line they must be good enough for the staff corps. The only general criterion of judgment in the case of the Quartermaster Corps, for instance, seemed to be financial experience. Subsequent to these original develop- ments, and of increasing importance, arose the necessity for commissioning men in the various branches of the service, not in the line. In the fall of 1918, however, the commissioning by the staff corps was done away with, and all commissions except those given in the Central Officers' Training Schools, were to be issued by the Commissioned Personnel Branch of the Opera- tions Division of the General Staff. Procurement of material for such officers was to be the function of the Procurement Section of that branch. At this time the Committee on Classification of Personnel in the Army had been absorbed by the Miscellaneous Section of the Personnel Branch, and it was to the Committee that the Procurement Section turned and requisitioned the facilities of the Personnel Specifications Unit in order to secure the specifications, outlines of duties and qualifications, for officers. The plan for commissioned per- sonnel specifications was limited primarily in its scope to an OFFICERS' SPECIFICATIONS 227 analysis of the duties to be performed by officers of the staff corps, and only incidentally to the duties to be performed by line officers. Accepting the soundness of the principle upon which en- listed personnel specifications were constructed, and recog- nizing their importance as a requisite to proper placement in the Army, the plan of job analysis for officers was consequently developed, in large part, along the lines previously laid down by the Personnel Specifications Unit. Under the direction of Mr. Alvin E. Dodd, and with the assistance of Lieutenant Colonel J. J. Coss, Captain James Gregg of the Personnel Specifications Unit, devised an information sheet, illustrated in Fig. 10, which was distributed to staff corps and departments with directions to fill in copies of the information sheet for all officers concerned, and to return the same for an editorial revision and standardization of these specifications by the Committee. The information thus collected was edited and reconstructed in the form which appears in Fig. 11, page 230, and, but for the armistice, would have been turned over to the Procurement Section of the Personnel Branch for use in recruiting and inducting men for officers, and initially assign- ing and alloting those men to the branch of the service where their qualifications would appear, according to personnel specifications, to be of the greatest utility. Thus it is seen that commissioned personnel specifications for each corps or arm of the service constitute an analysis of the qualifications and brief, but comprehensive outline for the range of duties of each officer position in such corps or arm. These specifications being prepared with a view of determining whether a particular person is qualified for a commission, and where he should, as a commissioned officer, be assigned, only such qualifications were considered as were thought to have been necessary to fulfill such a function. Commissioned per- sonnel specifications are divided into three parts: (1) Quali- fications, (2) Special army training, and (3) Duties, according to the following outline: 228 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL I. QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Age Limits, a. Best those within which a man is likely to be most able to perform the duties of the position. b. Possible those within which a man can possibly function, although, in all prob- ability, not so well as he will within the best limits. 2. Physical Requirements. a. Whether he is to be assigned to combatant duty or to a position which will not draw upon his physique and which can be satis- _ factorily filled by a limited service man. b. Specific physical attributes, expressed positively or negatively. This is usually true only in the case of limited service where such physical defects as would not interfere with the performance of his duties are specified. 3. Minimum Schooling. The least schooling which will fit a man for the position. Note: If schooling is not a decisive qualification, the expression "no ar- bitrary requirements" may be used. 4. Civilian Occupations (in Order of Preference). Names of occupation, (standardized terms) with indication of number of years at occu- pation. 5. Special or Technical Qualifications. Both required and desired those qualifica- tions, which whether occupational or other- wise are highly essential or highly desirable that one should have in order to perform the duties of the position. 6. Leadership. That degree essential or desired divided as follows: OFFICERS' SPECIFICATIONS 229 (1) Maximum normally required of an offi- cer actually in command of combatant troops. (2) Average maximum normally required of an officer whose duties are of an executive nature requiring initiative and control of a large force. (3) Average normally required of an officer whose duties are largely of an admin- istrative nature. (4) Nominal normally required of an officer engaged principally in research. II. SPECIAL ARMY TRAINING: a. Prior to being commissioned amount of army training additional to the qualifica- tions which are the potentialities a man brings with him for the performance of the duties of the position, essential or desirable in order to assure the performance of the duties. Note: In many instances, officers direct from civil life can function in the army without this special army training. This is particularly true of administrative officers as contrasted with officers actually in command of troops. b. Subsequent to being commissioned amount of army training as an addition to civilian and previous army training, essen- tial or desirable in order to assure the per- formance of the duties. Note: This ap- plies to higher positions of responsibility or command, such as a chief of section, as above an assistant chief of section, or a battalion commander as above a company commander. III. DUTIES: Brief but comprehensive statement of actual duties of position, covering range of the usu- ally varied activities incidental to the per- formance of those duties. Note: Because of the greater scope of officers' duties such defini- tions of duties are usually more extended than the definitions of duties of enlisted men. 230 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL Engineering Division PERSONNEL SPECIFICATIONS Construction Division ADVISORY ENGINEER ON RAILWAYS; MAJOR Qualifications Aye limits: Best, 35-54; possible, 35-50. Physical requirements: Limited service only; must be free from disabilities that would interfere with performance of the duties of this position. Minimum schooling: Graduate of professional or technical school, or equivalent. Civilian occupations in order of preference: 1. Railway civil engineer, 10 years. Special or technical qualifications: Required: Experience (immediately preceding this serv- ice) corresponding to that of a division engineer, assistant chief engineer of an important railroad sys- tem, or of a division or general superintendent who has previously served as a division engineer, covering location, construction, design of tracks and yards, de- sign of auxiliary structures, and operation of freight terminal. Leadership : Essential, average. Desired, average maximum. Special Army Training None. Duties Prepares standard plans and specifications for railroad structures. Determines the probable traffic conditions for the various projects. Designs the railroad layout for in- dividual projects, including connections with existing rail- roads and arrangements of service tracks and yards. De- signs appurtenances, such as coal stations, water stations, engine houses, etc. Advises with the proper persons as to operating questions involved, including selection of equip- ment. Assists in negotiations with existing railroads. Ad- vises with the proper persons on the maintenance and repair of railroad property. FIG. 11. Sample, Commissioned Personnel Specifications OFFICERS' SPECIFICATIONS 231 Owing to the cessation of hostilities in November, 1918, and the consequent abandonment of plans to increase commissioned personnel, the final development of these specifications was not emphasized. Nevertheless, the preparation and collection of the material commenced prior to November 11, 1918, con- tinued after that date, but only one set of the personnel speci- fications, that of the Construction Division of the Army (pub- lished in March, 1919, as CCP Form-490) was effected. If the situation of October, 1918, had continued, these commis- sioned personnel specifications would have served the same purpose as enlisted personnel specifications, and would have been available for use, particularly by the Operations Divi- sion of the General Staff, and incidentally by, (l) those agencies acting in co-operation with the Procurement Section of that division, such as Students' Army Training Corps, and (2) by the various corps and arms of the service themselves. SECTION V. THE PERSONNEL OFFICE As originally planned, personnel work in the Army was to be operated from a division or camp personnel office. Each such camp office was viewed as a separate organization. There enlisted men would be classified and properly placed in some unit in the camp. Through supervision directed from Washington these separate offices would be standardized as to procedure. But there was little thought in the early days that men would be trans- ferred from one camp to another. Consequently, no organization was established at Washington for such a purpose. The entire operating organization was thoroughly decentralized. As the work pro- gressed the very great need for specialists forced the development of a general clearing office at Washington and gradually brought about a re- organization of the personnel organization so that at the time of the signing of the Armistice it was actually comparable to a string of stores whose buy- ing and selling was almost entirely directed from the central office. Not only did the general organization of person- nel offices change from September, 1917, to Novem- ber, 1918, but the functions of these offices also expanded. At the beginning the personnel office 234 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL comprised one officer and a few enlisted men tem- porarily detailed to him who handled the qualifica- tion cards and were charged with the proper place- ment of men within the units of the camp. At the close of the war the office was the largest in the camp, composed of seven commissioned officers and two hundred men. But its work now included not merely the proper placement of the men, but the maintenance of all records regarding them. Here insurance and allotments were originated and handled; the alphabetical locator cards were main- tained; all papers incident to the enlistment of soldiers into the service as well as to their discharge were prepared; all strength reports were checked and consolidated; and in most camps all transfer orders were prepared, the shipment of men was supervised and the papers carefully checked. What led to this evolution from a simple organ- ization with simple functions to a very complex one ? The answers to this question will be presented under the following heads : Early beginnings of Personnel Work in the Camps (Chapter 18.) Rise of Paper Work in the Personnel Office (Chapter 19.) Receiving the Draft ( Chapter 20. ) Personnel Work in Staff Corps Camps ( Chap- ter 21.) Plans for Separation of Personnel Work and Adjutant's Work (Chapter 22.) CHAPTER 18 EARLY BEGINNINGS OF PERSONNEL WORK IN THE CAMPS EARLY PLANS FOR PERSONNEL OFFICES In Chapter 6 is given in detail the steps that led up to the establishment of personnel offices, first, in national army can- tonments, and later, in all camps in this country. In order that the development may be clear, a few facts will be re- peated but with emphasis upon the bearing they have on work in the camps. The basic ideas as to establishment of personnel work in the camps were three. First, the appointment of a captain to act as personnel officer in the camp. Second, the assign- ment of a civilian experienced in employment work who should be stationed at the camp and aid the captain in organizing and operating his work. These ideas were clearly brought out in the telegrams of August 25 and 29 and the letter of September 5 (See Chapter 6). And third, active supervision of the work in all the camps through letters from the central office at Washington and visits of civilian supervisors. It was recognized that without this supervision it would be impos- sible to standardize the work in the various camps. And moreover, it was realized that a very rapid exchange of ideas and experiences between camps was essential to good work, as no one had had experience in personnel work in an army. Following a conference at Washington September 8-10, the personnel officers arid civilian experts went to their respective camps in the eastern part of the country to inaugurate the work. Personnel officers and civilians assigned to western camps met in conference at St. Louis, September 11 and 12 and then proceeded to their camps. 235 236 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL INTRODUCTION OF PERSONNEL WORK INTO NATIONAL ARMY CAMPS Getting Started. The letter of September 5 has been given in full in Chapter 6. The third and fourth paragraphs are repeated here for they proved to be a veritable "magna charta." "3. The furniture for the Personnel Office has already been ordered by the Quartermaster General's Office and shipped in care of the Personnel Officer. 4. The following items should be provided: (1) Approximately 300 square feet of floor space for the Personnel Office at Division Headquarters. (2) Telephone. (3) Quarters in the camp. (4) Suitable place in camp for meals for which he will pay- (5) Clerical assistance as required, to be performed by men detailed from the command." In most camps there was very little office space for anyone. This order secured space and made it possible to obtain suffi- cient furniture and office supplies. And in most camps with- out this letter it would probably have been impossible to secure a phone, owing to the great shortage; and without a phone little could have been accomplished. The first duty was to present the matter to commanding officers and secure their intelligent interest and cooperation. This was not so easily done since many of them viewed the new work as another civilian enterprise that if given rope enough would sooner or later hang itself. The next step was to present the work to company commanders and have orders issued requiring that the qualification cards be filled out for all recruits and forwarded to the personnel office. In those early days nearly every one was new to his duties and it was no easy task to secure compliance with orders of any sort, to say nothing of unusual orders requiring much time and effort. The cards, however, were filled out in the majority Q f uo uoii\jriunu\J I aa./cy c/5 ER M t bo fi V) V e> j c (N 4 N t- CO CM * K) C M cv ? CO o 5 ": K h C <* d IT, In (0 rO o "l n l c - ~. f] 5 p .-, * 0. t, / 01 3 S J , o^; no / P T Jc L J - c CN '!. 4 -i ") IS 0( ; .-, c ^ rN! iO ?. | S, -S . H ^_ ^ d] 1^ 1 j- M ot I-, N < ? c r< N fX ^3 f^ - f> !> <0 OC * fe * ei f 3 rj jj '1 cc * 4 OC A 'o a N s s 1- - 1 .. " M M o R I 1% \l fl <$ -p c , E 1 ^ : ** U P- h Li 4) V P< C J u, s ^ f, t. o 4^ Ul o p< *- Vi r-< t* U5 'fio ical Student | 4J C +* '-, Z I i <* M 4J s 1 ^ ^ *-> ^ V ras Worker h OT V> H t-, c +J C | treuuec i & S 2 a 1 g o i o 1 P. 4) -(-> t M o <-> *> 3 D >less Constructor ^ i .t i i c k E fO tO > i; ** 10 < to t 2 (/ o u> Q o o t- c IO I 3 tt> D rH a (o GO O >r4 ir, m n 5 3 CO /) CO J N tO s^ -i pa o J^ O O r) *f if K r o k ti cv *r g SO ^1- V CO TC 2 to t o i r J- 2 O * 1 to * | * ! 1 * fj n irj ^C c rt c_> vO * _rt ^* -C (/ c^ * n E- co ^ 4J d d w L- c M ^ ^ o in Pu H A i 1 I V 1 > * PERSONNEL WORK IN CAMPS 237 of cases. They were then classified, tabbed and filed by com- panies, the personnel officer and civilian expert doing most of the work. Later, details of enlisted men were secured and they were gradually trained in what to do. One of the greatest difficulties in checking up the cards to ascertain if all were present was the lack of complete lists. It was practically impossible to obtain them from company commanders because of interference on the part of higher ranking officers and the information existed nowhere else. The Statistical Officers ought to have had this information, but their instructions were to wait until forms were supplied them and they did not come for weeks. Gradually in all sorts of ways the qualification cards were checked and missing ones obtained. But not for months did one know for certain that his list was complete. The First Requisitions. Almost as soon as the cards were received requisitions commenced coming to the personnel office. The most common requests were for cooks and stenographers, with typists a good third. Such requisitions were extremely difficult to fill as there were but few men of such qualifications in the first 5% of the draft. And it was often difficult to get stenographers to serve as many were promised all sorts of things by their company commanders to stay with them; besides some wanted to drill and have the chance to go over the top. But gradually good stenographers were supplied the General, the Chief of Staff, and other officers at Head- quarters. Such personal services did much to win the support of these officers to the work. In one camp the camp quartermaster was ordered to dis- pense with his civilian help and substitute for it enlisted men. Soldiers were carefully selected on the basis of their quali- fication cards for these positions and reinterviewed before being transferred. The results were appreciated and there- after no trouble was experienced in getting supplies of all sorts for the personnel office. Moreover, the quartermaster talked considerably about the service rendered and helped 238 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL very materially in establishing the work on a solid foundation. The interest of the Commanding General and his faith in the effectiveness of the classification system hinged, to a large extent, on the promptness and accuracy with which these ini- tial demands for specialists could be met. The Personnel Of- ficer of the Division wrote the following letter to the super- visor of the classification work in the camps within a few weeks after the work was started in that division: "I have the pleasure to report that 9:30 P. M. Saturday night, Major Miller of the Ordnance wanted 125 auto mechan- ics of three years or more training and in an hour and a half we had the list complete. "In 45 minutes we had three men for printing office. While the printers were getting out the type, I had an expert auto mechanic setting up the press and an electrician connecting the motor all done and running in three hours. "The base hospital had thirteen firemen. Investigation proved the firemen were those who fired boilers, and steamers, but were not fire fighters. "We got a fire chief the Assistant Chief of the Canton, Ohio, Fire Department, twenty minutes after the call, and Major Cole came over in his car and got the man. Major Cole says we have a box of cigars coming to us. "Major Wilson, Signal Corps, wanted six pigeon fanciers. I got him ten in ten minutes. The financial department of Quartermaster's Department wanted a man to assist in pay rolls, gave them Pat Tompkins who was pay roll clerk in Haydenstone Bank at Columbus, Ohio. "The Quartermaster wanted thirty-five men in warehouse. Gave him just what he wanted in thirty minutes. Headquar- ters wanted three stenographers. In three hours, I gave them fifteen to choose from. "Today, General Smith asked for three men to go to France as "Billeting Officers" I gave him three. He said, let me see them. He took them all and congratulated me. So it goes. "I deserve no credit; I take no credit, only I am very proud of the system, and the help of the supervisor whose assistance is of untold value." The First Job-Analyses. Job analysis early came to the front. A requisition for packers from the Engineer Sub-depot PERSONNEL WORK IN CAMPS 239 resulted in several men being transferred only to have it announced that they were not what was wanted. Finally a visit to the depot resulted in complete understanding. Fairly intelligent men of some carpenter experience were wanted. They were found and the incident was closed. A little later the Colonel of Engineers dropped in one day and said, "You gave us what we asked for, but we didn't ask for the right kind of men. We don't want specialists, we want all around men with intelligence." After that his requisitions were better expressed and better filled. Out of 800 sent him he testified that all but 24 were what he wanted, an efficiency of 97%. Again, it was commonly supposed that machinists should be assigned to Machine Gun Battalions. After considerable trial a Major reported that they should be sent to the Ordnance. What he wanted was not lathe hands but handy-men men who liked to "tinker." Such men naturally took to any mech- anism and shortly knew all about it. Thus much was learned as the days went by about what had to be done. But unless the Tables of Occupational Needs and Personnel Specifica- tions, which later appeared, had been developed by men with no other task to do, they would never have been worked r out in the camps because there was too much else to be done there. Balancing the Divisions. The one main idea uppermost in the minds of the personnel officer and the civilian expert was to "balance" the division forming at the camp. At the very beginning there was nothing definite to go by. The result was that certain energetic officers in the camp made their wants known and efforts were made to fill them. Other or- ganizations were more or less ignored for lack of information. When Chart B (See Figure 12, insert) was received giving the number of each kind of specialist per organization there was a definite basis for action. This chart, by the way, was received with as much enthusiasm by line officers as by the personnel officer. Gradually a fairly definite policy developed in each camp as to the transferring of men from one organi- zation to another so as to meet the specifications of the Chart. 240 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL The greatest obstacle to efficient personnel work was the practice of assigning men to units according to the geographi- cal location of their local boards. Thus all the men from Gary, Indiana, went to the 309th Engineers at Camp Taylor. As a result this organization had three companies with scarcely a handful who could speak English. Before this engineer organization could function efficiently the men would have to be taught English and also in most cases construction work as very few had had any but laborer's work in steel mills. Once men were assigned to a unit they commenced "to take root" unless they were inferior men, and the longer they re- mained the more difficult was it for the personnel officer to have them transferred elsewhere. An illustration makes this clearer. The Judge-Advocate in one division requisitioned for a sergeant major who spoke French and German, had had some legal training and was bright and intelligent with a good soldierly bearing. Such a man was obtained. When he reported to the Judge-Advocate, however, he stated he did not want the position, that recently he had become very much interested in bacteriology and wished to work at that. A month later he was ordered transferred to the base hospital as a bacteriologist. The company commander immediately re- ported to the office in protest. The man was his first sergeant and best drill master. Moreover the man had changed his mind and wanted to stay in infantry. Later the Colonel and Adjutant of the Regiment protested to the Chief of Staff. Finally, after the Judge Advocate had testified as to the man's refusal to accept a sergeant majorship because of his interest in bacteriology, the Colonel withdrew his objection, particu- larly since the base hospital needed bacteriologists and this was the only one in camp. Had the soldier been kept in a true depot brigade during this period, there would have been no trouble in placing him when the requisition was received. Gradually this obstacle was lessened by one change after another. But it never was really eliminated until the depot brigade was established as a separate and distinct organiza- PERSONNEL WORK IN CAMPS 241 tion from the division and until an efficient camp personnel office was placed in charge of the personnel in the depot brigade. As an example of how satisfactorily men were selected even in the early days the statement of one regimental commander is recorded here. The letter was written shortly after the sys- tem was installed in his camp. "During the past four days this regiment has received about 2,000 men from the Personnel Office. The transfers have been effected rapidly and accurately, due to the excellent sys- tem and efficient personnel of the Personnel Office. "My regimental personnel officer has reported to me that he has received the utmost consideration and courtesy from the Personnel Officer. The papers of the men have been handled accurately and well and whatever changes were neces- sitated by the rapidity of the transfer, have since been made with dispatch. "Great praise in my opinion is due to the Division Per- sonnel Officer and his assistant, who have supervised the actual selection of the men for the Division. An Infantry Regiment requires certain specialists that are hard to find and in every case the Personnel Officer or his representative have been unfailing in their search. Moreover, the rank and file -of non-specialists have been good with but few exceptions. I do not know how the other Regimental Commanders of the Divi- sion feel, but I would not think it right to omit calling to the attention of the Division Commander, the existence of a Per- sonnel Department which is able within three days to recruit one Infantry Regiment to war strength, not only with all the required specialists but also with over 90% of the neces- sary papers intact and accurately made out." War Department Requisitions for Specialists and their Effect on Personnel Work. On October 5th, 1917, the first requisition was issued from Washington for occupational spe- cialists to be transferred from one camp to another. This called for printers and book binders for overseas service. During that month, 5,334 men were so transferred and during November a total of 16,239. The numbers so requisitioned increased in number so that a total of approximately 960,000 242 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL were transferred in 13 months. During the first few months in addition thousands of unclassified men were transferred out of camps to other units. Until July these transfers took men not only out of national army camps but also out of definite units in those camps. Naturally all officers concerned were very much exasperated and in a short time much of their antagonism was directed at the local personnel office, as from this office came the obnoxious orders. This feeling became so strong in some camps as to very seriously affect the per- sonnel work. And even today officers are met with who raise the whole situation as an argument against personnel work. There is no doubt that calls for specialists would have been made whether a personnel organization existed or not. The criticism leveled at it was unforunate and unfair, but most natural. On the other hand, there is no doubt that the exist- ence of the personnel organization made it possible to secure these specialists in much less time and with a far higher degree of accuracy than would have otherwise been possible. EXTENSION OF PERSONNEL WORK TO NATIONAL GUARD AND REGULAR ARMY CAMPS On October 17th 1917, orders were issued to National Guard Camp Commanders in the eastern part of the United States directing them to appoint personnel officers and have them report to Washington for instructions. There a confer- ence of several days was held and following it the personnel officers accompanied by civilian experts reported to their respective camps for duty. A similar conference for per- sonnel officers from western camps was held at San Antonio, Texas, Nevember 1st and 2nd. As the national guard divisions were fairly well filled, the problem was somewhat different from that of the national army camps. The two principal things to be done were to classify the men and to balance the division. Profiting from experience with company commanders preparing qualification PERSONNEL WORK IN CAMPS 243 cards, interviewing boards were constituted composed en- tirely of officers. At Camp Kearney, for example, approxi- mately one hundred lieutenants and captains were utilized. They interviewed all the enlisted men and prepared the cards. When this was done statements were secured from unit com- manders as to what specialists they needed to complete their organizations. In terms of such statements and of Chart B, transfers were then ordered. The extent to which this was actually accomplished differed markedly in the various camps. In some, the division was pretty thoroughly balanced, in others very little was accomplished. A colonel from one camp where most units were in this way pretty well balanced, volun- tarily stated in November, 1918, while in France that the balancing a year before, had increased the efficiency of his regiment 100%. Specialists not needed in one organization to which they belonged but badly needed elsewhere were thus efficiently utilized. Not only was this accomplished, but in some camps it had the additional value in breaking up politi- cal groups whose influence had been not of the best. The latter benefit cannot be really credited to personnel work in- asmuch as it was not definitely planned for. Personnel work was in a similar manner introduced into Regular Army Camps on December 15th, 1917. The general procedure was as described above. From this time on personnel work was gradually extended being introduced into one camp after another of the Staff Corps. (See Chapter 21). ORGANIZATION OF THE PERSONNEL OFFICE The organization of a personnel office in the early days con- sisted of a captain, the civilian expert, and a few temporarily detailed enlisted men. They issued qualification cards to the company commanders, or in national guard camps to the Inter- viewing Board; received the cards back; classified, tabbed and filed them ; made up reports ; and filled requisitions for occupational specialists. CHAPTER 19 RISE OF PAPER WORK IN THE PERSONNEL OFFICE As originally planned the personnel officer was to handle the qualification cards of enlisted men and to use them in placing specialists to the best advantage of the army. It was felt that one officer with a few enlisted men could carry on this work in an efficient manner. When the armistice was signed the camp personnel office comprised 7 officers and 200 men and carried on an enormous amount of paper work. It is estimated that an average office in connection with merely receiving drafted men handled about 432,000 forms per month entailing 520,000 signatures by commissioned officers. All this was in addition to the regular routine of the office. EARLY CAUSES FOR RISE OF PAPER WORK IN THE PERSONNEL OFFICE Personnel Officer an Assistant to the Adjutant. The per- sonnel officer was appointed by War Department orders to handle personnel work. But he was made an assistant to the Adjutant. Since the Adjutant was very short-handed in the early days and was swamped with work, it was most natural that he should call upon the personnel officer, to assist him in his regular duties. Within a short time every personnel officer, in consequence, was performing certain duties in addition to that of personnel work. In one camp it would be the handling of morning reports, in another handling correspondence, in another some other phase of the Adjutant's work. Rendering Service. One of the principal features of per- sonnel work was to render service. From General McCain down throughout the organization this was emphasized. When 244 RISE OF PAPER WORK 245 the personnel officer was given another duty to perform he viewed it as an opportunity to render service and endeavored to do it to the best of his ability. Within a short time it became notorious that enlisted men in the personnel office had longer hours and more work to do than anywhere else. Sur- prising to say little complaint was made on this score, although plenty arose from other causes. Visits of civilian supervisors to the camps were another indirect factor in the rise of paper work in the personnel office. First of all they encouraged the personnel officer to go ahead and conquer the new job. They also reported what was being done in other camps, thereby suggesting many times additional duties which were of value elsewhere in building up good will for the work. Serious Study of Paper-work Situation. Reports from the supervisors warned the Committee at Washington, however, that this additional work was seriously interfering with effi- cient classification and placement of enlisted men. On the whole, their recommendations were to accept the additional work but to secure an adequate permanent force of enlisted men in order that it might be properly accomplished. This recommendation will be discussed later on. Realizing the seriousness of the paper-work situation, the Committee secured the services of Mr. W. R. DeField about November 16th, who made a study of the subject in several camps and reported to the Committee late in December. The report was consid- ered by Colonel (later Major-General) P. C. Harris who was engaged at that time in a serious endeavor to relieve com- pany commanders of some of their paper work. On April 29th, General Order No. 42 was issued appointing personnel officers for each regiment, separate or detached battalion, or similar unit, etc., who would handle the pay rolls of the several companies. This order also discontinued muster rolls. By the first of February, however, the general policy had developed in the Adjutant General's Office, under Col. Har- ris' leadership, to relieve company commanders of paper work, 246 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL as far possible. This policy had a profound effect upon per- sonnel work, for it very definitely set the tide toward increas- ing the functions of the personnel officer through his taking over one paper work assignment after another. CONSOLIDATION OF STATISTICAL, INSURANCE AND PERSONNEL WORK The Statistical Section. A statistical organization was ordered for each division which should maintain a file of statis- tical cards upon which a record would be kept of each enlisted man and officer as to organizations, transfers, discharges, deaths, desertions, etc. The cards were to be filed alphabetic- ally for the division, so that if the name was supplied of any soldier he could immediately be located. It was further con- templated that the statistical organization would handle casual- ties overseas. Three lieutenants were assigned to this duty together with certain enlisted men at headquarters and in each regiment or similar separate unit. The Insurance Section. On November 20th, 1917, telegram of A. G. O. authorized the appointment of a captain and lieutenant in the Adjutant General's Department as insurance officers. An enlisted force of eight men was also authorized in this telegram. In General Orders No. 149, November 28, 1917, this force was specified as consisting of one regimental sergeant major, two battalion sergeants majors, three sergeants and two privates, first class. Plans for Consolidating Statistical, Insurance and Personnel Work. As early as December 1st, a memorandum was ad- dressed to the Adjutant General recommending that the Statis- tical, Insurance and Classification work be combined and that a second assistant to the Division Adjutant, with the grade of Major, be placed in charge. Under him would be two cap- tains and two lieutenants. Intimation of this coming consoli- dation was given to the Camp Commander in a telegram of December 7th: "The matter of consolidation of personnel classification, I RISE OF PAPER WORK 247 statistical and insurance work and provision of officers and men to take care of all three branches of work is under con- sideration and early action will be taken. The personnel and statistical work must not be prejudiced or the services of officers and men who have rendered good service be lost through temporary lack of permanent status." On January 2, 1918, telegram of the A. G. O. authorized eight additional enlisted men in Division Adjutant's office, which were to be provided for in Tables of Organization. The grades were, one regimental sergeant major, two battalion sergeants major, three sergeants and two privates, first class. The telegram continues: "The above in addition to the one regimental sergeant major and two battalion sergeants major heretofore author- ized under Table of Organiatiozn. Select the eight new men from those who have been engaged in the personnel classification, statistical, and insurance work, and in order to give the statistical and personnel men all an equal chance give no preference in making selection by reason of any appointments for the insurance work that may have been made. Insurance men rendered extra by reason of not being chosen for permanent positions will be continued as assistants at Division Headquarters. It is appreciated that the above is not sufficient to conduct the work but until it is determined how far the combined work can be simplified and duplication prevented it has not been deemed best to provide for more in Tables of Organization. You will con- tinue to assign as many men in addition to the above as are necessary for the work and the permanent personnel will be increased later if shown to be essential. Instructions as to additional permanent commissioned personnel will follow shortly." On January llth the following telegram was sent: "The following additional permanent commissioned per- sonnel is authorized as assistants to Division Adjutant: One Major or Captain, one First Lieutenant and one Second Lieuten.-mt. These are in addition to the one Major or Captain now authorized as assistant adjutant. Tables of organization of August nineteen seventeen, series A, amended accordingly, Name .... and .... Name .... recommended by you for insurance work will be immediately 248 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL commissioned as and respectively in Adjutant General's Department and your personnel officer Captain .... Name .... will be immediately commissioned in same rank Adjutant General's Department. You also have statistical officers commissioned as lieutenants Adjutant General's Department. From this group select three to fill the new permanent positions on your staff wiring names to this office. Those not selected for per- manent positions will be retained on duty in Division Adju- tant's office and when division goes overseas will, if suitable, remain as assistant adjutants of new divisions or be assigned to other duty. Co-ordinate to the utmost practicable extent physically and administratively all work relating to enlisted personnel, including the vocational classification, statistical and insurance work, in order to prevent duplication of records and to reduce files and paper work. It is recognized that the additional commissioned personnel may not be ade- quate to accomplish all the work at present required but it is deemed inadvisable to embody a larger permanent force in the Tables of Organization at present. You will continue to detail as many additional officers as may be necessary to handle the work thoroughly and expeditiously." These two telegrams ordered the administrative union of Statistical, Insurance and Personnel Work under the direction of three officers and eight enlisted men. They also recognized that additional officers and enlisted men might be necessary to the carrying on of such work and authorized such temporary details. Apparently there is no ambiguity in this wording. But many different interpretations did arise in the camps and for several months letters and telegrams were sent out to cor- rect misconstructions and to effect the organization outlined above. On February 9th a summarizing letter was issued which sets forth very clearly the organization and functions of the then existing Personnel Office. "1. The purpose of this letter is to summarize previous orders regarding the personnel work of your division and to clear up any uncertainties relative to it. "2. Telegram from this office of January 11 stated 'Co-ordinate to the utmost practicable extent physically and administratively all work relating to enlisted personnel, in- RISE OF PAPER WORK 249 eluding the vocational classification, statistical and insur- ance work, in order to prevent duplication of records and to reduce files and paper work.' The same telegram pro- vided for three new commissioned assistants to the division adjutant in the grades of one major or captain, one first lieutenant and one second lieutenant, respectively. Those three new commissioned assistants were directed to be selected from those engaged on the insurance, classification and statistical work. Those officers so engaged on this work and not selected for the three permanent positions were directed to be attached to division headquarters for such duty as required. If not already so commissioned these extra officers were also to be commissioned in the Adjutant General's Department. "3. By telegram of December 31, 1917, eight additional enlisted men in grades of one regimental sergeant major, two battalion sergeants major, three sergeants, two privates, first class, all in Infantry, were authorized to be selected from those engaged on the above three classes of work, for duty in the division adjutant's office. There had previously, by Section III., General Order No. 149, War Department, 1917, been authorized eight enlisted men for the insurance work alone. Those of the eight men selected for the insur- ance work under the prior authority and not chosen for permanent positions were directed to be continued as assist- ants at division headquarters. "4>. By telegram from this office of January 19, 1918, it was directed that the statistical work theretofore directed by the War Department to be carried on in the divisions be discontinued. It was intended thereby that the system of . statistics and information based on a distinct statistical com- missioned and enlisted personnel, etc., should be abolished and discontinued. It was not intended to prevent the keep- ing of the necessary files for information purposes. Such records and files as are found essential by division com- manders will be maintained in the personnel office. "5. The net result of these three orders is as follows: First: In addition to the one major or captain previously authorized under the Tables of Organization, August, 1917, as assistant division adjutant, three new commissioned assistants to the division adjutant are created by the telegraphed order of January llth as fol- lows: 250 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL One major or captain (to be known as division per- sonnel officer), one first lieutenant and one second lieutenant. Second: In addition to the one regimental sergeant major, and one battalion sergeant major, authorized on The Tables of Organization, August, 1917, as enlisted assistants to the division adjutant, eight more enlisted men were provided in the telegram of December 31, 1917; these eight to be selected from the eight theretofore authorized for insurance work and from those engaged in the statistical and classification work. Third: The result of this arrangement is to leave out of the permanent positions certain officers and certain enlisted men previously engaged in one department or another of the work. These are to be treated as follows : Commissioned Officers, not selected for permanent posi- tions to be retained on duty if desired, as additional tem- porary assistants to the division personnel officer, their ultimate assignment to be determined later: Enlisted Men, not selected for permanent positions to be likewise retained if desired. "6. The one major or captain to whom is given the title and authority of division personnel officer, will have general charge under the division adjutant of the administration of the vocational classification and insurance work and other matters relating to enlisted personnel. The importance of this duty and the necessity of having an officer fully capable of handling it are emphasized. "7. It is appreciated that the above restrictions on the selection of officers may in some cases have resulted either in the appointment of officers not entirely suitable for the work or in the non-appointment of officers whose services would be desirable. Accordingly, if due to the restrictions prescribed in the telegram of January llth or for any other reason, the officers selected as assistants to the division adju- tant and the extra officers above referred to are not well fitted for their duties or if they are otherwise not satisfac- tory, you will so report to this office with recommendation as to disposition to be made of them and as to the appoint- ment of their successors. "8. Every effort should be made to reduce the number of card files at division headquarters. Two card files will be maintained at division headquarters under the charge of the RISE OF PAPER WORK 251 division personnel officer; first, an alphabetical file on three by five cards of all officers and enlisted men in the division, giving the grade, company and regiment or arm or corps or department, and Army serial number of each; second, a file of personnel qualification cards (CCP-1) filed by regi- ments. It is believed that no other files of record cards should be necessary. "9. The file of officers' qualification cards (CCP-1 101- R-l) will be kept in the custody or under the direct super- vision of the division commander in order to preserve their confidential nature. The regimental commander may keep in his personal custody duplicates covering the officers of his regiment if he so desires. "10. A plan is under consideration for relieving company commanders of paper work by transferring a substantial part of it to a regimental personnel officer. This will, if approved, involve considerable changes in present procedure but will not interfere with the organization of the personnel work at division headquarters as above outlined. By order of the Secretary of War." On March llth still another letter was sent in order to cor- rect misunderstandings in the field which were affecting the efficiency of the work. It read as follows: "1. It appears that there is a misunderstanding of the duties of the senior officer of the three officers of the Adju- tant General's Department recently added to the staff of the division commander. "2. The senior of these is called the 'Personnel Officer,' but such designation is not intended to indicate that the duties of this officer are identical with those of the officer who was previously known as the personnel classification officer, or that they relate solely or principally to classifica- tion work. "3. These three officers are charged with duties relating to the enlisted personnel of the division, such as classifica- tion war risk insurance, allotments, allowances, assignments, transfers, discharges, etc., and it is as much the duty of the senior personnel officer to see that the work in connection with insurance, allotments, etc., is properly performed as it is for him to insure the proper handling of the work relating to classification. 252 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL "4. As a rule, the personnel officer should not take per- sonal charge of the vocational classification or the insurance Avork at division headquarters, but should exercise general supervision over all work relating to enlisted personnel." The development of this consolidation has been related in detail as it played a very great part in personnel work. Dur- ing the period covered by this correspondence there was great unrest because of the many misunderstandings and rivalries of officers in the three lines of work. Due to the consolida- tion, the personnel officer became charged with a large amount of paper work relating to the handling of enlisted men. Once the tendency was established of adding paper work to the per- sonnel officers' duties, it was most natural that it should con- tinue indefinitely until either all such paper work should be located there or the efficiency of the work in the personnel office should become seriously impaired because of the too great load. In the next chapter on Receiving the Draft, another impor- tant development in personnel work is reviewed. This new function brought to the personnel office an enormous increase in paper work; in fact, so great that classification and place- ment of men became only one of the many functions instead of the one important duty to be accomplished. CHAPTER 20 RECEIVING THE DRAFT HOW THE PERSONNEL OFFICER BECAME CHARGED WITH RECEIVING THE DRAFT In most national army camps a Mustering Officer was appointed with the rank of lieutenant colonel or colonel who was responsible for the checking of selective service men against their Local Board forms, and the preparation of their Enlistment and Assignment Cards (Form 22-2, A.G.O.). The camp or division surgeon conducted the physical examination of the men, and the company commander handled the remain- der of the forms incident to their enlistment into the service. There was very little or no co-ordination of the work and the whole process covered a considerable space of time. Each step was prepared for separately and required that the men should be marched to some building, there handled and then marched back. All this caused a great deal of interference with the regular drill for which the company commander was responsible. As most of the officers were new to this work there resulted inevitably a great many mistakes and oversights so that many papers were incorrectly made out and many not made out until some one caught the oversight possibly months later. The Upton Plan. In only one camp, as far as now known, was there a really systematic attempt during September to December, 1917, to co-ordinate all this work into one well- knit organization. This was Camp Upton, N. Y., where the personnel officer, Captain F. W. Perry, was an engineer of large business experience. It was most natural for him to see the possibilities of such co-ordination and to attempt its organ- ization. He built up there a system, whereby: 253 254 HISTORY OP PERSONNEL 1. All physically deficient men were paid off and sent home within twenty- four hours after arrival. (Paper work was greatly reduced on this class of men because no records were created other than medical record and Final State- ment.) 2. All accepted men were definitely assigned according to occupation within 48 hours after arrival. All records created for these men in one central office. 3. A catalogue card was created and on file in the divi- sion catalogue within two hours after a man arrived in camp. About the middle of December, Mr. DeField visited Camp Upton and became much interested in the work Captain Perry had accomplished as a phase of his problem of cutting down unnecessary paper work. Mr. DeField in a 12 page type- written report described in detail just how the plan was car- ried out. The Letter of February 23, 1918. Dr. Strong, fresh from visits in several camps, appreciated the value of the whole plan. He realized that there was great need for just such a co-ordination as outlined by Mr. DeField and that much of this work inevitably would be put upon the personnel officer. Moreover, unless the latter did do such work in an efficient manner it was going to react unfavorably upon the classification work. In other words, due to the camp organ- ization, there was no possibility of keeping personnel work and paper work apart. Consequently the quicker they were consolidated the better for personnel work proper. Work was immediately commenced upon a revision of DeField's report which would eliminate local features and make it applicable to all camps. During the next seven weeks a good deal of time was devoted to this subject. A good many things had to be straightened out before any gen- eral instructions could be issued. There were certain points on which rulings were necessary. For example, under wliat conditions should a soldier be rejected and discharged on RECEIVING THE DRAFT 255 Form 638, A.G.O., and when should he be discharged under the provisions of Army Regulations and given a discharge certificate on Form 525, 526, or 527, A.G.O.? Then, too, it was necessary to obtain authority for the issuance of such instructions, for they prescribed details of procedure in a camp which was considered entirely within the jurisdiction of the Camp Commander and it was not the general policy of the War Department to issue instructions of that sort. Finally it was agreed with Brigadier General (later Major General) Harris that the letter could be issued provided that it did not go into too great detail as to procedure and that it was made clear that the instructions were not orders but only s.ug- gestions. In consequence, the letter was issued on February 23rd over Brigadier General P. C. Harris' signature, with a 1st Indorsement by The Adjutant General. The introductory paragraph was as follows: "1. Various plans for receiving and assigning new men have been established and carried out in the cantonments. This letter outlines a successful method of handling these men as they come from the local boards. All of the prac- tices here suggested have been thoroughly tried out and are known to be successful. These suggestions are not intended as definite orders since local conditions and circumstances must be taken into account and it is intended to allow all possible latitude for the division commander to exercise his discretion." This letter set up an ideal toward which personnel officers worked, sometimes under the guidance of higher ranking offi- cers, but more often only as the personnel officer secured per- mission for a new step after many conferences. The effect of the letter, however, was disappointing viewed in the light of such changes as took place in the camps. Careful study of the situation showed very clearly that most officers were unable to plan out the details necessary in order thoroughly to coordinate the work of receiving men into camp. If the coordination was to be accomplished, it could only be done through supplying personnel officers with a concrete definite 256 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL plan which they could adapt to local needs and then present to their commanding officer for his approval. In consequence, a detailed plan was prepared and issued April 20th as Chapter IV. of the Personnel Manual. It was expressly stated in connection with the issuance of Chapter I. of the Manual (April 5th) and also of this Chapter that the contents of the Manual were not to be construed as War Department Regulations, but merely as suggestions as to how such regulations might be carried on in the most effective manner. Great care was exercised, however, that nothing should be included but what was according to regulations or clearly to be inferred from regulations. (A later revision of this Chapter is given in Volume II., Chapter IV.). Commencing almost from the time the Chapter was issued there developed a noticeable drift toward the plan outlined in it, but practically nowhere did any one attempt to set up the whole scheme at one time. Rather one detail at a time was taken up and carried through, and then another. The Funston Plan. One direct result of the letter of Feb- ruary 23rd was a reply letter signed by Colonel M. O. Bigelow, commanding officer of the 164th Depot Brigade, Camp Funston. This outlined in detail the procedure followed there in receiving the draft, which had been developed under the direction of Major F. C. Reilly, and showed that this camp, like Camp Upton, had evolved a well coordinated plan. It reported a new feature, namely the issue of Q. M. and Ordnance articles in the Recruit Examination Building. The recruit undressed and turned his old clothes over to the ex- press company for shipment home. His barrack bag was issued to him, in which he placed private possessions he might keep. After his physical examination he passed through a department under the direction of the Camp Quartermaster in which he was completely outfitted with clothing, shoes, etc. Such coordination of Quartermaster work with Medical and Personnel had not taken place up to this time at any other camp. RECEIVING THE DRAFT 257 This letter did not reach The Committee on Classification of Personnel until some time after April 20th. Attention was called to the feature by letter to the Committee's supervisors and in a personal way to personnel officers who visited Room 526, War Department. The innovation was, however, a radi- cal one and no result followed. In the second revision of Chapter IV on June 1st two pages were devoted to the plan. This revision emphasized the advantages of still greater coordination with the Camp Medical Officer, the Depot Bri- gade Supply Officer, the Psychological Examiner and the Depot Brigade Commander to the end that every detail inci- dent to the receiving of selective service men might be accom- plished promptly, accurately and with the minimum of effort. Particular attention was called to the necessity of completing the papers of men rejected by the camp surgeon and his prompt shipment home. Effect of Personnel Schools upon Receiving the Draft. A very important factor in the further development of the per- sonnel office and its closer coordination with other offices in the camp was the Schools for Personnel Officers. Up to the time of the signing of the armistice eleven such schools were held commencing at Camp Meigs, Washington, D. C., April 25-May 4. The Schools were held in different sections of the country, as follows : Camps Bowie, Gordon, Grant, Lewis, Kearney, Travis, Meigs (8th, 9th and 10th schools) and Sherman. In these schools great stress was laid upon the plan of receiving men into camp as described in Chapter IV of the Manual and the officers and men were expected thor- oughly to understand all of the steps involved. The value of the schools was quickly demonstrated in the rapid develop- ment of the personnel office in camps represented at the schools. What had not been accomplished by the letter of February 23rd nor by Chapter IV was achieved through per- sonnel instruction for a few hours. This was true of nearly all the camps as shown by visits of supervisors. 258 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL RECOGNITION OF PERSONNEL OFFICERS AS RESPONSIBLE FOR RECEIVING THE DRAFT For a considerable period of time there was no real recogni- tion by the War Department of the fact that personnel officers were charged with any duties besides the handling of qualifi- cation cards, insurance and allotments and such statistical work as still remained over from the old Statistical Division. It is true that the letter of February 23rd suggested that the personnel officer might handle the paper work incident to receiving the draft, but it did not prescribe that it should be done and at most camps little attention was paid to the sugges- tion. The first real recognition of the situation occurred in connection with increasing the force of the personnel office. Authorization of Enlarged Force. In connection with Table 400-Headquarters, Depot Brigade, a letter from The Adjutant General's Department of May 15th was issued which authorized 3 officers and 79 enlisted men for the Camp Per- sonnel Office. Since January 3rd only 8 enlisted men had been authorized for the personnel office, notwithstanding the large amount of work then being carried on. And, in fact, by the time the new additional force was authorized it was clearly inadequate, so fast had grown the work in the camps. Three important points were brought out in this letter. First, it was emphasized that "while the Personnel Office is an adjunct of the Adjutant's Office it must be definitely under- stood that the personnel force is not to be charged with any of the routine work of the Adjutant's Office" and again "these men are for personnel work only and it must be em- phatically understood by all concerned that these men will not be assigned to, or placed upon, any duty that will inter- fere in any way with their personnel work." This provision was necessary in order to keep separate the work of the Per- sonnel Officer and the Adjutant. As the latter ranked the former, it was natural for him to encroach upon the former's prerogatives unless specifically forbidden. RECEIVING THE DRAFT 259 Second, it was pointed out "that one lieutenant will have charge of insurance work, the other of personnel work, with the captain in general supervision over the whole, but it is expected and intended that all three officers be familiar with all phases of personnel work and able to act in any capacity therein." The quoted sentence emphasized by lack of refer- ence to statistical work the complete absorption of this work in the personnel organization and it also emphasized the co- ordination of insurance and personnel work but also their relative independence, which continued until the signing of the armistice. And third, the letter made clear that depot brigades were to become "the great receiving centers for men drafted into military service" and emphasized "the importance of the proper functioning of the Personnel Officer." Continuing it added: "the accurate classification of all men as received, the proper preparation of all initial papers, and the expeditious and proper operation of this office will do more than anything else to properly utilize the man power of the country called into military service. To secure this result, the intelligent and earnest cooperation of all concerned is vitally essential." Up to this time one of the greatest obstacles to efficient per- sonnel work lay in the fact that there was no reservoir to which skilled men could be assigned and kept until needed and also that all drafted men could not be held in a temporary organization until properly classified, examined, clothed, etc., and then be assigned according to their individual qaulifica- tions. Table of Organization No. 400 and this letter of May 15th made just such a reservoir possible. From this time on criticism of personnel work in that it took good men away from the companies died down and practically disappeared. Such a practice was no longer necessary as now there was time in which to arrange for a scientific placement of men. General Orders No. 60. On June 24th, General Orders No. 60 was printed. This order changed the title of Personnel Officer to that of Personnel Adjutant. It classified the work 260 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL of all adjutants and designated what was to be accomplished by camp, station, or unit adjutants as distinguished from per- sonnel adjutants, and further distinguished between the duties of a camp or division personnel adjutant (primarily a classi- fication officer) and the regimental personnel adjutant (pri- marily a pay-roll officer). Camp or Division Personnel Adju- tants were here charged with: "b. (1) Records and correspondence relating to induction of selective service men, vocational classification, allot- ments, and insurance. (2) Preparation of payrolls, pay cards, reports of changes, rosters of officers, rosters of troops, duty rosters, strength reports, and other periodical reports and returns of personnel. (3) Assignments, transfers, ratings, promotions, reduc- tions, and other matters relating to enlisted person- nel not included in class A(l) i. e., 'instruction, training, discipline and equipment.' " Letter of July 30th, (A.G.O.) authorized the assignment of "an assistant personnel adjutant to perform the duties speci- fied in paragraph b (2), or so much thereof as relates to the preparation of pay-rolls and pay cards for headquarters de- tachments and organizations for which no personnel adju- tants are appointed under the provision of General Orders No. 42, War Department, 1918." Thus such pay-roll work was definitely excluded from the duties of a Camp or Divi- sion Personnel Adjutant. This order established the .personnel office as the office which was responsible for handling drafted men as far as their papers were concerned, including assignment and transfer. The order, however, was not free from ambiguity so far as concerned the smaller camps of the country, such as Flying Fields, Coast Artillery Defenses, etc. And for several months considerable trouble was experienced by the personnel organ- ization in effecting well coordinated personnel work in such RECEIVING THE DRAFT 261 camps. (See the following chapter for further consideration of this point.) Seven Officers and Two Hundred Enlisted Men. Table of Organization, Camp Headquarters No. 411, dated July 15, 1918, but not issued until about August 15th, authorized a further increase of officers and enlisted men, totaling 7 officers and 200 men in camps with Depot Brigades and 5 officers and 16 men in camps without Depot Brigades. In detail, the authorized force consisted of Camp with Camp without Depot Brigade Depot Brigade Major or Captain 1 1 Captain or 1st Lieutenant 3 2 1st or 2nd Lieutenant 3 2 Regimental Sergeant Major 8 2 Battalion Sergeant Major 12 2 Sergeant 40 3 Corporal 40 3 Private, first class 70 3 Private 30 3 Experience has shown that the force for the Camp with a Depot Brigade was sufficient, but not in the case of the Camp without a Depot Brigade. The force of enlisted men in this case should have been at least double that allowed. And in camps without a Depot Brigade with a Replacement Camp, a still larger force was essential. Personnel Force for Trade Test Work. In addition to the above there was needed an additional force of officers and enlisted men for trade test work. Such a force was never authorized but probably would have been if the war had con- tinued a short time longer. The following is the estimate recommended by Maj. Gen. H. Jervey of the General Staff: 1 Captain or First Lieutenant especially trained in Trade Testing. 1 1st Lieutenant or 2nd Lieutenant especially trained in Trade Testing'. 262 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL 1 Regimental Sergeant Major. 2 Battalion Sergeants Major. 6 Sergeants. 2 Corporals. 30 Privates, first class. General Orders No. 86, dated September 18, 1918. This order called attention to indiscriminate transfers of enlisted men and that "the Adjutant General's Department has on file records of the qualifications of all enlisted men, and is pre- pared to fill all positions in the service in so far as they can be filled by enlisted men." The order goes on to prescribe rules for such transfers, and then adds, "when an organization of Class 1 requires enlisted men, its commanding officer will submit to the division or camp commander, as the case may be, a requisition showing the qualifications of the men desired. The personnel adjutant, under the direction of his commander, will fill the requisition in so far as the enlisted personnel of Class 1 allows. If the requisition cannot be filled locally, it will be forwarded to the Adjutant General of the Army show- ing vacancies still unfilled " This general order recognized fully the personnel system as then operating both as to the camp office and the central allotment office at Washington. A poem written by George A. Flesh, a private in one of the personel offices, tells the story of this period and from an angle not otherwise recorded here. THE RIME OF THE PERSONNEL l Yes they took me in the Army, Gave me shoes and uniform; Made a dummy soldier of me, Far from where the battles storm, I ain't got no gun or bay'net, Never seen a cannon yet Why, they won't let me go marchin' Do you wonder that I fret? RECEIVING THE DRAFT 263 But I write, write, write, Gee the beggars keep me workin' half the night; And there ain't no blood and thunder 'Ceptin' when you make a blunder; Lord I wisht I had a gun so's I could fight. 2 All the blessed livin' daytime, On a hard and narrow seat, We just sit and write up so'jcrs And it's awful in the heat. While the sun beats down like fury, While the dust is everywhere, We just sit and write up rookies, Prayin' for a breath of air. We just write, write, write, Gee the beggars keep us workin' half the night; And they laugh at us and jeer us For no enemy ain't near us; Lord I wisht I had a gun so's I could fight. We just sit and ask 'em questions: Where they live and what's their age? Was they ever in the Service? Why the answers fill a page. If they croak, where should we send 'em? Where's their birthplace, who they keep? And some's so bloomin' ign'rant That their dumbness makes you weep. We just write, write, write, Gee the beggars keep us workin' half the night; Yep we're in the Personnel, If you ask me why, its hell; Lord I wisht I had a gun so's I could fight. For we'll stay here till it's over And the boys come marchin' back, 264 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL Tellin' how they licked the Germans, How they gave Wilhelin the sack. But even then they'll keep us, Lettin' out what we let in, Then they'll send us back to home folks, Who will greet US with a grin. For we wrote, wrote, wrote, No we didn't cross no ocean in a boat; And we didn't see no fightin', We was too damn busy writin'; Do you wonder that I think I am the Goat? Conclusion. During the period from February 23rd to about August 15th the personel office gradually developed from a small office handling only classification work, insurance, allotments and miscellaneous paper work to a very large office responsible for all paper work incident to the receiving of drafted men. This development was mainly due to influences in the camps themselves. The work of the Committee on Classi- fication of Personnel as it affected this development was almost entirely to speed up a coordination which it appre- ciated inevitably must come. As each step was thoroughly established the War Department recognized it and made pro- vision for its continuance. Following the Camp Gordon School for Personnel Officers, Major (then Captain) G. T. Wilhelm, Camp Personel Officer of Camp Jackson, drew up plans for a Personnel Building which would include the work of the Medical Officer, Quar- termaster Officer and Personnel Officer. The plans were received by the War Department early in June, but no action resulted. They were used, however, as an exhibit in all the schools for personnel officers held thereafter and helped appre- ciably in spreading the idea of such a building throughout the camps. From a number of camp commanders during the RECEIVING THE DRAFT 265 next six months requests for such a building were received by the War Department. Camp Funston from early days had practically such a build- ing utilizing several adjoining barrack buildings for this work. Camp Travis later did the same. By August 1st Major Luther Hoffman, Camp Personnel Officer of Camp Travis, had sub- mitted a set of drawings in which all details were carefully considered. Following the return to Washington of Dr. Strong a con- ference was held there, September 16 to 21, of seven of the Personnel Adjutants most interested in such a building. They were Major C. L. Abel of Camp Sherman, Major C. R. Coffin of Camp Wadsworth, Captain (later Major) T. R. Elkins of Camp Funston, Major E. B. Hawks of Camp Dix, Major Luther Hoffman of Camp Travis, Major O .C. Lloyd of Camp Jackson and Major G. T. Wilhelm, formerly of Camp Jack- son, but then engaged in installing trade tests in the camps. Several supervisors were also in attendance. As a result of this conference the whole procedure of handling drafted men was thoroughly standardized. (See Chapter IV. of Vol. II. for the final write-up of this plan.) And plans for a building to accommodate the work were roughly drawn up. Following the conference Mr. D. J. O'Connor and Dr. Strong completed the write-up of the plan and the drawings of the building. Majors Elkins and Hoffman aided materially in this work. Before the final details could be completed it was necessary to obtain the official O. K. of the Surgeon Gen- eral's Office and the Quartermaster General's Office. This took considerable time. An appropriation for $1,250,000 was authorized by the Secretary of War on October 14th and the plans were finally approved a few days before the armistice was signed and actually in the mail on that day. This author- ization provided for the construction of one of the Recruit Examination Buildings in each of the 16 Depot Brigade Camps. The plans are shown in connection with Chapter IV of the Personnel Manual (Volume II.). 266 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL Large as the appropriation seems, it was felt by all those intimately concerned with the work that the buildings would pay for themselves in three or four months. They would have permitted a smaller force of officers and enlisted men to per- form all the work incidental to receiving drafted men. They would have insured rejected men being returned home more promptly than in the past. The saving here alone would be great. For example, at one camp rejected men were kept on the average seven days in camp. A conservative estimate of the cost to the government for maintenance and pay is $2 a day. The new plan would make possible the shipping of such men home on the second day, saving five days's time or $10 apiece. Two thousand such men were sent home a month, representing a loss to the government of $20,000 per month at this one camp, to say nothing of the loss to the nation in- curred by the non-employment of 2,000 men for five days. The buildings with their thoroughly standardized procedure would undoubtedly have secured a still more accurate prepara- tion of enlistment papers thereby cutting down materially clerical work and correspondence concerning mistakes, not to mention down-right losses to the government or the soldier due to such mistakes. SHIPPING MEN OUT OF THE DEPOT BRIGADE One of the great problems incident to paper-work is the thorough enforcement of orders requiring that papers relating to the soldier shall always accompany him when he is trans- ferred and that they shall have been properly prepared. Chap- ter 37 discusses this problem as it related to the shipment of men overseas and relates how a thorough inspection was made of all papers before the men boarded ship. The same prob- lem existed at each point where enlisted men (and officers too) were transferred from one organization to another. After the personnel adjutant became charged with the responsibility of receiving men into camp, it naturally followed that he should likewise be charged with checking the soldier's RECEIVING THE DRAFT 267 papers as they were shipped out of cainp. This added duty developed all the sooner because the qualification card was the most likely paper not to be sent with the soldier. This was due to the fact that it was kept at Camp Headquarters and the company commander knew little of its existence. A great deal of trouble was experienced in this respect. Letter after letter was sent out from The Adjutant General's Office insist- ing that the cards must go with the men. But the matter was never thoroughly carried out until the personnel adjutant per- sonally saw to it that qualification cards went with the men. Later when it was fully realized that the other papers were not made out nor endorsed properly and not always sent with the men the personnel adjutant commenced checking them also. As this work progressed, one after another of the camps issued orders that all men leaving camp should report to the personnel office where the papers were checked. In this way, the shipping section came to be an integral part of the camp personnel office. When the armistice was signed and demo- bilization commenced there already existed a good machine in terms of which to organize the checking force necessary in order that all discharge papers could be certified as properly made out. CHAPTER 21 PERSONNEL WORK IN STAFF CORPS CAMPS From the time personnel work was introduced into the Na- tional Army Camps in September, 1917, until the armistice, November, 1918, there was a steady progression in its develop- ment within the larger camps. All this has been traced in preceding chapters. The development of personnel work in the smaller camps under the direction of the various staff corps and departments of the army was not so satisfactory. Up to the summer of 1918, and even later in many cases, little real personnel work had been done in these camps. The history of such work, on the whole, can be summarized by saying, a personnel supervisor visited the camp, installed the system and trained some officers and enlisted men. Sometime later a second visit would reveal very little or nothing of the office that had been established. Nearly always some qualification cards could be found but the men to whom they referred might be in France and the men then in camp might have had no cards made out for them. In other camps the office had con- tinued but the supervisor would find an entirely new set of officers and enlisted men in charge with no training for the work and no real insight or enthusiasm. Two striking exceptions to the general run of such experi- ences were the Quartermaster Corps, Camp Joseph E. John- ston at Jacksonville, Florida, and the Ordnance Dep't., Camp Hancock at Augusta, Georgia. At the former Major Claude M. Fuess was placed in charge of personnel work and at the latter Lieutenant N. L. Hoopingarner. Both of these men were enthusiastically interested in the work, were commis- sioned from civil life to carry it on and were allowed to do good work. 268 PERSONNEL WORK 269 Two main reasons may be assigned for this general lack of efficient personnel work in the smaller camps: first, rapid shifting of officers in the camps, and second, lack of real per- sonnel organization in the staff corps offices at Washington. And in many respects this second cause was likewise due to the rapid shifting of officers at Washington. Repeatedly super- visors reported on visiting one of these camps a second time that there wasn't an officer nor enlisted man there whom he had previously met and trained. Naturally, little of a con- structive nature could be expected. It should be explained in fairness to the Washington offices that all officers wanted to go to France; in consequence, competent officers for personnel work secured an opportunity and were ordered overseas. This was very trying for the Committee as it had to spend a great deal of time in making such contacts, in interesting ranking officers, securing the appointments of competent offi- cers and then training them, only to have to do it all over again in a short time. Just as personnel work developed almost entirely in the line through demonstrating its value in the camps and then having the new features recognized by the War Department through official orders, so it likewise developed in the smaller camps first and then was authorized later. Traveling supervisors accomplished much in this way. But the Schools for Per- sonnel Adjutants did much more. Permission was obtained from the Staff Corps offices to send selected officers to these schools and then at the schools they were enthused and equipped for their work. After they had attended the per- sonnel schools, it was also easier to make arrangements where- by they would be kept on the job. PERSONNEL WORK IN THE COAST ARTILLERY CORPS The Coast Artillery Corps may be taken as an example, as showing some of the difficulties encountered and the final out- come. 270 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL There are twenty-seven coast defenses (comprising about one hundred forts), five Coast Artillery Districts, and the Coast Artillery Training Center (comprising Reserve Officers' Training Camp, Enlisted Specialists and Motor Transport Schools, and the school of Fire at Camp Eustis). In November, 1917, qualification cards were sent to all Coast Defenses. Some few were filled out, a smaller number were used, but nothing of value resulted from this trial. Numerous attempts were made by supervisors of the Com- mittee to install a system of classification in the various coast defenses, but without marked result until the issuance of Gen- eral Orders, Nos. 42, 46 and 60, W. D., 1918. Under author- ity given in these orders personnel adjutants were detailed by Coast Defense commanders, and an effort was made to do the work pertaining to records. As yet, however, no effort was made to use the qualification cards for making assignments in the formation of units. During June and July, 1918, an attempt was made to pre- pare tables of occupational needs for overseas units. Due to lack of time and insufficient help, these preliminary tables proved of little use. A very common error was made, in that these tables called for an unduly large number of technically educated, or very highly skilled men. By the end of July, it became evident, that, if any good results were to be obtained by the personnel system in the Coast Artillery, officers must be trained and used for that work exclusively. Captain (later Major) D. W. K. Peacock was detailed for duty in the office of the Chief of Coast Artillery, and on reporting July 25, 1918, was instructed to study the system, become acquainted with officials in Washington, and later to submit recommenda- tion. This officer attended the eighth personnel school held at Camp Meigs, August 7 to 14, then made a tour of impor- tant nearby coast defenses. A detailed recommendation was submitted by him on August 30 and was tentatively approved. After a thorough canvass of the situation regarding the rapid shifting of officers and its deleterious effect on personnel PERSONNEL WORK 271 work, authority was granted on August 16, 1918, to commis- sion coast artillery officers, then engaged in personnel work, in the Adjutant General's Department, and assign them to coast defenses as personnel adjutants. Such officers were then under orders from the Adjutant General's Department and could be kept permanently at personnel work. About fort} r selected Coast Artillery officers and enlisted men were ordered to attend the tenth personnel school at Camp Meigs in Septem- ber. From this number those particularly qualified were selected, transferred to the A. G. D. ,and sent to the more important coast defenses as personnel adjutants. These officers were charged with a considerable amount of paper work incident to the handling of enlisted men, including receiving them from draft boards, mustering them into the service and their eventual assignment. Provision was made for the assignment of one Coast Artil- lery officer as Assistant Personnel Adjutant at each Fort, his duties being to make payrolls, reports of changes and do other strictly paper work pertaining to the enlisted men of that fort. The Coast Defense personnel adjutant was responsible that these assistants did proper work, and was the sole officer chargeable with the assignment of men within the Coast Defenses. As a result of these requirements, the personnel adjutants were chosen from those men who had considerable experience in handling men in civil life, together with tech- nical knowledge, when possible. It became evident that some centralized authority would necessarily be charged with securing the kinds of specialists needed and with their proper distribution to the various Coast Defenses, where they would be used in the formation of tactical units. Consequently, two officers and several enlisted men were assigned to duty at Washington. Each coast defense was required to submit semi-monthly reports showing the number and classification of enlisted men in the coast defense. Based upon these reports and the tables of occupational needs for units to be formed at a given coast defense, it became pos- 272 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL sible to requisition for the exact number and kind of men needed at that Coast Defense. It occasionally was possible to transfer men from various Coast Defenses and balance organizations within the Coast Artillery without the necessity of requisitioning for additional specialists. Upon the completion of the tenth Personnel School at Camp Meigs in September, six of the best qualified officers were retained in Washington and detailed to prepare Tables of Occupational Needs for the Coast Artillery. These six officers carefully investigated the duties of each enlisted man called for by tables under which Coast Artillery units were organ- ized. A specification was prepared for each job, and these personnel specifications were then assembled into book form, including therein consolidated tables for each type of organ- ization. The preliminary manuscript of these tables of occu- pational needs proved of very great value in the formation of certain units during the two or three weeks prior to the sign- ing of the Armistice. The completed tables, unfortunately, were not in print until later. During the last half of October a considerable draft in- crement was received at the Coast Defenses and handled in a creditable maner. This occurred within six weeks from com- pletion of the Personnel School at which practically all the Coast Artillery personnel adjutants received their instructions. It is believed that the Coast Artillery presented about as serious difficulties as any of the other staff corps and bureaus of the War Department. It proved possible, however, to plan, select and instruct men, and put the whole system in opera- tion within a period of three months. Some difficulties still remained at the signing of the armistice, but current work was being carried on in a very satisfactory manner and units des- tined for overseas were properly balanced, and required a minimum of training. Possibly the greatest difficulty encoun- tered was that due to the very limited number of specialists available, and the necessity of using semi-skilled men for im- portant jobs in these units. PERSONNEL WORK 273 Conclusion. The system as installed in the Coast Artillery provided that one officer in Washington had at all times an accurate knowledge of the number and trade ability of men in all Coast Defenses in the United States. By compiling this information on master lists, requiring very little clerical work, it was possible at any time to locate men of specific ability and order them to the point at which needed. At the same time in each Coast Artillery fort or defense there was a qualified office force which handled all paper work incident to enlisted personnel and saw to it that men were assigned in accordance with their qualifications. CHAPTER 22 PLANS FOR SEPARATION OF PERSONNEL WORK AND ADJUTANT'S WORK We have now seen how the Personnel Office developed from a small office handling only the qualification cards and inter- ested primarily in the assignment and transfer of enlisted men until it became the largest office in the camp. And in that office were prepared most of the papers incident to a drafted man's enlistment in the army, including insurance, allotments, classification, etc. We have also seen that this development took place because personnel work suffered if all this was not done efficiently and, as it was not well done, took it over in order that the strictly personnel work would prosper. The transfer of the larger part of the paper work into one office undoubtedly did strengthen personnel work and made for it many friends. REASONS FOR SEPARATING PERSONNEL WORK FROM ADJUTANTS' WORK About the time, however, that the work was becoming thor- oughly coordinated and standardized the leaders in personnel work commenced to realize that the duties of a camp personnel adjutant were too much for one officer. It is true that a num- ber of the personnel adjutants handled the whole job in good shape, but there were other officers who could not oversee it all, and their places could not be supplied with men who could. The work was also so complex that it was equally difficult to obtain supervisors who could oversee all the activities in an office. And without such a grasp of the whole work, super- visors could not very well direct changes or make proper 274 PLANS FOR SEPARATION 275 recommendations. For these reasons it was felt that the work suffered to some extent compared with what would be accom- plished if the officer in charge was responsible for fewer details. Another reason for separating personnel work from the strictly adjutants' work lay in the organization of the Adju- tant General's Department. Personnel and insurance work was under the direction of Colonels A. M. Ferguson and D. Y. Beckham in Room 528, War Department. The handling of all other papers was directed from other divisions of the Adjutant General's Department. There was every reason for not further coordinating the work of these offices. In con- sequence, the natural thing was to separate their respective organizations in the field. The most important reason for effecting a separation of the two types of work was the transfer of personnel work to the General Staff. General Orders No. 80 of August 26, 1918, provided that "the appointment, promotion, transfer, and assignment of the commissioned personnel of all branches of the Army" should be a duty of the Operations Division, Gen- eral Staff. In order to carry out this provision, General Orders No. 86, September 18, 1918, further provided that "there is established the Commissioned Personnel Branch, Operations Division, General Staff, which will be formed by consolidation of (a) the Commissioned Personnel Section, Gen- eral Staff, and (b) the Committee on Classification of Per- sonnel of the Adjutant General's Office, " This General Order created an anomalous situation. The Committee was now in the General Staff, the officers that car- ried on personnel work in the camps were all commissioned in the Adjutant General's Department, and most of their functions had to do with paper work which was strictly adju- tant's work. 276 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL PLANS FOR SEPARATING PERSONNEL WORK FROM ADJUTANTS' WORK In consequence, a movement was immediately started to establish a Central Personnel Division of the Operations Sec- tion, General Staff, and to include all strictly personnel work therein. On November 5th a memorandum from the General Staff was directed to The Adjutant General directing that a general order be issued on the subject, as follows: "The Secretary of War directs that the following general order be issued: 1. The classification, assignment and placement of per- sonnel in the Army are placed under the supervision of the General Staff. These functions embrace measures necessary to provide for the utilization, to the fullest extent, of the man power of the nation in relation both to the military establishment and to industry. As regards the Army, they include the procurement of men from all sources, their classification by trades and occupations, and their assign- ment and placement in such a way that the Army will obtain full advantage of their occupational ability, training and experience. They include matters pertaining to the placing of men according to their abilities and their reassignment or transfer to positions where their services can best be utilized, when such transfers become available. As regards industry, these functions include matters concerning the effect of the withdrawal of large numbers of men from industrial pursuits and their retention in, or return to, essen- tial war industries. 2. Routine administration, and record and account keep- ing form no part of these functions, except in so far as they pertain to the collection of information, statistics and data relating to them and the records and reports connected therewith. 3. Instructions and orders to carry out policies and action pertaining to classification, assignment and place- ment, will be issued as heretofore by The Adjutant Gen- eral's Department. 4. In camps and tactical divisions, and in other places and units specially authorized, an officer designated as clas- sification officer of the place or unit, will be in charge of the PLANS FOR SEPARATION 277 functions prescribed in Paragraph 1. The classification officer will be assisted by such other officers and enlisted men as are authorized by the War Department. In tactical divisions the classification officer will be an assistant of the Chief of Staff of the division; in camps he will be an assist- ant of the executive officer; in specially authorized places and units he will be a staff officer of the commander of the place or unit. Classification officers will be designated by the War Department from officers selected and specially trained for this duty. In places and units not provided with classication officers, as indicated above, the duties pre- scribed for such officers will be under the charge of the Statistical Adjutant, or, if there is no Statistical Adjutant, of the Unit Adjutant. 5. Classification officers, in the performance of their duties, will, under the direction of the commander of the place or unit, be specifically charged with the following: (a) Recommendations pertaining to the preparation, use and preservation of qualification cards of officers. (b) Classification, qualification, trade testing, assign- ment and transfer of enlisted men, handling of requisi- tions for enlisted personnel and recommendations for the balancing of organizations in accordance with Tables of Occupational Needs and the requirements of the service. (c) Preparation of special and periodical reports and returns pertaining to the functions prescribed herein, and the preparation, use and preservation of qualification cards for enlisted men. 6. The duties prescribed in G. O. No. 60, War Depart- ment, 1918, which are not herein assigned to classification officers, will be performed by the Adjutant Genral, Adju- tant or Statistical Adjutant as directed in that order. Statis- tical adjutants and mobilization camps or places receiving newly inducted men. will have supervision over the receiving of such men, and are charged with the preparation of the initial records required by the Adjutant General's Depart- ment for record or file at the War Department or at camp, division or other unit headquarters, except those relating to the functions transferred by this order to the General Staff. Statistical adjutants are also charged with the correspon- dence relating to induction of drafted men. 278 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL 7. The officers and enlisted men necessary to perform the duties required by this order will be those given in Tables of Organization. The necessary changes in the Tables of Organization are in course of preparation and will soon be published. In places or units not covered by Tables of Organization, the necessary force will be that already authorized or such as may hereafter be authorized by instructions from the War Department. This order was not issued due to the signing of the armistice. The order would have resulted in so reorganizing the Per- sonnel Office as in large measure to carry on the functions first assigned it in the National Army Camps in September, 1917. But the office would have been under the direction of the Gen- eral Staff, instead of the Adjutant General. Details as to the size of the office in the different camps, as contemplated, were: Cainp Ports Without of Em- Camps with Depot Tactical Dept. barka- Recruit Depot Brig-. Brig. Division Hdqrs. tion Depots Major or Captain 111110 Captain or First Lt. 2 1 1 1 First I A. or 2nd Lt. 100000 Total Comni. Rgt. Sgt. Mjr. Bn. Sgt. Mjr. Sergeants Corporals Pvts. 1st Cl. Pvts. Total F.nl. The authorization for "Camp with Depot Brigade" includes the following officers and enlisted men of the Trade Test Sections: 1 Captain or First Lieutenant; 1 Regimental Ser- geant Major, 2 Battalion Sergeants Major, 5 Sergeants, 2 Corporals, 12 Privates (first class), 8 Privates. Total en- listed, 30. 4 2 2 1 1 1 4 2 1 1 1 7 2 18 2 2 1 2 15 2 40 2 3 16 2 100 12 3 2 6 PLANS FOR SEPARA TION 279 CONCLUSION Had the war continued several months more the following changes would undoubtedly have taken place. First, all per- sonnel work would have been centralized in a Personnel Branch of the Operations Division, General Staff. Commissioned per- sonnel work had already been so centralized. Second, strictly personnel work dealing with the classification and assignment of both officers and enlisted men would have been placed under a Classification Officer (a new title for the old Personnel Offi- cer) who would be an assistant to the Chief of Staff of a divi- son, to the Executive Officer of a camp, or a staff officer re- porting to the commanding officer of smaller units. All other paper work incident to commissioned or enlisted personnel work would be concentrated under a Statistical Adjutant, as assistant to the unit or station adjutant. This plan would have provided a unified organization by which officers and enlisted men could be placed according to their qualifications and transfers easily be made between (a) units within a camp or unit, (b) between camps and (c) be- tween the several staff corps or departments of the army. Little had been accomplished in the case of (c) up to the signing of the armistice, although there were many cases on record when skilled men had been found in organizations where their specialized experience could not be utilized. SECTION VI PLACEMENT The proper placement of men is dependent upon (1) a careful analysis of the man's qualifications, (2) a careful study of the job to be performed, and (3) the placing of the right man in the right place. The first two factors have been discussed at some length in Sections III and IV. The third is the subject of this Section. If we had but a dozen men to be considered and an equal number of jobs, it would be relatively easy to place the men where they would be most useful. But when several thousand men are so to be dis- tributed it becomes necessary to handle men, as merchandise is handled, and ship them on the basis of requisitions. Record of the transactions must be carefully kept; else mistakes and confu- sions are bound to arise. Chapter 23 presents the administrative measures utilized in handling requisitions for men. In the fol- lowing chapter the further phases of this subject as they relate specifically to the organization of a military unit are discussed. And in Chapter 25 a corollary to this is taken up; i. e., the methods em- ployed to interest officers in the proper placement of men. Two special phases of "placement" are also considered: i. e., methods of selecting men for officers' training schools (Chapter 26) and the use of limited service men (Chapter 27) , CHAPTER 23 During the first two months of personnel work, very few records were kept of the placements of men. Verbal and written requisitions were received and they were filled as soon as possible. If they could not be filled promptly, because of lack of men of the desired qualifications, they were quite likely to be forgotten until the officer concerned renewed his request. Such oversights eventually forced a better bookkeeping sys- tem. In the camps with capable personnel officers there finally developed a thoroughgoing procedure. Unfortunately, in some of the other camps sufficiently good systems were not developed and much confusion still reigned even up to the signing of the armistice. This was one phase of supervision of personnel work which was not emphasized by the Com- mittee on Classification of Personnel until about October, 1918. Then several were assigned this duty. By November llth they had prepared the copy for Chapter VII. of the Personnel Manual whch gave in detail just how all records should be maintained. The installation of this system would have done much toward improving personnel work in the camps with weak or inexperienced officers and it would have effected a standard method in all camps. LOCAL REQUISITIONS The Personnel Adjutant handled requisitions for specially qualified men both from local officers within the camp and from the War Department. The handling of requisitions from 283 284 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL the former will be considered first and then those from the War Depatrment later on. Several local requisitions are given here to illustrate the kind of service rendered by the personnel office. In the early days, a fire department had to be organized at each canton- ment. Accordingly upon receipt of this information asking for 25 men for the Fire Department, the personnel officer selected, as at' Camp Taylor, seventeen men with experience in fire departments and one good clerk and reported their names and organizations to the Chief of Staff. A note at the bottom stated that they were all the qualified men in camp and that the remainder could probably be furnished from the next draft due the following Friday. Later seven more men were furnished. At one of the Flying Fields the Colonel came into the per- sonnel office one morning very much flustered and said he had lost his keys. One of the keys opened the inner compartment to the safe. He explained that he had become so much upset at the affair that now he couldn't even remember the com- bination to the safe and after working at it for some time had been unable to open it. Could the personnel officer with his much talked of system do anything. Turning to his file, the latter said, "Certainly." In a minute he called to his orderly and requested that Privates Smith and Jones report imme- diately. Private Smith, formerly employed by a safe com- pany, quickly opened the safe by listening to the tumblers and Jones, a good locksmith, soon after had a new key. Whereat the Colonel ejaculated, "What the is the use of a safe?" Not only were the qualification cards found useful in the regular camps but even in the S. A. T. C. detachments they proved their value as is shown in the following incident. During the influenza epidemic it was necessary to provide for a temporary hospital. By the usre of the cards a group of students was selected and organized to construct a hospital, and within forty-two and a half hours from the time the lum- ber was delivered, the building was completed and patients FILLING REQUISITIONS 285 were installed therein under the supervision of the medical officer and nurses. Prior to the erection of this hospital accom- modations were provided for only ten cases. After its erection a peak-load of ninety-two cases was handled without a single loss. During the construction of the hospital it was neces- sary to have day and night shifts at work and to serve six messes every twenty-four hours. A complete crew of cooks was secured through the use of the cards, and every meal was served on time. Under normal conditions no men of such a unit serve as cooks. When the medical officer needed addi- tional nurses he was given five men with some experience and sufficient qualifications to carry out his orders properly. In filling these requisitions, the man's occupational skill was primarily considered. If the company commander had reported him as "Preferred", this was taken into account and he was not recommended for transfer, if any other could be substituted. The man's physical qualifications as to height and weight were frequently noted, also his intelligence and primary preference. When there was time all these were given due consideration, but more often there was very little time, and the requisition was filled mainly on the basis of occupational skill. If the war had continued another six months and personnel work had been separated from adju- tant's work, a very noticeable increase in proficiency of place- ment would have taken place. This is so stated here because many personnel officers realized the situation and were en- deavoring to correct it. WAR DEPARTMENT REQUISITIONS Reports on Occupational Classfications of Drafted Men. The personnel organization was not planned for the purpose of transferring specialists from camp to camp or for the pur- pose of supplying men for the staff corps. It was planned to have local clearing offices in each camp for meeting the supply and demand in that camp. But almost immediately the need arose to supply staff corps units with skilled men and a little 286 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL later for transferring men from camp to camp. Requisitions for 5,000 skilled men were issued in October, 1917, to National Army Camps and they increased rapidly until the close of the war. Not expecting requisitions, when they did come, they found the personnel organization without any information as to where such specialists could be found. Fortunately, however, the requisitions called for only a few men at a time and con- sequently most of them could be filled by the camps which were called upon to furnish them. The next step was to call upon the camps for reports, known as Periodic Reports (CCP-9), as to the total number of men, green (skilled) and orange tabbed (partly skilled) under each occupational head- ing, showing number of machinists, blacksmiths, carpen- ters, etc. Here a count of tabs, not men, was called for. This was done for two reasons, first, it was easier for the personnel officer to count all the tabs than to evaluate each card and report the man under his main usefulness. And, second, it was thought that it would enable the central office to determine how men could best be used instead of leaving this matter to the local officers. The plan worked all right as long as there was an ample surplus of specialists over the demand. But as soon as supply and demand commenced to approximate each other, it became evident that only a count of men would meet the needs. For if a man was tabbed green as blacksmith and machinist and orange tabbed as draftsman, then when a black- smith was ordered transferred, the camp also transferred a machinist and apprentice draftsman. But the central office had no way of knowing this additional fact. The Periodic Report of February 1st, 1918, edition shows this change from counting tabs to counting men very clearly. For it calls for a count of green tabbed men, and then for a count of all black (second best journeymen) and orange tab- bed men (apprentices) by tabs. From such a report one knew definitely how many journeymen could be transferred out of camp. One also knew how many substitutions were FILLING REQUISITIONS 287 possible. In terms of the illustration given above, one knew that the blacksmith could be transferred, and also that there was a machinist and apprentice draftsman in that camp and also that these two had been counted somewhere else already. If, then, this machinist was requisitioned, the figures in the main (green) column would have to be lowered by one man. This system was maintained until March 27th when the new form, entitled "Special Report of Occupational Classification" (CCP-15) was issued in lieu of Periodic Reports. This report called for a count of men, not tabs. If a man was given more than one tab than he was to be reported under, that tab which seemed to the local officer as his main usefulness to the army was used. Here arose a new problem. If the local officer was to judge at what occupational specialty the man was to be employed, how was he to know which of two or more possibilities to favor. This was answered in two ways. Through visits of supervisors, properly coached, and the issuing of special letters local personnel officers were cautioned to study the requisitions received each month and to note which occupations were most frequently called for and to favor them in classifying men. Thus, if blacksmiths were more fre- quently called for than machinists, per number received in the draft, then whenever a man qualified under both groups he was to be reported as a blacksmith and not a machinist. In addition to this method of acquainting local officers as to how to classify men, the central office commenced with the March 27th report to designate certain occupations as of greater importance than others ; "Greater" in the sense of rarer in terms of supply and demand. For example, in this report there are two parts. If a man can be classified under one of the occupations in the first part he is to be placed there in preference to occupations listed in the second part. If he, however, falls under two occupations in part one, then the judgment of the local officer had to be employed as to which one of the two to list him under. 288 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL In June a long list of preferred occupations was issued as a guide to the local officer in determining how to classify men under their main occupation. The next month commenced the system continued until the signing of the armistice of listing all the occupations on which reports were needed but to star those of primary importance. Thus, automatic screw machine operators and bakery machinists were starred be- cause of excessive demands as compared with the supply, while machine assemblers and bench hands were not starred. Com- mencing with the October report the subdivision of occupa- tions as to their importance to the army was extended. In addition to starred occupations there appeared occupa- tions followed by a star and the figure 3 (*3). In such cases Form CCP-3, letter to former employer, was to be used. Many of these men would be furloughed to industry, if their records were satisfactory, or used in special units in the army. Besides this new group there also appeared other occupations marked "R R." Such men were to be transferred immediately to the Engineer Corps, Fort Benjamin Harrison. Another development in these Reports on Occupational Classification needs to be noted. Up to the time of the March report, men were reported under the main group heading, such as, machinists, blacksmiths, carpenters, etc. By that time it became apparent that the differences between carpen- ter, e.g., as to whether they were house, bridge or ship car- penters was more important than as to whether they were journeymen or apprentice carpenters, grouping all carpen- ters together. In consequence, with that report men were to be reported in terms of the sub-divisions of the main groups listed in CCP-4. This report called for men to be reported under 234 different headings. The number of these headings gradually increased so that in the last report used before the armistice 469 headings were recognized. War Department Requisitions. While the above refine- ments in reporting men to Washington were being developed there was a corresponding increase in the definiteness and FILLING REQUISITIONS 289 completeness of the requisitions transmitted to the camps. Gradually better and better forms were developed upon which the Staff Corps had to render their requisitions. And at the same time experience showed the best method of preparing telegrams or letters whereby requisitions could be transmitted to the camps. Definite forms were developed and each requi- sition written according to the appropriate form. The following letter addressed to the Personnel Officer, Camp Upton, on July llth, 1918, illustrates how well many of these War Department requisitions were handled. "1. Please permit me to express my appreciation of the prompt and efficient manner in which you personally and your organization arranged for the selection of 42 experienced railroad men for the operation of the Terminal here, in accord- ance with authority from Washington, D. C. "2. In accordance with instructions from the Storage Officer of the Port of New York, I went to Camp Upton on June 17th to select 42 men experienced in railroad operation. Cards for 60 men were given me. After analyzing the cards and interviewing the men, I secured 18 men. You informed me that a new draft would be in soon after June 1st. After making proper arrangement I returned to Camp Upton on July 8th to select the remaining 24 men. I found your organi- zation had analyzed the possibilities very carefully and had selected 36 cards. I personally examined all of the 36 men, selecting 24 of them I deemed best qualified for our service. I feel sure the other 12 could have been used if we had needed that many. "3. This letter is written as I did not have the opportunity of seeing you personally before leaving Camp Upton on July 8th, and I want you to know we appreciate very much the manner in which you handled the whole matter." Transfer Reports and Transfer Lists. In order that Wash- ington could keep track as to when requisitions were filled and to what extent they were filled a Transfer Report blank (CCP-8) was issued. The personnel officer reported each day on this form the requisition number filled, the date of shipment, the number of men per occupation and whether 290 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL journeymen or apprentice; also whether in case the requisition was not completely filled, it could be or not, and if so, when. Soon after requisitions commenced to be filled, complaints began coming in to Washington that the specialists called for had not been received and that men not needed had been re- ceived in their place. This often was true: the system did not work perfectly, particularly in the early days. But often, after investigation it was found that the trouble lay in the receiving officer. For example, a man had been a telegraph operator ten years, during the last four years he had studied law at night and then had commenced the practise of law. This man quite properly was transferred as a telegraph oper- ator. But he didn't know why he was shipped and on being asked by the Signal Corps receiving officer what his occu- pation was, he said, "Lawyer." Hence the complaint that a telegraph operator was missing and a lawyer had been re- ceived who was not wanted. In other words, poor interview- ing by the receiving officer could nullify to a considerable extent the efficiency of careful personnel work elsewhere. And there was a great deal of such hasty interviewing in the early days, because all were rushing at top speed. In con- sequence, Transfer Lists (CCP-11) to serve as a bill of lad- ing were prepared by the personnel officer whenever he shipped men. On them were listed all the enlisted men in- cluded in the transfer with their army serial number, their occupation and their degree of skill. A receiving officer could then look at the list and know exactly what he was supposed to receive. The transfer list also served another very good purpose. It forced the personnel officer to record in detail what he had shipped and so made it impossible for him to cover up any transfers which were not according to specifications. Often this served as a club for him to use over higher ranking officers who did not want him to ship men out of certain units in the camp from which only such specialists could be ob- tained but nevertheless knew that the requisition had to be FILLING REQUISITIONS 291 filled. The fact that a report in detail had to be rendered to the man receiving the men helped force full compliance with orders. Camp Procedure, The details of the procedure followed in the camp in filling requisitions are given in Chapter VII of Vol. II. In that chapter, there are also illustrated the forms used in keeping track of each requisition. CHAPTER 24 BALANCING A UNIT By "balancing a unit" is meant supplying it with just the men it needs in accordance with Tables of Personnel Speci- fications so that it will function most efficiently. Three con- siderations must be taken into account. The unit must be supplied with men of those types of occupational experience which will be employed in the unit. Otherwise time will be required to train them in occupational work in addition to purely military duties. The unit must, second, have assigned to it sufficient men of leadership qualifications so that from the group the company commander may select his non-com- missioned officers, and third, the unit must be given its pro rata share of superior, average and inferior men to fill its quota of "unclassified" men. In other words, an excess of poor men should not be placed in any organization. If the personnel adjutant is called upon to balance a unit at the time men are to be transferred into it then his task is reasonably simple; for he needs only to select men needed in the organization and have them transferred. But if the or- ganization already has a large number of men in it and then he is called upon to balance the unit he has a much more diffi- cult duty. He must first of all make an inventory of the men in the unit. Those specialists not needed in the unit must be transferred to some unit where they are needed, and he must secure specialists from some other place to fill up the unit with what is needed there. Moving men already "an- chored" in a unit requires great tact because in the majority of cases both men and officers resent such changes. 292 BALANCING A UNIT 293 USE OF TABLES OF OCCUPATIONAL NEEDS The use of Tables of Occupational Needs and Personnel Specifications in balancing units has already been discussed in Chapter 1-1 at considerable length. A word or two at this point will refresh the reafltr's memory of the whole situation. From September until March the personnel officer had no other guide in balancing units than Chart B. This chart simply stated the total number of tradesmen needed in each major unit of a combat division. There were no figures as to how the tradesmen within an infantry regiment, for ex- ample, were to be distributed among its companies. In con- sequence, the personnel officer attempted to supply each regi- ment, separate battalion, etc., with the totals specified in Chart B. With the appearance of the Tables of Occupational Needs the whole scope of the work broadened. The personnel adju- tant was then supplied with information as to how men should be distributed not only between the major units of a division but also between their sub-divisions, i.e., companies or batteries. The Personnel Specifications which appeared actually after November llth would have still further broadened personnel work as they would have enabled the personnel adjutant to select men specifically for definite duties within the company. This does not mean that the personnel adjutant would have actually so assigned them but that he would have seen to it that the company commander was supplied with the needed men in terms of the individual duties to be performed by that company. BALANCING A NEW UNIT After the drafted men have been interviewed and their qualification cards classified they are assigned in accordance with their qualifications and the specifications in the tables of occupational needs. All this was comparatively easily carried out when the men were first assigned to the depot 294 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL brigade and afterwards transferred to their permanent unit. During the first few months, however, selective-service men were assigned on a geographical schedule to units both in the combat division and depot brigade. As this plan did not consider the man's individual fitness at all, many men were misplaced necessitating a re-assignment later, or else their greatest value was not utilized. Such re-assignments, how- ever, caused endless trouble, as once a man "takes root" in a company, ordinarily neither he nor his officers want to have him moved. Gradually, the geographical assignments fell into disuse and more and more men were originally assigned to the depot brigades where they were held until needed. By the middle of 1918 the new plan of using depot brigades as reservoirs was operative throughout the camps in this country. A Typical Order Authorizing the Balancing of a Unit. The following telegram gives a clear idea as to just what kind of orders were issued concerning requisitions for en- listed men and for the balancing of two infantry brigades. It was dated, July 20th, 1918. "After all requisitions of date previous to July twenty-third, on June draft increment your Depot Brigade have been filled you will from the remainder unassigned in your Depot Bri- gade complete authorized strength of all organizations at your Camp of Nineteenth and Twentieth Infantry Brigades. If additional men are required you are authorized to transfer number needed from those to be received in your Camp about twenty-second instant of the July Draft Increment. You will transfer under above authority only such classified men as are called for by tables of occupational needs of above organizations (see form CCP Four Hundred Fifty) or logical substitutes therefore. You will attach to your occupational report Form CCP-15 of July draft increment previously ordered a statement showing number and classifica- tion of those transferred, also show same data for men of previous drafts transferred under this authority. You will use especial care to fill occupational needs of these organiza- tions with men of qualifications specifically called for. McCain." BALANCING A UNIT 295 Method Followed in Balancing a Unit. The procedure for balancing units such as referred to in the above telegram is well described in the following official report, dated October 22, 1918. "2. Our Occupational Chart in this office is 8'x8'; and shows all units in the division, all occupations needed in the division, the number of specialists each unit is authorized to have, what each has and what each needs. The authorized number of specialists are painted on the board, yellow being used for the main group, blue for the less essential. Chalk is used for the second and third columns so that they may be readily changed. Each man on his CCP 1 in the files is given a vocational assignment and a ledger system is kept, debiting and crediting each organization as the men are moved out or in. This is posted on the large board each evening. "3. To facilitate the proper placing of men within the regiments, each Regimental Personnel Adjutant has a board showing by companies what specialists each is authorized, has, and needs. The regiments check their boards against our board weekly so that they will correspond. "4. To carry the board one step further, each headquarters company has a small board showing the different sections and just what specific duty each specialist is performing. "5. This system of vocational charts insures this office that when a specialist is sent to an organization he will be used in his proper line of work. Before being transferred each man is trade tested and only experienced men are taken from old units. Once a man has been found qualified and efficient in his vocation, then his vocational assignment appears as part of his name, the same as his army serial number. Upon re- ceipt of an order the Regimental Personnel Adjutant knows immediately what the man is to be used as and places him accordingly." Chapter IX of Volume II goes into still greater detail as to procedure and gives the operating instruction furnished per- sonnel adjutants covering the subject. Use of Psychological Intelligence Ratings. The report re- ferred to above does not mention intelligence ratings. This was an oversight as they were utilized to advantage in that camp. 296 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL In the early days it was found that units varied enormously in the percentage of each of the different grades of intelli- gence possessed by the enlisted men, (i.e., A, B, C-J-, C, C and D) some companies had a high percentage of A and B men good officer and non-com, material ; others had prac- tically none. In the same way, some companies, had a large proportion of D men and some had practically none. The following chart presents this fact very clearly. 11 It 1 hi 1 7 hi RATED COMPAMYA BCDEFCH IKL 1 | ' 1 1 II ILLITERAT] [ OR 4 14 FOREIGN J 5 M 2 ! t "P T 1 9 Inequality in Terms of Intelligence of Companies in an Infantry Regiment, Due to the Men Being Assigned on Geographical Basis BALANCING A UNIT 297 The colonel of this regiment naturally expected the same results from all of his company commanders. But that was an impossibility. Tor Company E had 29% of its men of high intelligence and only 9% of low intelligence as con- trasted with Company M with 8% of high intelligence and 42% of low intelligence. The procedure followed by personnel adjutants in order to make use of intelligence tests was first of all to assign men on the basis of their occupational experience. When that was done, the remainder of the men were assigned in terms of their intelligence ratings so that each company would re- ceive its pro rata share of superior men, average men, and inferior men. This resulted in making each company prac- tically alike as far as its ability for training was concerned and gave to each company commander equal opportunity to warrant good men. For example, if such balancing of intelli- gence had been carried out for the above regiment, each com- pany would have had 12% of A and B men and 27% of illiter- ates and foreigners, with the exception of the headquarters company which would have been assigned a large proportion of good men. Probably a considerable number of the poorer men would never have been assigned the regiment but re- served for labor units. Balancing in Terms of Supply and Demand. So far the subject of balancing has been discussed on the supposition that the supply of specialists was equal to the demand. Actually, this situation was the exception to the rule. Letter of March 29, 1918 from The Adjutant General states the situation at that time. "From: The Adjutant General of the Army. To: Commanding General of Divisions. Subject: Apportionment of Available Skilled Personnel. 1. The accompanying Tables of Occupational Needs of Units in an Infantry Division (Combat) show (a) the per- sonnel provided for in the Tables of Organization; and (b) 298 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL the trades or occupations most apt to qualify a man for the duties indicated. 2. A comparison of these tables with the'data in your Divi- sion Personnel Office will show the extent to which the avail- able skilled men of your division have been apportioned among the various companies and batteries and trains where their abilities are most needed. 3. Where such an analysis reveals serious shortages, three means of remedy are suggested: (a) Transfer from unit to unit, to effect a well-balanced organization. (b) Assignment of new arrivals, in filling up skeleton- ized units, only after careful determination of their quali- fications. (c) Special training within the division for the develop- ment of needed motor mechanics, topographers, farriers, telegraphers and other specialists. At a later date it may be possible to honor requisitions from divisions for specialists of various kinds, to fill them to authorized strength. At present the supply of certain much needed specialists is inadequate even for the completion of units soon to join the Expeditionary Forces. Consequently, in order to meet demands for skilled personnel, recourse must be had for the present to specialized training within your own organization, and to the proper distribution of skill already available." Balancing was then a matter of compromising between what was specified in the Tables of Occupational Needs and what was available. Because of this the personnel adjutant was required to use great judgment so as to place his small stock of specialists to the greatest advantage, and wisely to make use of all possible substitutes. In some cases an organization could not possibly be sup- plied with its necessary share of specialists, and sometimes a requisition for the needed men was honored by the War Department notwithstanding the letter of March 29th. One example of this is reported by the commanding officer of an ammunition train in a letter from France addressed to the personnel supervisor that engineered the transfer. BALANCING A UNIT 299 "Just a few lines in the deuce of a hurry to express my sincere thanks to you for your good offices with regard to the personnel of my Motor Battalion. "The men did not reach us until after our arrival here, but when they did come, it did not take me long to become con- vinced that you had made good your promise in fine shape, and believe me, I am grateful. "This is a country where you have got to deliver the goods. Reasons for failure and explanations, however valid, are next door to useless. They figure, and very necessarily, that you should have put it over somehow. "You can judge then what these specialists mean to me. With the outfit I have now, I miss my guess if I shall not soon have the fastest team of its kind in. France. (I know that sounds big but I mean it literally.) "If I 'make it home after the war, I shall drop in on you in Washington and give you all the dope on the whole outfit you deserve it and it will be a pleasure to me. In the meantime I want to say again that I surely do appreciate what you have done for me and mine." Use of Regimental Personnel Adjutants. Because the sup- ply of men available for transfer was practically never equal to the number required in units authorized to be formed, units were filled from two or more large transfers. Some- times these transfers would be a month apart, so that by the time the second was ready to be made the first lot of men had been pretty well placed in their units. This resulted in many a man assigned as an occupational specialist being used for some other purpose by the company commander. For example, a cook may have been made into a sergeant, or an unclassified man made into a cook. It was consequently very desirable for the division personnel adjutant to be ac- quainted with these changes in order to make the new assign- ments in terms of what the companies actually needed. In the early days this was accomplished by calling on organiza- tion commanders to render requisitions for the men they needed. An example of such a requisition is shown in chap- ter 25. The personnel adjutant compared these requisitions with his tally of what should be needed and if the two agreed 300 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL fairly well would work from the requisition on the ground that each officer had special ways of accomplishing the same end and that it was better to supply him with exactly what he wanted, even if it was not exactly the best, than to give him the ideal selection and not satisfy his desires. If the requi- sition and the tally did not agree a conference was held resulting in a compromise. On April 29, 1918 personnel officers were authorized for each regiment, separate battalion or similar unit, (G. O. No. 42, 1918). His primary function was to handle the pay rolls. But the General Order stated that he "will have charge of all matters relating to the enlisted personnel of the command, except instruction, training, discipline, equipment, supply and sanitation." And this was interpreted to mean that he should have charge of the balancing of his own units. Division and camp personnel officers in consequence called upon these regimental personnel officers to aid them in the work. Such cooperation was mutually advantageous. It gave the division personnel officer some officer with whom he could deal in balancing that officer's unit. And it gave the oppor- tunity to the regimental personnel officer to see it that his unit was properly supplied with good men, thereby increasing his usefulness and prestige. Frequently a transfer of 10,000 men would all be worked out on paper so that every man was definitely assigned not only to the regiment but to the company in the regiment. How well this worked out is shown by the following letter. September 9, 1918. "FROM: The Commanding General, TO: The Personnel Adjutant, Camp SUBJECT: Personnel Work. 1. The Commanding General desires to express to you his appreciation of the great improvement in the Personnel work of this camp during the past three months. 2. It is believed that the system in vogue in this camp has brought about a much clearer understanding on the part of all officers of the value of personnel work, and has convinced BALANCING A UNIT 301 both officers and men that when the work of the Personnel Adjutant is efficiently performed, through him, and through him only should newly drafted men be assigned, especially when new units are being organized. 3. As a result of putting all matters affecting personnel, both commissioned and enlisted under the Personnel Adjutant, and as a result of making 1 the Personnel Adjutant a compo- nent part of the Headquarters Staff, the th Division re- cently organized at this camp received, without the slightest friction, approximately twenty thousand men within four hours, each man having been assigned to his proper place in accordance with the table of occupational needs. The value of this work was conclusively proven when, within fourteen days after its organization, the entire division was reviewed by the Commanding General and presented a most creditable appearance. BY COMMAND OF MAJOR GENERAL W S. M. W. Major, General Staff, Executive Officer." Requisitions on the War Department. As already stated very few requisitions were rendered the War Department by combat division commanders for occupational specialists and fewer still were honored. On the other hand, requisitions for specialists for staff corps units totaling over a million men were filled. That personnel supervisors were most alive to the need of supplying divisions with specialists is attested by the many reports on this subject forwarded to Washing- ton. Such a letter, dated April 3, 1918, reflects the condition at that time very accurately. "During the formative period of the nd Division, its Commander has been repeatedly assured that if requisitions upon him for skilled men were honored in the spirit of patri- otic service, when the time arrived for his Division to depart overseas, there would be no question of his unit being filled up with men equally as skilled as those he had relinquished to other outfits. "On February 28th, the Personnel Officer put in a requi- sition for about forty-eight hundred men, giving in detail the desired skills. This was done, as apparently the time had arrived when the nd Division should be recruited to strength 302 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL and prepared for foreign duty. The requisition was prepared in detail and set forth the number of men needed, with their specific occupational skills. "Approximately ten days later a telegram was received, asking that the needs of each unit be immediately wired to Washington. This being impracticable, the Adjutant General was wired that the information was coming forward by mail. It was sent in chart form on March the 15th. Two days later (March the 17th) the Adjutant General's telegram, marked 'A', was received. "For the sake of emphasis, I quote in part: 'MEN WILL BE TAKEN FROM THE GENERAL RUN OF DRAFT COMMA IT BEING IMPRACTICAL TO HAVE CON- SIDERED OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENTS.' This simple sentence at once cancels and makes void the field-work- ers' principal "Sales" argument, and robs the Personnel Sys- tem of its chief claim to enthusiastic support. As a clincher, on March the 19th telegrams copies marked "B," "C" and "D," were received. These telegrams ordered forty-eight hundred men to the nd Division, whose only qualification was that they were to be 'white.' "I witnessed on yesterday the receipt of the 'white' men from Camp , and I judge that the Personnel Officer there considers that Mexicans and Indians fall under this elastic classification. I examined one group of one hundred and six cards, on which there were four occupational green tabs, two of which were for "handling horses." Ninety-five were classified as farmers, thirty-two spoke German and, judg- ing from their names, there was about 10% Mexicans or Indians. As an estimate, I must say that 85% of the nine hundred men received from Camp Travis were farmers, and while they looked stalwart and hardy, they were hopelessly devoid of the occupational skills needed in the nd Division. "Having witnessed the spirit with which the nd Division filled requisitions for overseas service and other units, which they had been told would precede them abroad, can you wonder that General B , Major B , Chief of Staff, Major M , Adjutant and Major B , Personnel Officer, as we stood watching the receipt of the Camp Travis troops, failed to enthuse over the personnel work as a whole and my suggestions for its improvement?" Gradually as time went on, however, the War Department was increasingly filling requisitions for combat divisions and BALANCING A UNIT 303 had the war progressed another three months it is safe to predict such requisitions would have been handled in the same way that staff corps requisitions were. The situation as it existed on October 22nd at a Field Artillery Replacement Camp is described in the following letter from the camp commander. "From: Commanding General. To: The Adjutant General of the Army, Washing- ton, D. C. Subject: Occupational Needs for this Depot. "1. This Depot has been running short of late of needed Specialists for our enlisted men's training school, and on in- vestigation it is found that this organization is on the same basis, regarding the obtaining of men from Depot Brigades, as a Division, that is, men are received from the Depot Bri- gades only after all starred specialists have been ordered else- where. "2. In view of the fact that one-third of our enlisted per- sonnel are to be turned out as Specialists, it is very evident that it will be necessary to receive a better class of men than a Division would ordinarily get, since we find that out of every thousand men from the Depot Brigade only about one-sixth are qualified to enter the Specialist Schools. Had it not been for five thousand men, trained in Army Vocational Schools, who were received the latter part of July and the first of August, it would have been impossible to turn out the proper proportion of Specialists. "3. Following is a list of the twenty-three schools that are now organized: Motorcyclists # Saddlers Motor Truck Drivers Machine Gunners Tractor Drivers J Painters Chauffeurs # Telephone Men Chief Mechanics (light) Carpenters Battery Mechanics (light) # Clerks Machine Mechanics ( Heavy )# Typists Chief Mechanics (Heavy) # Stenographers # Motor Sergeants Stable Sergeants Auto Mechanics # Topographers Bandsmen Instrument Men and Scouts. Horseshoers. 304 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL "4. The schools marked J are at present very short of men, and it is impossible to get a sufficient number of quali- fied men from the present class that are being transferred from the Depot Brigade. "5. It is suggested that a starred list of the following civilian occupations be made for the F.A.R.D., and furnished the Depot Brigade, so that our present shortage will in time be remedied: 200 per month (Blacksmiths (7L7g) For Horseshoers' School. 100 per month (Leather Workers (47,49L) (Canvas Work- ers (76a.76s) For Saddlers' School. 75 per month (Painters (13) For Painters' School. 50 per month (Carpenters (8cl,8c,8g,8h,8wh,) For Carpen- ters' School 125 per month (Electricians (10ee,10es,10g,10su,10st,10u) (Telephone Men 32t,33) For Telephone School. 200 per month (Clerical Workers (38) (Accountants (37ac,- 37au,37g,37s) (Stenographers (39s,39st,39t) For Clerks' School. 150 per month (Draftsman (29) (Surveyors (30) For Topographers' School. 150 per month (Musicians (44) For Bandsmen 150 per month (Machinists and Mechanics (6g,6o,6ms, Fore- man Preferred) For Motor Sergeants' School." The main reason such conditions arose was that the supply of men coming into the camps was always less than that immediately needed. Conditions in Europe kept speeding up the army program and the capacity of the camps was stretched to the utmost to keep up at all. In consequence, plans for assigning men had to be more of a "hand to mouth" program than any one desired. All officials were straining every nerve to secure a surplus of men in order that units could be organized more freely but the ideal was never reached. BALANCING A UNIT 305 BALANCING OF UNITS ALREADY PARTIALLY FORMED The National Guard divisions are good examples of organi- zations that were already partially formed when the person- nel officer started to balance them. Most national guard regi- ments were composed of infantry before the war. But a com- bat division is less than half infantry. When the division was formed it was necessary to remake infantry regiments into artillery or engineer regiments or even trains. Moreover, since national guard regiments totalled far less than the 3000 men of a war strength infantry regiment it was necessary to combine two or more of them to make up a new regiment. The result of such reorganization was to have many men improperly placed when their best individual usefulness to the service is considered. Each enlisted man was interviewed and his qualification card made out. An assistant personnel officer then went over each card with the company commander and additional infor- mation was added in the light of the latter's knowledge of the soldier. The cards were checked in the space marked "Preferred" of those men whenever the company commander stated that they were key men in the organization. Very few company commanders took advantage of this procedure to insist on having a large number of men checked, even though it was understood that all unchecked men were available for transfer without consulting the company commander. An expert classifier next marked the cards to indicate in terms of what trade he should be classified. Following this an inventory was made as to how many men of each trade there were in each company and through combin- ing these company totals how many there were in each regi- ment or separate battalion; and last of all how many in the entire division. These totals were compared with Chart B (and at a later date with the tables of occupational needs) in order to see where there were shortages as compared with the actual requirements. 306 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL The personnel officer then proceeded to supply these short- ages as best he could from the available supply, first attempt- ing to obtain them from companies within the same battalion or regiment and if this was impossible from some other regi- ment. Gradually the needs of each organization would thus be provided for as far as it was possible. In most divisions one unit would be balanced at a time, surplus men being transferred to a unit where they were needed and the shortages supplied. In other divisions most of the transfers would be worked out on paper and when all was ready, all would be transferred at the same time. This sounds simple. Actually, the task of balancing a divi- sion already partially formed is an extremely complicated one. There is no way of escaping making all sorts of excep- tions in order to please individual officers. For example, a colonel will object to men being transferred out of his regi- ment and unless appeased make such a fuss that many of the transfers will be revoked. But if his attention is called to the good men he is going to receive in return he may be mollified, particularly if an exception is made in the case of some one man in his own regiment whom it is appar- ent he is particularly interested in keeping. Such negotia- tions, however, take time and constantly upset the plans already formulated. Another difficulty is that after the plans are practically com- pleted, it is discovered for example, that there is a consid- erable shortage of auto repairmen, and a surplus of car- penters and electricians. A few of these, particularly the electricians, may have had auto repair experience. They can be so used. The remainder are studied and among them are men who are useful at another occupation, say machinist. An attempt is made to substitute them for machinists who have auto repair experience. If this is successful, the person- nel adjutant has just so many more to be used against the shortage. And so it goes. But each substitution causes BALANCING A UNIT 307 changes in the totals and upsets possibly other schemes for filling all the positions with well qualified men. Experience has shown that an already formed division can thus be balanced to the very great advantage of the division. But such balancing as can be accomplished under the circum- stances can not be so thorough as would have been the case if all the men had been originally assigned from a depot brigade by the same personnel adjutant. CHAPTER 25 METHODS EMPLOYED TO INTEREST OFFICERS IN THE PROPER PLACEMENT OF MEN Personnel work in its real meaning was unknown to the reg- ular army when war broke out and it was likewise unknown to most business houses in the country. Only in a comparatively few corporations was there an employment manager and not in all of these was real personnel work prosecuted, for many employment managers did little else than hire new employees. It is no wonder then that officers looked askance at personnel work when it was introduced into the Army and that many were slow to show any interest in it. In this chapter are recounted some of the difficulties that were experienced in educating such officers to a full apprecia- tion of what personnel work meant; and also some of the methods used in accomplishing this. ANIMOSITY IN NATIONAL ARMY CAMPS TOWARD PERSONNEL WORK BECAUSE OF WAR DEPARTMENT REQUISITIONS As has been stated previously, the leaders in personnel work had not planned an organization which should bring about transfers of enlisted men between camps. The only organiza- tion originally planned and put into operation provided for one captain in each camp with supervisors traveling between camps so as to co-ordinate and standardize the work. And this captain was made an assistant to the adjutant as it was felt that his work would be a help to that officer. Due, however, to the shortage of men and the demands of General Pershing and the Staff Corps for all sorts and kinds of specialists it was most natural for the War Department to 308 PLACEMENT OF MEN 309 requisition the national army camps for the needed men. There is no question whatever that this would have been done whether a personnel organization existed or not. The men had to be obtained and these camps were the most available source of supply. The remarks of a captain of the French Army are apropos, "I lined my company up fully forty times a month and ordered all butchers, or carpenters, or accountants, or what not, to step two paces to the front. And then I turned them over to some officer and I never saw them again." It is a fair question actually whether the personnel system as it was organized was not more favorable to company officers than the French system. Putting conjecture aside, it is a fact that many officers came to feel very strongly against the personnel system because through it they lost many of their good men. And because of this fact it was much more difficult to get them to see the real value of the work, if not to themselves, at least to the army as a whole. The general attitude of officers toward transferring men became so critical in December due to these many transfers that a letter was issued on the subject, dated December 8, 1917, as follows: "From: The Adjutant General of the Army. To: The Commanding General, th Division. Subject: Transfer from National Army Cantonments to Regular Army, National Guard and Special and Technical Organizations. "The Secretary of War directs that the following be com- municated to each National Army Division Commander: "1. Frequent, and for the present, continuous calls must be made upon the Commanding General of National Army Cantonments for the transfer of men under their command for the purpose of organizing special and technical units, urgently needed for the service of the rear with our Ameri- can Expeditionary Forces. It is absolutely essential that this service be organized at the earliest possible date in order that as combatant organizations arrive, they may be expeditiously transported and supplied. 310 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL "2. It is also necessary to call upon National Army Can- tonment Commanders for transfer of men to some of the Regular Army and National Guard Divisions to complete their organization for early shipment overseas. "3. In order to supply these demands from forces now available, it is necessary to transfer men from National Army Cantonments, even if it results in the reduction of the National Army Division below their authorized organized strength. The only other solution possible would be the entire disbandment of some National Army Divisions in order to keep others at their organized strength. This is deemed a most unwise policy, as it is considered of advan- tage to all the divisions concerned to maintain their organ- ization, continue their training, and be filled to full strength at the earliest practicable date. "4. All Division Commanders therefore, are called upon to fully cooperate in furnishing promptly the number of men required, and men with the special qualifications required when such are requested, in order that there may be the least delay in furnishing to our forces in France the service urgently needed. "5. Future drafts will be continuous, keeping pace with the supplies of clothing and equipment available. In order to prevent disorganization within the Divisions, all future drafts received will be first assigned to Depot Brigades. There occupational classifications of the men will be com- pleted as quickly as possible, and reports forwarded thereon to The Adjutant General of the Army in accordance with the instructions covering the semi-monthly reports on the printed forms (CCP-9). Depot Brigade Commanders will then supply on requisition from Division Commanders such numbers of men as are required to fill up as fast as prac- ticable, organizations within the divisions. Division Com- manders in making these requisitions will call for only the numbers of specially qualified men that are needed for service within their divisions. This will leave in the Depot Brigades the remaining men of special qualifications to fill requisitions for special units and other organizations out- side the Divisions." This letter had a marked effect on some officers, but on the whole the grumbling continued as before. Officers are human beings and it was most natural for complaints, when good PLACEMENT OF MEN 311 men were taken from them upon whom they had spent time in drilling with the expectation of developing them into a prize organization. This condition has only been reviewed here as it must be understood in order to appreciate much of the criticism leveled at personnel work in the early days and still echoed occasion- ally by officers whose only contact with it was in the early months of the National Army Camps. STOPPING THE "PASSING OF CULLS" Another condition which seriously affected the efficiency of personnel work was the "game" of "passing culls." Many offi- cers considered it a huge joke to transfer inferior men to an- other organization when opportunity arose. But any such prac- tice injured personnel work for it was essential that men would be selected and transferred according to specifications. If this was not done, personnel work would be impossible except on a very limited scale. No better description can be given of the way in which requisitions were handled by some officers than that of Ring W. Lardner in the Saturday Evening Post of June 8, 1918: "Camp Grant, Nov. 4. "Friend Al: Well Al they have begin to bust up our regt. and take men away from it and the men they take will get to France before the rest of us the lucky stiffs but they don't send them right to France from here but they send them down south to the national guards camps and fill up the national guards with them and the national guards are going to get across the pond first because Secty. Daniels wants to save good regts. for the finish. "Well Al they can't send me to France too soon but it looks like they wasn't a chance for a man like I to get sent with the national guards because the men we are sending down south is the riff and raff you might say who we want to get rid of them so when Secty. Daniels sends word that the national guards at such and such a place want 7 or 800 men the officers here picks them out from amidst the kitchen policemen and the guard house." 312 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL "Passing Culls" and keeping the good men was most natural. Such action came from officers who looked upon their own or- ganization with great pride and did not realize that the Army as a whole merited chief concern and not their own small com- pany, battalion, regiment or even division. Coupled with this restricted view of what was important was the normal selfish- ness of man. To counteract such a point of view it was neces- sary to educate officers to a broad vision of what the whole army or even the nation must accomplish. Very few officers failed to respond in a most remarkably unselfish way once they had this point of view. An incident at Camp Taylor illustrates all this. Two weeks after a private by the name of Alexander had been received in camp he was ordered trans- ferred from an infantry company to the Signal Battalion as he was an expert electrician. Both the Company Commander and the Colonel protested most vigorously. Finally it was put to them this way, "Supposing your company was going over the top, would you rather have this private as your first sergeant or behind the lines as an electrician looking after signalling? Would he be of greater value to you helping lead your men or seeing to it that you were properly protected by barrage fire?" As they pictured their relation to the rest of the division they saw that all units must be properly equipped or they would suffer. And they withdrew their protests. Moreover, the Colonel shook the officer's hand most effusively several days later and thanked him for presenting this truer point of view. The personnel organization early realized that this narrow point of view was one of the great obstacles to its success. And again and again in varied ways it emphasized the need for morale work directed at the officers that they might appre- ciate their true responsibility to the Army as a whole. Various methods were used to accomplish this which are mentioned in the next section. One factor may be given here as it is pecu- liarly related to this particular subject of "passing culls." At one camp, the commanding general ordered the officers PLACEMENT OF MEN 313 in the depot brigade to select the best one-third of their men and transfer them into the division. This order was obeyed by only a few officers with a resulting transfer of inferior men into the division. A few days later the War Department ordered all the men in the depot brigade transferred to another camp. When it became known throughout the camp that they had the inferior men and another camp had the superior men there were many informal indignation meetings. And through this experience many an officer came to see that the best in- terests of all lay in sending good men when they were called for. From that time on this particular camp was singularly free from the charge of "passing culls." By July, 1918, it was a decided exception to the rule to find "culls" being deliberately shipped when good men were called for. The change was not due entirely to the personnel organization, of course, but it is certain that it did play an important part in this change. EDUCATING OFFICERS AS TO THE MEANING OF PERSONNEL WORK Personnel work, as has already been pointed out, was an innovation in the Army. War Risk Insurance was also an innovation. But all officers understood insurance and realized its benefits. In consequence, it experienced little of the anta- gonism experienced by those engaged in personnel work. This proves most conclusively that it was not because person- nel work was an innovation that it was opposed, but rather because it was unknown and not understood. A number of different methods were employed more or less consciously to educate officers up to a realization of what per- sonnel work really meant. From the beginning it was emphasized that "service" should be the keynote. At conferences and through supervisors the personnel officer was urged to do anything he was called upon to do whether it was related to personnel work or not, and to do it as quickly and efficiently as possible. It has already been 314 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL pointed out in Chapters 19 and 20 how this policy resulted in the transfer of much of what was strictly adjutant's work to the office of the personnel officer. Much emphasis was put upon 'the information section of the office. Here officers and civilians alike were informed as to where Tom Smith from Keysport, Kentucky, or any other soldier could be found. And from the same section were furnished to the Y. M. C. A. and similar organizations lists of men who could teach English or who could furnish entertainment. The needs of officers for enlisted men of special qualifications were studied and often these soldiers were brought in even before the officer had asked for them. An illustration of this sort is worth noting as it resulted in the winning of a heretofore hostile Chief of Staff. The personnel officer overheard this officer utter the exclama- tion, "I wish I had a real private secretary, that's what I need." On investigation, it was found the officer was poor in French and was much bothered with the handling of French officers and particularly with their reports. The personnel offi- cer found a soldier who had had several years' experience in the United States Consular Service in South America, who spoke French and Spanish fluently, was a college graduate and had recently acted as private secretary to a railroad offi- cial. When called in it was found, moreover, that he was a man of fine personal appearance and bearing. The personnel officer then broached the subject to the Chief of Staff, only to be told there wasn't such a man as he wanted in the division. But when he was produced and it was found that he was only a "buck" private, the Chief of Staff melted and apologized for his previous unfriendly action. In some camps lectures were used to advantage. At one camp where the proper spirit was particularly lacking, a supervisor secured permission to address all the officers, a group at a time. On the surface the topic was "Qualification Cards," but really it was "The Needs of your Division, over against your Company." Many officers not connected with personnel work testified to the value of the talks. PLACEMENT OF MEN 315 The weekly letters sent out by the Committee to personnel officers frequently called attention to the bad effects of poor team-work. More often they portrayed the good results of good work. Two paragraphs from such a letter read as fol- lows: "The receipt of a detachment of good men on one of his recent requisitions, prompted the Major General receiving the men to write the following to the Major General who supplied them: 'I am writing to express my great appreciation of your care in selecting the three hundred men that were for- warded from your division last week. They are certainly a refreshing change from the culls shipped to me by the regular cavalry regiments to form the division trains. After looking them over, the train commander reported to me that he was now prepared to break every non-com- missioned officer in his command, in view of the good material sent by you.' " Frequent conferences of personnel officers helped greatly in this respect. They afforded a good opportunity for the officers from different camps to get acquainted with one an- other. Thus they came to see that they were part of a great army organization, and that they were working for the best interests of the Army as a whole, and they could not help but preach the same doctrine to other officers with whom they came in contact. Moreover, it made it practically impos- sible for them to allow the shipment of inferior men when they personally knew the personnel officer who would receive them. Requisitions were frequently called for from organization commanders when their units were to be balanced. Often there was no real need for requisitions as the personnel officer knew the qualifications of the men in the units and the total needs. But by calling for such requisitions officers had to think out what they actually did need, and in so doing came to appreciate the value of personnel work. Following is one 316 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL such requisition, dated November 27, 1917, and prepared when the only guide to the needs of the engineer regiment for occupational specialists was Chart B., and the Colonel's own knowledge of the situation. "1. Following are a number of men of various trades re- quired to bring an engineer regiment up to a typical standard : Topographical surveyors and sketchers, at least 10 of whom should be good instrument men 24 Draftsmen, topographical and mechanical 14 Photographers 4 Lithographers and zincographers 8 Quarry men (skilled in explosives) 5 Miners 14 Skilled Carpenters 50 Bridge Carpenters 62 Blacksmiths 10 Electricians 20 Enginemen, steam 4 Masons 7 Calkers 17 Riggers 16 Expert Axmen 25 Horseshoers 4 Farriers 9 Saddlers 3 Musicians 3 Signal men, as required by Regulations 13 Wheelwrights 1 Linemen 15 Sign Painters 6 Steam Shovel Men 2 Stenographers 10 "2. In addition to the above, we could use as Master Engi- neers suitable men of following vocations. These should all be high grade men of Construction Superintendent type. We desire to interview such men before transfer. Lithographer 1 Timber Bridge Man ... 1 Quarryman 1 Electrical Engineer. ... 1 (college) (Explosives expert) Rigger , . 1 Hard Rock Miner.. . 1 Building Superintendent 1 (concrete) Steel Bridge Man.. . 1 Boiler and tank maker.. 1 (heavy plates)" PLACEMENT OF MEN 317 After a colonel had prepared such a requisition he was much more of a supporter of personnel work, provided he received the men later on; and he helped to educate others. The use of civilian supervisors was a very great help in that they met high ranking officers on a more informal basis and had greater opportunity to explain the working of the system. The military supervisor was forced much more often to prepare a report on conditions as he found them, and furnish the commanding officer a copy for his comment before he had a real opportunity to explain just what was wanted and why it should be done. But all these methods were after all, subordinate to that of the influence of the personnel officer himself in the camp Capable personnel officers required very little help from the outside in order to establish cordial relations with the officers of the camp and to carry out the provisions of effective per- sonnel work. Inferior personnel officers, on the other hand, could not win admiration for the system even when coupled up with all the methods outlined above. Personnel work lived and prospered where its local representative demon- strated day by day that it was a valuable adjunct to the mili- tary machine. Such service as illustrated below could not fail to have favorable results. A personnel adjutant compiled a little book containing all the forms used by his office, together with an explanation of the function and value of each one, and a brief resume of the work of his office. About four days after a new commanding officer arrived in the camp he added to this little book a concise and up-to-the-minute summary of the exact status of the per- sonnel of the camp. He then placed the book upon the desk of the Commanding Officer. Naturally, the latter was appreciative of so complete a statement of the facts he needed to know about the camp, and was interested in the processes by which the figures were obtained. It was an easy matter after that to secure his hearty cooperation in the necessary activities of personnel work. CHAPTER 26 SELECTION OF MEN FOR OFFICERS' TRAINING SCHOOLS THE PROBLEM A quite distinct phase of placement was encountered in con- nection with the Officers' Training Shools. Here emphasis had to be placed upon those qualifications which pertain to an officer as distinguished from qualifications which fit a man to do civilian work within the Army. In other words, in selecting officer material such qualifications, as "physical qual- ities", "intelligence", "leadership", "personal qualities", etc., had to be considered rather than whether the man was a "carpenter" or "blacksmith", etc. That there was a real problem here is apparent to all. "At the time of the armistice the strength of the Army was in round figures 3,500,000 men and 180,000 officers. The mobilization of this great force for the rank and file, so largely accomplished through the successful application of compulsory service, has naturally excited more general inter- est than the organization of the officer personnel. But it is no disparagement of the achievement of the recruiting service arid the draft administration to express the opinion that the selection and training of the officers' corps was an equally dif- ficult and an equally important task. An experienced French officer, engaged in a study of the American mobilization, re- cently remarked: 'I know you recruited 3,500,000 men in 18 months. That is very good but not so difficult. But I am told also that although you had no officer reserve to start with yet you found 160,000 new officers, most of them com- 318 OFFICERS' TRAINING SCHOOLS 319 petent. That is what is astonishing and what was impos- sible. Tell me how that was done ' "At the outset it is necessary to understand and appreciate the scope and effect of the "Plattsburg Idea" before the war, because, so far at least as the line of the Army is concerned, it was the preliminary work of the Plattsburg camps in 1915- 16 that made at all possible the prompt recruitment and train- ing of officers on a large scale. Our French observer was only partially informed when he commented on the lack of an officers' reserve, for, in truth, the "Plattsburg Idea" had created a potential officers' reserve of high quality and sub- stantial numbers ready to respond at need. It was not simply that 20,544 men had attended "Plattsburg Camps" prior to April, 1917, and were ready almost unanimously to respond to the call to the colors; it was that a great moral force had been active in the land and that a powerful and effective civil organization, in the shape of the Military Training Camps Association, had been created in 1915-1916, ready to meet an emergency for which no machinery of the government was available." 1 The work of securing this officer material carried on by the Military Training Camps Association is not a part of this history, except that it must be noted here in the work of the Committee to make the whole matter clear. In selecting candidates for the first series of Officers' Train- ing Schools, reliance was placed upon three things : the physi- cal examination, the candidate's application blank, and let- ters of recommendation. All of this was largely directed and carried on by the military Training Camps Association. Commencing with the third series of camps a fourth instru- ment was employed, namely, the Scott Rating Scale. (This scale is discussed in detail in Chapter 43 of this volume and in Chapter XII of Volume II.) After the candidates were assembled in the Training 1 From "The Emergency Officers," by Lieut. Col. Grenville Clark in "National Service" of April, 1919. 320 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL Schools a second problem of selection arose. Who should be commissioned and who should be rejected. The Scott Rating Scale was used extensively in this connection. Commencing with the third series of Training Camps selec- tions for the camps were taken almost entirely from the ranks. That good material could be found there is shown in the following table. Intelligence Rating Percent of Enlisted Men Percent of Officers A 5.2% 47.5% B 9.9 85.2 C+ 18.3 14.3 C 28.7 2.8 C 21.3 0.2 D 7.4 0.0 D 9.2 0.0 These figures mean, for example, that 5.2% of enlisted men are superior in the intelligence test to 52.5% of officers. Expressing them in another way we have: 2.4% of enlisted were superior to 75% of officers in the intelligence test 6.4% of enlisted were superior to 50% of officers in the intelligence test 10.2% of enlisted were superior to 25% of officers in the intelligence test Success in these psychological tests does not mean certain success as an officer. But intelligence is undoubtedly an im- portant factor, and it was so demonstrated in connection with the officers' training schools. The problem of selecting officer material was to discover who the enlisted men were who were equal to or superior to the average, or slightly below average officer, and give him the opportunity to become an officer. Not only was it neces- sary to consider the factor of intelligence but also all other factors essential to an officer. The following pages present some of the methods and re- sults obtained in selecting personnel for the training camps OFFICERS' TRAINING SCHOOLS 321 and in selecting those to be commissioned after their three months' training. SELECTING CANDIDATES FOR THE OFFICERS' TRAINING SCHOOLS The First and Second Reserve Officers' Training Camps. On April 17th the details of the First Officers' Camps were announced by the War Department calling for 16 camps to consist of 2,500 men each. It was originally planned to have the camps open on May 5th, but this date was changed later to May 15th. In this emergency the Military Training Camps Association took hold of the matter. Through their efforts approximately 90,000 men were selected from 150,000 appli- cations and physically examined. Seventy thousand were certified as being satisfactory officer material and from this number 40,000 were finally selected. The number actually commissioned was over 27,341. All this was a rush job order and it is most gratifying that such a very capable group of men were finally commissioned. On the basis of this experience the Military Training Camps Association, in cooperation with the War Department, pre- pared new application blanks. After filling out the blanks the selected candidates were called upon for a personal inter- view and physical examinations, and upon this basis the candidates were finally selected. The Third Officers' Training Schools. These schools marked a change in the general policy of officer training schools. In the first two schools men were selected from civilian life. Hereafter the great majority of men were to be obtained from enlisted men already in the Army. The same general policy of selecting men on the basis of a physi- cal examination, an application blank and letters of recom- mendation was continued. But now these blanks and letters were handed by the enlisted men to their company commander and upon his recommendation the men were then considered 322 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL by his superior officers and finally by a special board convened for the purpose. To aid in standardizing such recommendations of company officers the rating scale was introduced as an element in the whole procedure. Up to this time it had been used exclusively in selecting candidates within the officers' training camps for commissions. As the rating scale had not been used before except within the training schools it was necessary to instruct officers in its use. For this purpose representatives of the Committee visited each camp and lectured on the subject to the officers in groups of 100 to 200. The printed instruc- tions were given in "Instructions for Selection of Candidates for Officers' Training Camps" (Form CCP-201). Extracts from it are repeated. "Each platoon commander will, not later than November 24th select a group of his men who may possibly qualify as candidates for the Officers' Training Schools. It will, perhaps, happen that about one-fifth of the men will fall in this group. In making this selection there should be con- sidered those general military qualifications which .-ire most essential for an officer, such as commanding presence, strong voice, loyalty, capacity for leadership and high intelligence. "Special Records will be made as frequently as prac- ticable of the men in this selected group. Pocket Rating Cards (Form No. C. C. P. 202) for making these records are herewith supplied, and additional copies may be re- ceived at the Division Adjutant's Office. The method of using the card is explained below. "Not later than December 22nd the Company, or Bat- tery Commander, making use of the reports of his platoon commanders, his own knowledge of the men and their edu- cational and occupational history as shown by the Qualifica- tions Record Cards (Form No. C. C. P.-l) will select to be recommended not to exceed 10 per cent of the men in his unit. If any of the men on this list have not applied previous to November 30th, they should be encouraged to do so. The names of the candidates will be arranged in order of merit on Form No. C. C. P. 203. These recommendations will pass through Regimental Headquarters and thence after any necessary revision through Brigade channels to Division OFFICERS' TRAINING SCHOOLS 323 Headquarters. In accordance with the Memorandum of October 1st, 1917, paragraph 6, referred to above, the Divi- sion Commander will call a Board of three officers to con- sider all applications and select and designate to attend not to exceed 1.7 per cent of the enlisted men in the Divi- sion Cantonment. The application of any man disapproved by any intermediate authority before reaching the Division Commander will not be considered by the Board." The instructions continue with an explanation of how to make out a rating scale and how to rate candidates with it. A sample copy of Form CCP-203 as used in this connection is reproduced here, see Figure 14. Accompanying it were applications from the seven enlisted men together with letters of recommendation. Advantages and Disadvantages of the Rating Scale. The rating scale provided for a uniform method of recommending candidates. And it focused attention upon the five principal qualifications to be considered. Too often men are considered only in terms of some outstanding quality which may or may not be favorable. With this method all men had to be rated on the same qualities and these were what the Army considered most important. The rating scale also provided a method by which the inequality in number of excellent men in dif- ferent organizations could be taken into account. For ex- ample, if company A had ten excellent men and company B had but five then, if twenty were recommended in both com- panies, the first ten in company A could receive higher scores than the last fifteen in company B. One disadvantage of the rating scale as used in this con- nection was that it did not entirely counteract the tendency to rate favorites high and others low. It is probable that no scheme in existence today can be made "fool-proof" so that "playing favorites" can be absolutely eliminated. A second disadvantage was that the ratings were not so uniform as was expected. In other words, a rating of 70 did not represent an equally good man to two different captains. That is, of course, the weakness of all rating systems. It is now recog- 324 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL nized that sufficient attention was not given to instructing these officers and from experience it is known that if such had been done a more uniform result could have been obtained. Further Procedure in Selecting Candidates. In several camps, because of the above difficulties, candidates were per- REPORT OF COMPANY AND BATTERY COMMANDERS OF CANDIDATES ^." FOR OFFICERS TRAINING SCHOOLS Company o B.imy_. ..C/! Sputureof /(/}. /&yrre.*&<, Jf. 4**, */* 'ZL^S tt 2Z /K,,~,/~4*J > m Specifications D ^ a h O e O a ecu patio O d ombat s- tf l/fj ry0SV x*. '0 &*f srsa. v/tf> ^/ & Hf-S> 'Stf/V /M>. ( /Y ^ j- X-" fV /f J- Jf sY ^ J- . /V ^ J e 4 V /a ** ZO /a *s- t ' 7 7 V- 7 ST /N '*- r o j # 3 1 3 3 / \ 3 * 1 Z Z I 2 / / / 7* / / / / ~- /* a ^ a ^/ / f* /* 3* <* j> /?* * Z / /* #v /* j-t f-e *v O o * e FIGURE 16 This chart shows graphic representations of four type questions and four rejected questions. Each question is scored from 4 to 0: 4 for correct, for incorrect, and other scores for partial credit. The dotted lines indicate ideal types; the solid lines show the aver- age scores of answers actually given in this test. Question 11 approximates a gradual differentiation of groups. Question 3 is a "Trade" Question, differentiating rather sharply between Novice and Tradesman. Question 38 is an "Apprentice-Journeyman" Question, differen- tiating between Novice and Apprentice on one hand and Journey- man and Expert on the other. Question 21 is an "Expert" Question, its most marked differentia- tion being between Journeyman and Expert. Question 5 is a poor trade question, Novices scoring high and Experts relatively low. Questions 10, 31 and 42, are also poor questions which were finally rejected. STANDARDIZED TRADE TESTS 369 (Question 21, figure 16). Questions of all of these types were useful since all tended to divide those of lesser from those of greater trade ability. It was simply a matter of selecting from the types available that combination which FIGURE 17 This chart shows the distribution according to individual total scores of the 80 subjects used in standardization. Each square represents one man. The first row gives the distribution of 20 novices, i.e., 9 novices scored zero in the test, 7 scored four, 3 scored eight and 1 scored sixteen. The second row gives the distribution of 20 apprentices, the third row 20 journeymen, and the fourth row 20 experts. The three vertical heavy lines show the limits of the various groups as determined by the distribution of the men used in standardization. The limits shown are the ones finally used in Army testing, i.e., 0-19 for novices, 20-43 for apprentices, 44-67 for journeymen and 68-80 for experts. would make the best discrimination between novices and apprentices, apprentices and journeymen, and journeymen and experts. Of course, there were questions (See Nos. 5, 10, 31 and 42, figure 16), which did not differentiate between "poorer" and "better" men. These were immediately thrown out. After the evaluation of the individual questions and the selection of a final set, it was necessary to determine what 370 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL ranges of scores in the test as a whole would include novices, apprentices, journeymen and experts. Using only the scores in the final list of questions the men tested were grouped as in Figure 17. Most of the experts scored higher than the journeymen, most of the journeymen higher than the appren- tices, etc., although there was always some slight overlapping. The test was calibrated by determining those scores (the critical scores) at which there was the least overlapping. Knowing these scores the camp examiner could judge accur- ately the trade status of a soldier making any given score in the test. These steps of test development were not modified to any great extent from April, 1918, till the armistice was signed in November. In fact, throughout the work the standardiza- tion program seemed to have been thought out with remark- able foresight, so well did it stand up under the attacks of the critically-minded and the demands for quantity produc- tion from the Armv. CHAPTER 30 TRADE TESTS IN OPERATION FIRST PLANS FOR INSTALLATION As has already been stated, examining boards of the Signal Corps began to use the lists of questions in TT-2 as early as December 15, 191 7, and by February 12, 1918, the Aids to Interviewers was in the hands .of all personnel officers. These early tests, however, were never intended to be final, so even while they were being put together the Committee was at work upon plans for the installation in the camps of a much more elaborate trade test machinery. Although up to this point no performance tests had been produced, it was felt that a considerable number of these tests would be pre- pared during the spring months. An attempt was made, therefore, to secure an appropriation which would make pos- sible the immediate introduction into the camps of all tests as fast as they were ready for use. On February 15, 1918, three days after the publication of Aids to Interviewers, the following memorandum prepared by Major (later Lt. Col.) Grenville Clark, was addressed by The Adjutant General to the Chief of Staff. "SUBJECT: Installation of Trade Test System in Can- tonments. "1. Beginning in September, 1917, there has been in- stalled in all National Army and National Guard Camps in the United States a system of occupational and vocational classification of enlisted men. This classification is now in progress in Regular Army Divisions. Samples of the cards used and index of occupations under which the men are classified are attached. These cards are filed by com- panies or regiments at Division Headquarters, in the Per- 371 372 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL sormel Office in charge of the Division Personnel Officer. The system has been established under the jurisdiction of this office with the advice and assistance of the Committee on Classification of Personnel, appointed by the Secretary of War. "2. The system has been used in two principal ways, (a) for the selection of men within the Division for special purposes and the 'balancing' of units of the Division, (b) for the selection of men for transfer out of the Division. "3. For both of the above purposes the system has been valuable and in many respects indispensable. Experience has shown, however, that the results are necessarily imper- fect. No matter how intelligently the man may be inter- viewed and his qualifications recorded and analyzed, selection on a mere paper record does not give fully satis- factory results. On the other hand the necessity for accur- ate selection has been proven to be extremely important. The demands of various branches of the service for skilled men are both large in number and varied in kind. Some 75jOOO men have been selected from National Army canton- ments for special purposes, in the Engineer Corps, Quar- termaster Corps, Ordnance Department, Signal Corps and Medical Department. The great bulk of these men are called for in accordance with vocational qualifications cov- ering a wide range, from farriers and blacksmiths to engine repair and instrument repair men. There is every reason to believe that this process of selection and transfer will go on indefinitely. Ineffective selection must have serious consequences. For example, an attempt is now being made to obtain 2,400 locomotive repair men and 2,400 car repair men for immediate duty in France. It is certain that no such number of men with actual experience in car and loco- motive repair can be found, so that it will be necessary to take skilled men of allied trades. The degree of useful- ness of men in France will depend on the accuracy of selec- tion. Such accuracy cannot be obtained except by actual test of qualifications. "4. To achieve the best results it is necessary to supple- ment the card classification system by a system of trade tests to determine by oral and practical examination the actual vocational skill of the man. "5. The above conclusion was arrived at in an early stage of their work by the Classification Committee and TRADE TESTS IN OPERATION 373 they were authorized to investigate carefully the whole subject of trade tests. This has now been done in an elaborate research and series of experiments during the last three months through Mr. M. M. Jones of Thomas A. Edison, Inc., of New Jersey, and Mr. J. J. Swan, Con- sulting Mechanical Engineer of New York City. A series of oral tests prepared by them is already in use by the Sig- nal Corps. There is submitted herewith a report on the subject by Mr. Jones. "6. It is believed that the advisability of trade tests in the Army has been sufficiently demonstrated and that it is now time to install such a system in a comprehensive way and as soon as possible. It is also believed that no half- measures should be adopted, but that the system should be installed and equipped in such a way as to insure thorough- ness and good results. "7. Mr. Jones recommends the use of a standard two- story barracks building in each cantonment and the pro- vision of equipment at an estimated cost of $17,000 per unit. In many cases it is believed that a building could be made available without building a new one. The cost should not be a deterrent, for the value of effective selec- tion of men for special purposes is far greater in dollars and cents than the expense here involved, not to speak of the military value that cannot be measured in dollars. The trade tests, it is believed, will be of even more direct and practical value in the Army than the psychological ex- aminations which have been authorized and buildings pro- vided for to cost $12,000 at each camp. "8. It is recommended that authority be given to install a trade test system in all permanent or semi-permanent camps and cantonments having accommodations for 10,000 men or more (excluding embarkation camps, camps to be vacated within six months) and to expend an average of not more than $17,000 on buildings and equipment for each of the various stations; buildings already built to be used where available; the system to be installed under the advice and with the assistance of the experts associated with the Committee on Classification of Personnel and when the system is installed and the proper military organ- ization completed to be turned over to it. (Signed) "H. P. McCxiN, "The Adjutant General." 374 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL The recommendations of this memorandum were not ac- cepted immediately. The work was new and while the pro- posal seemed sound the General Staff hesitated to adopt it without some sort of preliminary trial. The Committee de- cided to change its plans somewhat in the face of this atti- tude. The Trade Test Division was therefore instructed to push forward the installation of trade tests gradually, camp by camp. Shortly after this Mr. Jones left the Trade Test Division and responsibility for drawing up concrete plans of installa- tion fell largely upon the shoulders of Mr. L. B. Hopkins, assisted by Mr. S. B. Mathewson, a former personnel super- visor. One of the first problems to be settled concerned the selec- tion of camps in which trade tests were to be installed. It seemed probable at this time that arrangements could be made to have all drafted men come into the Army through the depot brigades of the sixteen National Army cantonments. It was planned, therefore, to establish trade test stations only in the sixteen cantonments. Observation of camp conditions showed certain practical limitations which must be considered in pro- ducing trade tests for the Army. Because of the great num- bers of men passing through the depot brigades it was neces- sary to deal quickly with each one. It was, therefore, decided that no oral or picture tests should be produced which could not be given in ten minutes or less. It seemed impractical to try to use any performance tests which could not be given in thirty minutes. At the same time $5.00 was set as the average cost of equipment for performance tests, and 15 cents as the cost of material to be used in giving a performance test to any single individual. Early Work at Camp Dix. Permission having been ob- tained from Colonel W. C. Johnson, Chief of Staff of the 78th Division, an experimental automobile test course was completed at Camp Dix on April 22, 1918. Here Messrs. TRADE TESTS IN OPERATION 375 J. A. Balcom and E. S. Robinson developed and standardized a performance trade test for auto drivers. From April 22 on, oral and picture tests were given at Camp Dix to selected groups of men, more as tests of the tests than of the men. This was perhaps the first applica- tion of trade tests in camp, but the results were particularly gratifying. P'or example, a soldier who had represented him- self upon interview to be a "theatre electrician" failed mis- erably on the picture test and under cross examination ad- mitted his experience to be confined to switching on and off the various theatre lighting effects. On the whole the results obtained from the oral and picture tests at this time gave great impetus to the enthusiasm of the test building group at Newark. Installation at Camp Johnston. Late in April authoriza- tion was obtained from the Quartermaster General and the Chief of Ordnance to establish trade test stations at Camp Johnston and at the Ordnance Training Camp, Camp Han- cock. Mr. Hopkins, accompanied by Mr. Mathewson, arrived in Jacksonville, on May 8, to look over the ground at Johnston. Mr. W. S. Field, a special representative of the Quarter- master General's Office, was at Camp Johnston, studying plans for increasing the capacity and usefulness of this camp. Colonel Charles Willard was Camp Commander and Mr. Cooley of the University of Wisconsin was in charge of the training division. Mr. Hopkins' problem was to convince these three gentlemen of the need for trade tests. This was no small task as he had only nine oral, two picture and three performance tests, and these did not appear to meet the greatest need at Camp Johnston. For example, the selec- tion of truck drivers was among their important problems and there was a trade test only for light car chauffeurs. A hurry call was wired to Newark requesting increased production, and within the next ten days 10 oral and 4 performance tests, including the truck driver's test, were 376 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL received. On May 12, the first trade tests, the results of which were to be used in assigning soldiers, were given in a tent at the Camp Johnston Receiving Station. At a formal meeting on this date, attended by Colonel Willard, Mr. W. S. Field, Mr. Cooley, Mr. (later Major) H. W. Jerremanus, Mr. J. W. Broadhead and a number of other camp authorities, a demonstration of the simplicity, value, accuracy and the uniform results obtainable from tests impressed the camp authorities to such an extent that they were willing to recommend permanent installation at Camp Johnston. Mr. Field accordingly incorporated this recom- mendation in a letter to the Quartermaster General. This letter marked an epoch in the history of trade tests because it resulted in the first concrete recognition of trade test work an appropriation of $18,000 for the Camp Johnston trade test station. An interesting feature of the Camp Johnston work was the fact that no hill was available for the auto or truck courses ; also, the sandy soil made it impossible to drive machines on anything but prepared roads. To overcome these handicaps it was necessary to expend about $6,000 in the preparation of a shell-road which ran down into a steep ravine, thereby securing the hill effect from the sides of the water-course. Trade test work at Camp Johnston was subsequently so well established that every man claiming trade ability was assigned from the Receiving Camp to the proper training organization on the basis of the results of trade tests. Early Work at Camp Hancock. Following the work at Camp Johnston, Mr. Mathewson, who had been fortified with a letter from the Chief of Ordnance to the Command- ing Officer of the training camp at Camp Hancock, reported there on May 18, and proceeded with the installation of oral, picture and performance tests. Owing to the proximity of the Augusta Arsenal and the cooperation of Major R. L. Gaugler. commanding the Ordnance Camp, a building, per- sonnel, equipment and supplies were easily obtained, and TRADE TESTS IN OPERATION 377. trade testing was started May 22, under Captain D. C. Detchon, Personnel Adjutant. Personnel and trade test work was later firmly established and continued under Lieutenant Newman L. Hoopingarner. NEWARK TRAINING SCHOOL FOR TRADE TEST OFFICERS From June 10 to 15 a training school for trade test officers was held in Newark with 42 officers and enlisted men in at- tendance. From this school 16 enlisted men and 5 officers were selected and sent to Camp Dix, New Jersey, for further training under supervision of Mr. Mathewson. Nine of the 16 enlisted men were subsequently commissioned in The Adjutant General's Department. The training at Camp Dix was designed to give them actual camp experience in the ap- plication of the various theories taught them at the Newark School. It was planned to distribute these men in groups to the various camps, gradually spreading them over the en- tire United States to all camps having Depot Brigades. TESTING DIVISION TRAINS On June 20, Mr. Hopkins received a request from the General Staff to trade test the personnel of the motorized units of the divisions at Camps Devens, Meade, Custer, Dodge and Sevier. The necessity for speed was apparent as the divisions at these camps were being prepared for overseas duty as rapidly as possible. Compliance with this request required a complete change of plans by the Trade Test Divi- sion. The training at Camp Dix was cut short, and an officer and enlisted man were transferred from the training group at Camp Dix to each of the five (and later eleven) camps. Test- ing commenced on June 24, and was continued until prac- tically every truck drivQr or mechanic under training in the trains was given a trade test rating. The following are copies of telegrams from the Contmand- ing Generals of the 79th Division at Camp Meade; 76th, 378 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL Devens; 85th, Ouster; and 88th, Dodge. These telegrams, sent to The Adjutant General from the field, showed con- clusively the value of trade tests in preparing an organiza- tion for overseas duty. "July 2, 1918. "The Adjutant General of the Army, "Washington. "Retel July first, the trade test given the Ammunition Train Engineer Train and Sanitary Train was satisfac- to'ry in that it revealed conclusively the number of men who were fit for assignment as well as those unfit for assign- ment and permitted those trains to be filled properly by qualified men from the recent draft upon the results of the test. The test is considered highly satisfactory by the train commander. The final result can be known only after actual experience in the field. The Motor Supply Train is absent on convoy duty and cannot be tested. "KENNEDY." "Retel first reference trade testing enlisted personnel of motor units of our train. Results of these tests highly satisfactory. Men now serving as truck drivers in trains are well qualified for this work. "BEACH." "Six eighty seven retel July first, reference to report on results of trade testing. Train commanders advise tests very satisfactory in every respect, showing conclusively the men who are fitted and those unfitted for their assignment. "HODGES." "Retel first, results of trade testing have been very sat- isfactory, showing some non-commissioned officers not as well qualified as some privates and in many cases uncover- ing talent that would have been produced only after long service. With more time than is available in present emergency most satisfactory results can be expected. "NICHOLSON." Many men already assigned to motorized units of the divi- sions- who failed on the test were replaced with new men from the June draft who qualified on the test. The special test- TRADE TESTS IN OPERATION 379 ing of motorized units continued until 18 divisions were cov- ered. This work, supervised by Capt. E. O. Buhler, unques- tionably prepared these divisions for better service overseas. The following letter, under date of October 17, 1918, shows very clearly the appreciation of Major General Hoi- brook, commanding the 9th Division at Camp Sheridan, of the value of trade tests in the organization of the division. "From: Commanding General, Camp Sheridan, Ala. "To: The Adjutant General of the Army, Washington, D. C. "Subject: Trade Test Division. "1. First Lieutenant Joseph F. Haas, Adjutant Gen- eral's Department, has been conducting a trade test school here during the last two weeks. In that time he has thoroughly trade tested the Ninth Division Supply and Sanitary Trains and the motorized Machine Gun Battalion. The results of the test have been highly satisfactory. Many men assigned as truck drivers have been disqualified as such and replaced by others suitably qualified. It is essen- tial that skill of this kind be definitely determined especially since motorized equipment for training purposes is not available here. The motorized units of the Division are now completely formed and contain all the skilled men called for in the Tables of Occupational Needs of an In- fantry Division. "2. Trade Tests are indispensable to the efficient organ- ization of units requiring a large number of men with specialized skill. The system of Classification of Person- nel is not complete without the trade test work. "3. In view of the fact that this camp is soon to receive several thousand draft recruits for the formation of two field artillery brigades, it is strongly recommended that arrangements be made to establish a permanent Trade Test Station here to supplement the System of Classifica- tion of Personnel. The scale of operation for trade test- ing will necessarily be less extensive than in camps where there are depot brigades, but camps without depot brigades should not suffer the handicap of being without this useful work. A section commensurate with the plan of the camp and its accommodations is greatly needed. 380 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL "4. Request information if a permanent trade test sec- tion is contemplated for Camp Sheridan. (Signed) "W. A. HOLBROOK, "Major General, U. S. A." TRADE TESTS IN THE NATIONAL ARMY CANTONMENTS From the middle of June till the latter part of August, the field workers of the Trade Test Division were gradually opening up trade test sections in the personnel offices of the National Army Cantonments. The last of these sections, that at Camp Travis, was installed on August 27, 1918. Trade Tests at Garden City. At the Newark School there were in attendance, Captain D. S. Seton of the Department of Military Aeronautics and two enlisted men from Garden City, Aviation Field, No. 2. Captain Seton, who was personnel adjutant at the above camp, became so convinced of the im- portance of trade tests in the selection and placement of airplane mechanics that he attempted to interest the Depart- ment of Aeronautics to the extent of having trade tests adopted at all of their stations. This was never accomplished; but due to Captain Seton's unfailing devotion to the ideal there was ultimately established at Garden City a most complete and successful trade test station. THE PRODUCTION OF TESTS From the beginning of the work in the camps till the sign- ing of the armistice, the call directed to Newark was for faster and faster production of tests. The automobile and machine trades alone, with their many sub-divisions, required a great many tests and little really effective work could be done until these two fields were thoroughly covered. The result was a hurrying of the test building process. The oral tests from the first were put out on a time schedule and even in the case of performance tests, where a much less standardized production process was possible, no time was TRADE TESTS IN OPERATION 381 lost in non-essential experimentation. Some chances to im- prove technique were undoubtedly lost with this rapid for- ward movement, but on the whole the results were probably much better than they would have been under lighter pressure. For one thing, there certainly was no opportunity for the test makers to indulge in laboratory dallying even of the best intended sort. In April when production was just getting under way, there were about a dozen men in the office at 800 Broad Street, Newark, and four in Pittsburgh. Dr. Rural directed the early meetings which settled for all time many of the problems of trade test method. R. F. Evans, Max Watson, Dr. P. J. Kruse, P. N. Golden and S. V. Boyd worked on oral tests in Newark. These tests were tried out and checked by Dr. J. C. Chapman, Dr. L. L. Thurstone, Dr. T. J. Kirby and H. A. Toops of Pittsburg. All of the per- formance test work was done in Newark. J. A. Balcom and J. H. Sengstaken, who had been on performance tests in Orange, continued in the same line when they joined the Newark group. F. Meine and E. S. Robinson, both of whom had up to this time been working in the Washington office of the Committee, joined the performance test work about April 1. W. P. Shatts was assigned to performance tests for a short time, after which he was directed to organize a con- tact and information department. The early statistical work in connection with oral tests was done by Dr. Ruml. This work was later taken over by Miss Harriet E. O'Shea. The performance test statistical work was done by members of the performance test group. During the early days of the Division Dr. Kelley had investigated certain British trade tests in use in Texas avia- tion camps. The Committee now thought it wise to make a closer examination of British trade tests which was possible only by seeing those tests operating in England. Accordingly it was decided that Dr. Ruml should join a party of the Committee about to look into certain personnel problems 382 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL overseas, his own specific task being to collect all possible information about British trade tests. On July 1, E. S. Robinson became acting head of the Newark office and on July 8 Dr. Ruml sailed from Hoboken. He returned October 15, having been employed in France on personnel work for some time. His report on British trade tests showed that their work differed from that in this country in that (1) their administration was more centralized; (2) their scoring was unstandardized ; (3) their examiners were trade experts, and (4) their tests, being longer and more elaborate, made a more analytical measurement of the trade ability of each candidate. The armistice was signed too soon after for the effect of this report to have made any change in procedure here, if such change would have resulted. About July 15, another oral standardization center was established at Cleveland and Dr. J. C. Chapman and Mr. G. F. Parsons were placed in charge. The great advantage in having centers at Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Newark lay in the greater variety of industries that could be reached and also that provincialism and local regulations could be dis- covered and so eliminated from the tests. Dr. L. L. Thurstone, who had been giving trade tests half time in Pittsburgh, came on to Newark for the summer. He made a careful study of picture test technique and aided by Dr. C. K. Lyans and Mr. F. Schuchman turned out a number of very successful tests of this kind. During the first few months of the work little or no dis- tinction had been made between the functions of devising and standardizing tests. With the increasing of the staff, how- ever, this distinction was made. Those men who had been at the work from the beginning now put more and more of their time on the devising of tests, while the newer and less experienced men took over most of the standardization. For the standardization of performance tests a special group was organized with First Lieutenant J. F. Haas, and later First TRADE TESTS IN OPERATION 383 Lieutenant Harrison J. Ryon, at its head. Many members of camp trade test organizations sent to Newark to learn how trade tests were made, were assigned during their stay to this performance standardization group. Detailed instructions as to operation of trade tests in the camps, together with several sample tests, are given in Chapter VI of the Personnel Manual Volume II. The Trade Test Conference. On Saturday, August 10, and Sunday, August 11, a conference was held at the Hotel Robert Treat in Newark. At this conference the field work- ers and test makers discussed, to the profit of both, the gen- eral trade test situation. Mr. Hopkins presided at this con- ference and centered most of the talk about the manuscript for the trade test chapter of the Personnel Manual which had just been prepared under Mr. Mathewson's direction. Establishing a Permanent School. During the summer it had become more and more apparent that the welfare of trade tests demanded above all carefully trained trade test officers in the camps. The pressure of events had rather pushed this training problem into the background after the first school in June, although there was a general appreciation of the need for a regular training course. When, however, the trade test staff at Newark, on September 1, moved into their first adequate quarters, it was decided to start a permanent school immediately. Accordingly, a large room in the new quarters was set aside and equipped with all the tools and materials necessary for training purposes. Mr. Hopkins at the same time arranged for the temporary transfer of Captain (later Major) J. W. Hayes of the Sanitary Corps who was to take charge of training problems connected with trade tests. Captain Hayes arrived in Newark early in October, and, with Lieutenant Tornquist as his assistant, started what promised to be a very successful training course for trade test officers. 384 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL LIST OF TRADES ON WHICH SOME FORM OF TRADE TEST HAS BEEN DEVELOPED Name of Trade Auto Repairer Carburetor 24c " General 24g " Magneto 24m " Motorcycle 24mo " " Radiator 24r Baker & Cook Cook 40c Blacksmith Forger, drop 7d " Forger, hammersmith 7ha " General 7g " Horseshoer 7h Wagoner 7wa Boilermaker General 63g " Locomotive 631 Bricklayer General . / 26g Butcher Butcher 41b Canvas Worker General 76g Carpenter Boat builder 8b Bridge 8br " Cabinet Maker 8cb " General 8g " Patternmaker 8p Ship 8s Chauffeur Au.to Driver 22a " Motorcycle 22m " Truck Driver 23t Chemist & Chemical Worker Chemical Laboratory 67g Clerical Worker General Office.. . 38e O Electrician Armature Winder lOar " Generator & Switchboard Tender AC lOgt " Generator & Switchboard Tender DC lOgt Inside Wireman lOw Storage Battery lOst Engineman & Fireman Engineman, Portable... 17p Test Developed Oral Perform- Pic- ance ture TRADE TESTS IN OPERATION 385 Name of Trade Foundryman Cupola Tender 20cu Melter, brass 20mb Moulder, iron & brass. . 20m Horseman Stable Boss 27h Instrument Maker and Repairer Electrical 72e Typewriter (Remington) 72t(R) " (Underwood) 72t(U) Leather Worker Cobbler . . 47c Test Developed Oral Perform- Pic- ance ture x x x x " Harness Maker 47h x Lineman & Cableman Cableman, Tel. & Tel.... 32tc x Lineman, General 32p x Lineman, Tel. & Tel.... 32t x Machinist and Mechanic. Automatic Screw Mche. Oper. . . . 6aw x Boring Mill Operator 6bo Die Sinker 6di x Drill Press Operator 6d General 6g x Grinding Machine Operator .... 6gr Lathe Hand Operator 61 x Locomotive, General 61o x Milling Machine Operator 6ml Planer Operator 6pl Toolmaker 6to x Turret Lathe 6t Painter General 13g x Photographer Developer, Motion Picture 84md x Motion Picture 34mp x " Still (Commercial) ... 34p(C) x Pipefitter Ammonia 14a x " Plumber 14p x " Steamfitter 14s x Printer Compositor 46c x " Pressman (Cylinder) 46p(C) x 386 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL Test Developed Oral Perform- Pic- Name of Trade ance ture Printer Pressman (Lithograph). Stone and Offset 46p(SO) x x " Pressman (Platen) 46p(P) x x Rubber Worker Tire Repairer 94t x Sheet Metal Worker Coppersmith 19c x Sheet Metal Worker General 19g x x Stenographer & Typist Stenographer. 39s x " " Typist 39t x Structural Steel Worker Erector 21e x x " " " Riveter & Driller, Pneu 21rp x Surveyor General 30g x Tailor Tailor 48t x Telegraph & Wireless Operator Radio Operator 31w x x Telephone Man Operator 33o x " Telephone Repairer (Instrument) 33t x " Telephone Repairer (Switchboard) 33s x Welder Gas Expert 96a x Welder Oxi- Acetylene Operator 96c x Total 83 trades CONCLUSION The services of about thirty-five men were required. Be- fore mobilization ceased, they had prepared and standard- ized tests in eighty-three of the more essential trades. This work cost about a thousand dollars a trade; but the saving to the War Department through the resulting economics of pay and subsistence of otherwise misplaced soldiers was several times that amount every month; and the still more valuable economy, not measurable in dollars, is found in the resulting facilitation of training, through correct initial place- ment. SECTION VHI. THE CENTRAL DISTRIBUTING OFFICE The earliest plans in connection with the classi- fication of enlisted men did not provide for a clear- ing office to equalize supply and demand for skilled men between camps. All that was provided were personnel officers in each camp to place men to the best advantage within the camp. But almost im- mediately following the arrival of the first drafted men in the camps the need for a central distributing office made itself felt. Chapter 31 traces the development of this office and outlines its various functions, with the excep- tion of the main one which was the distribution of occupational specialists. An account of this work is given in Chapter 32. The statistical studies of this office and their relationship to personnel prob- lems are next discussed in Chapter 33; followed in Chapter 34 with an account of certain special prob- lems, such as supplying chemists, railroad men, furloughing men to industry, etc. CHAPTER 31 THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CENTRAL DISTRIBUTING OFFICE FUNCTION OF CENTRAL DISTRIBUTING OFFICE In September, 1917, when the need for a central distribut- ing office first became apparent, it was planned that each camp should report at stated intervals to Washington, the number of specialists on hand at a given date. Then when a shortage appeared it would be noted and an attempt would be made to supply the need. This office was on the one hand to receive the "requisitions" for men from various organiza- tions of the Army, and on the other, the reports of the quali- fications of men in camp. These reports were the supply from which to order men to fill these requisitions. Two fac- tors very materially changed the plans in connection with this office. The first was that it was found there never would be a surplus of skilled men, and the second, that the majority of requests for specialists came from the Staff Corps. The problem of the Distributing Office then included not only the shortages in the camps, but the very pressing needs of the Staff Corps for men of special skill. The purposes of the Central Distributing Office included the control of occupational specialists. All specialists were reported to that office, and were distributed from there to fill the most urgent needs for men of any particular qualifica- tions. Great care was taken in the placing of rare special- ists, or "rare birds" as they were called. An excellent ex- ample of this was the finding and reporting of three thou- sand chemists to the Chemical Warfare Service for their use. This particular problem will be discussed in a later 389 390 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL chapter. Another purpose of the Central Distributing Office was to afford some place which should not only receive all the requests for men of special qualifications, but also analyze these requests as to the actual needs and the comparative urgency of each. That both the supply and the demand should meet in one office was natural, and the task of assign- ing men reported in this manner to fill places where they were most needed and which they were best fitted to occupy became the whole work of this office. To the personnel adju- tants and their staff in the camps fell that part of fitting the "Right Man in the Right Place" which dealt with the individuals themselves, but to the Central Distributing Office fell the task of visualizing the needs of the Army as a whole and the ordering of men by occupations to fill that need. DETERMINING PRIORITY OF SPECIALISTS All problems relating to priorities and the general sources of supply of men belonged to the Operations Division of the General Staff. To aid in determining the relative impor- tance of the various requisitions, and to pass on their eligibility to receive men, a Priority Committee composed of Colonel, (later Brig. Gen.) R. I. Rees of the General Staff, Major (later Lt. Col.) Grenville Clark of the Adjutant General's Office, and Col. (later Brig. Gen.) H. S. Johnson of the Provost Marshal General's Office, was formed. This Com- mittee passed on all requests for a small number of men without any further action being necessary. In the case of requests for a large number of men it was necessary to have the approval of the Director of Operations before the requisi- tion could be acted upon. The order establishing the pro- cedure in the Depot Brigades made it necessary for the con- nection with the Operations Division to be closer, and the Priority Committee became obsolete. It is interesting to note that this Priority Committee became the Committee on Edu- cation and Special Training. CENTRAL DISTRIBUTING OFFICE 391 EARLY ACTIVITIES OF THE CENTRAL DISTRIBUTING OFFICE In September, 1917, the Central Office began to function. Mr. H. L. Gardner organized the Central Office and upon his departure in November, 1917, A. C. Robinson III took charge of the work until Mr. W. B. Hale became director of the enlarged office in April, 1918. The first report called for from the camps was ordered by a telegram on September 14-, 1917. This asked for a report on the number of cooks avail- able. The first order transferring men from one camp to an- other was sent out on October 5, 1917. This was in response to a cable from General Pershing for bookbinders and press- men to be sent overseas. Shortly after this a standard form of report was adopted, and this was sent out to the camps for a report to be made as of October 15, 1917. This report in- cluded the total supply of men in camp, or rather a count of the occupations in camp, the figures being secured by a count of the tabs on the cards in file. This gave an inflated report, as a man might be reported for more than one occupation, but it was believed at that time that allowances could be made for this inflation in ordering from the supply so reported. In the early days of the National Army the Depot Brigades were not the receiving depots for men that they later became. Upon arrival in camp the men were assigned to more or less permanent organizations without any regard to their fitness or qualifications. Most of this assigning was based on the locality from which the men came ; that is, men from the same section of the country were assigned to the same companies. The work of classifying the men as they arrived was not provided for, and the men were interviewed and classified some days after they had been in camp and had already become attached to some organization. In order to have any figures that could be relied upon it was necessary to report each time, the num- ber of men that had been classified to date. In counting tabs instead of men, a man who was an expert electrician and had 392 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL also had experience in driving a car sufficient to warrant his being tabbed for a chauffeur as well, would be counted twice in the report, once as an electrician and once as a chauffeur. It was necessary to do this, as it was thought that there might be some secondary occupations that would be of great value to the Army which would be discovered by this means. With the standardization of the Index of Occupations and the Tables of Army Needs this became unnecessary, as the job that would be most useful to the Army was obviously the only one to report. As the occupational reports were received in Washington they were posted on cards, each occupation having a card. It was thus possible to condense the summary of the whole Army into a file about eighteen inches long. There were three entries on each occupational card for each camp, the number of green tabs or "main occupation," the number of black tabs or "secondary occupation," and the total number of orange tabs. This system of reporting men was satisfactory as long as the men were being sent to the camps in comparatively small in- crements and were not being held in a temporary organization like the Depot Brigades. The early requisitions for men were mostly "feelers" or attempts to see how this new system would work in supplying men of special qualifications. The first requests were for com- paratively small numbers of men. No one imagined at that time that the demand for skilled men would increase to such a degree that on November 11, 1918, there were in the files of the Central Distributing Office unfilled requests for over half a million men. The process of allotting men at first was very simple. The cards in the file were examined to see where the available supply was. If any camp showed a surplus of the occupation needed or a sufficient number to warrant with- drawing some of them, an order was sent to that camp to ship those men. There was no system for keeping a record of the balance of any occupation remaining in camp after issuing an order, as new men were constantly arriving and being classified, CENTRAL DISTRIBUTING OFFICE 393 thus changing the figures. All orders for the transfer of men for numbers less than fifty were written and signed in the Cen- tral Distributing Office. Larger orders had the informal ap- proval of the Operations Division, and were then written and signed in this office. The relative merits of the different requisitions were most particularly investigated at first, and there were a great number of them that were disapproved in entirety. Later on, as the plans for the Army were stan- dardized by Pershing's 6-phase schedule, only such organiza- tions as had been authorized and were on the priority list were considered at all in supplying men. As the number of requests for men increased and the orders that had to be issued multi- plied, the system became more complex and new methods were devised for handling requisitions. As the receiving o-f reports and requisitions progressed, changes were made to accommodate the new conditions. It was soon evident that merely counting tabs in making the reports to Washington was not sufficient, but that in order to keep an accurate account of the men in the camps the count of men, not tabs, and the reporting of a man for one occupa- tion only was necessary. This necessitated determining a man's main occupation; that is, taking into account the man's greatest skill and his greatest usefulness to the Army. The early report forms were changed to meet this requirement. Black tabs were adopted for a man's "secondary skilled occu- pation." As the black tabs did not do away with the duplica- tion in count they were finally abandoned, and a man was reported as being either a journeyman or apprentice for one occupation, the occupation for which he was reported being determined by the personnel adjutant in the camp, taking into account those occupations for which there was a special need. This meant that in some cases a man might not be reported for that occupation in which he was most skilled, as some other trade with which he was familiar was of far more value to the Army. An excellent example of this would be a man who was a skilled carpenter, and also had been experimenting in wire- 394 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL less telegraphy. As wireless men were very scarce and car- penters comparatively numerous, it would be of greater value to the service to use that man as a wireless operator. With the increase in number and complexity of requisitions for men it became necessary to establish a standard form for making requisitions. After some experimenting a form was finally adopted which has proved very satisfactory. This form gave all the information necessary concerning the number and kind of men wanted, the organization and destination to which they were to be sent, and the authorization for that organiza- tion. Also statements as to clothing and accommodations were made, together with the suggested methods of securing the men. The adoption of this form has done much to standardize the terminology of the requests, and has made it possible to examine the requisitions more thoroughly as to questions of priority and actual needs and the urgency of the various requests. In addition, the use of this form has expedited the handling of the requisitions in the Central Distributing Office. SPECIALISTS SUPPLIED THROUGH PROVOST MARSHAL GENERAL'S OFFICE A source of supply of men for filling requisitions that was much used in the first days of the Central Office was the Pro- vost Marshal General. When the questionnaire was issued by the Provost Marshal it contained information concerning the registrant's qualifications in civil life. At this time the plan was that there would be a file in Washington containing cards which would make it possible to locate men of special qualifica- tions when necessary. This proved to be an enormous under- taking, and at the time of the armistice the file had not been completed. However, arrangements were made whereby requi- sitions for men of special qualifications could be sent to the Provost Marshal General from this office, and have him locate the men and order them to their proper destinations. Special requests were made in this manner for some 56.000 men. One of the drawbacks to this method of securing men was the delay CENTRAL DISTRIBUTING OFFICE 395 caused by the cumbersome form that had to be made out for transmittal to the Provost Marshal General's Office, and also the length of time involved in locating and getting the men into the camps after the requisition had been filed in his office. Moreover, due to the fact that the card catalogue of men was not complete, the method of locating the men which was adopted was similar to that which the various staff corps were using at that time for locating men whom they were authorized to obtain by voluntary induction. It was seen that there were two competing agencies who were using the same methods of advertising to induce the men to be inducted, and that there was an unnecessary duplication of effort. As a result the use of the Provost Marshal General's Office to obtain men of special trade ability was discontinued in March, 1918, with the exception of a draft of stenographers which was made in August, 1918. It was found that the authority to individually induct men which was granted to the various staff corps from time to time would relieve the Provost Marshal General of the burden of carrying on an advertising campaign to locate the men, but left the actual inducting of the men in his power, as the Staff Corps, after locating the men, filled out the necessary blanks and turned them over to the Provost Marshal General for action. Late in October, just before the signing of the armistice, plans were being made to have the Provost Marshal General furnish men of special qualifications, but in this case the men were to be sent to the regular camps and be dis- tributed there instead of being sent direct to the organizations needing the men as was the case formerly. ESTABLISHMENT OF DEPOT BRIGADES AS REAL RECEIVING DEPOTS Due to the scarcity of skilled men in the draft it soon be- came evident that in order to supply the Staff Corps with even a small portion of the men that they asked for, it would be necessary to take men from existing organizations. As a result, all of the National Army divisions that were then forming and 396 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL beginning their training programs had to be robbed of a large portion of their skilled men. Moreover, this policy of taking men from the divisions was not confined to the National Army. As soon as the National Guard had been classified, reports were called for from all of their divisions, and men were drawn from their organizations. Even the Regular Army was not excepted, and when it was found that there were men of rare qualifications in any organization they were ordered out to fill positions where those qualifications were specially needed. As would be expected, there arose a universal wail from all of the camps about this "Personnel" system that had been imposed upon them in order to hunt out their good men and take them away from them. Altogether about 72,000 specialists were taken from these organizations before a new plan was adopted. The training program for the divisions was seriously handicapped in practically all cases. On December 8, 1917, it was necessary to issue a letter to all of the com- manding officers explaining the urgency of the calls being made upon them, and asking their cooperation in furnishing the men needed. By far the most important part of this letter was the outline of the system that was to be adopted of receiv- ing men into the Depot Brigades upon their arrival in camp and their retention there until they had been classified and assigned to a permanent organization. A general order issued by the Adjutant General in February, 1918, established this system, and made it necessary for orders to be issued from Washington for the transfer of men from the depot brigades to any other organization. This letter put a stop to the despoiling of existing organiza- tions, "although in some cases it was necessary to continue it until the depot brigades were in running order. It necessitated a reorganization in Washington of the method of handling the orders transferring these men, as all men were to be assigned by the Central Distributing Office instead of merely specialists as formerly. The results of this early system of taking men from the CENTRAL DISTRIBUTING OFFICE 397 division then forming was the saving of a large number of valuable men and placing them where the need was greatest. This system made it possible to supply men urgently needed in staff corps organizations which were wanted overseas even before the infantry. The delay in the training programs and the getting of the men overseas was more than balanced by the numbers of valuable men that were given to the staff corps who would have otherwise been entirely lost in infantry divi- sions. Had it been possible to classify the men as they arrived and assign them properly, as was done when the depot brigades were reorganized, there would have been no delay or inconvenience. The experience gained in filling these requisi- tions made it possible to handle the draft supply more effi- ciently when the new system of depot brigades was organized. About February 1, 1918, the order establishing the depot brigades as receiving depots was issued. The men were to be classified as they arrived, and reported to Washington. Orders were then to be issued by the War Department assigning these men to the organizations where it was deemed that they were most urgently needed. The report forms called for two items for each occupation listed; the number of journeymen and the number of apprentices for that occupation. The list of occu- a pations in the report did not cover the whole number in the Index of Occupations, but only those for which there was an urgent demand at that time, or for which there was a great ^ shortage of skilled men as shown in former reports. This method of reporting changed the system of handling the men in the Central Distributing Office. Supply books were sub- stituted for the card file that was formerly used, and accurate count was kept of the men that had been ordered out and the balance remaining in the camp. The system as finally used is described in detail in the next chapter. The improvement brought about by this new order was very great. It made it possible for the camps to examine the men more thoroughly, and also for the War Department to distribute them with more intelligence and dispatch. CHAPTER 32 THE DISTRIBUTION OF OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALISTS ORGANIZATION OF CENTRAL DISTRIBUTING OFFICE With the final establishment of the depot brigades as receiv- ing depots in all the camps, the work of the Central Distribut- ing Office was greatly enlarged. All the orders distributing men had to pass through that office, as well as orders for occu- pational specialists to fill special needs. About this time the requisitions from all sources were pour- ing in at an enormous rate. In March, 1918, four men and two clerks were handling the work. In April, Mr. Wm. B. Hale took charge of the Central Distributing Office. By Sep- tember the force had expanded to over fifty. It was found necessary to divide the office in two sections : first, the Requisi- tion Demand Section; and second, the Supply Section. The functions of the Requisition Demand Section were the receiv- ing, classifying, and editing of all requisitions and the prepar- ation of them for action by the Operations Division, Gen- eral Staff. The Supply Section received all the reports of men that had been received in camp, and allotted them to fill the requisitions that had been approved for action. This divi- sion of the office aided greatly in expediting the requisitions, and made more sure that the proper men were supplied. Another section of the office, which is described in more detail in another chapter, was the Industrial Furlough Section, where men of rare qualifications were selected to be furloughed back to industry. This work was under the supervision of Mr. L. R. Frazier. 398 OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALISTS 399 THE REQUISITION DEMAND SECTION The Requisition Demand Section was the receiving office for all requests for men, and was in charge of Mr. A. C. Robinson III and Mr. R. T. Bickell. These requests were made on the standard requisition blank CCP-14, which was made out in quadruplicate, a white original, and yellow, pink and blue copies. All four were numbered upon receipt in this office and the blue copies so numbered were returned to the sender as an acknowledgement of the receipt of the requisition and for his reference. The numbers that were assigned to the requisitions were given serially by Staff Corps, the thousand digit indicat- ing the particular branch of the service from which the requisi- tion came, as for instance, number three was the Engineer's thousand digit and all the Engineer requisitions were then numbered in the order of their receipt, thus 3001, 3002, 3003, etc. In like manner, four indicated Field Artillery requisi- tions; five the Medical Department requisitions; and six the Air Service requisitions, and so on. As soon as the requisitions had been numbered they were entered in the Record Book. This book gave all necessary information as to the organization to which the men were to be sent, the destination, the number of men, and furthermore, all action that was taken in the Cen- tral Distributing Office as affecting that requisition. The white copy of the requisition was then filed in Reference Books, each staff corps having a book of its own. A working sheet, known as the Allotment Sheet, was then made out from the yellow copy. At this point the personnel officer of the staff corps that submitted the requisition was consulted as to the details of his particular requisition. Such matters as the number and qualifications of the men requested, the urgency of the requisition, and other points of vital interest were taken up. The requisitions were also edited, in order to have them con- form with the Army Trade Specifications and with the exact supply of men in the camps. Substitutions in occupations were indicated when necessary; that is, when the exact occupation 400 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL requested was not available, the occupation that most nearly filled the need was substituted, as indicated in Trade Specifica- tions. When this operation was complete, the requisition and the working sheet were then ready for the approval of the officer who represented the Operations Division of the General Staff. The various requisitions were submitted to this officer, and his approval or disapproval were indicated thereon. If the requisition was to be filled that fact was noted in the Record Book, the requisition was dated, the yellow copy removed, and the working sheet sent to the Supply Section to be filled from the sources available as indicated by the Opera- tions Division. The yellow copy was then filed in a book by staff corps, each staff corps having a book for this purpose. Order Sheets were filed with each requisition, and on these Order Sheets summaries of, all orders were briefed, and all reports of men transferred or shortages were posted thereon. At the same time that the yellow copy was being worked on, the Occupational Demand File was being made up from the pink copy of the requisition. This file consisted of a set of cards, one card for each occupation. On this was posted the demand for that occupation which had been made by each of the staff corps. This file was of great value in determining which occupations should be reported on by the camps. It also served as a very handy reference in placing men; thus, if a supply of a certain occupation existed anywhere, the organization needing men of that kind was immediately evident by extracting that particular occupational card from the De- mand File. Copies of all orders that were written by the Supply Section were briefed in the Order Book, as indicated above. The progress of a requisition could thus be traced at any time. The Record Book would tell whether or not the requisition had been approved, and if so, when and for what sort of men ; while the Order Book would give at a glance, the action that had been taken by the Supply Section, as well as the transfer report from various camps. It was one of the functions of the Requisition Section to OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALISTS 401 furnish information to the various Personnel Officers of the Staff Corps as to the status of their requisitions. This was readily done from the sources mentioned above. Another ex- tremely important function was the tabulating of requisitions on hand, in order that the questions of priority might be deter- mined, and also to indicate the character and size of the drafts of men that would be necessary to fill the demands on hand. THE SUPPLY SECTION The reports of men received in the camps were sent to the Supply Section after each draft increment. The final form of this report, known as CCP-15, was quite different from the early Periodic Reports which were required of the camps. The occupations on which a report was desired were determined by the demand on hand for that occupation. The report blanks were mailed out at stated intervals, to be filled in by the camps and returned. The number of occupations in this new form of report was much greater than in the older reports. An inno- vation which proved very valuable was that of placing a star opposite those occupations that were especially valuable or rare. By releasing only unstarred occupations to organiza- tions in urgent need of men not requiring any special trade ability, men of especially valuable qualifications were saved for particular positions in the army. It was also used extensively in locating men who were to be furloughed to industry. The reports were made up in three parts, one for general service men, one for limited service men, and one for colored men. As a result the Supply Section of the Distributing Office was di- vided into three parts to correspond to the sources of supply. To these three sources must be added an additional source of supply, namely, the men from the National Army Training Detachments, who were also distributed by this office. The actual methods of handling the distribution of these men dif- fered in the cases of the general service and the limited service men, due mainly to the difference in the character and number of the men to be distributed. However, the methods of filling 402 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL the requisitions were practically identical. In handling the general service men the reports were posted in the regional supply books as soon as received. The country was divided into sections, and the camps falling within a particular section were entered in one supply book, and those for another section in another book, and so on. These books had the occupations entered on the right-hand side of the page, about nine occupa- tions to the page, and the camps were entered along the top. The supply for each occupation for any camp was thus posted. Any withdrawals to fill requisitions were entered in these books. The number of men taken and the number of the requisitions which they were to fill were entered and the bal- ance remaining was calculated ; thus information as to the sup- ply of any occupation at any camp was immediately available. As men were allotted from the camps, entries were made on the Allotment or Working Sheet of each requisition. These allotment sheets were filed in books to correspond to the regional supply books; thus, in filling a requisition in the Southeast section of the United States the Southeastern Sup- ply Book was first consulted, and allotments made from it as far as possible. If there were no men of the qualifications desired to fill a particular requisition in the supply book for that section of the country, the supply book of an adjoining section was consulted. In making out these allotments care was taken to give the shortest railroad journey possible, and to make the general trend of all movements of men from the west to the east. When the allotment sheets had been filled as far as possible they were given to the typist who wrote the actual orders to the camps for men. Throughout all this proc- ess, great care was taken to insure accuracy, and a constant checking was necessary to avoid errors. Mr. John C. Burg was responsible for the development of the Supply Section. The limited service supply was handled in a slightly dif- ferent manner. The methods employed were developed by Mr. Hathaway Watson. The occupational reports were posted on cards instead of in supply books. There was a card for OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALISTS 403 each occupation which had a place for entries from any of the camps which made reports. Each supply of men was thus entered under the proper heading. Due to the fact that there were two kinds of limited service men, namely C-l and C-2, it was necessary to indicate the particular variety on each card. In order to simplify matters it was found advisable to have cards of two colors for each occupation, one for the apprentices and one for the journeymen. Any withdrawals were posted on these cards by entering the requisition number, and keeping a running balance of the supply remaining after the men were withdrawn to fill the requisition. Due to the smaller number of men that had to be handled as compared with the general service men, and also due to the nature of men supplied, it was found that this card file worked quite as well as the supply book, and in most cases the time required to fill a requisition was much less than that required by the other system. The writing of orders from the allotment sheet was similar to that on the general service orders. Due to the smaller numbers of men involved in the Colored and the National Army Training Detachments' reports, the actual distribution of these classes constituted less of a prob- lem than either of the two just described. The method of distributing, however, was the same as for the general service men. COOPERATION WITH OPERATIONS DIVISION, GENERAL STAFF Throughout all of the operations above described, the Opera- tions Division of the General Staff was in the closest coopera- tion with this office. In fact, the Central Distributing Office was functioning for the Operations Division. It was the vehicle which carried out the programs of the General Staff, as all orders for the moving of men were written there. Each requisition had to have the approval of the Operations Division before it could be filled. From time to time the Central Dis- tributing Office would present the Operations Division with 404 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL statements of the number and character of the requisitions on hand, and of their relative importance as determined in con- ferences with representatives of the Staff Corps. Suggestions as to the best method of filling the requisitions were made. Lt. Col. R. H. Kimball of the Operations Division would direct, in a general way, the policies to be followed in filling these requests, and the Central Distributing Office would pro- ceed to carry them out in detail, seeing that a particular organ- ization requesting men not only got the number of men asked for but the right kind as well. All orders were written in the Central Distributing Office, and had to have the signature of the Director of Operations before they could be signed and sent out by the Adjutant General. This insured a final check by the Operations Division that the work was being carried out in accordance with their wishes. So close were the con- nections between the Central Distributing Office and the Operations Division that Maj. H. M. Rayner of the Opera- tions Division was detailed to duty in the Central Distributing Office. COOPERATION WITH THE STAFF CORPS In a like manner, the Central Distributing Office was in close connection with the representatives of the Staff Corps. Conferences were held frequently to go over the problems in each of the corps. At these conferences matters such as the relative importance and urgency of the various requisitions, the character of the men needed, and the type of men received, were discussed. Frequent attempts were made to obtain a definite program from each of the staff corps which would cover their future needs. This was felt to be of vital impor- tance, as it would be a basis for deciding upon the number and character of drafts that would be necessary in the future. It would also be of great value in determining just what training should be given to the men in the National Army Training Detachments in order to supply the deficiency of skilled men in the draft. The only program that had been available was OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALISTS 405 the Pershing 6-phase schedule, which was outgrown almost as soon as received. The result was a sort of hand-to-mouth ex- istence in the Staff Corps, as many of the requisitions were based on cabled demands for certain organizations. By Octo- ber, 1918, however, matters had begun to shape themselves somewhat better, and at the time of the armistice orders had been issued to all staff corps to furnish the Central Distribut- ing Office with their programs up until June, 1919. Special forms were prepared for these reports. Conferences had been held to discuss the whole problem and to get all of the esti- mates on a uniform basis. Besides these conferences to dis- cuss general problems, there were almost daily informal con- ferences concerning the requisitions themselves and their status. An even closer liaison was being arranged for at the time of the armistice, when it was planned to have a represen- tative of each of the staff corps detailed to work in connection with the Central Distributing Office. DISTRIBUTION OF DRAFT INCREMENTS The methods employed in filling requisitions for various sources of supply have been discussed. It now remains to look at the whole situation from a different angle, namely, that of distributing the various draft increments as they were sent into the camps. As each type of draft had its special prob- lems they will be discussed separately. The general service draft was the largest and most frequent. One problem was to get one increment distributed and out of the way before the next arrived in camp. Speed was essential, but at the same time men of qualifications that were needed could not be overlooked. There was rarely any difficulty in disposing of the general service men. The need for men was so great that the larger part of the draft was swallowed up without leaving any trace behind. There were, however, occa- sional occupations which were in excess of the demand, and in placing these men some difficulties were experienced. The limited service supply, on the other hand, furnished 406 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL many complexities. This supply was composed of two sorts of men ; first men from the Development Battalions in camps ; and second, the limited service drafts. The Development Bat- talions were organized with the idea of refitting as many men as possible of those who had been rejected as unfit. They were to undergo a special course of training in camp, and as they finished these courses they were to be reported to Wash- ington for distribution. It was soon seen that to give only*' Class A men to fill all requisitions would be impossible due to the scarcity of men, and the whole problem of the Army was gone over to see where limited service men could be used. Every organization which was for domestic service only was thereupon authorized to have limited service men only. This immediately put a great demand on the supply of limited serv- ice men, and the product of the Development Battalions was not sufficient to fill these needs. Special drafts of limited serv- ice men were then called, and as the use of these men grew the problems increased, as it was found that certain overseas organizations could use limited service men as well. In the light of these developments, the Central Distributing Office had to arrange all of its operations ; requisitions had to be carefully inspected to see whether they should have general or limited service men, and if limited service, whether they were to be Class C-l or Class C-2. As in the case of general service men, the chief concern was not so much disposing of the supply as trying to make it fill all requisitions. One of the plans was to have limited service men replace general service men when- ever possible, in order that the latter might be used for combat service, and owing to the scarcity of general service men due to lack of legislation in raising the draft ages and the epidemic of Spanish influenza the problem became very acute in Octo- ber. Moreover, there was difficulty in obtaining men who had been sent to camp in the limited service drafts, as they were so urgently needed that they were appropriated before orders could be issued covering them. An example of this was the limited service draft of stenographers and typists, a large por- OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALISTS 407 tion of which was never recovered, as a result of the acute need for men of these special qualifications in the camps. An- other problem that presented itself was the inability to be sure that in ordering C-2 men they would not be so poor physically that they could not perform the work required of them. An order for C-2 men occasionally brought all the "leftovers" in camp, and organizations receiving these men naturally com- plained and demanded better treatment. The colored draft problem was perhaps the simplest of all. The percentage of skill in the colored draft was very low, and the organizations of colored men did not require as large a number of specialists as the other organizations. The reports from the camps were very brief. Few occupations were listed. Most of the colored organizations were engineer service bat- talions, stevedore regiments, labor companies, etc., which required few men of skill. There were, however, cases where skilled men were needed and needed badly, and cafe was taken to place them. As can be readily seen, most of the orders issued were comparatively simple as compared with those for white men. Also, the colored drafts were not so large as the white, which made the work of the Central Distributing Office in this particular branch much less. The National Army Training Detachment became one of the most difficult of all of the sources of supply to distribute. The men who had been trained in these schools were available for distribution after a six weeks' course. The Central Dis- tributing Office controlled the distribution of these men, using them to fiH requisitions in the same manner as the other sources of supply. Here the problem was to distribute a highly spe- cialized group of men as compared with those in the draft, and to misplace a man who had been trained was especially to be avoided. The difficulties, however, were that there were cases where the training program did not entirely agree with the most urgent demand, and it was not very unusual to have a surplus in one occupation and a very great shortage in an- other. This apparent lack of co-ordination was due, in a large 408 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL measure, to the failure of the Staff Corps to state a definite program. As has previously been stated, Pershing's 6-phase schedule was the last that was available, and it was out of date by May, 1918. The new report which was called for from the Staff Corps in November, 1918, would have straightened out all of this tangle, and it would have been possible to train men for places for which there was a great need. While the primary functions of the Central Distributing Office were the distribution of occupational specialists, large numbers of unskilled men were sent to fill requisitions. In all, 1,191,000 men were ordered out to fill various organiza- tions, while requisitions for 1,600,000 had been received. Further details as to the procedure followed in distributing men, not only in the Central Distributing Office but also in the Camp Personnel Offices, is presented in Chapter VII of Volume II. CHAPTER 33 DRAFT STATISTICS AND THEIR RELATION TO THE ARMY PROGRAM The two preceding chapters of this section have traced the development of the Central Distributing Office and described the principal steps in the process of distributing from the draft those specialists who are required in the various branches of the Army. The present chapter is concerned with what might be termed the research end of the work, as it had no active part in the allotment of men, except insofar as its investigations and recommendations guided the activities of the operating end of the office. ASSISTANCE TO THE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND SPECIAL TRAINING Most of the draft statistics took the form of the occupational yield of past drafts as a basis for estimating what might be expected from future drafts. This type of information proved very valuable and was applied in a diversity of ways. For instance, although it had early become apparent to those who were in close touch with the personnel problem that the supply of certain types of specialists received in the ordinary run of the draft would soon prove far too small for the Army's needs, it was necessary to have concrete, figures to demonstrate to the officials in authority that the early establishment of Army Trade Schools was imperative. Accordingly, in January, 1918, under the direction of Dr. Bingham, figures were com- piled from the occupational reports from divisions to indicate the available supply of specialists and these figures were bal- anced against the estimated needs of the thirty divisions then authorized and the Staff Corps until May 1, 1918, 409 410 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL The appalling shortages in most of the occupations demon- strated conclusively the necessity of taking prompt action to increase the number of specialists in the National Army as well as to conserve, by correct placement, those already there. The result was the establishment, early in February, of the Committee on Education and Special Training, charged, as is explained more in detail in a later chapter, with taking what- ever measures might be necessary to guarantee an adequate supply of specialists. The receipt shortly afterwards of General Pershing's six- phase project for the systematic building of America's Army in France, and the summary of that program on an occupa- tional basis which was prepared by this office, completely jus- tified the establishment of this new educational committee and guided it in its development. At various times throughout the year conferences were held with its representatives at which the present needs of the Army were discussed with a view to shaping the product of the schools to satisfy those needs. But with the exception of a few general recommenda- tions, subsequent to the first figures based on General Pershing's original program, the assistance rendered to the Committee on Education and Special Training along this line was not as substantial as might have been desired, due largely to the rapidly changing and increasing army program. Just at the signing of the armistice, however, when, fortified by its knowledge of the actual military superiority of the Allies, the General Staff had begun to hit its stride in the scientific and orderly construction of a crushing war machine with its essen- tial components divisions, corps and army troops, replace- ments and supply troops geared up to each other in proper ratio and with but slight prospect that a repetition of the German drive of 1918 would again necessitate an emergency shifting of gears, a comprehensive plan was about to be put into operation for summarizing the monthly occupational requirements of each and every military unit to be organized up to July 1, 1919. It was contemplated that this informa- DRAFT STA TISTICS 41 1 tion, in addition to facilitating the efficient manipulation and assignment of personnel from the draft, would enable the edu- cational authorities to determine with an exactitude heretofore impossible what courses ought to be given in the Army Schools. A more detailed description of the proposed occupa- tional summary of the army program from November 1, 1918, to July 1, 1919, is given later in this chapter. From the foregoing illustration it has perhaps become evi- dent that the statistics section of the Central Distributing Office was mainly concerned with forecasting (a) the occupa- tional requirements of the Army, and (b) the probable supply of occupational specialists from the draft, with a view to see- ing to it that the necessary steps were taken to save from blanket assignment to combat organizations every specialist who was more urgently needed in his own trade in a technical organization than as a fighting man, and also, by foreseeing shortages in specialists, not only to prevent their loss through mis-assignment, but also to advise upon the necessity of secur- ing them through special agencies voluntary induction, special draft, or army schools. PERSONNEL SUPPLY AND DEMAND STATISTICS FOR THE PROVOST MARSHAL GENERAL The most formidable piece of statistical work which was undertaken by the Distributing Office was a comprehensive summary, primarily for the information of the Provost Mar- shal General, of the prospective occupational requirements of the Army from May 1, 1918, to January 1, 1919, with esti- mates as to the occupational shortages which might be encoun- tered if the only supply were the ordinary run of the draft. It was undertaken at the request of the Operations Division, General Staff, for the purpose of enabling the Provost Marshal General to determine approximately to what extent it might be necessary lor the Army to make inroads upon industry through special drafts or individual inductions in order to secure its necessary quota of specialists, and to assist him in 412 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL making early preparation for these drafts and inductions. It was to prepare this statement that Mr. William B. Hale, later the Director of the Central Distributing Office, was called by the Committee on Classification of Personnel from his work with the National Research Council, and he was assisted in his task by Mr. L. R. Frazier. The preliminary survey of the problem indicated that many difficulties would be met and that it would be several weeks before anything of value could be evolved from the mass of miscellaneous and incomplete information which was available. General Pershing's partially completed six-phase project and what was then the plan of the General Staff to draft 1,000,000 men between May 1 and January 1 formed the bases upon which the statement was constructed. There were no tables of occupational needs for other than divisional organizations and it was necessary to rely on the rather rough occupational interpretations which the Staff Corps concerned made of their particular parts of the program. This fact, coupled with the necessity of determining by occupations the extent to which each organization had been completed on May 1, prolonged the work considerably. The questions of what allowance to make for replacements, and of what should be the proportion of combat to supply troops, offered further obstacles. The former was settled arbitrarily by allowing three per cent, per month of the actual strength for replacements. This was done upon the advice of the General Staff as being the best informa- tion available at the time. The second question was handled by assuming that General Pershing's project for the Services of Supply would be carried out and that the balance of the 1,000,000 men would be available for combat units. When the statement had been completed and all the sources of error and unavoidable inaccuracies had been explained to the Operations Division, it was decided that although the statement was as complete and accurate as was* possible with the information available, it would be inadvisable to formally submit it to the Provost Marshal General. The rapid increase DRAFT STATISTICS 413 in the Army program, and the extreme emphasis which had come to be laid upon the organization and shipment of combat troops during the late spring and summer, had made a rather dangerously unreliable document on the first of June of what might have been a fairly accurate one on the first of May. Although never formally presented, the figures were con- sidered sufficiently accurate to be used in a general way in determining in what general types of occupations shortages might be expected and whether such shortages would be large or small. With these limitations in mind the figures were used to some slight extent by men in the Provost Marshal General's office and perhaps more extensively by the Committee on Edu- cation and Special Training in planning the general layout of its courses and by the Central Distributing Office in its work of filling requisitions equitably and efficiently. Index of Personnel Demand. It was perhaps natural after the difficulty which had been experienced in determining not only the future but the current occupational needs of the Army that some system should have been set up to summarize that information and to make it easily available. This system took the form of a card index, one card for each occupation. On each card were entered in appropriate Staff Corps columns the numbers of men of that occupation for whom requisitions were received. When filed according to symbol number these cards afforded a summary of occupational demand that was of assistance in various ways. For instance, one of the uses to .which the index was first put was to assist in the proper place- ment of very rare and valuable- specialists, who, although they would undoubtedly have been of considerable value in any one of several units, were perhaps most urgently needed in only two or three highly specialized ones. An expert electrical instrument repairman, symbol 72e, might be reported from Camp Sherman. On first thought he would appear to be a very handy man around almost any Signal Corps organization, or again, he might very well be sent to an Air Service radio school where he could, with a month or two of training, 414 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL develop into a pretty fair radio electrician. But a glance at card "72" would show that three of these men were required in a signal corps repair shop which was being organized at Camp Vail to repair valuable electrical instruments. This, then, was the logical assignment for the electrical instrument repairman from Camp Sherman, for there he would be con- tinuously engaged on the identical work in which his civilian experience had made him an expert. But even more important than .this use of the "Index of De- mand" was the service which it began to render early in July when there was put into operation a system of starring on the Occupational Report form, CCP-15, those occupations for which there was at the time a strong demand from staff corps organizations. In the developments and changes which took place in the Occupational Report form from the time when drafted men first began to be sent to depot brigades early in 1918 until the end of the war one may trace many of the developments in the policies of the General Staff relative to the distribution of the draft, and of the methods employed by the Distributing Office to interpret those policies. RELATION OF PERSONNEL STATISTICS TO DRAFT DISTRIBUTION One of the difficulties continually encountered in the attempt to place each man correctly on an occupational basis arose from the necessity of assigning large numbers of men on an almost entirely non-occupational basis to combat organiza- tions. During February and March this difficulty had not assumed the proportions of later months because particular attention was then being paid to the building up of the Serv- ices of Supply whose growth had been somewhat stunted by the lack of men, the only supply other than volunteers having been combat divisions. So for the first three or four months of 1918 occupational reports were received covering all the men who were drafted and the Staff Corps received a goodly percentage of men of all kinds. But the German drive on DRAFT STATISTICS 415 the Western front and the absolute necessity of sending across fighting men as fast as transports could carry them put a different face on the situation. Durifig May and June only the most valuable specialists could be spared to the Staff Corps. Men of all kinds were poured into com- bat divisions and replacement troops in a steady stream. During that period many lesser specialists, who would ordin- arily have been promptly assigned to some special unit, found themselves in the ranks of the fighters where their civilian skill was of little value. But the American Expedi- tionary Force needed men who could carry a rifle more than it needed construction and supply men, so that for about two months most of the men assigned occupationally by the Distributing Office were what were known as 'Rare Birds.' For most of the camps the Occupational Report form consisted of a comparatively short list of occupations, in which skill was so valuable as to outweigh ability as potential fight- ing men even at that critical time. In July when the comparative importance of line troops was beginning to diminish somewhat it became evident that it would be the part of wisdom to once more obtain occupa- tional reports covering all the men who were drafted into camp. How to do this and yet provide for the exceptional cases when the General Staff, without waiting for an occu- pational report, would find it necessary to take all but a few specialists from a camp for assignment to combat organiza- tions was the next problem. It was solved by adopting the system of starring those occupations which the "Index of Demand" indicated were in current demand by the Staff Corps, and then instructing the camps whenever it did become necessary to move large numbers of drafted men without regard to occupations, to omit starred men from the shipment. In this way, at camps from which most of the men had been transferred! for combat duty, the valuable specialists re- mained and the Distributing Office knew just what kind of specialists they were. At camps which were not affected by 416 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL these large movements not only were all the men available for assignment on requisitions, but the Distributing Office knew also just what kind of men these were. A month's experience in the use of the starred Occupational Report appeared to justify a still further refinement. Orig- inally when an occupation was starred, the star referred to all the men classified in that occupation regardless of whether they were journeymen or apprentices. It was soon dis- covered that in certain occupations a larger number of men than was necessary were being reserved in this way for the Staff Corps. Accordingly in the October edition of the Occu- pational Report form, discrimination was made between journeymen and apprentices in starring, i.e., certain occupa- tions were starred both for journeymen and apprentices and others only for journeymen. This distinction was made on the basis of the 'Index of Demand,' and the probable occupational supply from the next draft to meet that demand. Further modifications having to do with certain types of specialists and with the selection of expert industrial workers for fur- lough are described in the next chapter. PROPOSED FORECAST OF ARMY PROGRAM ON OCCUPATIONAL BASIS Previous mention has been made of a contemplated occupa- tional forecast of the army program from November 1, 1918, to July 1, 1919, on which the actual work was just about to be started as the armistice was signed. The necessity for such a summary of a definite army program, particularly for the Staff Corps, which would be supplementary to General Per- shing's six-phase project, was being felt more keenly all the time, but all of the four or five men in the office who were qualified by experience in personnel work and familiarity with army organization to undertake such a tremendous task were so burdened with the more immediate work of assigning hun- dreds of thousands of recruits that it was delayed until addi- tions to the office force could be broken in. The Committee DRAFT STATISTICS 417 on Education and Special Training, as above stated, required a knowledge of the prospective occupational shortages to enable it to select the right courses of training for the Voca- tional Section of the Students' Army Training Corps. The Central Distributing Office had to be able to plan ahead in the distribution of the draft, to know what the Staff Corps were going to require two or three months hence and to lay its lines accordingly. If the Engineer Corps intended to organize several pontoon companies within a couple of months, it would be necessary to discontinue furloughing boat builders to the shipyards and mariners and boatmen to the merchant marine because they would soon be needed in the pontoon companies. Or if there was to be a great increase in motor transport, due perhaps to the prospects of a "Spring Drive" with a resultant longer haul from the base of supplies, special steps would have to be taken at once to save from Infantry Replacements the apprentice as well as the journeyman truck drivers and mechanics who otherwise might have found their way to the trenches. The Distributing Office had in many respects been living from hand to mouth had been unable to see more than a month or two ahead. After the six-phase project had ex- pired during the summer, the Office had but a very general knowledge of what demands to expect until the actual requisi- tions were received, usually with the request that the men be supplied at once. This was ordinarily quite impossible because the men were not available, and the delay which resulted un- doubtedly caused more or less dissatisfaction. The contem- plated occupational summary by months, therefore, of the units to be organized in the various Staff Corps would have been of material assistance to all concerned. It may not be amiss to describe briefly the method by which it was proposed to compile this summary. The plan for securing and compiling this information was worked out by Mr. Hale, assisted by Mr. S. E. Wright, with the collaboration of the Operations Division. The letter of 418 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL instructions to the Chiefs of all Staff Corps and Staff Depart- ments which had been drawn up and virtually approved at the time the armistice was signed, was to be accompanied by two sets of forms, which were designated as Form A and Form B. These forms were to be filled out and returned by a specified date. On each of seven copies of Form A, one for each month, were to be entered the numbers of each kind of unit to be organized during the month in question, indicat- ing the number of men required in the unit, its table of organi- zation and whether or not its organization had been author- ized. This would constitute the tentative program of the Staff Corps. These various programs would have to be approved in general by the Operations Division before they could be used as a basis for computing the occupational needs of the Army. On sheets called Form B were to be entered the occupational requirements of each kind of organization appearing on Form A. These occupational requirements would have to be scrutin- ized by the Central Distributing Office with a view to eliminat- ing over-estimates. By applying a little multiplication and addition to this information, the office could quite easily de- termine the occupational requirements of the Staff Corps for the months in question. In order to make the estimate complete it would have been necessary to take into consideration the oc- cupational needs of the combat troops during the seven-month period. The Operations Division could have supplied the re- quired information concerning the number and kind of combat units to be organized, and from the Tables of Occupational Needs could have been derived the occupational requirements of these units. A combination of these two estimates would then have given a summary of the future occupational needs of the whole Army which would have been complete except for special units for which need might arise from time to time. The next step would then have been to forecast the num- bers of occupational specialists to appear in each of the monthly draft calls and to match this prospective supply against the estimated requirements. The numbers of special- DRAFT STATISTICS 419 ists found in past drafts would have been used as a basis for forecasting the numbers to be found in future drafts, al- though the estimates of occupational supply would have been revised monthly as the character of the draft was changed by the induction of men below twenty-one and over thirty-one. The resulting summary would then have enabled the Cen- tral Distributing Office to work with its eyes open, to intelli- gently and accurately advise the Committee on Education and Special Training as to the courses of study which must be initiated monthly, to advise the Operations Division upon the necessity of calling special drafts to supplement the work of the Army Schools, and to cut to a minimum the requests for those specialists among which the shortage was most acute. CHAPTER 34 SPECIAL TASKS OF THE CENTRAL DISTRIBUTING OFFICE At intervals throughout the life of the Central Distributing Office various special tasks and problems arose which had to be taken care of outside of the regular routine of filling re- quisitions for men although they all related more or less directly to the occupational distribution of the draft. Many of these special tasks became, after a time, routine operations which were not, however, carried on by the main office or- ganization, but by special agencies set up for that purpose. SUPPLYING CHEMISTS TO THE CHEMICAL WARFARE SERVICE The chemist problem is a case in point. Early in May, 1918. officers of the Chemical Service Section (later the Chem- ical Warfare Service) asked the Central Distributing Office to assist them in their emergency by securing the names and former addresses of all the chemists who were drafted into camp, and by holding them in camp until investigations could be made and recommendations for their disposition submitted. It was at that time thought that the names of practically all the chemists would be found in the immense file of 16,000 chemist questionnaires which the Chemical Service Section had collected from all parts of the country, and that by ref- erence to these questionnaires it could be determined whether a man was really a chemist, and if so, the particular branch of chemical work for which he was fitted. It was very soon discovered, however, that there were a large number of chem- ists being drafted into the army whose questionnaires were not in this file, so it was decided to have all the men claiming 420 TASKS OF DISTRIBUTING OFFICE 421 to be chemists fill out questionnaires in camp and forward them to Washington. Accordingly, on July 1, supplies of chemist questionnaires, prepared by the Chemical Service Section with the assistance of the Distributing Office were forwarded to all the camps where drafted men were received with instructions to have each drafted chemist who came to camp fill out a questionnaire. When received in the Dis- tributing Office they were forwarded to the Chemical War- fare Service, but a card file was kept so that it might at all times be known just what chemists were being held in camp. The communications of the Chemical Warfare Service to the Adjutant General requesting the assignment of these in- dividual chemists passed through the Central Distributing Office and notation of the action taken was made on the proper cards. The questionnaire system proved thoroughly satisfac- tory to all concerned. In addition to the chemists who came into the Army through the draft after the installation of this system there was a considerable number of chemists scattered throughout the Army who were not engaged upon chemical work. An order of May 28, 1918, directed that no enlisted graduate chemist go overseas unless he were engaged upon chemical duties, and that the names of all such men already in the service be re- ported to Washington. The Central Distributing Office under- took the task of securing questionnaires from these men and of keeping a record of them in practically the same manner as that described above. After the establishment of the sys- tem of transferring individual chemists by name, this office forwarded to the Chemical Warfare Service the questionnaires (or names) of 2916 chemists. Action was taken on them as follows : Ordered transferred for duty as chemists 1990 Furloughed 26 Released for other duty or rejected by C.W.S 471 No action taken (largely due to armistice) 429 422 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL SUPPLYING RAILROAD MEN TO THE ENGINEER CORPS Another shortage in skilled personnel which became acute in the early summer of 1918 was the shortage in railway men of all kinds. Not only was there an Army shortage, but the lack of men on the domestic railways made the situation quite serious, because to have attempted to make a special draft of railway men would have been to place a load upon the railways of the country which they would have had great difficulty in bearing. Accordingly, late in June, a request from the Chief of Engineers to the effect that all skilled rail- way men drafted into National Army camps be transferred to the Engineer Corps and sent to Ft. Benjamin Harrison for assignment to Military Railway organizations was approved by the General Staff and put into operation. A long and somewhat confusing list of railway occupations, not taken from the Index of Occupations, was included in the order. The Central Distributing Office had previously made it a policy to send all railway men not imperatively needed else- where to Ft. Benjamin Harrison, ordering them by specific occupations. The general letter referred to made this un- necessary. It was thought for some time that this order had been sent to all camps receiving drafted men, and it was not until the draft of July 22nd had been almost completely dis- tributed that it was discovered that there were several National Guard camps which had never received the order and were continuing to hold their railway men for orders. There re- sulted a revision of the original order, addressed to all camps and posts receiving drafted men and giving in standard occu- pational terms and symbols the men who were to be sent to Ft. Benjamin Harrison. This revision was prepared by the Central Distributing Office and thereafter no difficulty was experienced either by the camps in knowing exactly which men to send, or by the Distributing Office in knowing exactly what men had been sent. TASKS OF DISTRIBUTING OFFICE 423 Along in September the shortage of railway men became still more acute, so acute in fact, that it was decided to sift through all the troops in the United States proper and trans- fer from their present assignments all skilled railway men who were not imperatively needed in their present organizations. Accordingly, about October 1, a general letter was sent by the Distributing Office to all Department Commanders and to Camp Commanders not under the jurisdiction of Department Commanders to report the name, grade, organization, length of service, physical class, specific occupation and degree of skill of each man under their command who qualified in one of a given list of occupations. These reports were to be mailed by October 20, 1918. The names of approximately six- teen thousand men, largely apprentices, were reported and a portion of these were tabulated in order to determine ap- proximately how many of each classification might be expected among the whole number. Another summary was made by units and occupations without regard to the other factors. The signing of the armistice eliminated the necessity of assigning any of these men to the Engineer Corps, but had the war continued a large percentage of them would have found their way into railway organizations. FURLOUGHING MEN TO INDUSTRY The selection from the draft of industrial specialists for fur- lough to essential industry was yet another task of the Central Distributing Office. The system of deferred classification for necessary industrial employees which was put into operation by the Provost Marshal General in connection with the opera- tion of the draft succeeded in keeping most of the necessary industrial specialists from being drawn into the Army, but the size of the machine and the speed with which it was forced to operate made one hundred per cent, efficiency out of the ques- tion. In addition to these draftees from necessary industries there were a large number of skilled men, who, because they were engaged in non-essential industries were not given defer- 424 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL red classification, but who were well qualified to do specialized work in essential industry. Mr. Darragh de Lancey, at that time in the office of the Second Assistant Secretary of War, but later Chief of the Industrial Furlough Section, requested the Distributing Office to comb out such of these specialists as were not actually re- quired in their trades in the Army and to secure certain infor- mation about them. Originally the list of occupations in which Mr. de Lancey was interested was limited to about a dozen of the most rare and valuable. For the May 25th draft this list was extended to thirty and a month later to fifty-five. Mr. de Lancey's request having been duly approved, these occupa- tions were included with those occupations for which there was an army demand and reports were secured from the camps as to the numbers of men in these occupations who arrived in a given draft. Then, after orders had been drawn up for the assignment to army organizations of those men for whom there was an Army demand, further instructions were issued to report the names and addresses of the former employers of the remaining men who qualified in occupations on Mr. de Lancey's list. Duplicate card files containing this information were then prepared. One was forwarded to the Industrial Furloughs Section and the other to the Distributing Office. On the basis of this information that section, acting through the production departments of the War and Navy Depart- ments, communicated with the former employers of the men and made other investigations, preparatory to issuing fur- lough orders. It soon became evident that a great deal of time was being taken in obtaining satisfactory information from the. former employers. The Distributing Office, therefore, suggested that some kind of form letter be adopted which would be sent directly from the camp to the former employer and, when properly completed, forwarded directly from the employer to the War Department. This letter, known as Form CCP-3, was prepared and the system put into operation for the draft TASKS OF DISTRIBUTING OFFICE 425 of June 25, 1918. The letter of instructions, besides explain- ing the purpose of the form letter, provided that whenever these letters were sent out, a report should be submitted giving the men's names and occupations and the names and addresses of their employers, so that the Distributing Office might have a definite statement from the camp commander against which to check the letters that came from the employers. The sys- tem proved to be generally satisfactory, particularly because the Industrial Furloughs Section could easily cull out those men whose questionaires showed them to be incompetent. These rejects were then assigned at once to some Army organi- zation. One source of considerable delay in the selection of men for furlough still remained. This delay amounted to three or four weeks for every man and was occasioned by the fact that after receiving the complete occupational reports from the camps it was necessary to supply the Army needs before it could be determined which men would be left available for furlough. Although recognized from the first, it had been considered that to attempt a solution of the problem would only complicate matters. So by the time the Forms CCP-3 were really started on their way, most of these skilled men who were so badly needed in industry had been idle in camp for at least three weeks. A study of the "Index of Demand" which was men- tioned in the preceding chapter, showed that there were several occupations on the industrial furlough lists for which the Army demand was very small, and that, as far as those occu- pations were concerned, there was no logical reason for defer- ring the sending of Forms CCP-3 until the Army need had been supplied. If, then, a week or two prior to each draft, the occupational needs of the Army to be supplied from that draft could be balanced against the probable occupational supply from the draft, it would be possible to pick out a considerable number of industrial occupations for which the Army need was immaterial. The personnel adjutants in the camps could then be instructed to start the machinery of in- 426 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL vestigation (Form CCP-3) as soon as men of these particular occupations arrived in the camps. Accordingly the Occupa- tional Report form, CCP-15, was revised with this end in view, and the occupations in which the men were to be "mortgaged" for furlough were indicated by the sign "*3" and were spoken of as "star-three men." It was estimated that approximately one per cent, of the draft would be re- served under this authority. The letter of instructions by which this new system was instituted was sent out under date of October 5, 1918, and the system was used in the draft of October 21. In addition to the provision that Forms CCP-3 should be sent out as soon as the. men in designated occupations had arrived in camp and been interviewed, the letter also provided that duplicate qualifica- tion cards, Form CCP-1, containing the trade-test rating and the personnel adjutant's recommendation for or against indus- trial furlough should be forwarded to the War Department. There was really no opportunity to try the system out in actual operation because the signing of the armistice shortly after- wards put an end to all furloughs and completely disor- ganized the work. It was evident, however, that although generally satisfactory, further explanation of its procedure through additional letters and particularly through the field supervisors would have been necessary to its efficient operation. It must be clearly understood that the actual furloughing of the men was not done by the Central Distributing Office, but by the Industrial Furlough Section through the Enlisted Divi- sion of the Adjutant General's Office. The Distributing Office merely recommended to the Operations Division, General Staff which groups of men in the occupations needed by indus- try could be spared from the Army and undertook the task of reserving and securing detailed information about these men for the use of the Industrial Furlough Section. In addition it was, of course, necessary to keep a record of all the men who were being reserved in order to insure that some action was taken with respect to each of them. Considerable difficulty TASKS OF DISTRIBUTING OFFICE 427 was experienced by the Industrial Furlough Section in obtain- ing expeditious action on the part of the various production departments and for some time there was a great deal of delay in actually accomplishing the furloughs, but as the system be- came more firmly established this delay was gradually reduced. RETENTION OF LIMITED SERVICE MEN APPEAR- ING IN GENERAL SERVICE DRAFTS In addition to the foregoing problems which had been, in a sense, thrust upon the Distributing Office for solution and application, there were others which arose from within the organization itself but which were not so directly concerned with the process of the distribution of the draft. For instance, much time and study was given to the question of the wider f utilization of limited service men. In connection with this subject there arose the suggestion that some method of retain- ing limited service men found in general service draft calls be established. A detailed investigation of the subject was made and a report prepared. A draft of a proposed general order on this subject was worked out with great care through co- operation with the various officers and individuals charged with personnel work in the camps, those in charge of the operation of development battalions, representatives of the Surgeon General and of the Provost Marshal GeneHal. The report and draft of order were submitted to the Director of Operations on or about October 3, 1918, but the adoption of the plan was at that time rejected by him, in view of the fear expressed that retention of limited service men would, if en- couraged, result in a lack of enough general service men to supply the then very pressing needs of combat organizations, especially for infantry replacements. Another general problem which had as its purpose the sav- ing of time and transportation in getting the men from their 428 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL draft boards to their final organizations was one for which no definite method of solution had been presented at the time the armistice was signed. The problem itself was somewhat vague and consisted largely in a feeling that there ought to be some way to shortcut the paths of certain types of specialists in reaching their permanent organizations. The "standing order" method which was used in connection with railway men has already been described. This was the only case in which this method was readily applicable, however. There was no other group or classification of men which were all required only at one camp. Telegraph, telephone and wireless men were needed in the largest numbers by the Signal Corps at Fort Leaven- worth (later at Camp Meade), but they were also needed in divisions and combat units of all kinds. A modification of the "standing order" method might have been adopted to fit the type of cases mentioned, which would provide that only a cer- tain percentage of the men of certain occupations who were found in the draft would be sent immediately to Fort Leaven- worth, the balance to be assigned to organizations in the camps to which they had been drafted. Extensive statistical studies would have been necessary before such a system could have been put into operation but it would have added a week or two to the training period of several thousand men each month. The British had a similar system of operation which was sim- plified considerably by the comparatively small size of the British Isles, and which consisted in the circulation of monthly schedules which detailed the camps to which men of certain occupational and physical qualifications who entered the army or became available for duty were to be transferred or "posted." Various other plans were discussed, some of which provided for more or less radical changes in the method of get- ting men to camp from their local boards, but all of these plans and ideas were in such a nebulous state that it is hardly worth while to discuss them at length here. TASKS OF DISTRIBUTING OFFICE 429 DEMOBILIZATION Immediately following the signing of the armistice there arose the very important question as to the method to be fol- lowed in demobilization. The Central Distributing Office was particularly interested in determining the practicability of several forms of occupational or industrial demobilization, and cooperated with other sections of the Classification Division, Adjutant General's Department, the Operations Division, Gen- eral Staff, and the "Labor Department on this subject. It was thought that if it should be decided to demobilize on the basis of the industrial needs of the country, the Central Distributing Office, with reversed machinery, might well be the agency to select the men for discharge. It having been decided, however, that demobilization would not be carried out upon an industrial basis the office force diminished swiftly until a personnel of fifty-eight had decreased on January 1 to five. Aside from assistance rendered the Fuel Administration in securing authority for the early demobilization of anthracite coal miners, and advice and assistance in a few similar cases, the Distributing Office took no active part in demobilization. For a few weeks, records were kept of the numbers of men dis- charged and estimates made of the numbers of men affected by discharge authority, but both of these functions were soon transferred to offices which were more directly concerned with them. SECTION IX SUPERVISION OF PERSONNEL WORK Supervision of Personnel Work was manifested principally in three ways. There was first direct supervision from the Washington office through traveling supervisors (Chapter 35). Second, weekly letters, followed later by the publication of a weekly paper, accomplished much toward stan- dardizing and consolidating the work in the many camps and offices (Chapter 36) . And, third, a care- ful check was established at ports of embarkation to see if units had all their papers made out correctly, particularly the qualification cards (Chapter 37). CHAPTER 35 SUPERVISION OF PERSONNEL WORK IN THE CAMPS Following the installation of the personnel system in the National Army camps (described in Chapter 6), and the with- drawal of the trained employment men who organized it, the necessity for some method of supervision was immediately recognized in order that the work might be standardized, im- proved and enlarged and the personnel officers uniformly trained in the constantly increasing duties which were assigned to them in the handling of all matters pertaining to the classifi- cation and placement of personnel. In addition, new camps were being established where it was necessary to install the personnel system. The work had no sooner been completed in the National Army camps than the Central Office was in- structed by War Department order to install the system in the National Guard camps. Some time later, the system was put in all the Coast Defense stations and many of the Staff Corps camps, such as the Ordnance Department, at Camp Hancock, the Quartermaster Corps, at Camp Joseph E. Johnston, and other places. CENTRAL OFFICE AND SUPERVISING ORGANIZATION The organization formed for the purpose of supervising'the work in the camps consisted of a civilian Director in the Cen- tral Office, Mr. R. C. Clothier, and later Mr. P. J. Reilly, and eight civilian supervisors with three military inspectors. In this conection the Director worked in close co-operation with the army officer detailed to the Committee on Classification of Personnel. In the early days this officer was Major (later Lt. 433 434 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL Col.) Grenville Clark. When he was transferred to the Com- mittee on Education and Special Training, Lt. Colonel (later Colonel) A. M. Ferguson took his place. As the number of camps increased and the work grew, an assistant to the Direc- tor, Mr. J. F. Page, Jr., was appointed and four additional civilian supervisors were added to the field force. Between the Central Office and the personnel officers in the camps, a large volume of direct correspondence was carried on regard- ing every phase of the work. This was essential, since there were constant changes in procedure and additional duties placed upon the shoulders of the personnel officers by War De- partment orders. This was supplemented very effectively by letters known as "Daily Letters," dealing with special subjects or matters of special interest concerning the personnel work. Furthermore, the officers in new camps and divisions which were constantly being organized required special attention and instructions in their duties. Improvements in the work were constantly being made and many of the orders referred to above were initiated by the Central Office. The Central Office handled all questions with reference to camp office equipment, printed forms, buildings, camp trans- portation for the personnel officers, etc. Training and Promotion of Personnel Officers. From time to time, as necessity required, schools were held for the train- ing of personnel officers, arrangements being handled through the office of the director. Final selections of officers were made by the officer in charge of the Committee and the director from the candidates at these schools who were recommended by the instructors. Promotions and commissions given to offi- cers and civilians from these schools were put through upon recommendation of the officer in charge to The Adjutant General of the Army, and the officers were assigned to new posts or to the camp or division from which they had come to the school. The officers and enlisted men who were sent to these schools for special instruction were recommended by the commanding officer of the camp or division with the SUPERVISION OF PERSONNEL 435 co-operation of the personnel officer, and were endorsed by the supervisor after a personal interview. The Central Office then issued orders for such men as the commanding officer and di- rector finally decided should attend the school to report at the proper time and place. The complete record of each man attending the schools was kept on file in the office of the direc- tor, and promotions or commissions given subsequently to men whose work in the personnel offices entitled them to favorable consideration were based also on their work at the school, as noted on these record cards. There were, of course, men who succeeded in personnel work without attending a school, and their promotions were based solely on their records in the field. Applications were continually being received from civilians desirous of entering the personnel officers' school with a view to becoming supervisors or being commissioned as officers in personnel work. All such applications were required to be made on a standard blank, which was filed in the Central Office, and selections were made from them of a few of the best qualified men for training at the schools. The transfers and assignments of all personnel officers com- missioned in the Adjutant General's Department were made from the Central Office by orders issued through the officer in charge of the Committee. Direct Correspondence with Personnel Officers. In addi- tion to the files in the Central Office containing school records and Personnel Officers' Qualification Cards, there were files of correspondence for each camp, cross-indexed for reference in connection with special subjects or with reference to the cor- respondence with individual officers. Other files contained cor- respondence with the supervisors and their reports on field conditions. Copies of all general and special orders were available in the Central Office, and the office of the director was familiar with every action of the War Department affect- ing the work of personnel officers and, through familiarity with these orders, the office of the director was in a position to inter- pret the meaning of any point in such orders which was not 436 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL entirely clear to the men in the camps and there was a mul- titude of such questions continually being asked. Direction of Personnel Supervisors. Through the Central Office, orders to travel from camp to camp were issued to the military inspectors, while the civilian supervisors were fur- nished with letters of introduction and special travel orders. PERSONNEL SUPERVISOR'S REPORT VIS*T|O 11-1-18 su PERVISOR Mr . Coamuadiag ocer Brix. Gen Peraotfnel Adit Cant P. A. Ant'i P. A. *- Capt let Lieut Cua.1. Cards. A boii&np Plenty of space but permanent per- *ntt sonaeJ Njilding needed i cbuif b properly dow> Tan II other equipment nSdntr TeB Are met.'i ardl Wall done ubbed properly? raTl ^.B^ end being S-* i " Are officer!* rardf If" An there proper Tea , in nuibera but man conetant- uber of clerk.' ly. baing crwngrf. rUnoSctn been rated? EM 1* oBcc lore* " TBB, conBldr F ( were not j according to instruc- tions. f were not ) legible. Number written by this office All copies ' J I were j General condition of Passenger Lists Remarks Checked by (The above Report will be baaed on initial inspection and not upon the final, except where necessary to state work done by your office) GENERAL REPORT Records and Passenger Lists were inspected and approved by the of Camp , , as indicated by stamp on Passenger List. ( was ) )was notC thoroughly informed Name of Organization Personnel * Adjutant regarding the preparation, arrangements, etc., of Records and Pas- senger Lists for organizations moving overseas and attributed his lack of information to LOCAL OFFICE INFORMATION Date of arrival at Embarkation Camp Remarks Location of Organization in Camp Instructions received Final inspection set for Records first received Returned for correction Final inspection and approval Inspection approved: Embarkation Personnel Adjutant Camp Personnel Adjutant Further remarks to be noted on reverse side FIG. 20a. Inspection Report (Continued) WORK AT THE PORTS 465 Handling of Casuals. One very perplexing problem was the disposition of Casuals (officers, nurses or enlisted men not a component part of a designated organization). Fre- quently, officers, nurses or enlisted men would become ill at a Port of Embarkation and could not proceed. They would im- mediately lose identity with their previous organization and would be treated as "Casuals", or "Unattached", and when their health was recovered and they were in fit condition to travel, they would be sent abroad as Casuals. Every Casual had to have an individual set of records, a passport and two copies of his or her photograph, as a means of identification in the A. E. F. An organization was per- fected for this particular service, and each individual, after presenting the travel order issued by the War Department, was compelled to produce his Qualification Card or immedi- ately make one out. In this way, a check at all Ports of Embarkation on all personnel, whether in organizations or not, was secured. SECTION X. SPECIAL PROBLEMS In this section are presented four special prob- lems that in many senses may be thought of as out- side the field of personnel work with the regular run of enlisted men and officers. There was first of all the selection and training of personnel officers for the personnel organization itself ( Chapter 38. ) Second, there was the handling of civilians, includ- ing those who wished to work for a dollar a year, those who patriotically desired to serve their coun- try, but felt that they had to earn a living at the same time, and those who were seeking their own advancement whether qualified for Government service or not. Chapter 39 relates the organization developed to handle all such and the further activi- ties which grew out of the general situation. Third, there was the problem of utilizing men not fit for full combat service (Chapter 40.) And finally, there was the utilization of educational institutions whereby certain men could be trained as tradesmen for Army uses and certain others as officers ( Chap- ter 41.) CHAPTER 38 TRAINING SCHOOLS FOR PERSONNEL OFFICERS NEED FOR TRAINING PERSONNEL OFFICERS Personnel officers for the first divisions to be formed in this country were appointed by the various Commanding Officers. On the whole, these selections were very good, but some of the officers were not fitted for the work and had to be re- placed and a large number were not of sufficient calibre to administer a personnel office after the consolidation of insur- ance, statistical and personnel work. As personnel work grew more and more complex, it became more and more evident that the personnel officer of a divi- sion or camp and particularly the latter, must be an excep- tional man. And at the same time it became equally clear that such superior men were not going to be obtained . by calling upon Commanding Officers to nominate them. There were two good reasons for this. Comparatively speaking, there are few men in any camp of the qualifications needed to do all that a personnel officer was called upon to handle. And, second, practically all such officers were needed, in the estimation of the Commanding Officer, for other work. 'Originally, one officer was appointed as personnel officer, two as insurance officers, and three as statistical officers. Three of the six were authorized for personnel work on Jan- uary 11, 1918. The remaining three furnished on paper a supply for additional personnel officers. But actually most of the statistical officers were unfitted for the work having originally been selected for intelligence work and on the basis of ability to speak French and German. About the time '469 470 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL that this became thoroughly realized, there developed a large number of new positions to which personnel officers had to be assigned. Almost over night, then, the situation with respect to a supply of new personnel officers changed from one of a supposed considerable supply to a decided shortage. On April 17, 1918, authority was granted for the commis- sioning in the Adjutant General's Department of 22 captains, 32 first lieutenants and 15 second lieutenants. They were to be assigned as camp personnel officers in 16 depot brigade camps, 11 U. S. recruit depots and 6 department headquar- ters. It was recognized at this time that future authoriza- tions would have to be made in order to carry on personnel work in this country at the various ports of embarkation, in divisions shortly to be organized, and in France. It was imperative in consequence at that time to secure officers and to train them in personnel work. The following pages record some of the important steps in meeting this situation. As an actual fact, the demand always did keep ahead of the supply so that months later when the A. E. F. requisitioned 25 personnel officers, it was impossi- ble to fill the entire requisition without most seriously crip- pling the work in this country. THE FIRST PERSONNEL SCHOOL The first Training School for Personnel Officers was held at Camp Meigs, Washington, D. C., April 25th to May 4th 79 officers and 17 enlisted men were in attendance. The students were very largely a "hand-picked lot" as the names were secured by personnel supervisors visiting differ- ent camps and personally interviewing candidates. In addi- tion to these, a considerable number of excess A. G. D. officers were sent to the school in order to try them out as possible personnel officers. Most of this group had previously been tried out in their own camps and were reported not to have made good. TRAINING SCHOOLS FOR OFFICERS 471 The program was divided about equally between the two subjects of insurance and personnel work the latter includ- ing classification of men, preparation of A. G. O. forms, handling of P. M. G. O. forms and office routine. The school was under the direction of Ur. Strong. Mr. Kendall Weisiger acted as first assistant with respect to personnel work and Captain (later Major) E. H. Weston as assistant with respect to insurance. The program was as follows: Thursday, April 25, 1918. 8:00 A. M. Registration and Assignment to Quarters. 10:00 A. M. Introductory Remarks. (a) Dr. Edward K. Strong, Jr., Member of Committee on Classification of Personnel. (b) Brigadier General P. C. Harris, Adjutant General. 10:30 A. M. "Needs of Divisions and Staff Corps for Skilled Men" Dr. W. V. Bingham, Member of Committee. 11:00 A. M. "Personnel Work in Divisions and Camps" Captain B. J. Kempter, Supervisor Personnel Work (for- merly Personnel Officer, Carnp Kearney.) 11:45 A. M. "General Scope of Personnel Work in the Army" Dr. Walter Dill Scott, Director of Committee. 1:00 P. M. Introduction to Insurance and Allotments. (a) Lieut. Colonel D. Y. Beckham, Adjutant General, Liaison Officer with War Risk Insurance Bureau. (b) Mr. L. J. Arnold, Administrator, Civil Relief Act. (c) Mr. U. P. Coler, Insurance Section, Bureau of War Risk Insurance. (d) Mr. J. R. Grace, Allotments and Allowances, War Risk Insurance. (e) Captain C. M. Jones, in charge of Insurance, Camp Lee. (f) Captain E. H. Weston, in charge of Insurance, Eastern Department. 3:00 P. M. (a) "General Organization of Committee on Classifica- tion of Personnel." (b) "General Organization of Division Personnel Office." Dr. E. K. Strong, Jr. 472 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL Friday, April 26, 1918. 8:00 A. M. "P.M.G.O. Forms used by Local Boards." Mr. J. D. Donovan, Secretary to Board of Commissioners dis- charging functions of Adjutant General for District of Columbia. 9:30 A. M. Drill on Use of Qualification Card, Section A. Dr. E. K. Strong, Jr. Section B, Mr. K. Weisiger, Personnel Supervisor, (Employment Manager, Southern Telephone and Telegraph Co., Atlanta.) 1:00 P. M. Insurance and Allotments (continued). Saturday, April 27, 1918. 8:00 A. M. Method of handling Forms 1, 1010, 1029 and 1029-A & B 9:00 A. M. Use of Qualification Card (continued). 10:00 A. M. Psychological Examination. Given by 1st Lt. H. C. Bingham, Surgeon General's Office. 11:00 A. M. "Use of Psychological Ratings." Major C. S. Yoakum, Surgeon General's Office. 1:00 P. M. Insurance and Allotments (continued). Monday, April 29, 1918. 8:00 A. M. Demonstration of Receiving and Assigning Men at Camps. 1:00 P. M. Insurance and Allotments (continued). Tuesday, April 30, 1918. 8:00 A. M. Discussion, Receiving Men into Camp. 9:00 A. M. Drill on Classifying Qualification Cards. 11:00 A. M. Use of Forms CCP-8, CCP-9, CCP-10, CCP-16. 1:00 P. M. Insurance and Allotments (continued). Wednesday, May 1, 1918. 8:00 A. M. Drill on Use of Index of Occupations. 9.00 A. M. Drill on Classifying Qualification Cards. .10:00 A. M. "New Method of Reporting Changes in Status, Hand- ling Pay Rolls, Etc." Brigadier General P. C. Harris, Adjutant General. 10:30 A. M. "Personnel Work in England," Major General K. Hutchison. C.B. D.S.O., Director of Organization, British Army. 11:30 A. M. "The Committee on Education and Special Training." Major Grenville Clark, Adjutant General. 1:00 P. M. Insurance and Allotments (continued). TRAINING SCHOOLS FOR OFFICERS 473 Thursday, May 2, 1918. 8:00 A. M. "Employment Management" Mr. P. J. Reilly, Super- visor of Camp Work (Employment Manager, Dennison Manufacturing Company, Framingham, Mass.) 8:30 A. M. "Personnel work in the Quartermaster Corps," Mr. J. J. Coss, in charge of Personnel Section, General Administrative Division, Quartermaster Corps. 9:30 A. M. Written Examination. 11:00 A. M. "Officers' Rating Scale." Dr. Walter Dill Scott. 1:00 P. M. Insurance and Allotments (continued). Friday, May 3, 1918. 8:00 A. M. Balancing a Regiment. Discussion. 9:00 A. M. "The Need for Trade Tests and General Plans for Such Work." Dr. W. V. Bingham. 10:00 A. M. Remarks. Major General H. P. McCain, The Adjutant General of the Army. 10:15 A. M. "Installation of Trade Tests in Camp." Mr. L. B. Hopkins, Supervisor of Trade Test Work (Manager's Assistant, General Electric Co., Pittsfield, Mass.) 10:30 A. M. "Demonstration of a Trade Test." Mr. L. B. Hopkins and Dr. B. Ruml, in charge of Development of Trade Tests. 11:15 A. M. Assignment of Men in a Division. Discussion. 1:00 P. M. Insurance and Allotments (continued.) Saturday, May 4, 1918. 8:00 A. M. "Personnel Work, American Expeditionary Forces in France," based on instructions received May 3, 1918. Mr. P. J. Reilly. 9:00 A. M. "A.G.O. Forms particularly relating to discharged men." Col. E. T. Conley, General Staff. 9:30 A. M. General Review of Work. 1:00 P. M. Interview by Lt. Col. A. M. Ferguson, Adjutant General. Eight hours a day were spent in class room work in lectures, discussions and examinations. The evenings were devoted to preparation of assignments. The instructors meant that the course should be strenuous in order that those not enthusi- astically looking for hard work might the better be weeded out. 474 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL Each candidate was personally interviewed by one or more of the instructors and rated on the basis of his (l) appear- ance, (2) personality, (3) technique, or knowledge of (a) personnel work and (b) insurance, (4) aggressiveness, and (5) preference. Each candidate was given a psychological intelligence test and his rating was considered, as well as his grades in examinations, in making up his final rating. On the basis of the rating and his own preference he was recom- mended for a particular rank and position. The general policy pursued in making these recommendations was not to promote a man nor to transfer him from the line to the Adjutant General's Department if there was any doubt about him. Recommendations of all candidates were made by Mr. Weisiger and Dr. Strong to Lt. Col. A. M. Ferguson, and in addition Capt. Weston reported his own findings in the case of insurance officers to Col. D. Y. Beckham, in charge of insurance in the Adjutant General's Office. The School had a very decided effect upon personnel work all through the Army. Although only 93 men were in attendance, yet the school influenced a very large number because each one went back and spread the "gospel" to many others. And these latter could not fail to take note of the subject when they were told that officers such as these had addressed them: Major General H. P. McCain, The Adjutant General. Major General R. Hutchison, Director of Organization, British Army. Brigadier General P. C. Harris, Adjutant General. Colonel E. T. Conley, General Staff. Lt. Colonel A. M. Ferguson, Adjutant General. Lt. Colonel D. Y. Beckham, Adjutant General. General Hutchison's speech was printed and several copies given to each student so that they might distribute them to best advantage in their camps. This speech accomplished a good deal in educating officers as to what personnel work meant as it very clearly pointed out how England had suf- fered through the mishandling of its personnel and how she TRAINING SCHOOLS FOR OFFICERS 475 was now endeavoring to make the most of what personnel was still available. The school also was of great help in building up a good morale among enlisted men in personnel offices as it clearly showed that capable enlisted men could be promoted and commissioned in personnel work. This was most desirable as many an enlisted man had been sent to a line Officers' Training Camp because the personnel officer did not feel he could stand in the way of his promotion although both the man and the officer felt it was a mistake not to keep him in per- sonnel work. Because of this change, gradually the policy developed of looking for officer material within the personnel office instead of outside. But clear to the end line officers who were good material were sent to the schools. Civilians of special qualifi- cations due to business experience were also included in the schools. Several of these developed into first class person- nel officers. SECOND TO TENTH PERSONNEL SCHOOLS When the school was planned there had been no thought of subsequent ones. But the success attained by the first school justified the continuance of the instruction with the result that ten others followed in quick succession. Only two schools could be scheduled a month as all per- sonnel officers and enlisted men were needed in the camps from the 25th of the month to about the 5th of the next month to handle the incoming selective-service men. The length of the schools also depended somewhat upon the situation. It was found, however, that about eight or nine days were necessary, else the many topics could not be covered satisfactorily. The program at the various schools changed to some extent. It was, of course, impossible to obtain as much talent away from Washington as there and in consequence the three in- structors carried more of the work in the second to the seventh schools than is indicated in the program given above. Local 476 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL officers were used to some extent, and in all but one school the camp commander opened or closed the school. The one excep- tion was due to the sudden orders to entrain received by the division in the camp with its resulting rush and confusion. The schools varied somewhat with respect to the emphasis placed upon the various topics. At Camp Bowie, there were in attendance a considerable number of personnel officers from Flying Fields and consequently, their particular prob- lems were discussed at some length. At the Camp Gordon School a new feature was introduced whereby some time was devoted toward the close of the school to conferences of candi- dates interested in a particular department of the Army. Coast Artillery officers here held several meetings in which many of their problems were considered. It was here under the leadership of Captain V. H. Henderson of the Depart- ment of Military Aeronautics that many of the plans for personnel work in that department were developed and very Attendance at Second to Tenth Schools. A.G.D. Other Enlisted Civilians Officers Officers Men May 12-17, Camp Bowie, Fort Worth Texas 8 67 10 May 20-25, Camp Gordon, Atlanta, Ga 6 37 20 June 7-13, Camp Grant, Rockford, 111 13 43 63 June 17-21, Camp Lewis, Tacoma, Wash 4 10 46 July 5-12, Camp Kearney, San Diego, Calif 4 25 35 July 17-24, Camp Travis, San Antonio, Texas .... 8 85 86 Aug. 7-14. Camp Meigs, Washington, D. C 15 52 15 8 Aug. 20-28, 'Camp Meigs, Washington, D. C 4 17 56 4 Sept. 3-11, Camp Meigs, Washington, D. C 2 43 39 14 TRAINING SCHOOLS FOR OFFICERS 477 shortly after put into operation. In the same way at the Camp Grant School, Captain C. D. Burnham shaped up plans for personnel work in the Ordnance Department. These conferences thus accomplished a considerable amount of good by affording an opportunity to the men actually in the field to make recommendations as to how the work could be improved and also to emphasize the factors most injurious to their work. The instructors forwarded their final reports to officers in Washington who were in a position to act. At the Camp Lewis School, a new problem was encountered. How should personnel work be carried on in the Spruce Pro- duction Division? A working plan was mapped out at the school. But nothing very much ever became of it due to the relative weakness of the personnel officers in the division and the lack of interest in the subject by their superior officers. The division probably contained at the signing of the Armis- tice, a greater proportion than in any other unit of improperly placed men from the standpoint of the needs of the entire Army. The small delegation of coast artillery officers at the Camp Kearney School prepared a brief statement as to the difficulties of accomplishing good personnel work because of the lack of orders from the Chief of Coast Artillery. The instructors en- larged the report to include data obtained from other schools and forwarded it to Washington. After some delay, changes were made by the Chief of Coast Artillery, which resulted in the development of the best personnel organization in any Staff Corps. At the Camp Travis School, there were in attendance about thirty officers and enlisted men from Kelly Field and other nearby fields of the Department of Military Aeronautics. This group went over the personnel situation at Kelly Field very carefully with the result that during the next few months many excellent improvements were made in its organ- ization and operation. There were in attendance at this school a large number of 478 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL regimental personnel officers from regiments stationed along the border. When they returned to their units they introduced personnel work in many cases with much success. The above notes have been included here as they bring out the point that much of the benefit of the schools lay in the opportunity they afforded men in the field to get together and intelligently plan their work. Their recommendations were also in many cases put into operation after they had been forwarded to Washington. THE ELEVENTH SCHOOL AT CAMP SHERMAN The school at Camp Sherman marks a decided change in the method of selecting candidates and of conducting the school. Although the first ten schools were conducted primarily to develop new officers in personnel work they had drifted really into merely training the present force and into serv- ing as a clearing house for plans concerning the work. They undoubtedly accomplished a very great deal toward the rapid development of personnel work in the country. But at the close of the tenth school the demand for new and capable officers was still far in excess of the supply, and it was urgently necessary that this shortage be eliminated. The Camp Sherman School was accordingly planned to meet this situation. The Need for More Personnel Officers. On September 28, 1918, the estimated need for additional officers was as follows: To fill 40 new divisions with 2 officers each 80 To replace losses in Personnel Officers of all kinds in America 70 Probable demand from overseas 30 Personnel Officers for Trade Test work 70 Miscellaneous to be trained on request from various War Department Offices 50 Total next 9 months 800 To deliver 300 graduates it will be necessary to school at least three hundred fifty. TRAINING SCHOOLS FOR OFFICERS 479 The Source of Supply was outlined in this way: 1. Exceptional enlisted men now engaged in personnel work and definitely recommended and guaranteed by their respective personnel officers. (The main source.) 2. Civilians recruited from .civil life by Procurement Branch of General Staff. 3. Unusually able drafted men just entering limited serv- ice camps, selected and recommended by personnel officers. 4. S. A. T. C. men, either students or faculty members, carefully selected and assigned to the personnel school in the same way as candidate officers will be selected for other officer schools. 6. Personnel officers now acting for the S. A. T. C. that deserve a larger outlet for their abilities. 6. Those officer candidates now in O. T. C.'s, formerly in personnel work and definitely recommended by their former personnel officers. Selection of Candidates. Although the best results had been obtained in selecting candidates through personal conferences with them before ordering them to a school as was the case with the first Camp Meigs School, this method largely fell into disuse due to the rush of other matters and the shortage of supervisors who could give their time to it. In conse- quence, most candidates were selected on the basis of such an order as this: "Send your division personnel officer and one of his assistants and in addition two officers or enlisted men deemed fitted for personnel work. The men selected for this instruction should be of first-class material as if they make good they will eventually be promoted to the grades of captain and possible major." But such orders did not bring to the school very many first- class men outside of those already in personnel work, and too often weak men not fitted for anything but clerical work were sent. Such were all right, possibly, as non-commissioned officers, but they could not qualify as officers who had to administer as much work as was centralized in a personnel office. 480 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL In consequence, it was decided that all candidates for the Camp Sherman School should be certified as good material by the camp personnel officer. There follows the instruc- tions sent out on this subject: September 26, 1918. 1. Early last spring when divisions began moving overseas it be- came immediately necessary to provide a large number of trained personnel officers to handle the camps and to fit up new divisions, staff corps, and the like. 2. To this end a number of hand picked men were sent to Camp Meigs for instruction in the first school for Personnel Officers, from which was graduated a considerable number of personnel officers who have since shown marked success in their work. 3. Following upon this a series of schools was held throughout the country to which a number of officers and men were sent by various camp and division commanders with the net result that there are today in America a considerable number of men who have been well schooled in the general principles of Personnel Work. 4. However, since the majority of these officers and men are already detailed to specific duties in their respective camps, the total avail- able trained material is altogether inadequate to meet the present or future demands for Personnel Officers. It, therefore, becomes neces- sary to now set up a central school to which carefully chosen can- didates are to be sent for training in Personnel work, after which they are to be assigned wherever they may be needed in the Army. 5. The responsibility of selecting candidates for this school is to be placed squarely upon the shoulders of the Personnel Officer, since he is the man most interested in securing competent and well trained assistants and successors when opportunity presents itself for pro- motion. 6. You will, therefore, direct your Camp Personnel Officer to select, interview and recommend a number of officers and enlisted men of officer material to attend the next school, which begins at Camp Sherman on October 10 and which will last for a period of one month. In making these selections we hope that it will be borne in mind that the weeding out should be done before the school in- stead of afterwards, and that this school will be expected to turn out 85 per cent of the number in attendance as acceptable Personnel Officers. 7. In making his selections your Personnel Officer will bear these requisites in mind: TRAINING SCHOOLS FOR OFFICERS 481 Appearance Sufficiently good to impress superiors and to command the attention and respect of subor- dinates. Personality Sufficiently forceful, tactful and kindly to insure the fullest measure of co-operation from supe- riors as well as from subordinates. Physically Strong enough to withstand the wear of long hours and tedious work. Limited Service men acceptable. Previous Experience Of such a character as will make for attention to detail, ability to give instruction, and above all to organize and properly direct the efforts of subordinates. Intelligence Keenly alert and resourceful. High School train- ing or better. "B" intelligence or better. Interest A spontaneous eagerness for Personnel Work. 8. When he has sorted out the men who amply fulfill these basic requirements he will interview them and send a card (Form CCP- 1110 for each man that he thinks will be acceptable, to the Director of the Personnel School, Room 528, State War and Navy Building, so that the Director can anticipate his probable future supply and order in a sufficient number of candidates to fill the first school. 9. On each applicant's card will be attached one of the rider sheets enclosed with this letter on which the Personnel Officer will check his appraisal of each man under each of the items on the sheet. In making his comparisons he will select an average Lieutenant now satisfactorily doing Personnel work, and check the nominee against him as being better, equal, or poorer than the average successful Lieutenant. 10. It is suggested that the Personnel Officer seek his material among the successful men in his office, both enlisted and commis- sioned, and also among candidates about to be graduated from the Officer's Training School in your camp, and from any other similar source that you deem reliable. 11. The men selected should be viewed with an eye to their abilities for Personnel work and since they are not to be used on such work as insurance, enlistment, etc., men primarily valuable to these lines of work should not be considered for nomination to the school. 12. Previous experience in Personnel work is, however, not so desirable as potentiality for development into Personnel Officers of large calibre, consequently nominees will be viewed as to their capac- ity to deserve a captain's rank within the next year. 482 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL Name of Candidate. Station Physical Impressive general appearance Facial appearance Energy (punch) Intelligence Alertness Accuracy Intelligence Test Leadership Self Reliance Initiative Decisiveness Tact Ability to direct Personal Qualities Ability to co-operate Unselfishness Likeableness Readiness to shoulder responsibility Value to Personnel Service Industriousness Ability to deal with Commanding Officers Good judgment Ability to plan Ability to teach Ability to organize Ability to work with details Ability to judge ability Knowledge and ability in Personnel work a 4) ej u be ^q be 03 5 s nj !-. ^ (- 4) o C REMARKS TRAINING SCHOOLS FOR OFFICERS 483 Is the Candidate now ready for the rank of at least 1st Lieutenant? Yes. No. What rank can he deserve within one year from now? How many months has the candidate been engaged in army personnel work? Signed Candidates were in this way carefully selected by per- sonnel officers who knew them. Their records and ratings were then reviewed by officers at Washington and the best men selected for the school. This procedure gave the best results obtained for any school, as the candidates were of a very high class. Statistically they can be described as follows: Commissioned officers 13 Sergeants major 16 Sergeants 13 Corporals 1 Privates 15 Civilians 2 Total 60 Average age 27 years, 4 months. Average length of service 6 months, 21 days. Number of men with college education (degrees) ... 20 Number of men with some college education 18 Number of men with no college education 22 All had an intelligence rating of "A" or "B". Experience led to certain changes, and the letter to Com- manding Officers of October 28th, calling for nominations for the 12th school emphasized these new points: (1) Sev- eral personnel officers had clearly not grasped the fact that first class men were needed, but instead had recommended many very faithful enlisted men with the idea of getting them commissions. In order to eliminate this factor to a still 484 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL greater degree it was specified that "the cards for the candi- dates will be held pending the coming of a personnel super- visor who is charged with concurring or not concurring with your personnel officer in his selections. The cards of those men in whose nominations he concurs will then be sent to Washington." (2) "Photographs of the candidates will in each case be attached to the qualification cards as prescribed, and the letter of transmittal will list the names of the candi- dates nominated in the order of preference as agreed on between the personnel officer and the personnel supervisor." (3) Renewed emphasis was placed upon the need for men of large calibre by calling for men "who will merit at least the rank of Captain within three months from graduation" instead of "within a year." Selecting candidates from many camps is a very difficult task. The above details have been ennumerated here as it is believed they are as near "fool proof" as it is possible to make them. Due to the influenza epidemic and the quarantine at Camp Sherman, the school did not open until October 23rd. It continued until November 19, eight days after the signing of the Armistice. In consequence none of the students were commissioned or transferred to the Adjutant General's De- partment, but many were used after the close of the school in the operations incident to demobilizing the Army. The program of the school differed in many respects very markedly from that of the first ten schools. In the first place, due to the expected separation of personnel work from ad- jutant's work (see Chapter 22) it was specified that candi- dates particularly fitted for the latter kind of work should not be sent. And consequently much less attention was given to insurance, allotments, handling of A. G. O. forms incident to receiving men into camp, etc. In the second place, con- siderable time was devoted to infantry drill, setting up exer- cises, military courtesy, etc. The daily schedule follows: TRAINING SCHOOLS FOR OFFICERS 485 Reveille, 1st call (i.OO A. M. Reveille 6.10 A. M. Assembly 6.15 A. M. Mess Call 6.30 A. M. Sick Call 7.20 A. M. Calisthenics 7.25 7.55 A. M. 1st Period Lecture 8.00 8.50 A. M. 2nd Period Lecture 8.50 9.40 A. M. Hrcl Period Drill 9.4010.40 A. M. 4th Period Lecture 10.4011.30 A. M. Mess 12 M. Roll Call 1.001.05 P. M. 5th Period Lecture 1.051.55 P. M. 6th Period Lecture 1.552.45 P. M. 7th Period Drill 2.454.15 P. M. 8th Period Lecture 4.155.05 P. M. Retreat 5.15 P. M. Study Period 7.009.00 P. M. The course of study aimed to make each student familiar with the duties of the personnel office, and to acquaint him with the duties of most of the officers with whom he would constantly be dealing, such as a Company Commander, the Adjutant, the Assistant Adjutant, who would be charged with insurance, allotments, receiving men into camp, etc., the Camp Surgeon, the Psychological Examiner, the Camp Quarter- master, the Chief of Staff, and the Camp Commander. Be- sides these instruction was given upon general military mat- ters, such as for example, kinds of orders ; pay, mileage, transportation and quarters; correspondence and filing; courts martial and articles of war, etc. Naturally greater emphasis was placed upon interviewing men, classifying them, trade- testing, assigning them to organizations and preparation of CCP forms than any other duties. The instructional staff consisted of: Major Chas. L. Abel, Camp Personnel Officer, in charge. Lieut. G. C. Kirk, Senior Instructor. Lieut. H. S. Lytle, Assistant Instructor. 486 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL Captain S. R. Jenkins, Military Instructor. Lieut. Thomas Lindley, Assistant Instructor. A number of other officers stationed at Camp Sherman lec- tured on their own work. Dr. Strong and Mr. Weisiger, stationed at Washington, were in general charge of the train- ing program. PERSONNEL SCHOOLS FOR TRAINING S. A. T. C. PERSONNEL ADJUTANTS Shortly before the opening of the S. A. T. C. units in colleges throughout the country, it was realized that personnel adjutants would be needed in each unit to handle the induc- tion papers, insurance and allotments, and such classification of students as would be subsequently called for. There were in session at that time three schools for training line officers for these S. A. T. C. units and it was decided to retain cer- tain of these students for a post-graduate course in the work of a personnel adjutant. In consequence the following officers and civilian members or associates of the Committee on Classi- fication of Personnel were assigned to this duty. 1. Students' Army Training Corps Camp, Plattsburg, N. Y. Mr. Kendall Weisiger, in charge. Major Warren Bigelow, Personnel Adjutant, Camp Custer. 1st Lieut. C. F. Donnelly, Insurance Officer, Camp Wadsworth. 2. Students' Army Training Corps Camp, Ft. Sheridan, Ills. Mr. J. J. Coss, in charge. Major A. I. Moriarty, Personnel Adjutant, Camp Pike. 1st Lieut. H. B. Vanderblue, Insurance Officer, Camp Grant. TRAINING SCHOOLS FOR OFFICERS 487 3. Students' Army Training Corps Camp, Presidio of San Francisco. Mr. Arthur J. Turner, in charge. Major R. M. Alton, Personnel Adjutant, 8th Divi- sion. Captain R. G. Bowman, Personnel Adjutant, 16th Division. Captain E. R. Perry, Assistant Personnel Adjutant, Camp Lewis. The three schools were opened on September 10th, 1918, and continued for 8 days. There were in attendance at the three schools, respectively, 167 men at Plattsburg, 325 men at Ft. Sheridan, and 60 men at the Presidio of San Fran- cisco. These men were all carefully selected, largely on the basis of personal interviews by the instructors who devoted two to three days to this work prior to the opening of the special schools. On the basis of their recommendation 152 men were commissioned 2nd lieutenants at Plattsburg and assigned to S. A. T. C. units in that section of the country. Similarly 295 men were commissioned at Ft. Sheridan and 60 men at the Presidio. A standard program was prepared at Washington and sup- plied each school with the understanding that it be adapted to local conditions. In general, it followed the lines of the program of the first ten personnel schools. The candidates were also finally recommended according to the methods used in those schools; due weight being given to grades in written examinations, intelligence rating and personal inter- view. The candidates were composed of both college instructors and students from various colleges having the R. O. T. C. In placing the graduates, an instructor might be returned to his own institution, but the "students" were in every case sent to some institution other than the one they had attended because of their comparative youth (averaging 19 years) and the consequent likelihood of a depreciation of their ability by their former instructors and classmates. The best men 488 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL were assigned to the largest and most important positions allowing each his own preference as far as possible. TRAINING SCHOOL FOR TRADE TEST OFFICERS Chapter 30 describes the work carried on at Newark in training officers and enlisted men in trade test work. PERSONNEL SCHOOLS WITHIN PERSONNEL OFFICES In order to secure greater efficiency in the work of the personnel office, particularly in such matters as interview- ing, a number of the camps found it advisable to organize local personnel schools. All the enlisted men in the office were required to attend these schools and were there given instruction in the different phases of the work. One personnel officer described what he was planning to do in these words: "I intend to give a series of talks to our two hundred men, covering all subjects pertaining to the induction of drafted men, in the making of their records, insurance, allotments and the purpose of the work. I will probably have each of my officers give a half or three-quar- ters of an hour talk and then have one-half hour discus- sion on each subject, so that the men in the various depart- ments will not only know something of the work in their own department, but in every other department. The discussion may bring out talent which might be lost sight of at the present time." Another officer reported this program which he inaugurated after a Personnel School had been in his camp. "The men take exercise from 7:00 to 7:30 each morning. From 7:30 to 8 :00, during the receiving of the draft, we have 'get-together' meetings in which points which have arisen the previous day are discussed and methods which tend to efficiency are out- lined. In this manner the men who were unable to go to the Personnel School are being instructed and their work is showing material improvement. During the slack period be- TRAINING SCHOOLS FOR OFFICERS 489 tween drafts, these meetings are being held from 7 :30 to 8 :30, and I have invited the personnel officers of the st and th Infantry Regiments to attend and thus will be able to instruct them in personnel work, on which at present they have a rather vague understanding. Either myself or Lieut. P. are present at each of these meetings." In addition to such instruction, in many camps during the lull period between drafts parties of enlisted men were allowed to visit industrial plants in the neighboring cities and thus became familiar with the duties of many kinds of workmen. This enabled them to interview such workmen as they appeared in the draft with much greater efficiency. And it also raised the morale within the personnel office very materially. TRAINING SCHOOL FOR TRANSPORT PERSONNEL ADJUTANTS In order to expedite the handling of personnel records of returning officers and enlisted men, personnel adjutants were assigned to transports. Eighty-one officers were given a thorough course of instruction in their duties commencing on January 9, 1919. This consisted of three days of lectures by officers most familiar with the various phases of the work, followed by practical instruction in debarkation work. After the officers had shown that they thoroughly under- stood their duties they were assigned to transports. The school was under the direction of Major J. Perry Moore, Personnel Adjutant, Port of Embarkation, Hoboken, New Jersey. Topics, such as the following were presented: General purpose and duties of Transport Personnel Adju- tants; debarkation regulations, co-ordination of debarkation departments; preparation of passenger lists, landing returns, individual records; forms required for sick, wounded and convalescents, and method of tagging and debarking sick and wounded; etc. 490 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL CONCLUSION The training program outlined above accomplished many things. Among others, it educated many officers and en- listed men so that they were fitted for responsible posi- tions in personnel work. It standardized procedure in the camps throughout the country in a way which could not be ac- complished otherwise. And it so stimulated both officers and enlisted men and made them feel that they belonged to a big and very much worth while branch of the Army, that they threw themselves into the work with a great deal of enthus- iasm. It also showed them how personnel work in their particular kind of a camp, staff corps, etc., fitted into the general plan for the whole Army and thus lifted them out of a purely local and sometimes selfish utilization of personnel. CHAPTER 39 HISTORY OF THE WAR SERVICE EXCHANGE ORGANIZATION OF WAR SERVICE EXCHANGE Early in the expansion of the War Department it became apparent that a definite liaison between the Department of Labor, representing industry, and the War Department, representing the Army, should be established. On December 31, 1917, The Adjutant General addressed a memorandum to the Chief of Staff suggesting that it would be "very ad- visable to establish closer and regular relations with the De- partment of Labor," and recommending "that the Department of Labor be requested to designate a representative on its part who shall be authorized to deal with this office and the War Department generally." The problem of labor supply had already occupied the at- tention of the Committee on Classification of Personnel in the Army. The recommendation was therefore made to the Chief of Staff that an officer be assigned to the Committee "to act in conjunction with the Committee and to cooperate especially with the Department of Labor." An interchange of notes and preliminary conferences showed that all parties concerned were of one opinion, and on January 18, 1918, less than three weeks from the date of the initial note, The Adju- tant General issued the following announcement on behalf of the War Department: "Subject: Establshment of War Service Exchange. "1. There has been established as part of this office an organization to deal with offers of service to the War De- partment and to supply men for special purposes in the Army. This will be known as the War Service Exchange. "2. The functions of the War Service Exchange will be 491 492 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL (a) to answer inquiries, written and verbal, of persons desiring to serve in the Army; (b) to keep informed of the needs of the various branches of the service as to personnel and to direct suitable persons as to where and how to apply; (c) to cooperate with the Department of Labor and other useful agencies in locating and supplying men needed for special purposes by various branches of the service. "3. It is emphasized that the purpose of the new organi- zation is not to supersede or to interfere with the Personnel work of the Staff Departments, but to supplement their work and to cooperate with them to the fullest extent. "4. The War Service Exchange will be located at Room 528, War Department, telephone, Branch 54. "5. It is requested that all Staff Departments cooperate in making the War Service Exchange of the greatest pos- sible assistance to themselves and to the service as a whole." This announcement contained no provision for funds. The new organization was to be financed by the Committee on Classification of Personnel, which was rapidly outgrowing its budget. Furthermore, the announcement merely requested "that all Staff Departments cooperate in making the War Service Exchange of the greatest possible assistance to them- selves and to the service as a whole." There was no specific authority requiring departments to route all tenders of serv- ice through the new organization, or to consider or report on offers received from it. Nevertheless, the War Service Exchange opened its office in Room 530, State, War and Navy Building, and proceeded to consider policies and methods. Mr. Winslow Russell was placed in charge. Associated with him at the start were Major E. N. Sanctuary (the officer assigned to the Com- mittee to cooperate with the Department of Labor), Mr. John J. Coss, Mr. Hugh F. Magee, and two stenographers. During the previous summer Mr. Coss in the employ of the Committee on Public Information had prepared a book de- signed to aid volunteers to find the place of their greatest use- fulness in Government work. It was natural for the Com- WAR SERVICE EXCHANGE 493 mittee to secure his services in this connection since he had already made the necessary contact with all the various Gov- ernment Departments in securing the information required to compile the book. It was immediately evident that so small a force as four men could not hope to more than scratch the surface of the work outlined in The Adjutant General's state- ment. In consequence the force was gradually but steadily increased. Those who played more important roles were Mr. Carl W. Jones and Mr. Stanley Roth ; Mr. Jones in connec- tion with recruiting campaigns referred to later, and Mr. Roth in connection with plans for a centralized personnel organization. Investigating the Needs of the Staff Corps. Since answer- ing inquiries and cooperating with the Department of Labor were functions pertaining to supply of man-power, it was obviously necessary to become familiar with the immediate demands for man-power as expressed in the needs of the Staff Corps. Interviews with the personnel chiefs civilian, enlisted and commissioned showed at once the need for such a clearing-house for personnel matters as was now offered in the War Service Exchange. They also showed that not only tens of thousands of men were needed immediately, but that many needs could not be filled from the draft, since the Staff Corps called for specialists with the technical and scientific training not possessed, because of youth, by the aver- age drafted man. The Information Blank. There was immediate need, in the first place, for a common medium of exchange between the applicant, the Staff Corps, and the War Service Ex- change. To satisfy this need, a form was drawn up, called the Information Blank, which gave the draft classification required by The Adjutant General's Office, and the personal qualifications, training and experience record of the appli- cant. The Staff Corps man-power needs most difficult to meet were largely for officer material, either men who could be commissioned direct from civil life or sent to a training 494 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL camp to compete for a commission. The Information Blank had to be detailed and specific, to insure that the selected Blanks finally submitted to a Corps would be those of appli- cants most likely to qualify. War Department Telephone Directory. The second im- portant discovery made in the first day's research was the necessity for a War Department directory of telephones, personnel, and departments. There was no one War Depart- ment telephone exchange serving all departments, but sev- eral exchanges heavily overloaded and burdened with infor- mation calls. Locations and telephone numbers were con- stantly changing. Furthermore, there was no way of visualiz- ing the various departments of the War Department, their sub-divisions, functions, personnel, and locations. Since it was a function of the War Service Exchange to "keep in- formed of the needs of the various branches of the service as to personnel," the compilation of a Directory was within the Exchange's powers and would serve the twofold pur- pose of getting acquainted with the organization of the War Department and helping solve a critical problem of com- munication. The Secretary of War granted permission for the project. The first Military Telephone Directory was put into circulation on February 15, just a month after the War Service Exchange was created. The Directory gave the func- tions, personnel, addresses, and telephone numbers of every Department, Bureau, Section, Branch and Unit in the War Department. There were two divisions of the Directory, the Alphabetical and the Classified Sections. Owing to con- stant changes the Directory remained up-to-date for only a few weeks, but it relieved to a large extent the desperate telephone confusion existing and it familiarized the War Serv- ice Exchange with the organization and functions of the more than four hundred working units of the War Depart- ment. The Exchange compiled the first two issues of the Direc- WAR SERVICE EXCHANGE 495 tory, thereafter turning over the revising to the Director of Military Telephones. Sources of Personnel Supply. The War Service Exchange, turning to the actual work of meeting demands for men, found it was able to fill requirements from four sources: (1) from written offers of services, (2) from personal calls of applicants, (3) from the reserve files in the Corps them- selves, (4) from applications instigated by organized re- cruiting campaigns. HANDLING CORRESPONDENCE FROM APPLICANTS FOR WAR WORK The first task demanding attention was to answer an accumulation of many hundreds of letters to which The Adjutant General's Office had been unable to give attention. In order to answer the correspondence as expeditously as possible the following policy was planned: From this mis- cellaneous assortment of letters, those should be selected which indicated that their writers were or might be of value to the Army in commissioned, enlisted or civilian capacity. Only such persons should receive Information Blanks. Form letters should be used to answer all but special cases. In short, decision was made that a quality standard should be maintained. Information Blanks were issued and returned to the War Service Exchange in franked envelopes. They were con- sidered carefully by a classifier, who classified them accord- ing to best usefulness, employing the Committee on Classifi- cation of Personnel occupational classification (CCP-4) with its symbols. The Blanks were filed, after -classification, with pertinent correspondence enclosed in them, in an In- formation Blank file which was indexed according to draft status and symbol number. When, for instance, the Ordnance issued a call for mechanics, the Information Blank files were consulted. If gear cutter operators were requested, the draft age files were referred to under the classification "6 ge," and 496 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL the Blanks so filed were charged and submitted to the Ordnance personnel officer. If the call was for mechanical engineers, highly trained men were obviously needed and the "Over draft" files were consulted under the Occupational Classification "6 me." Information Blanks were submitted in person by a member of the War Service Exchange and each applicant's qualifications discussed with the personnel officer. Accepted blanks were charged off the files and re- jected blanks were returned to the files subject to further call. The corps personnel officer sent to the author of each accepted blank further inquiry as to qualifications, or a request to report for personal examination either to Washing- ton or to the nearest camp or city Corps representative. The occupational file, cross-indexed on cards for applicant's name, was kept "live" by circularization every two months. A return post card was sent to each man whose Information Blank was on file, asking whether or not his services were still available. If the post card was not returned inside of two weeks, the Information Blank was considered "dead" and was removed from the file. Thus, the War Service Ex- change file had the two valuable assets of being built origin- ally on a quality standard and then being kept up-to-date. Throughout eleven months of work, the average percentage of applicants who received Information Blanks was about 20%, the variation from this average, as shown by the weekly reports on correspondence, being small. Because of the periodic circularization and the insistent demand of the various Staff Departments for high-grade men, the War Service Ex- change files were kept free from "dead" material and had a high turnover. Congressional correspondence was heavy and was handled separately. It was not desirable to answer congressional in- quiries and recommendations with form letters, and a special correspondent was delegated by The Adjutant General to reply to congressional letters. The Exchange was the only central congressional service bureau in the War Department. WAR SERVICE EXCHANGE 497 Personal interviews required mueh attention. Men from all over the country were coming to the War Department to offer their services. Few of them knew where to go or what to do. To these the War Service Exchange served as an information bureau and routing agency. The Exchange de- termined not to attempt to pass final judgment on the quali- fications of any applicant, but rather to route applicants to the proper places in the War Department, permitting the Staff Sections and Departments to pass their own final judg- ment on qualifications. It did serve as a preliminary "weeder out," eliminating men obviously unqualified to serve in capaci- ties such as they desired. Two members of the Exchange de- voted their entire time to this interviewing, but during the busy hours of the day, four and even six of its members were needed to serve the growing number of applicants. By April 1, an average of 1,000 personal interviews a month were held. Many technical experts and highly qualified professional men who came to Washington to tender their services to the Gov- ernment were, through the War Service Exchange, directed to the service in which they could be most useful. The reserve files in the Corps themselves provided still an- other source for filling calls. The Exchange was often able to transfer reserve or useless applications held in one Corps to another Corps requiring applicants with these qualifications. Also, the Storage and Traffic Committee of the Shipping Board had a carefully selected reserve file of applications, which was generously offered to the Exchange by Mr. Robert List a"nd was used profitably. ENLARGEMENT OF WAR SERVICE EXCHANGE ACTIVITIES Development of Contact With Staff Corps and Departments. The members of the Exchange soon discovered that enough demands for highly specialized personnel could be found in one week to require for their satisfaction a very large recruit- ing force working constantly for many months. Even though 498 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL by the first of April the War Service Exchange was receiv- ing an average of 10,000 written and 1,200 personal offers of service a month, the amount of desirable material approx- imately 20% was small as compared with the War Depart- ment demand. The big problem, therefore, was to build some sort of field force distributed over the entire country, through which demand for men could be issued and answered. The need for specialists was so urgent that each Corps had set up its own recruiting machinery, determining for itself the number of men it would require, the method of recruiting and the amount of money to be spent. When a particular Corps was in the field recruiting types of men not required by another Corps, recruiting efforts were satisfactory, but more often two or more Corps were recruiting for the same type of men in the same localities at the same time. The War Service Exchange was the only organization in the War Department which was attempting to fill man-power require- ments impartially for the good of the service as a whole. Absorption of the Intercollegiate Intelligence' Bureau. The Exchange saw that a material service could be rendered the War Department if a single centralized and standardized National recruiting service were substituted for the many com- peting and wasteful services of all the various Corps. A working alliance was formed with the Associated Engineering Societies, the Public Service Reserve and similar organizations. On April 15, the Exchange absorbed the Intercollegiate Intelligence Bureau, which had maintained in 150 colleges volunteer representatives for recruiting college men. Cooperation With the Military Training Camps Associa- tion. A closer relationship was also established at this time with the Military Training Camps Association, which had established volunteer recruiting and information offices in most of the larger cities of the country. This Association had done valuable work in recruiting for the first officers' training camps and could concentrate all its energies on the work be- cause it had no other interests besides that of securing WAR SERVICE EXCHANGE 499 specialists for the service. It seemed, therefore, to be the logical organization to represent the War Service Exchange throughout the country. The Secretary of War was asked to grant permission to The Adjutant General to issue Civilian Aid Certificates to recruiting representatives of the Exchange. This permission was granted and most of the certificates were given to members of the Military Training Camps Associa- tion as acknowledgment of their services to the War Depart- ment. A report was issued to the field representatives weekly, listing the number of men required, with specifications of each need as received from the various corps. The field rep- resentatives could thus recruit to better purpose, since they knew both the type and number of men wanted. On urgent calls, information was telegraphed to the representatives and the names and addresses of interviewed applicants were wired back. PLANS FOR A CENTRALIZED PERSONNEL ORGANIZATION The Exchange considered that it was rendering valuable service to the Corps, but that this service was spasmodic. No definite responsibility could be placed upon the Exchange because it was serving in the capacity of a charitable institu- tion and had no direct central control over any of the channels by which men could enter the service. Despite its strategic location in the War Department Building and its close liaison with the Committee on Classification of Personnel, the Ex- change had long felt its inability, because of the inadequacy of its powers, to aid in more than a small measure to solve the growing problems of Staff Corps personnel supply. Close contact with all of the Corps had given to its members a thorough knowledge of the various personnel problems and programs, which was probably possessed by but few bodies in Washington at this time. It appeared that each Corps was endeavoring to work out its own destiny independent of the 500 PI I STORY OF PERSONNEL other Corps, and that such a policy could not promise success because it involved competing effort in recruiting. The Exchange determined therefore to analyze the prob- lem of personnel procurement and to draw up a plan for centralized procedure, a plan which would incorporate all of the fundamental principles on which a program of centrali- zation would need to be carried out, but embody no specific reference to particular organizations or individuals. Sum- mary of the plan follows: Status of Demand Centralization Within War Department. Each Staff Corps had at that time a central personnel division, located in Washington, with commissioned, enlisted and civilian branches. Each of these personnel divisions knew the de- mand for men from the requisitions issued to it by the vari- ous sections in the Corps. How to Centralize. Demand From All Corps. One person- nel supply organization serving all Staff Corps should receive periodically from the Corps Personnel Chief inventory of man-power needs. Such inventory should be submitted on standard form in standard terminology, giving full specifica- tions for each need. An instruction book, brief and concise with specimen forms, explaining the method of requisitioning, should be distributed to every section of every Corps. Reserve applications on file by thousands in every Corps should be filed with the Centralized Organization so that available applicants might be accepted at once to fill needs in other Corps. Centralized Personnel Organization Would Serve Demand and Supply for the Army Through'. 1. Department Managers. 2. Priorities and Policy Board. 3. Supply Managers. 4. Traveling Supervisors. 5. District and Branch Managers. WAR SERVICE EXCHANGE 501 The Department Manager. Each Staff Corps would select an officer to be transferred to the Centralized Personnel Organization who would have charge of and be responsible for the service of the Centralized Organization to that Staff Corps. This officer should be intimately familiar with the internal organization of his Corps and with the types of men required. The duties of the Department Manager would be as follows : a. To see that requisitions, stated in prescribed form with required specifications, came through promptly from his Corps. b. To see that men selected to fill requisitions met speci- fications. c. To keep accurate record on each application submitted, as to acceptance or rejection of the applicant by the Corps Section. d. To check the status of requisitions daily. e. To consult the Supply Manager and Supervisors about requisitions which warranted special action in the supply field, such as emergency calls for large units of men or for exceptional individual talent. f. To present complete statements of his Staff Corps needs to the Priorities and Policy Board. The Priorities and Policy Board, Duties: a. To confer with the particular Department Managers concerned and determine apportionment, whenever the de- mand from two or more corps for a specific type of man exceeded the supply. b. To balance demand and supply and determine on ac- tion to be taken. c. To determine general policy, plan recruiting cam- paigns, and exercise executive functions. The Supply Manager. Duties: a. To keep accurate records of the supply sources in each occupation on the basis of reports submitted by the District Managers. b. To keep a running inventory on the available reserve in the files of the District Managers. c. To advise the Priorities and Policy Board where to go for supply and what methods to use in procuring it. 502 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL d. To transmit requisitions to the District Managers. e. To instruct the Supervisors. The Supervisor. Duties: a. To inspect the machinery in the field and insure its operation according to the policy determined by the Priori- ties and Policy Board and the Supply Manager. b. To oversee three or four field districts. The District Manager. The active recruiting work would be delegated to twelve District Managers, each administering a geographical District. Zonal organization with central control would be prefer- able to complete centralization: a. Because of the size of the country it would not be possible effectively to issue, record and route the necessary correspondence, applications and orders from a single Washington office. b. District concentration would make possible intensive cultivation of supply sources. c. The presence of district assembly points would make possible personal interviews at a minimum loss of time and money. d. Desirable appointees to District Managerships would be men living in the district and thoroughly familiar with the commercial and occupational make-up. Functions of the District Manager: a. To answer inquiries, written and verbal, of persons desiring to serve in the Army. b. To maintain a high quality standard in the applica- tions on file through discrimination in sending out informa- tion blanks. c. To classify all information blanks and file them by occupations. d. To keep files "live" through periodic circularization of applicants. e. To maintain an interviewing staff to deal with personal inquiries. f. To co-operate with the Department of Labor and other useful agencies in locating men requisitioned by the Supply Manager. WAR SERVICE EXCHANGE 503 g. To furnish complete information concerning applicants to the Supply Manager, and through him to the Department Managers, and to cooperate with representatives of the various Corps in arranging interviews, with applicants. Operating Instructions for District Manager. The District Managers should first concentrate on investigating the sup- ply of exceptionally rare or valuable specialists, and should submit reports of investigations to the Supply Manager, Washington. Second, he should establish points of contact: (a) with labor organizations, labor groups and societies of skilled work- men, engineers and technical experts; (b) with commercial and business organizations and manufacturers ; (c) with uni- versities and colleges, technical and trade schools; and (d) with trade journals, house organs, newspapers, periodicals and other publications. District Managers should attempt rather to establish the maximum number of points of con- tact than to accumulate large numbers of individual applica- tions. Only limited reserves of applications to meet emer- gency demands should be encouraged. General Policy of the Centralized Personnel Organization. The Centralized Personnel Organization would be an assembl- ing and directing and not a selecting organization. The final selection would be made by the branch of the Corps requisitioning the men. Selection would be made possible on two bases: (a) on the basis of comprehensive and concise applicants' information blanks ; and (b) on the basis of per- sonal interviews arranged by the District Manager in co- operation with individual officers or examining boards sent out over the Districts by the Staff Corps at designated inter- vals. Experience had demonstrated that personal interviews were advisable in selecting men for unusual or highly respon- sible positions, but that complete information blanks were practicable in selecting men for less important positions. 504 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL CENTRALIZATION OF PERSONNEL WORK IN THE GENERAL STAFF This plan was completed on May 17, and held ready for presentation through military channels. It was a coincidence, therefore, that on the previous day, May 16, the Inspector General had called a conference of department chiefs to dis- cuss the problems of personnel and inter-department wastes. In this conference there was an informal discussion of per- sonnel problems, with particular reference to co-ordination of effort among the various branches of the service, the desirabil- ity of a central personnel exchange and a chief of personnel for all war organizations. At a second conference, held the next week and attended by the personnel chiefs of all the Corps, it was resolved that each Corps should submit to the Inspector General a plan for the solution of the personnel problem. The plan of the War Service Exchange- was im- mediately submitted. June passed without word that any change in the person- nel organization was contemplated. As the calls from the Staff Corps were increasing it was advisable for the War Service Exchange to readjust its own organization to meet conditions. These readjustments, as far as possible, were in conformity with the plan for centralization, a policy, it was hoped,, which would demonstrate the practicability of the plan and secure its quicker adoption. Instead, therefore, of hav- ing several men from the War Service Exchange negotiating with each Staff Corps, it was decided to have one man as- signed exclusively to two or three corps, to be responsible for obtaining and filling requisitions for personnel in these Corps. The staff of the Exchange was divided into an interviewing and correspondence department, an office administrative de- partment, and demand and supply divisions. A personnel re- quisition Blank was issued to all personnel chiefs of the Corps, upon which all calls to the Exchange were to be submitted. This blank standardized the procedure and specifications WAR SERVICE EXCHANGE 505 necessary for obtaining men through the War Service Ex- change. Method of Obtaining Specialists. There were at this time three methods of obtaining specialists for the Staff Corps: (1) by allotment from the general draft, either directly to Staff Corps or to schools and from the schools to the Corps ; (2) by selective draft through the Provost Marshal General'a Office; (3) by individual voluntary induction through the War Service Exchange. The Committee on Education and Special Training controlled the issuance of all induction authority. In many instances this Committee decided that requisitions should be filled neither by allotment nor selective draft, but that the personnel officers of the various Staff Corps should have the exercise of their own discretion in choosing men to satisfy the needs. In these cases., the Committee referred the requisitions to the War Service Exchange. The second method, induction of specialists by selective draft through the Provost Marshal General, seemed ideal, and yet Staff Corps personnel officers complained of its lack of effectiveness. They maintained that a very low efficiency in the type of men was obta'ined. The reason for such quality dilution was apparent. The local draft boards in many cases were unable to secure complete and indisputable evidence con- cerning the qualifications of all of their draftees. Men who were about to be drafted desired as promising positions in the Army as possible, and accordingly stated to the local boards in their questionnaires what they wanted to be rather than what they were. The local boards were unable to elim- inate such misrepresentations, and so in filling requisitions by selective draft many misfits were assigned to the Staff Corps. The third method, individual voluntary induction, proved the most efficient. It operated with as high as ninety per- cent effectiveness, since the Staff Corps could take exactly the types of men they wanted and hence were satisfied. Even tho most satisfactory to the Corps, it had several objection- able features, from the general service standpoint. The Staff 506 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL Corps personnel officers desired the best men obtainable and quite naturally overlooked the interests of the other Corps who often were in greater need of these same men. Most of these officers endeavored to fill their units with experts, where in many instances semi-skilled men would have served as 'well, failing to realize that the utilization of none but ex- perts for present units would result in exhaustion of experts and a very much lower standard in future units to be or- ganized. Another objection to obtaining men by individual volun- tary induction was the placement of men fitted for general military service in positions for which men less well qualified physically could be used. Although the Committee on Educa- tion and Special Training had established control of this pro- cedure, many personnel officers, in the anxiety to obtain much-needed personnel, were selecting suitable applicants without regard to their physical abilities or inabilities. On the basis of these facts, specific recommendations seemed apparent. It was obvious that the determination of priority and general policy concerning personnel should be entrusted to an impartial body which would act for the best interests of the entire service and would not be restricted by partisan considerations. Such a body adjudicating all requisitions for enlisted personnel was already in existence in the Committee on Education and Special Training. This Committee was under the control of the Chief of Staff and included represent- atives of the General Staff, Adjutant General's office and the Provost Marshal General's office all impartial bodies con- cerned with personnel procedure. The fundamental principles underlying the methods of allotment and the selective draft seemed quite sound. Dis- satisfaction was occasioned by the incomplete operation of the two systems. If the service rendered by the Committee on Education and Special Training were intensified by in- creasing its personnel and assigning one officer to represent each Corps, and simultaneously the occupational classification WAR SERVICE EXCHANGE 507 work in the Provost Marshall General's office were improved, voluntary induction through the War Service Exchange, with the evils noted, could be eliminated with decided simplification in procedure and without in any way impairing the quality of the personnel obtained by the various Staff Corps. In June the Provost Marshal General issued an order discontinuing all inductions of Class One men until July 1st, and constituting the Provost Marshal General the only authority for issuing orders to the local boards, thus prevent- ing the Staff Corps from communicating with local boards on inductions. The induction of general service men for limited service positions was prohibited, a new and important limitation to induction. The War Service Exchange became, therefore, a recruiting agency for limited service men and officer material only and received induction authority only on requisition from the Provost Marshal General's office. The War Service Ex- change, as then organized, seemed destined to be a make- shift organization, serving the Staff Corps with special types of personnel until the Central Distributing Office, (which had taken over the central personnel control previously exercised by the Committee on Education and Special Training) the Provost Marshal General's office and the new officer's train- ing camps for civilians were functioning to full capacity. The War Service Exchange was duplicating some of the efforts of those more important organizations. The staff members of the Exchange, however, believed they possessed a substantial permanent contribution to offer the Army in their intimate knowledge of the personnel needs of the Staff Corps. This knowledge would make the Exchange useful (1) as an agency for centralizing and organizing Staff Corps personnel demands for a central personnel organiza- tion. (2) as an agency for assigning to the Staff Corps the rare specialists reported from the depot brigades and (8) as an agency for applying the selective draft to individual cases. The War Service Exchange had not relinquished the hope that 508 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL eventually centralization of personnel functions in the War Department would come. A closer co-operation, therefore, was sought with the Committee on Classification of Personnel with the suggestion that a central planning staff be established in the Committee to co-ordinate the numerous activities of the Committee, conduct outside research and recommend adjust- ments to The Adjutant General which would improve the per- sonnel system of the Army. . TWO SPECIAL RECRUITING CAMPAIGNS While the Exchange was thus considering the broader phases of organization and policy, it was also continuing its efforts to secure man-power scientifically. Besides routine work and many smaller campaigns, it conducted two major drives for specialists for Ordnance officers and for limited service men. Special Recruiting Campaign for the Ordnance Department. The Ordnance Department required 375 mechanics to be fur- nished within three weeks and 200 mechanics per month thereafter, for training and service as commissioned officers in division ammunition trains, mobile ordnance repair shops and motorized artillery regiments. Over half a million me- chanics were needeed for the various Army units at this time and many times that number for war industries. Difficulties were therefore anticipated. The War Service Exchange, in conjunction with the Military Training Camps Association, decided to issue a call for applicants from ten cities and, if the number and caliber of the applicants should prove en- couraging, to send out the Ordnance Officers' Examining Board for the final official examination. In just four weeks from the receipt of the requisition 1,011 applicants had been examined for mechanical and physical qualifications and 477 recom- mended for commissions as captains and lieutenants. Be- sides those recommended for commissions, many not accept- able as officer material signified a desire to serve as privates and were accepted for the Ordance schools. WAR SERVICE EXCHANGE 509 The Ordnance Department stated in acknowledgment to the Exchange, "It is believed that the standard of excellence in personnel secured upon these trips is higher than has been obtained heretofore and acknowledgment is made for the ex- cellent work done in carrying this endeavor to a successful conclusion. It is felt that the success of the work was assured by the careful and systematic management, and particularly by the work done in the several cities in advance of the meetings of the Ordnance Examining Board." Over a thousand applications were received too late for the official examination. These were submitted to fill a large re- quisition for the same types of men received from the newly formed Motor Transport Corps. The War Service Exchange believed it had demonstrated that zonal administration with centralized control was not only a practical but a most effec- tive method of serving recruiting needs of the Staff Corps. Special Campaign for Clerical Workers. Before the cam- paign for Ordnance officers was completed, the Exchange undertook another National drive for specialists. The Army was faced with the necessity of diluting its physical force with men whose minor defects, though disqualifying them for active field service, would not interfere with Staff work. Many physically perfect soldiers being used as clerks could be trans- ferred to line work if limited service men were inducted to replace them. The Exchange, therefore, undertook a recruiting campaign for 1,800 stenographers, accountants, clerks, chauffeurs and inspectors for limited service with the Staff Corps. A plan similar to that employed in the Ordnance campaign, with complete detailed instructions and assigned quotas, was issued to the representatives of the Military Training Camps Associ- tion in fifteen cities. Instructions sent to the branch repre- sentatives were completed to minute detail. Copy for news- paper articles was furnished giving specific information to the public, and trade tests for stenographers were used to insure a high percentage of acceptable applicants. Inductions 510 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL were handled completely by means of standardized written information. The Bureau of Aircraft Production reported that of 336 candidates for induction as accountants and in- spectors, 147 had been accepted, and that in addition over 400 other applicants had been offered voluntary induction through correspondence instigated by the War Service Exchange Campaign. The entire demand of the Bureau of Aircraft Production for accountants and inspectors had not only been met but oversupplied almost 100%. In all, over 1,000 of the 1,800 specialists required were furnished to the various corps. This was considered by the corps as a remarkable showing in view of the fact that the campaign was conducted when the supply of limited service men was very much depleted by continual draft for the various limited service camps. There were twenty-eight people employed in the Exchange at this time, occupying five rooms. Between January 18th and October 1st, 9,000 personal interviews had been held with applicants. Ninety thousand written applications for service had been received, classified and assigned where possible. It is conservatively estimated that the War Service Exchange placed 10,000 men in the service. There were 7,000 active information blanks from volunteers, classified and filed voca- tionally and ready for placement on call by requisition. Credit must be given to the Military Training Camps Association for its invaluable field service and to the Federal Employment Service, Department of Labor, for its co-operation. WAR SERVICE EXCHANGE MERGED WITH PERSONNEL BRANCH, GENERAL STAFF While the War Service Exchange was completing the limited service campaign, centralization of personnel proce- dure was announced by the General Staff and a new Per- sonnel Branch of the Operations Division of the General Staff came into being. The members of the War Service Exchange who had come more intimately into contact with the personnel demand and supply conditions in the staff corps were assigned WAR SERVICE EXCHANGE 511 to formulate the plans for the Recruiting Sub-Section of the Personnel Branch. These members used as a basis for their work the plan for a centralized personnel organization which they had submitted in May. They developed detailed instruc- tions for the operation of the Recruiting Sub-Section, estab- lishing central control in the Washington office and decentral- ized administration through twelve district headquarters offi- ces. They also drew up a standard application blank, a pub- licity plan and other plans for administrative machinery. The members of the Exchange who had served in the inter- viewing, correspondence and office administration departments of the Exchange were assigned the operation of the Wash- ington District Headquarters of the Personnel Branch. This office was to serve as a model for the other district offices. Thus the idea of the War Service Exchange centralized personnel procurement, operating with central control and decentralized administration was realized. However, just as the new organization was about to launch its first impor- tant campaign, the armistice was signed. Orders were issued cancelling recruiting programs, and the War Service Ex- change passed into history along with the Recruiting Sub- Section of the Personnel Branch, Operations Division, Gen- eral Staff. CHAPTER 40 DEVELOPMENT BATTALIONS THE PROBLEM OF HANDLING MISFITS Misfits Unavoidable. It was early found that from a variety of causes many unfit men appeared in the camps. In unaccountable ways men not at all fit for combat service over- seas were found in depot brigades, or receiving depots or other recruiting points. Further, men in the divisions were constantly developing disabilities and were found to be unsuited for overseas service, thereby increasing the accumu- lations of men only partially fit, or unfit for any kind of ser- vice whatever. When divisions were preparing to move out for transporta- tion overseas it became the practice to discard all unsuitables for any reason, often because of inability to speak English well or because of some slight peculiarity. Such men were dumped into the depot brigades, with the result that camp space necessary for other organizations, or new divisions forming was filled up with the "lame," the "halt" and the "blind," and space for receiving the new draft was limited thereby and the organization and training of new divisions delayed. The necessity for promptly handling this problem in an intelligent and thorough way was finally recognized and the General Staff assigned its solution to the Operations Division. In turn it was placed in the hands of Major (later Lt. Col.) Bernard Lentz, of that division, for study and suggestions. What to Do With Misfits. About this time the Committee on Classification of Personnel in the Army was also consider- ing the necessity of using men of limited physical ability in 512 DEVELOPMENT BATTALIONS 513 organizations and for occupations remote from combat ser- vice. It had also been studying the English system of physical and mental categories, and their method of utilizing men of trade or professional ability, who were, however, not up to the maximum standard physically. Major Harold D. Corbusier, of the Medical Corps, a spe- cialist in orthopedic work, brought to the attention of the Com- mittee about this time a schedule for "Training Battalions" to take over the development of men of limited physical ability. A meeting was held on February 22, 1918, between Mr. P. J. Reilly, Mr. J. J. Swan, both of the Committee, and Colonel E. G. Brackett and Major H. D. Corbusier, the latter two cf the Medical Corps. It was agreed after considerable discussion that it was necessary to give this matter of using limited service men serious and immediate consideration, and it was recognized that the Medical Department must play the principal part. Pursuing this policy the Committee presented the matter to Colonel F. Billings, who was in charge of the Reconstruction Service of the Surgeon General's Office. Lieutenant Colonel Edward King, his assistant, was assigned to co-operate in the work. It was also discussed separately and in detail with Major Lentz of the General Staff, and conferences were held with various others in a position to assist. ORGANIZATION OF DEVELOPMENT BATTALIONS General Orders No. 45. On May 9, 1918, through the efforts of Major Lentz, General Orders Number 45, were issued. This established development battalions and provided for their organization at each National Army, National Guard, and Regular Army divisional camp, and in such other camps as may be directed by the Secretary of War, and as many of such battalions in each place as might be necessary to meet the conditions. These battalions were to be organized under Table 401 for Training Battalion, Infantry, Series D, cor- rected March 22, 1918. 514 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL Purpose of Development Battalions. The function of the battalions was to relieve divisions, replacement organizations, etc., of all unfit men. There was to be conducted in such battalions intensive training with a view to developing unfit men for duty with combatant or non-combatant forces either within the United States or for service abroad. A further purpose was promptly to rid the service of all men who, after thorough trial and examination, were found to be physically, mentally, or morally incapable of performing the duties of a soldier. The control of these development battalions was placed under the general supervision of the camp commander, but they were specified as an adjunct of the depot brigades in places where such depot brigades were regularly established. The order went on to specify how the men were to be trans- ferred to the development battalions, and then to name what classes of men were regarded as eligible for immediate trans- fer to such organizations. It also provided that in indepen- dent commands where there were no development battalions, men found unfit for general military service were to be trans- ferred to the nearest adjacent development battalions. It provided that men could not be transferred from these bat- talions except on War Department orders. It was recognized that many new problems were involved in the organization of these battalions, and it was felt unwise to attempt to cover every possible contingency in the first instance, but the order did provide that commanders of such battalions were to make recommendations in writing with the view to increasing the efficiency of the project within the period of one month. Board of Control. For the purpose of receiving such sug- gestions and co-ordinating the work, as well as with the idea of preparing instructions and orders from time to time, a board was appointed by The Adjutant General under date of June 10, 1918, consisting of Lieutenant Colonel Harry E. Mock of the Medical Department, Major (later Lt. Col.) DEVELOPMENT BATTALIONS 515 Bernard Lentz of the General Staff, and Mr. J. J. Swan of the Adjutant General's Department. This board was to meet on June 12, "for the purpose of co-ordinating the work in connection with the establishment of battalions under General Orders No. 4,5." Just previous to the meeting Colonel Edward King was temporarily substituted by the Medical Department for Lt. Col. Mock, and served on the board during this preliminary work. As a result of the board's investigation, instructions concerning the operation of development battalions were prepared and issued as War Department Document No. 812, under date of July 1, 1918. The purpose of these instruc- tions was to make clear certain points in General Orders No. 45, and to put before the commanders such general principles with reference to the practical working of the order as would insure uniformity of operation and the full use of such features as experience had shown to be essential for the suc- cess of the plan as a whole up to that time. Classification of Limited Service Men. The system of classifying limited service men is described in some detail in Chapter 27. THE PART OF PERSONNEL WORK IN DEVELOPMENT BATTALIONS If the reception and classification of men who are physically fit is essential for proper placement, it is apparent that this is even more so in the case of men who are of a lower physical class; and it was early evident that greater care would be required to place such men occupationally in the Army. This was fully substantiated by experience in England, where the question of utilizing all its man power was of greater impor- tance owing to the smaller number available, and that every man was an important asset due to the fact that England had called out her men to such a large extent. About this time many officers in the American Army began to realize that the same problem would have to be considered 516 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL here and anticipated the time when the utilization of all men entering the service would be seriously taken up. Co-operation of Line, Medical and Personnel Officers Necessary. It was evident from the start, and especially in view of British experience, that the question of selecting and placing men of limited physical ability required close co-ope- ration on the part of the medical officers and personnel adju- tants, since both the physical side and the occupational side of a man would have to be considered together. It was for this reason that the Committee on Classification of Personnel considered it wise to have representation on the board having to do with the formation of the plans and procedure for operating development battalions. This proved wise because there was a constant tendency on the part of the Medical Department to regard all men not physically fit as purely medical cases of clinical interest, and to disregard the occupational phases and abilities of limited service men who might be utilized to great advantage in terms of their trade ability. The revised plans referred to below, for operating develop- ment battalions contemplated a very careful sorting of men sent to such battalions, and the closest co-operation between medical, personnel and line officers. The line officer must have charge of training, but the character and extent of train- ing must depend upon the recommendation of the medical officers, who alone can determine what will help or hurt each man. The line officers, moreover, must take care of the physical training, the regular army training, and the assign- ment of these men for various work in and about the camps. The part to be played by personnel adjutants in this pro- gram is perhaps best illustrated by studying what happened in the camps where a personnel adjutant was not present. In general, the medical officers were inclined to regard the bat- talions as wonderful material for clinics. The different spe- cialists, unintentionally of course, would keep men under dif- ferent kinds of treatment and training for much longer DEVELOPMENT BATTALIONS 517 periods than was either necessary or permissible. On the other hand, the line officers were inclined entirely to disregard the instructions received from the surgeons relating to the amount of training or work that a soldier should do. This resulted very often in the line officer undoing all that the surgeon was trying to accomplish. It was not at all unusual to find a whole company assigned to different details, and therefore unable to take prescribed treatments at the various stations. The personnel adjutant's business was to correlate these two activities. He had to persuade the surgeons that this was not a clinic, but was designed, to increase the man power of the Army in the shortest possible time. He had to convince the army officers that this was a reasonable and necessary addition to army activities and that their part was definitely to carry out the suggestions from the Surgeon General's Office as to hours and amount of training. Need of Real Personnel Work. The personnel adjutant was able to do all this the more intelligently because he had the man's full record on the qualification card, and could intelligently advise each department regarding the army use- fulness of the soldier. In fact, in the camps where personnel adjutants were efficient, the line and medical officers -both depended very largely upon the personnel adjutant's judg- ment in finally releasing or assigning a man to definite work in the camp or overseas. One illustration will probably suffice. Assuming that a man had taken treatment prescribed by the medical officer and a maximum improvement had been obtained and assuming that at the same time lie had taken an allotted amount of military training and exercise, his case then comes up for the final decision before the development battalion's surgeon and the major commanding the development battalions. The personnel adjutant is present with a card giving full information regard- ing the soldier. The settlement of the case nine times out of ten is based on the information contained on the qualification 518 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL card, namely, what this man did in private life and what he is fitted to do in the Army. If he is a shoemaker and has flat- foot, there is no reason why he should not perform reasonable service in the Army. If he is a plumber with missing teeth, there is no reason why he should not work as a plumber in the Army. In other words, personnel work has been the single unit correlating and wisely directing the activities of the two other departments existing in development battalions. PLANS FOR IMPROVING DEVELOPMENT BATTALIONS Defects in Original Plans. Practical experience with the development battalions as organized under General Orders No. 45, and early operating reports, Form CCP-601, coming in for June and July, 1918, brought out difficulties and defects, the chief of which may be summarized as follows: 1. Thousands of men unfit in one way or another were transferred to the development battalions who should have been assigned to duties they were competent to perform within the Army. Many of these were left behind as divisions moved overseas. 2. Many men were accepted who later turned out to be unfit and were transferred to development battalions when they should have been discharged on Surgeon's Certificate of Disability. 3. Calls for limited service men brought to camps many men who were unfit for immediate use, and hence be- came development battalion cases. 4. In many cases perfectly fit men were also transferred to these battalions. 5. No outlet was provided for this heavy influx and accu- mulation of men. 6. Many inferior officers were assigned to development battalions because of shortage or other reasons, with the result that instructions were not carried out, and training moved very slowly and imperfectly. 7. The general shortage of officers prevented securing anything like an adequate supply. This resulted in DEVELOPMENT BATTALIONS 519 delays in sorting and classifying the men, medical treatment and training. 8. Inadequate housing was also a serious factor, and en- dangered the health of thousands. Plans for Changes Eased on Experience. The first rush and confusion described was anticipated to some extent, and investigations and studies of all phases were under way since May 9, 1918, for the purpose of securing absolute data to enable accurate and final recommendations to be made. As these reports of operation came in from development bat- talions these various defects were called to attention and sug- gestions for improvements were offered. To test out plans a model battalion was organized at Camp Meade, and officers from various other camps were called there to perfect methods for general use. Various other steps were taken, such as the assignment of medical officers as inspectors and the appoint- ment of Mr. Henry H. Wellman as General Supervisor for the Adjutant General's Department, to visit and standardize methods in the operation of development battalions. Ultimately a report was presented to the Board, and a new order to replace General Orders No. 45 was prepared in con- ference with all departments interested. A manual for the operation of development battalions to supplement the new general order, and to replace Document- No. 812 which amplified the original General Orders No. 45, was in process of construction. This was to include complete and definite instructions on all phases of development bat- talion operation. It would have been complete enough to per- mit a competent officer to organize and operate a development battalion in every respect. Had the war continued the work of development battalions would have increased in importance. They would have fur- nished a considerable supply of limited service men to replace and liberate large numbers of other men fit for general service overseas. Revised General Order to Replace G. 0. No. 45. This 520 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL new order was about to be issued when the armistice was signed on November 11, and an order issued on November 15, 1918 to begin demobilizing development battalions went into effect. The new order is printed here in full as it presents the solution as to how development battalions should be operated in the light of experience up to November 11, 1918. "1. General Order No. 45, War Department, May 9th, 1918, is hereby revoked and the following substituted therefor; such other instructions as conflict with the following order are also revoked. Under the authority conferred by the Act of Congress, "Authoriz- ing the President to Increase Temporarily the Military Establish- ment of the United States," approved May 18, 1917, and the Act of Congress approved July 9, 1918 (Pub. 193), the President directs that there be organized for the period of the existing emergency at each divisional camp, and in such other camps or stations, as may be directed by the Secretary of War, one or more development bat- talions and a headquarters for development battalions to be organ- ized under Table 400, Receiving Battalion, Depot Brigade, Series D, corrected to August 13, 1918. In camps where one development battalion is located, headquarters for the development battalion will consist of authorized headquarters as provided for in Table 400, Receiving Battalion, plus one first lieutenant personnel officer. Additional commissioned personnel (in- cluding a chief surgeon for the development battalion) will be de- tailed from officers on duty with the development battalions as needed. In camps where two or more development battalions are located, headquarters for development battalions will consist of: 1. Lieutenant Colonel 1 2. Major, Medical Corps 1 (Chief Surgeon, Development Battalions) 3. Captains 2 (1 adjutant, 1 personnel officer) Additional commissioned personnel, as needed by headquarters for development battalions (authorized above for two or more bat- talions) will be detailed from officers on duty with development bat- talions. Enlisted personnel, to assist the headquarters for develop- ment battalions will be detailed on special duty from the enlisted personnel provided for headquarters Receiving Battalion, Table 400. The officers authorized herein will be provided as prescribed in DEVELOPMENT BATTALIONS 521 the third paragraph of section I and by section IX of the Act of May 18, 1917, and, as far as practicable, will be selected from those who are physically disqualified for combatant service. Training cadres for companies in Development Battalions, and enlisted men as above prescribed, for headquarters, development battalions,' will be selected, as soon as possible, from those who have been classified C-l and C-2. They will not, as a rule, be transferred from development battalions unless, as time goes by, they become fit for general military service. Special medical, morale and psychol- ogical officers in addition to the personnel prescribed above may be attached to the development battalions as necessary. J< 2. Development Battalions have been authorized for the definite purpose of relieving combatant forces, and other special units, of men .disqualified by physical defects or for other reasons. The functions of the development battalions, therefore, are: (a) To furnish a center for the reception of all such men. (b) To conduct intensive training with a view to developing unfit men along lines of physical, functional and vocational reconstruction for duty with combatant or non-combatant forces. (c) To classify and assign men to useful duty in the service or to promptly rid the service of all men who, after thorough trial and observation, are found incapable of performing useful duty as soldiers. "3. Development battalions will be conducted as separate camp activities directly under the camp commander. "4. The following procedure in connection with the transfer of men to the development battalions will be observed in camps where the establishment of such battalions is authorized: (a) In connection with each headquarters for development bat- talions there will be appointed a Clearing Board which will consist of the Chief Development Battalion Surgeon, the personnel officer and one line officer. The Camp Surgeon will make available for the use of the Clearing Board, such special medical officers as may be necessary for examination and consultation purposes. The Chief Development Battalion surgeon is the member of this Board re- sponsible for the final classification of men appearing before the Board. (b) When an enlisted man is inapt or does not possess the required degree of adaptability for military service; or has not suf- ficient knowledge of the English language to enable him to properly perform his duties; or gives evidence of habits or traits of character. 522 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL other than those for which trial by court martial should be employed, that render his service in the organization undesirable; or is dis- qualified for service physically through his own misconduct or other- wise; or is an alien enemy or allied alien enemy; or an alien who is not a declarant and has been drafted through his ignorance of his rights under the selective service law, or for any other reason, is not fit to perform the duties of a soldier, his company or detach- ment commander will report the facts to the commanding officer who will appoint a board consisting of one officer, preferably the summary court. This board will determine whether or not the soldier should be sent to the Clearing Board with a view to transfer to the development battalion. When transfer to the development bat- talion on account of physical disability is contemplated, the board will consult a medical officer before transfer is recommended. (c) The Clearing Board will examine all men properly brought before it and will dispose of them as follows: Men considered fit for duty in the organization to which they be- long will be returned to said organization. Men subject to discharge on surgeon's certificate of disability will be immediately recommended for discharge. Men whose conditions and usefulness can be improved by develop- ment and instruction will be transferred to development battalions. Men found suitable by the Clearing Board for immediate assign- ment to duty will be classified as available for transfer and will be held in development battalions until transferred. All recommendations of the Clearing Board, including return to original organization, assignment to development battalion, available for transfer after classification or discharge for other than physical reasons, will be submitted to the camp commander for approval or disapproval and the camp commander or authorized representative will promptly issue the necessary orders to carry his decisions into effect. Recommendations for discharge for physical reasons will be disposed of according to existing regulations. (d) Camp commanders are hereby authorized to issue discharge recommended by the Clearing Board "By Order of the Secretary of War." This authority applies not only to discharge on surgeon's certificate of disability under existing instructions, but also to any other cases where, in the opinion of the camp commander, such dis- charge is for the best interests of the service. The intention, how- ever, is that practically all discharges recommended by the Clearing Boards should be on surgeon's certificate of disability and other processes for discharge should not be used except when the sur- geon's certificate of disability is clearly unsuitable. DEVELOPMENT BATTALIONS 523 (e) For the purpose of this order, such independent commands as are adjacent to and intimately connected with divisional camps or cantonments, will be considered a part of such camp or can- tonment. '5. Within the development battalions men will be grouped de- pending upon physical disability, extent and character of training, intelligence, nationality, or other conditions. Men who, after thorough trial and observation, show that they cannot be made useful in some capacity, will be discharged. In exceptional cases, and then only upon recommendation of the Clearing Board, will men be kept in development battalions under treatment and training for a period exceeding two months. The number of such men kept for more than two months will be reported on the monthly summary report, Form CCP-601. As a rule, men should either be made available for assignment within two months or they should be discharged. "6. While men are undergoing treatment and training in the de- velopment battalions, they will not be detailed for guard, fatigue or other duty outside the development battalions. Men who have been classified, and while awaiting assignment, may be detailed for such duty in the camp. "7. The Clearing Board, as defined above, will classify all men in development battalions in accordance with Circular No. 7, War Department, October, 8, 1918. Transfers and discharges from de- velopment battalions will be made only after recommendation by the Clearing Board. Camp commanders are hereby authorized to trans- fer classified men from development battalions to organizations within their respective camps. Class A men will and Class C-l men of special qualifications may be transferred to combatant organizations intended for overseas service. Classes C-l and C-2 men may be transferred to non-combatant organizations within the camp to fill authorized vacancies or to replace men who are fit for overseas service. Men who are designated as "star" men on form CCP-15 will not be transferred from development battalions except by War Department order. Transfers as pro- vided for above will be made by camp commanders between the first and twentieth of each month, both dates inclusive. Beginning on the twenty-first of each month, the occupational report CCP-15 will be prepared. This report will include all men in de- velopment battalions who are then available for transfer and who have not actually been transferred. Separate reports on form CCP- 15 will be prepared for men of classes A, C-l, and C-2 (formerly Ratings 1, 2, and 3). Separate reports will be made, in the same manner covering colored men. These reports will be mailed so 524 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL as to reach the Adjutant General's office (Room 528) not later than the first of the following month. Men so reported will be transferred out of development battalions only upon orders from the War Department. "8. In posts, camps, or stations where the number of men is not sufficient to warrant the establishment of a development battalion, the classes of men enumerated in paragraph 4b (except venereals who will be treated at their stations) will be transferred to the nearest development battalion. The proceedings of the board (one- officer, preferably the Summary Court), appointed to recommend transfers, will be sent for approval, to Department Headquarters, when troops are under the jurisdiction of such commander. In cases arising at arsenals, etc., that are within the territorial limits of the department but are ordinarily exempted from the control ot the department commander, recommendations for transfer to de- velopment battalions will be likewise sent to Department Headquar- ters. In these cases department commanders will issue the necessary orders for transfer, after first ascertaining from the commanding offi- cer, under whose jurisdiction the nearest development battalion is placed, that accommodations are available. Should such accommoda- tions not be available, report will be made to the War Department for instructions. In this connection department commanders should scrutinize recommendations for transfer to development battalions with a view to keeping such transfers at a minimum. In order that department commanders may do this intelligently a copy of qualification and medical card (form CCP-1) will be sent with rec- ommendations for transfers to department Headquarters. Until the new qualification and medical card is received, copies of form CCP-1, now being used, and medical form 88, or other appropriate form describing the case, will be sent with recommendations for transfer to the development battalions. Department commanders will not approve recommendations for transfer to development bat- talions of men who clearly should be discharged on surgeon's certifi- cate of disability. Men who are fit for limited service and who probably cannot be further developed will, as far as possible, be utilized by department commanders in non-combatant organizations within their respective departments. "9. Commanding officers of general hospitals and recruit depots are hereby authorized to transfer men from their respective com- mands direct to the nearest development battalions. Before such transfers are made, they will ascertain, from commanders of camps to which it is intended to send men, whether or not accommodations are available in development battalions. Should such accommoda- DEVELOPMENT BATTALIONS 525 tions not be available, report will be made to tbe War Department for instructions. "10. These instructions are intended to cover all cases arising within the continental limits of the United States. This applies to men returned from abroad and to all branches of the service. The instructions contained herein also apply to development battalions authorized for Porto Rico. The Commanding General, American Kxpeditionary Forces will issue such instructions as he may deem necessary relative to the disposition within his command of men in the classes enumerated in paragraph 4b above. "11. Transfers to development battalions will be made within the grades held by enlisted men, unless transferred for disability, which is the result of their own mis-conduct such men should be reduced to private before transfer. When the number of non-commissioned officers, cooks, etc., sent to a development battalion, exceeds the number provided for in Table 400, Receiving Battalion, such men will be carried on the rolls of the battalions as extra numbers. Men holding grades, such as saddler, horseshoer, etc., not provided for in Table 400, will also be carried as extra number on the rolls of the battalion to which they are assigned. "12. Cases of men whose disposition is not covered by these instructions, will be referred to the War Department for necessary action. "13. On the last of each month, camp commanders will rennet report on form CCP-601 to the Adjutant General (Room 528). This report will be made by Headquarters for Development Battalions and will be a consolidated report for all development battalions in the respective camps. "14. Camp Commanders and officers who are placed on duty with development battalions should bear in mind the importance of this work. Success in conserving the man power of the nation can be obtained only through untiring effort and an exercise of good judgment on the part of Commanders who should assign, to Develop- ment Battalions, officers who possess special fitness for the duty to be performed." EXTENT OF GROWTH OF DEVELOPMENT BATTALIONS The extent to which these battalions had grown in a short time is indicated by the attached summary reports. The figures reported here are incomplete and do not give a full or accurate summary of the actual conditions up to 526 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL November 30, 1918. The inaccuracy is due to the fact that orders for demobilization of November 15 resulted in incom- plete reports in certain cases and no reports at all from four camps, although repeatedly called for. They do, however, afford a fairly general summary of the situation and an idea of the extent to which the establish- ment of these battalions assisted in clearing or relieving divi- sions and depot brigades of men unfitted for full military service. An analysis of the data which brings out other interesting and useful details, is attached. Development Battalions. Consolidated or Summary Report. From Organizations to November 30, 1918. Total Totals to account for this report 229,958 Totals discharged 36,274 Totals deserted 919 Totals died 1,358 Rated 1 38,466 Rated 2 42,738 Rated 3 39,468 All transfers out of battalions 115,694 Totals remaining in battalions 89,370 Development Battalions. Summary of Various Types Disqualifications. (Incomplete Figures.) Total by Per Cent Disqualifications of Total Venereals 77,456 34.4 % Foot conditions 28,823 12.7 % Mental 4,798 2.1 % Functional heart condition 10,917 4.8 % All other physical 53,540 23.7 % DEVELOPMENT BATTALIONS 527 Non-English Total by Disqualifications t .... 15,562 Per Cent of Total 6.8 % 5.8 % 0.19% 0.51% 0.61% 2.1 % 5.9 % Illiterates .... 13,215 Morally unfit 140 Conscientious obj ectors . . . 1,093 Draft evaders .... 1,196 Enemy aliens 4,623 Other aliens 13,354 Totals 224,717 CHAPTER 41 THE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND SPECIAL TRAINING AND THE STUDENTS' ARMY TRAINING CORPS THE HANDLING OF SPECIALISTS The Committee on Classification of Personnel (CCP) and the Committee on Education and Special Training (EST) were both interested in providing the Army with men of special ability either to work at a trade or to command other men. Before the relation which these committees sustained to each other can be clearly understood a brief introductory statement regarding the handling of trade specialists is necessary. Beginning with the fall of 1917 calls for men with trade ability were made by staff corps for their technical units in constantly increasing volume. This situation was critical since (1) no adequate machinery for handling such calls or allotting trade specialists existed; (2) there were no tables showing the numbers of trade specialists required either for individual units or the entire Army as authorized in October, 1917 amounting to forty divisions in addition to units for corps and army troops and the services of supply; and (3) in addition, there existed no reliable figures on the number of each kind of specialist received in each 100,000 of the draft. In meeting these difficulties, which were of the utmost im- portance for EST, the CCP played an important part. Allotment Machinery. In the fall of 1917 when calls for specialists were received by the Adjutant General they were referred to the CCP through Major (later Lt. Col.) Grenville Clark, who had been assigned to the Committee as military 528 COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION 529 associate and executive officer by Major General McCain. A memorandum recommending whether or not transfer of such trade specialists should be made and from what point was prepared and submitted by The Adjutant General to the Chief of Staff. These recommendations were consistently approved. Major Clark recommended in October, 1917, that a liaison officer from the General Staff be appointed to act with him on allotments, and on The Adjutant General's request Lt. Col. (later Brigadier General) Robert I. Rees was assigned. From October, 1917, to February, 1918, calls for trade specialists were handled in the first instance by them and from February to June, 1918, by the Committee on Education and Special Training of which they were both members. Thereafter the Operations Division, represented by Lt. Colonel Richard H. Kimball, handled the requisitions. The men to be trans- ferred were located throughout this entire period from the records kept by the CCP. THE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND SPECIAL TRAINING AND PERSONNEL REQUISITIONS The Committee on Education and Special Training, during the period named, handled requisitions for trade specialists as one of its functions. Its membership, Colonel (later Brigadier General) Hugh S. Johnson, Deputy Provost Mar- shal General, later succeeded by Lt. Col. (later Colonel) John H. Wigmore, Lt. Col. (later Brigadier General) Robert I. Rees, General Staff, and Major (later Lt. Col.) Grenville Clark, Adjutant General's Department, included those branches of the Army particularly interested in the administration of personnel and made quick action possible. Under General Orders No. 15, February 10, 1918, the functions of The Committee on Education and Special Train- ing were defined. "2. Under the direction of the Chief of Staff the func- tions of the Committee shall be: to study the needs of the various branches of the service for skilled men and tech- 530 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL nicians; to determine how such needs shall be met; whether by selective draft, special training in educational institu- tions or otherwise; to secure the co-operation of the educa- tional institutions of the country and to represent the War Department in its relations with such institutions ; to admi- nister such plan of special training in colleges and schools as may be adopted. "3. The Committee on Education and Special Training shall have associated with it an advisory civilian board appointed by the Secretary of War, composed of represen- tatives of educational institutions. An officer shall be detailed by the Chief of each Staff Corps and Department to consult with the Committee concerning the needs of his Corps or Department." The EST, by a letter in February to all staff corps, regularized the procedure in filling requisitions for skilled personnel as follows: "The Committee will have office room adjoining the Classification Committee and War Service Exchange of the Adjutant General's Office. By co-ordinating the work of the Committee on Education and Special Training with these organizations it is the intention to have a clearing house for all personnel requirements, in order that requisi- tions of various branches of the service for men may be dealt with systematically. "In order to co-ordinate the administration of matters relating to personnel requirements the following procedure will govern on and after February 12th: (a) All requisitions and statements of needs relating to enlisted personnel will be addressed and sent to "The Adjutant General of the Army, attention Room 528, War Department Building." (Committee on Classification of Personnel.) (b) These requisitions will be recorded and turned over to the Committee on Education and Special Training which, under the direction of the Chief of Staff, will determine how the requisition shall be dealt with, whether by selective draft, special training in educational institu- tions, transfers of men already in the service, volunteer recruiting or otherwise. (c) In determining how to handle a particular case the Committee will consult with the representative of the COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION 531 Staff Department concerned; having reached a decision and obtained the approval of the Chief of Staff, the matter will be handled as follows: (1) If it be a case for selective draft the necessary steps will be taken by the Provost Marshal General; (2) If it be a case for selection and transfer of men already in the service, the necessary steps will be taken by the Adjutant General and his Classification Committee; (3) Cases involving volunteer recruiting will be handled by the usual ma- chinery of the Adjutant General's Office; (4) Cases in- volving special training in educational institutions will be dealt with directly by the Committee on Education and Special Training under its authority to administer such plan of special training in colleges and schools as may be adopted. The same will apply to special training in industrial plants. (5) Requisitions for individual specialists, for men to fill civilian positions and cases involving relations with the Department of Labor will be handled by the War Service Exchange of the Adju- tant General's Office. It is not intended, however, to disturb arrangements already established by staff depart- ments for filling civilian positions. "All requisitions for men will be set forth in terms of the index of occupations prepared by the Adjutant Gen- eral's Classification Committee. Copy of index is inclosed. Each requisition shall specify the number of men wanted under each head, giving the numeral and symbol according to the index of occupations. As above stated, all requisi- tions will be addressed and sent to the Adjutant General of the Army, attention Room 528." TABLES OF OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALISTS NEEDED As early as September, 1917, the CCP began to list the needs of an infantry division in terms of trade specialists or occupations. It had likewise encouraged and assisted the staff corps in determining the occupational needs of its units. With its establishment the Committee on Education and Special Training was charged with forecasting the needs "of the service for skilled men and technicians." With the co-operation of the staff corps and Major Clark for EST, Mr. Alexander C. Robinson III. of the Committee 532 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL prepared in February a forecast of the needs for specialists based on the units included in the six phases of the army organization. This showed a probable shortage in the number of skilled specialists required. The character of the army had changed in a year so radically as to demand thousands of occupational specialists where hundreds had sufficed before. A survey of the following table from the annual report of the Secretary of War, 1918, reveals the great increase of tech- nical units in the present army. Old Army, New Army, March, November, 1917. 1918. Infantry and machine gun 85,000 974,000 Engineer 3,000 394,000 Field Artillery and ammunition train 9,000 389,000 Medical 7,000 300,000 Quartermaster 8,000 228,000 Coast Artillery 21,000 137,000 Ordnance 1,000 64,000 Signal 3,000 52,000 Cavalry '. 22,000 29,000 Air Service 202,000 Motor Transport 103,000 Militia Bureau 27,000 Chemical Warfare 18,000 Tank 14,000 In training 549.000 All other 31,000 185,000 Total 190,000 3,665,000 The forecast of needs was not accurate; it could not be, since many of the units were new and their proper balance of skilled personnel undetermined. Only months afterwards were adequate tables of occupational needs prepared for the Staff Corps when this work was taken over and pushed to completion by the Committee. (See Chapter 14.) The forecast could not be used as an exact basis of opera- tion because of another reason. The date when the different units authorized would be organized was not exactly stated, COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION and the program of shipping changed repeatedly during the spring months. The great push was to send over infantry divisions. In consequence it was impossible to say on Feb- ruary 15: "By June 1 we shall have to have 100.000 me- chanics organized as units ready for shipment, and of these we have 5,000 available and 65,000 assured from the drafts up to May 15." All that could be said was: "We are going to need great numbers of specialists, and we must get an ample supply." THE SKILLED MEN FURNISHED BY THE DRAFT To determine the numbers of skilled men which the Army might expect to secure from the draft, the Committee through Dr. Bingham had made an analysis of occupations received in each 100,000 of the draft. Work was begun on this in November, 1917. This supply, as compared with the calls for specialists and with the projected tables of needs caused great anxiety. This was intensified by reason of the fact that indus- try would have to keep many of the specialists needed in the Army if it were to produce munitions and other necessary supplies. By the end of 1917 it became apparent that the Army would have to undertake the program of training to increase the number of skilled or semi-skilled men needed for its units. The EST was authorized to administer the program which the studies of the CCP had shown to be vital. It associated with itself, therefore, on the advice and with the assistance of the Committee a Civilian Advisory Board of Educators. The membership of this board, of which Dr. Charles R. Mann W.TS chairman, included Dr. James R. Angell, member of the Committee, and Mr. J. W. Dietz and Mr. C. R. Dooley, both of whom were camp supervisors for the committee. THE TRAINING PROGRAM OF THE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND SPECIAL TRAINING The training functions of EST increasingly absorbed the attention of its members and in June, 1918, its work of allot- 534 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL ting skilled personnel was taken over by the Operations Divi- sion, General Staff. The need for trade specialists EST planned to meet by establishing training detachments at institutions already engaged in vocational or technical training. In April, 1918, contracts were made with twenty-three institutions and on November 11 there were 124- training detachments (known then as Section B, S. A. T. C.) A total of 142 institutions had units at some time during this period. The total number of men contracted for with these vocational sections was 143,508. The initial authorization for this training was 20,000, later raised by 80,000 additional for the period ending November 1, 1918. The 1918 winter program authorized an additional 220,000 (20,000 of this colored). In their handling of vocational specialists the Committee assisted EST in four ways: (1) by furnishing estimates of probable shortages as a guide in determining the numbers and kinds of men to be trained; (2) by assisting in procuring suitable men to be trained; (3) by distributing the trained personnel from the schools; and (4) by some supervision of the classification work done at Training Detachment Units. In none of these activities were the results completely satis- factory to the Committee. The shortage figures were given as imperfect estimates only, and further information adequate to check them did not seem available for use by EST. Be- cause of this operation on problematical estimates there were instances of groups of men being trained in certain lines in excess of the need for them. The men secured for training never gave complete satis- faction. This was due primarily to the inability of the Com- mittee and EST, because of outside factors, to have men sent to Training Detachments from Depot Brigades. There the CCP classification machinery would have selected men according to specifications and so insured apprentices in trades going to Training Detachments of their trade. Where such procedure was impossible men with at least promising 535 potential ability might have been sent. As it was, the Train- ing Detachments received men direct from Local Boards. Frequently, the selection was badly made, both as to previous trade experience and to potential ability. A single quotation from a report of June 26th, made by a supervisor is in point: "Observations at Trade Schools indicate that Draft Boards are not always exercising good judgment -in the selection of men inducted for training in these schools. Men already skilled in occupations useful in the Army are sent to schools without facilities for continuation courses in these subjects. The result is that these men are put into courses for which they are unqualified and which they have no de- sire to learn. This results in much waste of time, money and good material, besides working an injustice to the men so inducted." A partial remedy was found in a small receiving and classi- fication post opened in May, 1918, at Valparaiso University, Indiana, where a personnel adjutant classified and trade tested the men before sending them to Training Detachments. Only a fraction of the men needed, however, could be thus supplied. The distribution of men at the close of their training period was unsatisfactory because men had to be removed from the schools on a set date, irrespective of the ability of technical units in the Army camps to absorb them on that date. No storage camp was ever supplied, and as a consequence men were sometimes misplaced even after having been trained. The total number distributed by the central distributing office from the Training Detachments was 89,094-. The classification work carried on at some Training De- tachments was unsatisfactory because of two reasons: men were reported to Washington for distribution as tradesmen in the trade taught at their unit, irrespective of the fact that because of the misplacements by Local Boards men already fairly skilled in one trade might be sent to a de- tachment teaching, a different trade and come out of it less skilled in the new than in the old trade. In addition men 536 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL were reported as more highly skilled than their performance warranted. When these men were secured in technical Army units considerable criticism resulted. The Soldiers' Qualifica- tion Cards (CCP-1) were so imperfectly made out that in August Training Detachments were instructed to discontinue making them except for men going directly overseas. For all others, cards were made out by the personnel system at Army Camps receiving them. When Training Detachments became Section B units in the S. A. T. C. (Oct. l) trained personnel adjutants were assigned to them, and, had the war continued, the making of the qualification cards would have been resumed. These difficulties were at least in part inescapable in the early months of the war. Doubtless they would have been overcome as the Army program became stable, the numbers of men needed were exactly predictable, and the personnel force in the units better trained and experienced. Even with the imperfections incident to its operation the work of EST in the vocational sections accomplished its purpose it in- creased the number of trade specialists available for the Army. THE STUDENTS' ARMY TRAINING CORPS In addition to training technical specialists EST prepared and executed plans for increasing the officer personnel in which by June, 1918, there was a decided shortage due to the unexpected increase in the size of the Army. The plans in- volved bringing the colleges of the country into the military program as posts for the preliminary training of officer material. In June the Students' Army Training Corps was authorized. College students were to be enlisted, then placed on furlough status and, as civilians without pay, re- main in college for study and military training. Three sum- mer camps for training an instructing personnel drawn from college instructors and students were opened July 18th, and ran for two months with an attendance of about 8,000. COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION 537 The military program was increased in July to 98 divisions arid the increased man-power bill changing the draft limits to 18 and 45 was projected. These circumstances caused a recasting of the S. A. T. C. program; and it was decided to place the college under military control and enlist the stu- dent body and continue them in regular army status with full pay. Twenty-seven hundred of those in attendance at the summer camps were commissioned and many of these were returned to conduct the military training at the colleges. About 526 units were established in October and November, 1918. The Committee assisted the S. A. T. C. by training per- sonnel adjutants for its units, by devising a plan for selecting and classifying officer material in the units and a plan for ad- mitting new soldiers to S. A. T. C. units. Demobilization officers for S. A. T. C. were also trained under supervision of the Committee. Training Schools for Personnel Adjutants. At a joint meet- ing of members of the Committee and EST held August 30, 1918, the Committee agreed to conduct training schools for personnel adjutants at the three summer training camps. In- structing staffs were dispatched and Mr. Kendall Weisiger, Mr. John J. Coss, and Mr. A. J. Turner were put in charge of schools opening September 16, at Plattsburg, N. Y., Fort Sheridan, Illinois and the Presidio, San Francisco. These supervisors selected the personnel to be trained and con- ducted an intensive eight day course. The quality of the personnel trained was notably high and excellent results were achieved. All phases of Army paper work as well as the personnel work proper, including classification, were covered. (See Chapter 38 for further details.) The Thorndike Rating Plan. The S. A. T. C. with its 125,000 soldiers was regarded as a promising field for men to be sent to officers' training camps. Indeed, up to November 11, 1918, 8,000 officer candidates were transferred from S. A. T. C. units Section A and 1,144 from Section B. Infantry, 538 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL Field and Coast Artillery, Air Service (pilots and observers) and certain branches of the Navy as well were all anxious to recruit from the colleges. The Committee through its chair- man, Dr. E. L. Thorndike, assisted by Dr. T. L. Kelley, presented in September and in finished form in October a plan for selecting impartially from S. A. T. C. the men best qualified for each of these branches. The details of the plan in its final form were worked out by Dr. Kelley and a committee of 9. A. T. C. supervisors, operating under Mr. A. C. Vinal, Director of S. A. T. C. Personnel Methods. The plan is fully described in Chapter XIII, Volume II, (Personnel Manual). Briefly, it involved having each branch of the service desiring candidates for officer training divide 1 00 points between seven qualities which they required in their officers. The entire student body was then to be rated on these seven qualities and those eligible fo? further consideration selected. This group would then be classified on the basis of their independent ratings for the branch of service for which they were best fitted. This plan met with favor. It was given a preliminary try- out at the University of Virginia and Georgetown University. The result being satisfactory, it was on the point of being installed when the armistice was signed. The Committee had already instructed in personnel work the S. A. T. C. supervisors charged with the introduction of the system under Mr. Vinal. PROCEDURE FOR INDUCTING MEN FOR REPLACE- MENTS INTO S. A. T. C. UNITS, SECTION A Soon after October 1, the dat at which S. A. T. C. Units were established at educational institutions, vacancies began to occur in the Units. Since contracts for a minimum number of soldiers had been made with the institutions, and since the Army desired to use them to capacity, it became necessary to provide a way of inducting new men into the Units. The regular college entrance requirements were not considered COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION 539 suitable, since the S. A. T. C. training was for Army needs and many men who could profit by it would be excluded if rigid educational requirements were prescribed. In October, Dr. Thorndike presented to Brigadier General Robert I. Rees, in charge of S. A. T. C., a plan for admission, the chief features of which were an intelligence test for mental alertness, and a detailed personal record report. The ideas of this plan appear in the one finally adopted and described in this section, but the Thorndike plan as such was not adopted. The plan adopted by EST on November 6, 1918, in addi- tion to using the general scheme of the Thorndike plan, fol- lowed suggestions made by Lieutenant Colonel Grenville Clark, Mr. A. C. Vinal, and his associates in the Personnel Methods Division. (See Chapter XIII, Volume II, for details.) The plan adopted was felt to be absolutely democratic and to provide for selection by merit only. It placed the respon- sibility for filling vacancies on each college, yet through a dis- trict clearance made any surplus of one institution available for other Units. This decentralized recruiting was rendered necessary because of the ruling that men could not be selected and transferred from Depot Brigades. This was the plan proposed at a joint meeting of the Committee and EST. As a feature of the plan involving selection of candidates for S. A. T. C. at Depot Brigades the Trade Test Division of the Committee devised a General Elementary Trade Ex- amination. Men successfully passing this examination would be further considered for transfer to the vocational (B Sec- tion) units of the S. A. T. C. Conclusion. The most important items in the relation of the Committee to the Committee on Education and Special Training were the studies in the number of specialists needed by the Army, conducted chiefly by Dr. Bingham, which was one of the measures responsible for the creation of EST; and the selection and classification plan for officer candi- dates devised by Dr. Thorndike. SECTION XL PERSONNEL WORK WITH COMMISSIONED OFFICERS There were 5,791 officers in the Army on April 6, 1917. On November 11, 1918, there were 188,434 officers. Early in the period of this rapid increase, it was realized that a simple, convenient and com- prehensive record or register card for each officer, standard throughout the service, was needed. The Officers' Qualification Card (CCP-1101) was de- vised to answer this need. Before the close of the war, it was installed in every Army unit at home and abroad. The card furnished commanding officers and the War Department with the informa- tion as to the ability, military and civilian, and the efficiency of each officer in the American Army. It was used in assigning the right officer to the duty requiring his peculiar ability and it provided a means of recording the rating which expressed his superior officer's estimate of his usefulness to the service. Chapter 42 describes the Officers' Qualification Card and explains how it was used in the Army. Chapter 43 presents, in a similar manner, The Offi- cers' Rating Scale. CHAPTER 42 THE OFFICERS' QUALIFICATION CARD THE FIRST OFFICERS' QUALIFICATION CARD When the pioneer civilian personnel supervisors went out into the camps in September, 1917, to assist in building a system to receive men from the local boards, they introduced the Soldiers' Qualification Card. It was a standard per- sonnel record card and in some six of the divisions command- ing officers insisted that it be used to card the officers, until something better could be devised. This expression of need for a recording system of officers enlisted the cooperation of the Committee, and work was begun on a special qualification card for officers. As an aid in the construction of such a card every division commander was requested to provide the Committee with a sample of the form used for recording the qualifications and efficiency of his officers. The first edition, which incorporated many of these suggestions, was prepared by Dr. James R. Angell and came off the press November 5, 1917. (It is reproduced, face and reverse, Figures 21 and 2 la.) Four colors of tabs were used on this card: green and orange on the top series of figures and blue and yellow on the bottom series. Thorough experience and partial skill were indicated by the first and second of each pair, respectively. The small card was used at once in a few divisions, who were eager for it although they were told that a new and bet- ter card would soon be issued. A limited number of small cards were carried overseas with the early divisions. Some of the Coast Defense Stations also used it. Indeed, as late 544 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL 1 s a ->4JJ e r | C I ~Sf. = 035 i ^ 5 i . ;J %O*v -v c ^ z 3<> =l ^ i i i C ^ 1 f-*^ ; v 1 ti O v *> t/5 i -*S ^ j7 ^ i i J \~ 1 | 9 m 1 " ** Q i ' 3 c t( 3-* ^* Xi JQ , Q t j 1^. ^ ^ io^ ^ ^ 5 a I ^ ** tb ^ 4 [ E i 5 *c ' "Q w K 1 I i y -5 A '** ^L u < f2 >r- " ^ r| g 5 1 ^ -. : * -Q C 35 36 37 38 39 70 71 ; Officer r /63 J N H" 1] \r; S -i * - S < < . z , T fc Q (. S O * IN WH TECHNICAL SCH 3 L I 1 'J t ; ' ^ l- 1 n 2 a t < i j S^D *O a K 00 Z 1 g o S ^ t 2 < 2 s 1 fN Jd a 8 3 B S^I | 1 a * ^ >t -f O 171819202122232 61 62 63 64 :al Key above will be ch< ,i? Gin NT I ORGANIZATION jTCC T.r_._ .._ L :/ .. ILAIJj wrrer, . "H yfy b /VTA- N H <: ? 21 ^ i 2 * r U --^ X (L r a X It >~ n a< i: ^ Q q. ' _ Cl ">- a ; s J -5? *^| JSl -">L ' ^ \ u r- J ? "^ j 'ffV Ml E ^ > v 00 Uj ^ ? 4J -fciF' | "< <0 * > 2^2 > 3 9 "< *a U JO 5 1^ ^ z * ^ n"* ^ Zjj ** Q 5J i ^ | v r ^ S ^ Hi fe 6 K 2 "5 j I| :s i 2 i 1 H er = ^ as < J * T OFFICERS' QUALIFICATION CARD 545 j | \. 1 Describe the enterprise in which you exercised greatest responsibil- ity or leadership such as manager, superintendent, captain, etc. : r/jff WAKDFN -IJitirfD STr fs to*f*r 5/x v tor. i S, i t r i < V ' 2 :^ ^> r~ W after, lhc ( ;e at which you are expert, oon. Isa. SMrrhlifrht expert 54., Secret Service detective il [ | U~ 5||l|||Jl|| ' i 1 i M-O j rt'l illi! : 2 2 Stf hJ -^i'S U f E-i* *1 SSI i- 1 "'c " E 'iJH ^?S SSSi SS3SSSS g -is Q P * " o v i I : had expehence; enter I vo check f experience you have l-.ad ia that Tannery manager Lawyer J 1 J -st - S 1 111 Ifsiisi jjSSS SSSzz |c , 1 i-3 ^| ! iillli . . il B ,C 1 :- | ( S. If you are expert in any occupation not mentioned in these columns, or if you have had specialist training in an Army School, enter the fact here TTfl N^htlTff -\ V after those occupations in whict >t colum.i tSe number of years (e-g., 1 Forester (See Timber ex- P"') t - f^ i'|yS(S[r go-lJI 53 KS| "* wi x <<4.S [ I i|H t *?liifiM! i ! ! u ! . k. o t! ^ ? U * ts ~ " % ?; < -i| : ID the table below enter or each occupation checked write in th 1. Accountant ... S. Architect - J,. i i c<< mnmnuJo i, n,., 1 u \ ft ^lll 5SS 1 546 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL as January, 1919, some of these cards were received in Wash- ington from Coast Defense Stations in the Philippines. SUBSEQUENT EDITIONS The first revision, issued January 5, 1918, brought the card to a larger size and revised the list of occupations and provided more space for military qualifications and experi- ence and for recording the officers' ratings. In form and general arrangement, it resembled the final edition of the card so much that a casual observer might not note the dif- ference. The last edition is illustrated (Figure 22) on pages 548 and 550. The chief differences between the card of January 5, 1918, and the final form of Officers' Qualification Card are: (1) the transfer of the description of the principal civilian oc- cupation to the face of the card (effected third edition, Feb- ruary 15, 1918) ; (2) the addition of a space for "Present Location" to the final form and (3) the addition of sub- classifications in the civilian qualification list and of sub-classi- fications in the military qualification list, as well as the main headings "Motor Transport," "Military Aeronautics," "Air- craft Production," and "Chemical Warfare," with their sub- classifications. The way in which the civilian classification was built up is fully described in connection with the Soldiers' Qualification Card (See Section II.) The military classifi- cations were prepared chiefly by the corps or arm of the service concerned. Through the enlargement of the military classification, it was possible to provide a single card which would satisfy all Corps with the exception of the Medical. The importance of expanding the military classification and the space for recording military experience was emphasized by The War Plans Division of the War College. Edition of May Twenty-second. A revised edition of the qualification card was prepared at the time General Orders No. 46, War Department 1918, was published. This pres- ented two new features: (1) On recommendation of the War OFFICERS' QUALIFICATION CARD 547 Plans Division, supported by Brigadier General P. C. Harris, the card was reduced one-half inch in width and printed on stock that would fold. This change made it possible to dispatch the card folded in a standard Army envelope. (2) The space for recording the intelligence rating which had ap- peared on the January 5, and subsequent editions was omitted, because, on May 22, the use of the intelligence tests for officers was under consideration. Edition of October First. A new edition was printed on October 1, 1918, on which the space for recording intelli- gence tests was reintroduced and space assigned for record- ing the location of the officer at the time the card was made out. This card showed the maximum number of sub-classi- fications under military qualifications and continued the let- ter series at the top of the card, which had been included on the March 15 edition for the purpose of tabbing the military qualifications of officers. (This is the form reproduced on pages 5 18 and 550. Details of filling out this card and tabbing it are given in Chapter XI of Volume II.) Introduced Into the Line. The cards of January 6, 1918, were put in use at once. On January 15, 1918, a letter was sent by the Adjutant General to the commanding generals of all divisions. The following paragraphs are quoted from this letter: "The first general rating of officers in your division, pur- suant to the method stated in the printed instructions, will be as of February 1, 1918, and similar ratings will be made every three months thereafter. Intermediate ratings may be made if desired. "For the sake of uniformity, the use of Officers' Qualifi- cation Cards and the rating system in connection therewith is made obligatory in all divisions in the United States. It is believed that the use of these cards will make it pos- 548 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL "8* s -i il\ j -5 "s ; Scis'^i;-'! S^5 5 IP * ^i-i| M May 26, 1918, made the use of the qualification card and the rating scale official for officers in the continental limits of the United States. Significant para- graphs are quoted: "All officers of the Army below the grade of brigadier general, on active duty and serving within the continental limits of the United States, will be classified and rated according to the rating scale method now in use in the case of line officers and in certain of the staff corps and depart- ments. Each officer will fill out an officers' qualification card and will be rated according to the rating scale on or before June 30, 1918. In case of transfer, whether within the United States or overseas, this card will be rated, and inclosed in a sealed envelope or package. It will accom- pany the officer and be delivered to the commanding officer to whom he reports. "Duplicate officers' qualification cards will be made before July 5, 1918, and will be forwarded by the division, department, district, post, camp, or other station com- mander directly to the Adjutant General of the Army, ex- cept that duplicate cards of officers of staff corps and de- partments of the National Guard, National Army, and Officers' Reserve Corps will be forwarded to the Chief of 552 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL o^ 11 _s I r -s* 1^ * o r* "i S N ri ~ ^ & s ^ :tC. -S^i ^ aic 1 "?1- ctr 5? :^s -;{g :| jijlhji a , | |I!I '? t | i'-- J ;." - = "- = ---- i j 5 i lili !ii#* [Ultlil ii=!*W ; !: 3 mi iy{iiii|ii^ijji]lj|iii|jiiiii :' si3=ic5 ucHmfiZEtt^Miaivn |LllilSliilliII !|I!lsilIlFIIIf I*J |4iu| ^ 5i < < j :! H'" t i I ijjftl iiiMyi? f'jil^i^ R2JJ33 il ! ,' y Si ] illlllte^ * '^ Hi Il ]l 1 H|!||:||{4j -||j |M|j !!|!!!i|l!H!!|| i|^| |j|| i|li :M ui ^ffl = | 3 (M / i ^ ^ 2 w < g) ~ o 1" 3 'to 11 11 2 EH g G OS o> C *-* o> c S a WO WO pJ * 3 EH Bi d S o C 5 ^ P 3 CH d H as to "H o Si ^ U I H g some cases, of success as teachers of flying, marksmanship, etc. 614 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL schools alone are concerned, but it seems better to plan the scheme with a view to work in the flying schools and at the front as well. To reduce discharges from, and increase suc- cesses in the ground school, is only one part of the general problem. THE AIR SERVICE TEST OF MENTAL ALERTNESS The facts given above show that a cadet required notable scholarly ability to complete satisfactorily the work of the ground school. At the same time it seemed undesirable to pick military aviators chiefly on academic qualifications. So the attempt was made to provide a test that (1) would pick brainy men who could graduate in the ground school, (2) would not pick, however, the studious type at the expense of courage, skill, alertness and bodily dexterity, and (3) would in fact pick for success at the flying school and over the lines as well as for success in the ground schools. The so-called Thorndike test of mental alertness was the result. This was composed of eight of the regular army tests already in use by the Division of Psychology in the Office of the Surgeon General, plus five others. The regular army tests were, however, modified by being made harder so as to fit officer material rather than enlisted men. Also fifteen forms of the test, of equal difficulty, were prepared instead of five, so that a new form could be given every two weeks to prevent any unfair preparation for the test. Finally the tests were so arranged that they could be given by the examining boards or by any personnel officer after an hour's study of the directions. These tests were tried out with five hundred cadets, and the correlations and partial correlations determined. The test was shown to give a much better prophecy of success in the ground school than amount of education or class standing or any other item reported by the candidate, the partial cor- relation between it and success in ground school being three times as high as for any such item. A prophecy was made 615 concerning fifty men tested on their third day .in the Prince- ton Ground School. Eight men were named as likely to do poor work: of these eight, six were discharged from the school. Of eleven men named in a similar prophecy at the Ohio School only two graduated without being "set back" and six failed to graduate at all. The test was consequently adopted for use by all examining boards and remained in force till mobilization ceased. It was shown, in connection with other investigations to be mentioned later, to be useful also in eliminating men who would fail to learn to fly well enough to receive the R. M. A. A sample of the test (which amounted to a booklet of 12 8^x11 pages) is shown below. TEST 2 Look at each sentence. Think what it would be if the words were put in the right order. If it would be true, draw a line under the word true. If it would be false, draw a line under the word false. 1. health necessary camp a is to clean true false 2. Germany of Wilson king is England and true false 3. work like men all true false 4. water cork on float will not true false 5. iron paper made of is filings true false 6. tropics is in the produced rubber true false 7. fish hunt and like boys to never true false 8. size now of guns use are great in true false 9. bushes trees roots have and their air the in true false 10. Not bees lazy and are ants called true false TEST 4 Wrile the correct answers to these problems. Use the margins of the pages to figure on. 1. A dealer bought some mules for $800. He sold them for $1,000, making $40 on each mule. How many mules were there? Answer ( ) 2. A rectangular bin holds 400 cubic feet of lime. If the bin is 10 feet long and 5 feet wide, how deep is it? Answer ( ) 616 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL 3. A recruit spent one-eighth of his spare change for post cards and four times as much for a box of letter paper, and then had 90 cents left. How much money did he have at first? Answer ( ) 4. If 3y 2 tons of coal cost $21, what will 5y 2 tons cost? Answer ( ) 5. A ship has provisions to last her crew of 500 men 6 months. How long would they last 1,200 men? Answer ( ) 6. If a man runs a hundred yards in 10 seconds, how many feet does he run in a fifth of a second? Answer ( ) 7. A U-boat makes 8 miles an hour under water and 15 miles on the surface. How long will it take to cross a 100-mile channel, if it has to go two- fifths of the way under water? Answer ( ) 8. If 241 squads of men are to dig 4,097 yards of trench, how many yards must be dug by each squad? Answer ( ) 9. A certain division contains 3,000 artillery, 15,000 infantry, and 1,000 cavalry. If each branch is expanded proportionately until there are in all 20,900 men, how many will be added to the artillery? Answer ( ) 10. A commission house which had already supplied 1,897 barrels of apples to a cantonment delivered the rest of its stock to 29 mess halls. Each mess hall received 54 barrels. What was the total number of barrels supplied? Answer ( ) TEST 6 In each of the sentences below, you have a choice among four words. Draw a line under the one of these four words which makes the truest sentence. 1. Gas engines are lubricated by gasoline air water oil. 2. Buenos Ayres is a city of Spctin Argentina Brazil Portugal. 3. The Pittsburgh team are called Giants Cubs Pirates Tigers. 4. The howitzer is a type of machine-gun rifle cannon pistol. 5. The Zeppelin is a monoplane biplane dirigible submarine. 6. An irregular four-sided figure is called a scolium trapezium parallelogram pentagon. 7. From Berlin to Petrograd is about 500 mi. 900 mi. 1,400 mi. 1,900 mi. AERONAUTICS COOPERATION 617 8. The inventor of the telegraph was Ampere Edison Farraday Morse. 9. If the two sides of a right triangle are 3 ft. and 4 ft, the hypot- enuse is about 434 ft. 5 ft. 5% ft. 5y 2 ft. 10. The color of bromine vapor is violet green brown white. ON THE QUALITIES ASSOCIATED WITH SUCCESS IN THE TECHNIQUE OF FLYING After graduating from a School of Military Aeronautics (so-called ground school) a flying cadet was sent to an Avia- tion School (so-called Flying School) where he passed through various stages of flying instruction and, if success- ful, receiving his rating as Reserve Military Aviator (R. M. A.) and commission. Contrary to general opinion in the early months of the war, the great majority of young men of fair intelligence, courage and nervous stability who wished to learn to fly could do so, and with a degree of skill that secured the R. M. A. Only about six in a hundred of the men sent to Aviation Schools were so lacking in "aptitude for flying" that they could not learn at all or learned so slowly that they were not allowed to continue. The direct military wastage was therefore not great, but the money loss was; the average expense for each such discarded candidate being variously estimated at from two thousand to five thousand dollars. Over a score of tests possibly prophetic of ability to learn to fly had been given to about 170 cadets at Boston by Drs. H. E. Burtt, W. R. Miles and L. T. Troland, and at San Diego by Dr. G. M. Stratton, and at Philadelphia by Dr. F. N. Maxfield. The Committee cooperated in securing information about the relative skill of these individuals as flyers and in com- puting correlations between skill as a flier and score obtained in each of these tests. The facts gathered by Dr. R. P. Parsons concerning the naval aviators tested by him were also studied. It was shown that no one test could wisely be 618 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL used to admit or exclude, but that a set of six or eight tests, each properly weighted, gave promise of saving much money, and of expediting the training of fliers. In February, 1918, the Committee recommended a certain set of tests for a thorough tryout with a hundred excellent fliers, a hundred relatively poor fliers and a hundred men of known flying ability. Captain V. A. C. Henmon and Captain Stratton were detailed by the Air Service to do this work with a member of the Committee. Table 7. Data on Flying Ability of 100 Cadets at Kelly Field, No. 2. Test Scores Report from Average flying school Notes to date of dual time p=:poor g=good June 15 of others 75 or worse PPPPPP 2 suspended, relieved or discharged. 15.50 -50 to -74 PPPPPPg 4 " " " 11.16 -25 to -49 PPPPPPP 5 " " " 10.17 PPPPPPg to -25 PPPPggg 9 " " " 10.03 PPPPggg PPPPggg PPPP to +25 PPggggg 1 " " " 9.19 PPggggg ppggggg +25 to +49 pgggggg 1 not reported 9.23 pgggggg Pgggg +50 to +74 ggggggg +75 or better g 7.50 7.21 The results of the tryout were worked up and a detailed report made. The facts indicated a correlation of about .70 between success in the flying school and the properly weighted score of a team of tests composed of the Stratton- Parsons test of emotional instability, the Stratton test of per- ception of tilt, the Miles steadiness test, the Thorndike test of mental alertness and the Kelly-Henmon athletic score, either with or without the addition of certain tests of reaction- times. AERONAUTICS COOPERATION 619 The complete team of tests as given by Captain Henmon at Kelly Field showed the following results for the hundred flyers of known ability. Forty-five cadets untried as to flying ability were tested and a prophecy submitted naming five men to show as many discharges for inability to fly as all the other forty. This prophecy was borne out by their later records. The general effect of the test was computed from the cor- relations obtained to be as follows: Suppose 10,000 men are accepted on the present basis by the examining boards, during the next ten months. Call the flying ability of the thousand best of them 10, call the flying ability of the thousand next best 9, call the flying ability of the third best thousand 8, and so on. We will have obviously: Ability 1234 56 7 89 10 Number of Men 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 Suppose the team of tests recommended is applied, and 1,000 men are rejected, their places being filled by other applicants. The tests are significant of ability to learn to fly to such an extent that we shall cut off at the bottom and fill in at the higher levels so as to have: Ability 123 4 5 6 7 ' 8 9 10 Number of Men 696 865 967 1022 1057 1080 1094 1102 (1) The average flying ability is thus increased by 8 per cent. (2) The very poor flyers who would never fly at all, but simply be a waste of time and money, will be reduced by half. (3) The army will get this higher quality of flyers quicker than it would have got the poorer quality. For the tests not only pick the men who will be rated higher when they do get their R. M. A., but also the men who will get it sooner. 620 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL (4) These gains in quality and speed will be made at no cost of intelligence, courage, determination, co-opera- tion, or other military virtues. On the contrary, these will be somewhat higher in the men who rank well in the tests. Care has been taken to make sure of this. As a result, four special personnel units were constituted by the Air Service to give these tests to candidates and to cadets early in their careers at the Ground Schools. Captain Henmon was put in charge. Captains E. L. Wells, D. E. Rice and Burtt assisted him. Research to improve the tests still further was authorized and ample facilities were pro- vided, Captain Stratton being put in charge. ON THE QUALITIES ASSOCIATED WITH GENERAL SUCCESS AS A MILITARY AVIATOR An aviation cadet's course of study in the ground school and his learning to fly at the flying school were of course only means to the end of successful work under the actual con- ditions of warfare. The examining boards had as their real task, not simply to pick men who could graduate from a school of military aeronautics and learn to fly quickly and well, but to pick men who would help most to win the war at the front. To make their selection most efficient they needed a bill of specifications based on the qualities found to be posi- tively correlated with success in the actual work of a military aviator. The Committee made a thorough analysis of all the data available concerning men successful and unsuccessful as mili- tary aviators, as fast as it was available, and of the opinions of experts from England, France and Italy. Reports of results were made from time to time. Data were scanty, very variable, conflicting and inconclusive, during the entire first year of this country's participation in the war. The military authorities were unable to get specific data from fliers of known success at the front. Consequently there was required the arduous procedure of collating them from AERONAUTICS COOPERATION 621 Central Files and from the records of examining boards. The facts of the tables below were thus gradually obtained. These and others were used as the scientific basis for the CCP Plan for Selecting and Classifying Officer Material in the Students' Array Training Corps, recommended in Octo- ber, 1918. (See Chapter 41.) The Armistice prevented any checking of the results of the plan, which had just been put into action, so far as it concerned the selection of pilots. Table 8. The Frequencies of Different Amounts of Education in Military Aviators of High and Low Ratings for Success. H=high. L=Low. D=discharged or transferred because of lack of promise is a flyer. 1 Records at the Front Records in flying schools Aces H L H L D Less than high School graduation. 9.7% 3.9% 6.9% 7.7% 11.7% 6.5% H. S. graduation or H. S. graduation plus 1 year 27.3 22.1 18.6 32.5 32.4 36.1 H. S. graduation plus 2 or 3 years 39.0 48.5 52.1 32.5 33.7 38.0 College graduation or equivalent 22.0 25.5 22.3 27.3 22.3 19.4 Total 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% Number of cases from which p e r- centages are cal- culated 41 231 188 366 377 108 >The H records at the front are of men who have brought down enemy planes, been cited or decorated, or officially reported by their squadron commanders as being In the upper half (approximately) of the, group for success In their work. The Li records at the front are of men who were imprisoned without having achieved success as noted above, or who were officially reported by their squadron commanders as being In the lower half (approximately) of the group for success In their work. The H records In flying schools are of men who were reported directly to Dr. Thorndlke as specially competent pilots, or as In the top quarter for general promise as a military aviator, or whose official ratings as pilots were above the average (for the rator and revisor in question). The L records in flying schools are of men who were reported directly to Dr. Thorndlke aa comparatively poor pilots, or as In the bottom quarter for general promise as a military aviator, or whose official ratings as pilots were below the averages (for the rator and revisor in question). The D records are of men who were relieved from Instruction as pilots because of lack of promise as a flyer through Inability to learn to fly or "loss of nerve." 622 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL Table 9. The Frequencies of Different Ages in Military Aviators of High and Low Ratings for Success. H = high. L low. D discharged or transferred because of lack of promise as a. flyer. Records from the Front Records from flying schools Aces H L H L D Born in 1892 or earlier 7.5 21.7 22.7 27.9 34.1 33.3 Born in 1893, 94 or 95 47.5 52. 53.5 48.5 38.6 43.9 Born in 1896 or later 45.0 25.7 23.8 23.6 27.3 22.8 Total 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% Number of cases used in calculating percentages 40 230 198 369 381 114 Table 10. The Frequencies of Different Degrees of Athletic Ability in Military Aviators of High and Low Ratings for Success. H=high. L=low. D=discharged or transferred because of lack of promise. Records at the front Records at the flying schools H L H L D Men of less athletic ability 54.0 56.6 47.1 56.1 54.4 Men of greater athletic ability 46.0 43.4 52.9 43.9 45.6 Total 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% Number of cases used in calculating the per- centages 74 53 316 312 90 Table 11. The Frequencies of Different Degrees of Ability in Driving an Automobile in Military Aviators of High and of Ix>w Ratings for Success. H, L and D mean as in Tables 8 to 10. . Ratings from the front and from flying schools combined H L and D Men claiming no ability with automobile or only theoretical knowledge 21.6 - 37.2 Men claiming some ability 37.8 38.1 Men claiming full proficiency 40.6 24.7 Number of cases used in calculating the percentages 315 312 Table 12. The Frequencies of Different Salaries in Military Aviators of High and Low Ratings for Success. H, L, and D I II Records at the Records In flying front schools H L H L D III I and II Combined All All H L & D 26.1 26.1 16.0 17.5 31.5 17.9 21.8 39.1 52.2 40.8 40.9 29.6 40.5 40.6 21.8 13.0 21.4 21.1 22.2 21.4 19.9 13.0 8.7 21.8 20.5 16.7 20.2 17.7 46 46 206 171 54 252 271 AERONAUTICS COOPERATION 623 mean respectively high, low, and discharged or transferred because of lack of promise. Under $20 26.1 $20 to $29 39.1 .$30 to $39 21.8 $40 or more 13.0 Number of cases Table 13. The Frequencies of Different Amounts of Social Achievement in Military Aviators of High and Low Ratings .for Success. H, L and D mean as in Tables 8 to 12. A11L All H and D Low in Social Achievement 30.8 34.8 Medium in Social Achievement 34.3 36.9 High in Social Achievement 34.9 28.3 Number of cases 198 233 Table 14. The Frequencies of Different Ratings for Responsibility and Leadership in Military Aviators of High and Low Ratings for Success. H, L and D have meanings as in Tables 8-13. All L All H and D Reporting enterprises requiring little respons- ility and leadership 17.2 21.0 Reporting enterprises requiring medium amounts 52.9 45.8 Reporting enterprises requiring much responsi- bility and leadership 29.9 33.3 Number of cases used in calculating the per- centages 274 319 Table 15. The Frequencies of Different Amounts of Previous Mili- tary Training in Military Aviators of High and Low Ratings for Success. H, L and D have meanings as in Tables 8-14. Records Records from the front from flying schools H L H L L and D No previous military training. . 42.4 38.5 39.7 33.2 36.8 Little previous military training 29.9 23.6 24.5 27.5 27.2 Much previous military training 27.7 37.9 35.8 39.3 36.0 Number of cases.. . 177 782 290 280 331 624 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL Table 16. The Frequencies of Different Heights in Military Aviators of . High and of Low Ratings for Success. H High. L=Low. D=discharged or transferred because of lack of promise as a flyer. Records In flying schools H L, D 10.8 19.8 27.5 27.3 32.7 28.6 31.6 27.1 27.6 30.3 20.4 16.3 Records at the front Under 5 ft. 7 in H 14.1 L 15.0 28.8 35.3 20.9 43.8 56.2 67 or 68 in .... ... 28 8 69 or 70 in 33.2 5 ft. 11 in. or over. . . 23.9 Under 69 in Aces 48.6 42.9 51.4 57.1 69 in. or over. . Number of cases from which percentages are calculated . 205 187 38.1 61.9 333 52.5 47.5 343 56.1 43.9 98 Table 17. The Frequencies of Different Weights in Military Aviators of High and of Low Ratings for Success. H = high. L = low. D discharged or transferred because of lack of promise as a flyer. Records at the front H L Under 140 Ib 23.2 32.1 140 to 149 22.2 25.1 150 to 159 30.4 23.0 160 to 169 15.9 14.4 170 or over 8.2 5.4 Number of cases from which percentages are calculated 207 187 Records in flying schools H L D 20.0 29.9 38.4 26.0 24.6 25.3 24.5 23.1 21.2 15.8 15.8 11.1 13.7 6.5 4.0 335 341 99 AERONAUTICS COOPERATION 625 Table 18. The Frequencies of Different Degrees of "Stockiness" in Military Aviators of High and of Low Rank for Success. H = high. L = low. D discharged or transferred because of lack of promise as a flyer. Very stocky (Ht. in in. divided b y cube root of weight i n Records at the front Records In flying schools H L H L D pounds less than 126)... 15.0 15.71 ] 21.21 24.1 1 Stocky (128 34.4 131.9 I L35.3 144.0 38.1 or 129) 19.2 16.2 J 14.1J 19.9 J (Aces 38.9) Average (+130 or 131) 23.9 21.5 \ 25.81 20.7 1 h r 1 * 133) 22.2 20.4 13.8 J 18.4 J (Aces 38.9) Slender (134 or 135).... 12.61 14.71 13.8 1 9.81 Very slender I 19.8 Ue.2 1 25.1 L 16.9 19.0 (136 or over) 7.2 J 11.5 J 11.3 J 7.1 J (Aces 22.2) Number of cases from which per- centages are calculated . . . 167 191 283 266 42 626 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL Percentages from front and flying schools averaged H L Under 128 18.6 ] 19.9 ] \ 34.8 \ 38.0 128 and 129 16.7 J 18.1 J 130 and 131 24.8] 21.1] ^42.8 [40.5 132 and 133 18.0 J 19.6 J 134 and 135 13.2] 12.2] J-22.4 ^21.5 136 and over 9.2 J 9.3 J Table 19. The Frequencies of Super-vision, Normal and 20/20 Vision, and Vision below Normal in Military Aviators of High and of Low Ratings for Success. H = high. L = low. D = dis- charged or transferred because of lack of promise as a flyer. Records Records from from the front the flying schools Aces H L, H L D Vision above normal 30.3 29.7 31.9 45.8 48.7 28.9 20/20 or normal 63.6 64.4 58.2 51.4 47.5 68.4 Vision below normal 6.1 5.9 9.9 2.8 3.8 2.6 Vision above normal 33.3 29.7 32.6 43.0 45.0 26.9 20/20 or normal 60.6 63.5 61.7 54.2 48.8 71.1 Vision below normal 6.1 6.8 5.7 2.8 6.2 Number of cases used for above percentages 36 118 141 72 80 38 A similar result is obtained if the vision of the better eye only is used. Table 20. Out of 119 fliers rated H at the front there are 3 ears rated above normal and 15 below normal. Out of 143 fliers rated L at the front there are 2 ears rated above normal and 15 below normal. Out of 72 fliers rated H at the flying schools there are 2 ears rated above normal and 7 below normal. Out of 81 fliers rated L at the flying schools there are ears rated above normal and 8 below normal. Out of 31 men discharged for inability to learn to fly, only one ear was below normal. AERONAUTICS COOPERATION 627 Table 21. Frequencies of Different Lengths of Nystagmus after Rotation and of Different Amounts of Past-Pointing in Military Aviators of High and of Low Ratings for Success. H = high. L = low. D = discharged or transferred because of lack of promise as a flyer. Records Records at the front at the flying: schools Aces H L H L D Average length of nystag- mus 221/2 to 29y 2 53.6 48.5 53.4 46.8 56.2 64.0 Average length of nystag- mus under 22% or over 291/2 46.4 5.15 46.6 53.2 47.8 36.0 Number of cases used in the calculation 28 132 131 109 73 86 Number of past pointings near "normal" (10 to 15) 55.6 60.0 74.3 67.9 61.2 69.7 Number of past pointings far from "normal" (under 10 or over 15) 44.4 40.0 25.7 32.1 38.8 *30.3 Number of cases used in the calculation 9 40 70 53 67 86 Table 22. The Frequencies of Different Heart Rates in Military Aviators of High and of Low Ratings for Success. H, L, and D have meanings as in previous tables. H L, H L D Under 72 17.0 12.1 11.3 18.7 13.9 72-77 31.4 29.8 28.2 26.3 27.8 68-83 15.2 25.5 21.1 13.8 33.3 84-89 21.2 16.3 21.1 17.5 11.1 90 or over 15.2 16.3 18.3 23.7 13.9 Aces Under 77 38.2 48.4 41.9 39.5 45.0 41.7 77 and over 61.8 51.6 58.1 60.5 55.0 58.3 Number of cases.. .34 118 141 71 80 36 628 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL Table 23. The Frequencies of Different Blood Pressures in Military Aviators of High and Low Ratings for Success. H, L, and D have meanings as in previous tables. Records Records from from the front the flying schools Systolic Aces H L H L D Under 120 34.4 28.8 29.9 16.8 11.7 21.8 120-139 56.2 56.9 51.2 63.7 70.6 67.8 140 or over 9.4 14.4 9.0 19.5 17.7 10.4 Number of cases 32 153 134 113 136 87 Diastolic Under 70 19.4 24.6 18.0 12.5 11.7 15.0 70 to 80 64.5 59.9 67.2 75.9 78.8 71.2 90 and over .....16.1 16.2 14.8 11.6 9.5 13.8 Number of cases 31 142 128 112 137 87 A TEST OF INTELLIGENCE FOR USE WITH ENLISTED MEN IN THE AIR SERVICE The Department of Military Aeronautics, for various reasons, especially because of the nature of the work done by its enlisted men, decided not to rely solely on the regular army intelligence test for the intelligence of recruits, in which the ability to deal with verbal data was properly made prominent. At the request of the Director, Dr. Thorndike of the Committee undertook, in September, 1918, to prepare a series of tests to supplement or replace the regular army tests, Alpha and Beta, and if possible to prepare a series that could be administered satisfactorily by any personnel officer after a few hours of practice. A series was devised using four of the army Beta tests, changed somewhat so as to be adapted to men in the mechan- ical trades and four new tests, all being given without any use of words by the examiner or the candidate. Fifteen alternative forms were prepared, all of equal difficulty. These were tried out with some thousands of individuals, standar- dized, checked against the demonstrated ability of men who had been long in the air service, and found satisfactory. One sample form is shown below. All instructions are received AERONAUTICS COOPERATION 629 by imitation of the examiner who uses a large sheet, 20x36 inches, in front of the group, following a standard procedure. SERIES i A Write your name here ] Write it very clearly j TEST 1 l|v|v| |v|v| |v|v| |V|V| |V|V| |V|V| |V|V| 1 1 1 2|X|X|X| |X|X|X| |X|X|Xl IXIXIXI IXIXIXI IXI I 1 3|X|0| ixlol |x|o| Ixloi 1 Ixl 1 IE 4|X|X|0|X|X|0|X|X|0|X|X|0|X|X|0|X|X|0|X|X|0| | IE 5|0|X|X| o|x|x| lolxlxl lolxlxl lolxlxl 1 "T 6 |0|X|X|0|X|X|0|X|X|0|X|X|0|X.IX|0|XIX|0|X|X| 1 i i i i i i 7|0|A|A|D|D| lOlAlAlDlDl |O|A|A|D|D| |O|A|A| 1 i i 8|i rini i irini |i irini H rini ii rim i 1 i i BLI t .MIL MIL 1 L ] M . 1 i i 10 |i iininn li |l |HI|IIR| 1 | | 1 |Hl|lM I! 1 1 [in | mi |n! i 1 i ill M mm 1 iililiilinii |i|i|iniii|i|ii|i i mini il mi 1 i 12|olAlAlDlD|0|AlAlDlD|0|AlA|D|D|0|A|A|D|D|0| 1 1 1 1 ! FIG. 27 Mental Test Test 1 These tests gave promise of being a valuable supplement to the regular army tests, Alpha and Beta, in the case of recruits destined for work in the field artillery, coast artil- lery, signal corps, motor transport, tank corps and other departments where intelligence in dealing with mechanisms 630 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL rather than in understanding verbal directions is of special importance. See Figure 27 for fragments of the test. TEST 3 3 1 2 1 3 2 1 4 2 3 5 2 9 1 4 6 3 1 5 4 2 7 6 3 8 7 2 9 5 4 6 3 7 2 8 1 9 5 8 4 7 3 6 9 5 1 9 2 8 3 7 4 6 5 9 4 8 5 7 6 9 3 8 6 4 1 5 7 2 6 2 4 8 1 3 4 9 5 1 7 FIG. 27a. Mental Test Test 3 A PLAN FOR CLASSIFYING PILOTS FOR TRAINING AS PURSUIT PILOTS, BOMBING PILOTS, PILOTS FOR OBSERVERS, AND INSTRUCTORS At the request of Lieutenant Colonel J. E. Carberry of the Training Section, a tentative plan was devised early in AERONAUTICS COOPERATION, 631 the fall of 1918 for using available information about pilots in training, so as to put the right man in the right place. Various circumstances prevented the Committee from per- fecting this plan and discovering its merits by a try-out. The fundamental principle of distributing a fixed amount of qualitative demand amongst various characteristics, such as intellect, skill in straight flying, skill in "stunt" flying, mark- manship, etc., differently for the four varieties of pilots, was accepted and a first revision of the plan made in co-operation with the officers in charge of flying instruction at Kelly Field. This principle of "bidding" for qualities was used later to good effect as the basis in the Committee plan for the Selection and Classification of Officer Material in the Stu- dents' Army Training Corps, (see Chapter 41). The tech- nique of so using the resulting fitness scores as to send each man to the work for which he was most fit and at the same time give each branch of work its just proportion of men of each grade of ability, which was worked out for the Carberry plan, was adopted in its entirety in the plan for distributing the S. A. T. C. officer material to the different branches of the line and Staff Corps. Had the war continued, the placement of some seven thousand officers per month would have been effected in accordance with the principles and technique worked out first for the placement of pilots. ON THE SELECTION OF PERSONNEL FOR THE AIR SERVICE UNDER PEACE CONDITIONS Dr. Thorndike was appointed by the Director of Military Aeronautics as a member of the board to consider and report on the problems of training under peace conditions. By vote of the board he was requested to report specially on the Selection of Personnel for the Air Service under Peace Con- ditions, and outlined a plan by which the service could secure the desired sort of men for (A) officer-pilots, observers, engineer officers, adjutants, personnel officers, etc.; (B) pilots with rank corresponding to that of petty officers in the 632 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL navy; (C) foremen, skilled mechanics, and the like, with rank of sergeant, master electrician, etc.; and (D) unskilled and apprentice workmen with rank of private. OUTLINE OF VARIOUS SERVICES RENDERED THE DEPARTMENT OF MILITARY AERONAUTICS Besides these main lines of work in connection with prob- lems of the flying personnel, the Committee was responsible for: 1. Various reports concerning the qualities associated with success as a military aviator, beginning in November. 1917, for the guidance of examining boards in the selection of cadets on a flying status. 2. An investigation of the ratings made upon the same candidates by different examining boards. 3. A scale for measuring the degrees of responsibility and leadership represented by different jobs, for use by examining boards. 4. A scheme for credits to be used by examining boards in selecting aviation cadets. This scheme was based on the judgment of thirty experts in scientific personnel work and fifteen experienced military aviators. 5. A scale for measuring the athletic ability of candi- dates, for use by examining boards. 6. A scale for measuring the achievement of college and high school students in non-academic activities, for use by examining boards. 7. An investigation of the relation between the records made in the Barany rotation tests by 135 aviators and their success as fliers. And later a still more extended investiga- tion of the same problem. 8. A descriptive inventory of the non-flying officers of low military rank, but exceptionally great merit and promise. 9. A descriptive inventory of the success in civilian life of non-flying officers, of the rank of captain, first lieutenant and second lieutenant. AERONAUTICS COOPERATION 633 10. An investigation of the use of the Officers' Qualifica- tion Record Card in the Air Service. 11. A set of tables for equating the official ratings given by any one officer rating ten or more officers with the ratings given by any other. 12. A set of tables for interpreting the meaning of co- efficients of correlation of .50, .60, .70, .80 and .90. 13. A study of the personnel data in the case of British fliers secured by Captain Bigelow for the Personnel Section of the D. M. A. 14. The relation between standing in the Schools of Mili- tary Aeronautics and success as a Military Aviator. CHAPTER 48 The Quartermaster Corps was the first of the Staff Corps to follow in detail the Committee's methods for commissioned and enlisted personnel. Major General H. G. Sharpe, and later, Major General G. W. Goethals, Mr. Robert Thome, and Colonel Charles P. Daly, all considered the classification and officer ratings important and cooperated in their intro- duction and perfection. The first Trade Test station was established at the Quartermaster Camp Joseph E. Johnston, Jacksonville, Florida, and the Personnel Office at that camp, under Major Claude M. Fuess, was a model of its kind. After the rating scale had been started in the line of the Army, Dr. Scott and his associates made contacts with the officers of the Staff Corps and presented the Army Classifica- tion System, as then operated. In the Quartermaster Corps, General Sharpe and Colonel Daly were immediately im- pressed with the importance of the work. At that time, July, 1917, it was important that every effort be expended on the line, so the amount of work that could be done by the Quar- termaster Corps was limited. A system for using the rating scale and for keeping records for candidates for commission in training at Camp Joseph E. Johnston was, however, worked out. This was installed by Captain (later Major) J. H. Spengler, Q. M. C. In February, 1918, however, the need for the more thorough classification and rating of officers in the Quartermaster Training Camp at Jackson- ville, Florida, became acute and, at the request of General Goethals. Dr. Scott, Colonel Daly and Mr. W. S. Field, who was working for the Quartermaster General on personnel and 634 QUARTERMASTER COOPERATION 635 training problems, went to Camp Joseph E. Johnston and classified all the officers in the school. The cards were sent to the office of the Quartermaster General and there used in selecting officers for special assignment. PERSONNEL WORK IN THE OFFICE OF THE QUARTERMASTER GENERAL On March 1, 1918, Mr. (later Lt. Col.) John J. Coss of the Committee took charge of the personnel work in the Quar- termaster Corps and continued until July 1st, when he re- turned to the Committee. He was supported in his work by Mr. W. R. DeField, a member of the Committee, who was assistant to Mr. Robert Thome, Assistant Quartermaster Gen- eral. The details of the work in the Quartermaster Corps given in this chapter are for the period of Mr. Coss' adminis- tration. During this time, the use of the Rating Scale and the Officers' Qualification Card was established throughout the Corps. In this work, the field staff of the Committee, under the direction of Dr. Strong, assisted materially by explaining the scale in all the larger Quartermaster stations. The qualifica- tion cards were used increasingly for the selection of officers and for overseas detail. The practice of sending qualification cards with casual officers, so marked as to indicate the proper assignment, was first regularized in the Staff Corps by the Quartermaster. An effort was made to centralize the procurement of officers. Orders were issued that no civilians would be commissioned unless there were no qualified officers or officer candidates available. This gave a fairer chance to the men in the serv- ice, but it did not operate perfectly, since the need for officers could not be accurately enough predicted to prepare a supply from within the service. The commissioning of draft age civilians was reduced to a minimum. Only the rarest technical specialists were commis- sioned and then seldom over the rank of first lieutenant. 636 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL Each commission so granted was approved by Major General Goethals or Brigadier General R. E. Wood. A new form of application for commission (CCP-1110) and a summary report sheet called "Inventory of Personnel" (CCP-12) were prepared for the Quartermaster Corps by Mr. Kendall Weisiger of the Committee. The applicant's qualification card was used with marked success. Indeed, it formed the basis of the card prepared by the centralized Personnel Branch of the General Staff, for use by all appli- cants for commission. The "Inventory," while a very effective form, required for its use a greater refinement of personnel methods than was achieved in the rush of the war expansion. An effective system for keeping track of the commissioned personnel was installed. Each Staff Corps kept its own file of officers' qualification cards and its own station list, show- ing the geographical location of its officers. In addition, the Quartermaster Corps kept a visible, alphabetical officers' file. For the station file, an ingenious system was devised by Major George H. Hahn, of the Personnel Division. Each officer was recorded on a card bearing the appropriate top flap. When an officer changed stations, his card was moved. The card system was filed in the "tub" file and not in the usual drawer system. A modification of this system with a series of red cards with the rank flaps to be inserted, blank, where vacancies in the different grades existed, could be used successfully in peace times for a centralized station record. Metal tabs in colors appropriate to the corps, could be used on the red cards and on the others to indicate the corps assignments. A Civilian Qualification Card and a new rating scale were worked out for the Quartermaster Corps civilian personnel by Mr. W. S. Field, in conjunction with the members of the Committee. This card is unique in that it provides for rec- ording the kind of occupation, the kind of business and the degree of responsibility, by checking separate lists. QUARTERMASTER COOPERATION 6i7 id! ? II lip ! I in i u 1 1 I : : |f! it t t ill! i lif'iJ I, i\$ r P iil II v ? 2|l iSUI 0^'fl-- - i-vTj*j.--; ii. v 1 - *ui ,*-- i-d it |! | lit u'4 ill USUIHJt I! lliiliiliiin ' iifiiHH iiiiti jiii ijiiii LP i 'UiiHiii'ii 1 -i^" Sjii** 1 !* !((**<** a J""- 1 ' J-i- 4t'--i ssse: ":;* o i g 00 S p] I O 638 A system of monthly strength returns and forecast of needs was instituted and carried out chiefly by Captain W. R. Robinson and Mr. William Carruth. This report kept cur- rent exact figures of strength and estimated need by occupa- tion. The estimate of needs was begun in March but was never accurate. Accuracy, indeed, was not possible until the full occupationalization of organizations was completed, in November, 1918, by Major Sidney A. Friede, Quartermaster Corps, detailed for work with the Committee. This estimate of needs was particularly necessary for the training work of the Quartermaster Corps, which was under the effective direction of Mr. W. S. Field. In an effort to accumulate information on the functions to be performed by officers and men in overseas units, in order to forecast the needs more accurately and to formulate a training program, Major Friede was sent overseas and returned with a very valuable report. The use of limited service men in the Quartermaster Corps in office units for the field was extensive. Studies were made on the advisability of using limited service men in the office of the Quartermaster General and the Supply Depots. The saving of money over the civilian clerical forces was not large enough to over-balance the dislike of giving office posi- tions to men in uniform, even if certified by the draft for limited service only. In the Quartermaster Corps, very few enlisted men were ever used in office work outside of the field. Procedure of Organization Units. The Office of the Quartermaster General was called upon to furnish officers and enlisted men for service in the States, and it was also required to organize uilits in accordance with an overseas program. To enable the corps to meet its obligations, author- izations for commissioned and enlisted personnel were given by the General Staff. Requisitions for enlisted personnel were prepared by occupations and transmitted to the central distributing office of the Committee. These requisitions were put on a priority schedule by Lt. Col. Kimball, of the Opera- QUARTERMASTER COOPERATION 639 t 1 1 !i i ij 1 :! J ! = i P ! | ! | I _ I :i ^ i i j i 5 ! ii i!) j s s I : 1! : 5 s pr i ! = 5 f J i I 1 1 i i - ! i ; ii . b.T ! t j !i i n M ; ? ' : :i ! 51 - I i i ! ; 1 1 i > | j i : i j 1 I ! : !; ! i i! , ! ! j I j II t | i j 1 [I | j ' . j ' I 4 l \ * !' i - * n 1] S 5; '- 1 -3 3 o- 640 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL tions Division, General Staff, and to fill them men were ordered from Depot Brigades to Quartermaster organization points. At these points, the largest of which was Camp Joseph E. Johnston, the classification of the men was checked, assign- ments to companies made or further individual training ordered. The units were given a small amount of group training and were then reported to the Transportation Divi- sion of the Purchase, Storage, and Traffic Division, as ready for transportation. When this was furnished, the units pro- ceeded to embarkation points and were shipped. Officers for overseas organizations were secured either by assignment of personnel serving in camp organizations or by commissioning from the Officer Candidate School at Joseph E. Johnston or Camp Meigs, or by commissioning from civil life. The last method was followed rarely, and only for such special units as, for instance, the Refrigeration Service. From July, 1918, the personnel under the direct control of the Quartermaster General was decreased by the separa- tion from the Quartermaster Corps of the Construction Divi- sion and the Motor Transport Corps and by the absorption of Quartermaster functions by Purchase, Storage, and Traf- fic. With the centralization of officer personnel procurement in the Personnel Branch, General Staff, the Quartermaster Corps, as all other arms of the Service, became dependent upon that agency for its officer personnel. PERSONNEL WORK IN THE FIELD* Camp Joseph E. Johnston was established on October 13, 1917, and continued without intermission to the close of the war as a Quartermaster camp. Its organization was singular, in that it could not be administered through brigades, regi- ments and battalions, as were the National Army and camp was early worked out. This so-called "block-system," The following Is taken from the report of Major C. M. Fuess, In charge of Personnel, Camp Joseph E. Johnston. QUARTERMASTER COOPERATION 641 without any reference to military acts or customary military National Guard camps where line organizations were in train- ing. A scheme of military administration peculiar to the regulations assembled a number of Quartermaster Corps com- panies for the purpose of camp administration within sep- arate geographical blocks. This peculiarity, together with the fact that Camp Johnston was almost primarily a train- ing camp, made the personnel work there of the most com- plicated character. A general order, dated April 18, 1918, declared the entire camp to be a school, and every division within the camp was directed to consider itself a part of the general training scheme. These preliminary remarks will serve to show in part how interesting the situation at the camp came to be for the personnel officer in charge. In addition, it is worth while mentioning that the officer in charge of personnel work was for several months a civilian and that all the members of the Personnel Division were connected with the Quarter- master Corps and not with the Adjutant General's Depart- ment, as in other cantonments. Finally, the scope and power of the personnel office in Camp Johnston was greater than in any personnel office, and its functions "were more numerous and varied. Early Personnel Work. Shortly after the camp was or- ganized, a local record card had been devised which each enlisted man was obliged to fill out himself: This card in the light of future events proved to be by no means adequate, even when supplemented by the system introduced in August, 1917, by the Committee. When a card was made out, it was sent to camp headquarters. Here, each card was examined and marked in blue pencil with "Vocational Assignment." As no official index of occupations then existed, a special occupational list was prepared in the camp. When specialists of a particular trade were needed, new classifications had to be made. At one time, for instance, a special class was made of "Overland and Buick Spare Parts Experts." When the vocational assignments 642 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL were completed cards were filed by occupation. Locator cards were also prepared from travel orders and filed alpha- petically. A glaring defect of this system was that the qualification cards were filled out by the men to be assigned without interview, instruction or control of any nature, ex- cept to see that a card was received from each man. In the early days of Camp Johnston, the men sent there aver- aged very high in education and ability. They soon found out that if they underscored "auto driver," or "horseman," or "farmer," they would probably be assigned as chauffeurs in a Truck Train or laborers in a Remount Squadron. They, therefore, usually concealed the fact that they had ever driven an automobile or carried on farm work. Some assignments in camp were very unpopular. For in- stance, nobody liked to be assigned as teamster in a Wagon Company. On one occasion when nobody volunteered for this job, the personnel officer took at random a hundred cards and assigned all the men to Wagon Company work. This procedure was not very successful, because many of the men were too short or too light in weight to carry on the work. Finally, somebody devised a "brilliant" scheme. Delegates from the Wagon Companies were sent to every barracks in camp with authority to pick out whatever men they wished. This procedure resulted in giving the Wagon Companies a full personnel. It is not just, however, to criticise too severely those in charge of Personnel work at Camp Johnston early in 1918. No one had been told anything about right methods and they had received no instruction since August, 1917, regarding the plans of the Committee on Classification of Personnel in the Army. The principle that a man should be assigned on the basis of his previous training and experience was not well established. Transfers from one unit to another were made, not usually on the basis of the man's previous occupation, but frequently because of personal influence. Furthermore, there was no one who was recognized as being in absolute control QUARTERMASTER COOPERATION 643 D personnel work at the camp. Authority was divided among several officers all of whom were at the beck and call of the Camp Adjutant. The deficiencies of the personnel work at Camp Johnston were brought to the attention of the Com- mittee in February, 1918, and the first important reforma- tory step in the handling of enlisted personnel was taken in sending Mr. D. J. O'Connor to Camp Johnston. Reorganization of Personnel Work. Mr. O'Connor put into use at Camp Johnston the qualification card devised by the Committee, and gave detailed instructions regarding the proper method of interviewing men and making out these cards. Under his supervision, the entire person- nel of the camp was "carded." Second Lieutenants from the first Officers' Training School were used as inter- viewers. At approximately the same time, Dr. Scott came to Camp Johnston and lectured to the officers regarding the mak- ing out of Officers' Qualification Cards and the correct methods of rating subordinate officers. As a result of the visits of Mr. O'Connor and Dr. Scott, a new conception of personnel work was established in the camp. Mr. Fuess (later commissioned) was then selected by Mr. Coss and after being trained by the Committee, was placed in charge of personnel work. When he arrived, he found the way already opened for the installation of a real Personnel Division. For two or three days after his arrival at Camp Johnston, Mr. Fuess was occupied from early 5 morn- ing until late at night in interviewing men who claimed that they had been improperly assigned. Soldiers qualified in specific trades maintained that they had not been placed in companies where their attainments could be used. A dis- tinguished lecturer and author, a graduate of Harvard, had been assigned to a Butchery Company, where his main job was to cut meat. Being slight of frame and not in very good health, he was poorly equipped for the task of handling a cleaver. When removed from the Butchery Company and 644 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL assigned as intruder in the Training Division, he delivered brilliant lectures. It may be that the new Chief of Personnel was inclined to lend too free an ear to the complaints brought to his notice. In some cases he was convinced that a cowardly or weak man was trying to escape overseas duty. In one famous case, a soldier succeeded through some plaintive tale in getting himself transferred from an overseas unit to some non-combatant permanent company. Unwisely, however, he boasted of his achievement and the boast reached the ears of the Chief of the Personnel Division. Righteously angry at having been so imposed upon, that officer proceeded to transfer the soldier to his original overseas company. This case is typical of what happened in many cases in those early days. It soon became apparent that it would be beyond the physical power of one man to interview the long line of soldiers that appeared each day. Accordingly, Mr. Fuess picked two sergeants and he intrusted them with the duty of listening to the tales of woe. These men soon acquired ex- perience in the art and were able very quickly to separate the sheep from the goats. The goats were summarily ejected; the sheep were treated courteously and given assign- ments more to their satisfaction. It was important also to establish at once a system of interviewing incoming recruits. Not entirely satisfied with the results of the interviewing by the second lieutenants, Mr. Fuess picked some fifteen young enlisted men, all college graduates, and gave them instruc- tions in the proper method of making out qualification cards. These men became the nucleus of an organization which was later to include some fifty interviewers, all of them skilled in their particular job. To keep the personnel organization working together, con- ferences of department heads were called every morning at seven forty-five. This proved a valuable feature. The organization of the personnel office at the time of QUARTERMASTER COOPERATION 645 Mr. Fuess' arrival had been worked out by Mr. W. S. Field, who, as Chief of Quartermaster Training and advisor on the administration of Camp Johnston, had drawn organization plans for each of the functions of the camp establishment. Mr. Field's connection with the corps ceased on July 1, and, as the personnel work grew, certain changes became necessary. The operation of the different branches under the Chief of Personnel is of interest: Any civilian choosing to enter the service at Camp John- ston was brought before the Induction Branch, Personnel Di- vision, where he was instructed in the proper form to fill out and was regularly taken into the service. An enlisted soldier coming to Camp Johnston from some other camp or army post was sent at once to the Receiving Group to report to the commanding officer. From there, he was directed to the Office of the Procurement Branch, Personnel Division. Here he presented his qualification card; if he had no qualification card he was interviewed and a card made out and placed in the files. After filling or making out his qualification card, the soldier was sent before an officer by whom he was assigned to a particular company in a particular regiment in the Re- ceiving Camp. Private John Smith, for instance, on the basis of his past experience in motor car work was assigned to the Road Training Regiment, Company 9. As soon as practical, after his assignment, he was, if he acknowledged any profic- iency in any particular trade, sent to the Trade Test Branch, Personnel Division, where he was given a test. For example, if he claimed to be an outside wireman or an auto mechanic he was given the necessary tests and on the basis of his attainments was graded as an expert, journeyman, apprentice, or novice. The result of these tests was placed in red ink on his qualification card. After these preliminaries, the soldier took his proper assignment in the Receiving Camp. Here he was brought before various boards by whom he was innoculated for typhoid, vaccinated, inspected for tuberculosis, foot 646 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL trouble and tested by the psychologist to determine the grade of his mentality. The normal length of stay in the Receiving Camp, as de- termined by carefully prepared statistics, was approximately 22 days. During this time, the recruit received four hours per day drill along military lines and four hours a day in elementary instruction in one of three branches: office train- ing, shop training or road training. At the end of approxi- mately three weeks he was declared released by the epide- mologist and was therefore available for transfer to the main camp. Each day a certain number of men were ready for such transfer and their qualification cards were forwarded to the Assignment Branch, Personnel Division, at Headquarters. Here an officer, basing his judgment on the qualifications of the men as indicated by their qualification cards, assigned them to various posts in the main camp. Theoretically, at Camp Johnston every man coming from the Receiving Camp should have been assigned at once to some school unit in the Training Division and should there have entered upon a course of study of from four to eight weeks. In actual practice, this procedure was not possible. What really occurred was that in most cases all men coming from the Receiving Camp who were marked as experts or journeymen were assigned immediately to overseas organiza- tions. In some cases, when the pressure was very great, it was necessary in order to prepare these units on time to assign to them even apprentices. " When assigned to an over- seas unit, the soldier received some scanty training, but he was generally equipped and inspected with his fellows within a very short period and sent to a port of embarkation. In an exceptional case when a man was fortunate enough to be sent to school and pursued the course of the Training Divi- . sion until that division declared him ready for assignment, he was then put in overseas organizations to perform the functions for which he had been properly trained. In assigning men to these units as much care as possible QUARTERMASTER COOPERATION 647 was exercised. No card system, however, is without its de- fects. In cases where it could be shown that a man's original assignment was improperly made, he made appeal to the Adjustment Branch, Personnel Division, by whom he was often transferred to a unit where his ability could be proved to be of more value. Such transfers at Camp Johnston occurred frequently and were carried out solely for the pur- pose of placing the right man in the right job. The Organization Branch, Personnel Division, formed all such overseas' units and arranged for their departure from camp. When a requisition came from the office of the Quar- termaster General to send men of certain qualifications to other posts, it was the duty of the Requisition Branch, Per- sonnel Division to select these men, usually on the basis of a personal interview, and to transfer them to fill the order. Calls of this kind came frequently and in some weeks two hundred or three hundred men were sent out of camp in response to such demands. This particular work of the Per- sonnel Division was by no means unimportant and had to be conducted with great care. The Records and Statistics Branch, Personnel Division, kept the records of every man in camp, filed the qualification cards and maintained a locator card file. Wheji a man was finally sent from camp, either in an overseas unit or on a requisition from Washington, the Personnel Division attended to his departure, providing him or his commanding officer with the qualification card and thus ushered him out of camp. The Personnel Division also controlled the promotion and the commissioning of men in camp. The papers of all men recommended for commission or promotion were forwarded through the Personnel Division. The Personnel Division had authority, through the commanding officer, to make non-com- missioned officers. The location of companies or army units in camp was directed by the Chief of the Personnel Division. In addition, the management of the pay cards and pay rolls was directed by the Personnel Adjutant's Branch, Personnel 648 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL Division, and all matters connected with insurance and allot- ment were attended t'o by the War Risk Insurance Branch, Personnel Division. The Personnel Division, also in con- nection with the Officers' Training School, interviewed prospective officers with a view to their assignment to definite stations in response to requisitions from the Quartermaster General. Officers' qualification cards were kept in the files of the Personnel Division and placed in the hands of officers on their departure from camp. At the time when the Personnel Division was working at its highest capacity, it numbered 412 men located in various sections of the camp. The Induction Branch, the Procure- ment Branch and the Trade Test Branch were in the Receiv- ing Camp. All other branches, except the War Risk Insur- ance Branch, were located in the Headquarters Building. It has sometimes been maintained that the clerical force em- ployed was too large, but when it is remembered that the Personnel Division at Camp Johnston carried on administra- tive work, which was of a kind not carried on by Personnel Divisions in other camps, the office force used will not seem too great. A peculiar situation arose with the organization of the sepa- rate Motor Transport Corps in Camp Johnston. It was not altogether desirable that the Personnel Division should ad- minister the personnel work connected with the Motor Trans- port Corps; yet no other method could be followed if the work of the Motor Transport Corps was to be done. Eventu- ally the problem was solved in the following manner: The Chief of the Personnel Division assigned one man in each of the twelve branches to specialize in the complexities of the Motor Transport Corps. When these men had learned fully their lessons, they were taken bodily and placed under the control of the commanding officer of the Motor Transport Corps at Camp Johnston, who thus had a complete Per- sonnel Division under his direction and at his disposal. Through this method, the transition from one state of affairs QUARTERMASTER COOPERATION 649 to another was accomplished without friction or confusion. The archives of the Quartermaster Corps contain a detailed account of the operation of each Branch of the Personnel System at Camp Johnston. CAMP MEIGS At Camp Meigs, which was a small casual camp of about 3,000, located on the outskirts of Washington, there was established a personnel office which did satisfactory work throughout the war. A training school was established there of officers from the Camp Johnston School. Camp Meigs was used by the Committee for four sessions of the series of Per- sonnel Schools which were conducted under Dr. Strong and Mr. Kendall Weisiger. CHAPTER 49 PERSONNEL WORK IN THE NAVY AND MARINE CORPS Under provisions of the Man-Power Act of August, 1918, and as a result of a conference between the War and Navy Departments, the Navy was allotted an average monthly quota of 15,000 to be taken from the draft; 6,500 by indi- vidual induction and the remainder from the "run of the draft." In addition to this monthly quota there were certain classes of the draft from which inductions could be made by the Navy. The U. S. Marine Corps, under the provisions of the Man- Power Act of August, 1918, was entitled to receive from the "general run of the draft" a monthly quota of 5,000 men until February, 1919, and a 1,500 quota thereafter. The Marine program provided that 4,000 men should be received per month at Paris Island, South Carolina, and Mare Island, California. At these marine barracks they were to receive their preliminary training and then be forwarded to the Marine Pre-Embarkation Camp at Quantico, Virginia, for assignment to duty with combat organizations. With the extension of the draft to the Navy and Marine Corps the personnel problems which had arisen at the national army cantonments similarly appeared in the Navy and Marine Corps. It was not surprising, therefore, that the Fall of 1918 should see the request for the cooperation of the Com- mittee on Classification of Personnel in the Army with the Navy Department. PERSONNEL WORK IN THE NAVY The urgent need of the United States Navy for a personnel 650 651 system similar to that adopted and used in the Army can best be shown by quoting the following from the Newport (R. I.) Naval Training Station Bulletin. EXPERIENCED PHOTOGRAPHERS WANTED A first-class experienced photographer familiar with dark-room work, retouching and printing is desired for the Newport "Recruit," also a man who is capable of acting as layout artist. Applicants should apply at office of the "Recruit." CAMERA REPAIRMEN NEEDED Heads of all Departments will immediately submit to the Execu- tive Officer a report of the number of men available for transfer for instruction as camera repairmen. Men should have had some previous experience in making or repairing cameras. LABORATORIANS (MECHANICAL) Men who believe themselves specially qualified for duty as Labora- torians (mechanical) at the Engineering Experiment Station, Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md., will submit application to the Materiel Office through the heads of their departments. The essential qualifications are: a knowledge of mechanical engi- neering, such as would be obtained at a technical school, including courses in mechanical drawing, shop-work, physics, applied mechanics, applied electricity and steam engineering. The principal duties that would be assigned these men are: cali- bration of engineering measuring instruments, such as thermometers, pressure gauges, etc., taking observations during a test of steam and electrical machinery; calculating of results, plotting of curves and. making sketches and .drawing. Materiel Officer will submit list of men qualified with statement of training and qualifications in each case. Applications for this duty will not be received after 12 KX) M. on Thursday, October 3, 1918. MEN FOR MERCHANT MARINE All men desiring transfer to. the Officer Material School, Naval Auxiliary Reserve (Merchant Marine), should submit their applica- tion through the regular channels. Men selected for this training must meet the following qualifications: 1. Men of ability and officer material. 2. Age 21 to 40 inclusive. 652 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL 3. Education equivalent to at least completion of High School Course, including good knowledge of trigonometry and logarithms. 4>. Physically qualified for line officer standard of the regular Navy. 5. Must be in regular Navy, in the Naval Reserve Force (any class) for general service. 6. Shall have had at least one month's military training or its equivalent. Men are wanted immediately for this school. Heads of depart- ments will publish this notice. RAILROAD MEN NEEDED The Bureau of Navigation has need of men for duty as section hands in connection with the construction of a' Government Railroad at Indian Head, Maryland. All men who have had previous railroad experience are requested to submit their names to the head of their department. Heads of departments will submit lists of names to the Executive Officer. Only men available for transfer should be included in the above referred to lists. MINING ENGINEERS The Bureau of Navigation has urgent need for five men for inspection of mines, in connection with the shipping of bunker coal to the Atlantic seaboard. Men should be graduate Engineers of high standing and have ex- tensive practical experience in the coal fields of West Virginia and Pennsylvania producing low volatile coal. Men believing themselves possessed of the necessary qualifications to perform this duty are requested to immediately submit their names to the Executive Officer via the head of their department. The foregoing extracts are clear indications of the need in the Navy for some scientific system of ascertaining and recording an enlisted man's qualifications involving the use of qualification cards and trade tests and also some scientific effort to ascertain and express in a standard language the needs of the Navy. Major Coffin detailed to the Bureau of Navigation. On September 15, 1918, the Secretary of the Navy requested PERSONNEL WORK IN NAVY 653 the Secretary of War to detail an officer from the Adjutant General's Staff to report to the Bureau of Navigation of which Rear Admiral L. C. Palmer was then chief. In accord- ance with this request, a memorandum of September 21 was issued placing the services of Major Charles R. Coffin, Adju- tant General's Department, Personnel Adjutant of one of th'e large Army camps, at the disposal of the Personnel Section of the Bureau of Navigation. Plan for Mobilization of the Navy Devised. Major Coffin reported in person to Lieutenant Commander Emory Winship, the Chief of the Personnel Section. At a conference at which Lieutenant Commander Leroy Brooks, Lieutenant Loughran, and Chief Clerk Yeoman Whitely were in attendance he explained not only the forms used in Army personnel work, but also the forms from the Provost Marshal General's Office used in the induction and receiving of drafted men. As a result of this conference the Navy Department issued, on September 21, 1918, a letter on the mobilization of man- power for the Navy, setting forth many phases of the subject in detail. Personnel Work Explained at Naval Training Station. Subsequent to this conference, Major Coffin proceeded to the Naval Training Station at Newport, Rhode Island, to con- fer with the Commandant, Captain E. H. Campbell, for the purpose of ascertaining how much of the Army personnel system was adaptable to the needs of the Navy. Accompany- ing Major Coffin was Lieutenant Commander Raymond Dodge, a member of the Committee on Classification of Per- sonnel in the Army, who had been released from service with the Army for the purpose of developing and perfecting cer- tain tests contemplated for the use of the Navy in selecting naval aviators, gun pointers, signalmen, listeners, and men for fire control and lookout duty. As a result of the con- ference, Captain Campbell was most enthusiastic about the personnel system and designated Lieutenant Shannon from his office to confer with Major Coffin and Lieutenant Com- 654 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL mander Dodge upon the personnel system for the Navy. As the result of their efforts the following memorandum was submitted to the Bureau of Navigation: "SUGGESTED PERSONNEL CLASSIFICATION DIVISION "1. The Senior Personnel Classification Officer shall be assigned duty in the Bureau of Navigation, and shall be known as Head of the Personnel Classification Division, and will act as assistant to the Chief of the Bureau of Navigation. "(a) The Head of the Personnel Classification Division shall be an officer on the active list of the Navy, appointed by the President, but with the advice and consent of the Senate, from among the officers of the line of the Navy, not below the grade of Lieutenant Commander, for a period of four years, who shall under the direction of the Chief of the Bureau of Navigation, be charged with the Personnel Classification development of the Fleet, Bases and Training Stations, and be charged with the preparation and readiness of plans for such increase that might be used in time of war. "(b) The orders issued by the Head of the Personnel Classification Division in performing the duties assigned him shall be prepared under the authority of the Chief of the Bureau of Navigation, and his orders shall be considered as emanating from the Chief of the Bureau of Navigation, and shall have full force and effect as such. "(c) To assist the Head of the Personnel Classification Division in the Bureau of Navigation in performing the duties of his office, there shall be assigned for this exclusive duty not less than officers of and above the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade of the Navy, or First Lieutenant of the Marine Corps. "(d) The business of the Personnel Classification Division of the Navy shall be distributed in such manner as the Chief of the Bureau of Navigation shall judge to be expedient and proper. PERSONNEL WORK IN NAVY 655 "(e) The Head of the Personnel Classification Division shall furnish such information and data as may be called for by the Chief of Naval Operations and the General Board, furnishing a copy of same to the Chief of the Bureau of Navigation. "(f) He shall advise the Chief of the Bureau of Naviga- tion on all business of his department in regard to foreign progress, along this line, with such comment as he may deem advisable. "(g) In preparing and maintaining in readiness continu- ally various forms of procedure for the use of the Fleet and Naval Training Stations in time of war, he shall frequently consult with, and have the advice and assistance of the vari-* ous Bureaus, Boards and Officers of the Navy Department, including Marine Corps Headquarters in matters coming under their cognizance. "(h) The Head of the Personnel Classification Division shall from time to time witness Personnel Classification work in the Fleet, and frequently inspect Bases and Training Sta- tions when practicable. "(i) He shall have two principal Senior Assistants, officers not below the grade of Senior Lieutenant, one of whom pref- erably to be on the staff of the Commander-in-Chief of the Atlantic Fleet, and the other on duty at a Naval Training Station. "(j) With each 20,000 enlisted personnel afloat there shall be one Personnel Classification Officer. "(k) There shall be assigned to each Naval Training Sta- tion or Naval Base one Personnel Classification Officer. "(1) Personnel Classification Officers assigned duty with a force shall keep complete files of the force personnel, and when practicable verify their files with the master files kept by the Senior Personnel Classification Officer in the Bureau of Navigation semi-annually. Should it be impracticable to do this a letter will be forwarded to the Bureau of Naviga- tion, stating in detail the reason for omission. Following a 656 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL comparison of files a report will be submitted showing any discrepancies that may be found to exist, along with sugges- tions as to their possible future elimination. "(m) Personnel Classification Officers afloat shall be charged with the enforcement of the Personnel Classification Regulations, and with the distribution of all orders and regu- lations of a general or circular character that might be of interest to Flag and Commanding Officers. "(n) The Senior Personnel Classification Officer shall be responsible for the proper training and development of Per- sonnel Classification Officers, and shall make recommenda- tions to the Chief of the Bureau of Navigation from time to time that will increase the efficiency of the Personnel Classi- fication Division. "(o) The Senior Personnel Classification Officer shall be in charge of the schools for Personnel Classification Officers, and shall keep on file in the Bureau of Navigation a list of officers available for such duty. "(p) The Head of the Personnel Classification Division shall recommend to the Chief of the Bureau of Navigation such officers as he deems qualified for Personnel Classifica- tion for the staffs of Commanders-in-Chief and Training Sta- tions. "(q) The Head of the Personnel Classification Division will furnish such data as may be required by the Chief of the Bureau of Navigation for his annual report, showing progress made and work accomplished, along with such statistics as might be of interest." Captain Campbell later suggested a change in paragraph j, so that a Personnel Officer would be provided for each vessel afloat, except in the case of smaller craft where the duties of the Personnel Officer were to be added to the duties of another officer already on duty. Before leaving Newport, the following Qualification Card for use in the Navy was prepared by Major Coffin. This card followed the general line of the Soldiers' Qualification Card. PERSONNEL WORK IN NAVY 657 1 * | NAVAL STATION 1 STAMP HERET IF LIMITED! SERVICE I 35 TRADE TEST RATINGS t -X cc RACE.. U efl 1 ~ 03 U 3 0* ce o> (M fe I INOCULATIONS SYMBOL CO /ALLOTMENTS h M 2 >< i ^ I ? .j 3 u * <*} j? ^? fe 1 ISYMBOL cri o ul * ' O q{ 0) TT S n ' U J : L : ; ? ^ n C c^ < a U) cr I 4 UAM6I1H CATION. J ASSIGNED BY PERSONNE.I_ OFFICFR AS SYMBOL. -4 8; - - . k t % < o ^ m 5- en s 15- crt I CM 8 ir E - O S2 CO r* . Lu 2 PRINT CLEARLY. LAST NAME FIRST NAME MIDDLE NAME. NUMBER I SPECIAL QUALIFI a z Ul < END OF SCHOOL IN SYMdOL. X IU Ul I o L S a PI in ~j 3 S QC 9 S 1 La ^ cr OO nOAQia IWUAA i c/ir SURGEONS CJ a: O U) a I cc LL. ADDRESS OF FIRM? DEPT SHOP IMIND or OR BRANCH. aiiSltlESS YRSAT |T|WKLVWA&E SURGEON'S 5 ?** I 15 OT2 i SURGEON'S ) SYMBOL ( "> i" >nc - > c Xoewxs YRSAT IT J< O CO 1 I -^ SYMBOL ~> MAIN OCCUPATIOM 2 mg 00 ZU i yl 1 oc 0- fee r 5 LTC ^ i ADDITIONAL ) J GREATEST AUTHORITY OR LEADERSHIP ^n 'aavo Nonvoidiivnb AAVN 658 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL Cessation of Hostilities Halts Personnel Program. The signing of the Armistice halted the work so favorably begun in the Navy and terminated for war purposes the close liaison established between the Bureau of Navigation and the Com- mittee on Classification of Personnel in the Army, but not until the usefulness and the necessity of personnel work in the Navy had been demonstrated. PERSONNEL WORK WITH THE MARINES A cablegram from the American Expeditionary Forces reading "Thirteenth Regiment Marines arrived without pas- senger lists, locator cards, master cards, qualification cards. Request that in future Marines bring same records required of all other organizations," was received in Washington on October 12, 1918. As one of the results of this request the Commandant of the Marine Corps requested that an officer be detailed from the Army for the purpose of assist- ing in the installation of the Army system of records. Im- mediate action was taken on this request and Major Coffin, of the Adjutant. General's Department, who had already co- operated with Navy in explaining the Army personnel sys- tem, was detailed to report to the Adjutant-Inspector of the Marine Corps for the purpose of installing the system used in the Army. As one of the results of a conference with Brigadier General C. S. Long on October 22, a decision was made to prepare the two organizations then awaiting embar- kation at Quantico with the necessary papers, and on the same day personnel work was explained to Brigadier General A. W. Catlin, the Commandant at Quantico, who immediately assigned Second Lieut. D. VanMoss to install the system, under the supervision of Major Coffin. Meanwhile, it had been decided at Marine Corps Headquarters to adopt all Army forms insofar as they pertained to units operating in the American Expeditionary Forces. At Quantico, classes were immediately organized and in- struction began in the preparation of all forms used by the PERSONNEL WORK IN NAVY 659 BIRTHPLACE OF FATHER OFMOTHEQ ' I U J I J r i e/ in RATING BEST QUALIFIED TO FILL. II SHMENTS FIG. 29a. Navy Qualification Card Reverse. of Ul Z UJ H _OOkOUT 1 i i 7 ) OF ENUSTED MAN HO^OKH, ,., f < c. u C MACHINERY X SOBRIETY RECOMD. MERITORIOUS CONDUCT PUNI z u UJ _J -U ILEADERSHI h c) CONTRQU a u Z Z <( Z 7 5 7 i I Q Z a z ) ) a ul ) o J u i Q GENERA U AVIATION RATING 0- X 2 1 ,/> ORDNANCE SIGNALING MECHANICAL WERSEL IN'. NAME OTHER 1 AKlCll/^RCC KA, - 1 > 5 N 5 5 3 jj 2 ji I - a -5 ;TR \ENCE .VICE', ORGANIZATION. yKATE OR S>PE.CIAI_ DUTV PREFERRED ISHING NMENT ' || REMARKS COURSE: O_ t " =!' 1= i _ ^z INSTIT Igs 5 |1A ; ^ Co e J TALENT FOR FURh (PUBLIC ENTERTA z*| 1 J? OJ o - ISCHOOLING H COMMON s 1 T:^ w u X COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITV ||TECHNICAL | COLLEGE |TRADE,NlGHTcm BUSINESS SCHOOI 1 SERVICE. 1 SC.HL? AT t ; if 660 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL Army overseas and within forty-eight hours this work was entirely completed for both the Machine Gun Battalions and the Replacement Troops at Quantico which were about to join the American Expeditionary Forces. Upon the completion of this work, similar records were prepared for the remainder of the personnel stationed at Quantico and instruction was given in the tabbing, classifi- cation and symbol systems used in connection with the Sol- diers' Qualification Cards and in the preparation of embarka- tion forms. Instructions were also given to all of the officers at the Post on the Officers' Qualification Card and the use and application of the Rating Scale. Paris Island. Upon the completion of the installation of the personnel system at Quantico, it was recommended that the work be immediately installed at Paris and Mare Islands, for the reason that the stay of the Marines at Quantico was limited and the real functions of personnel work could best be applied at the point where men were received from the draft and by recruitment into the service; namely, at these two island camps. The original Marine Qualification Card was somewhat smaller than the original card used in the Army and even less developed. It called for only one occupation and gave no room for details. The policy of the Marine Corps was to send no man to France who had not qualified as marks- man, except cooks. Consequently when a man failed to qualify on the range and was anxious for overseas service, he immediately became a cook regardless of whether or not he was familiar with that occupation and irrespective of any other qualifications which he may have possessed. It is not surprising, therefore, that qualification cards were not a mat- ter of much concern and were irregularly made out and spas- modically kept with the other records of an enlisted man in the Marine Corps. Upon his arrival at Paris Island, Major Coffin explained to Brigadier General J. P. Myers, the Post Commandant, the PERSONNEL WORK IN NAVY 661 Army personnel system and the Commandant was very much impressed with its usefulness and enthusiastically advocated its immediate adoption. In addition to the personnel work of the enlisted men the use of the Officers' Qualification Card and the Rating Scale was indorsed. At this station, Army forms, including the qualification cards, were prepared for the entire personnel, and the system installed provided for the preparation at the quarantine station of all personnel records and for a shipping station which was to check out transferred men and examine their records. At the direction of the Post Commandant, General Myers, Second Lieutenant J. E. Watson was detailed as Personnel Adjutant for the Post. A class composed of all officers on the Island was formed and instruction given in the use of the Officers' Qualification Card and the application of the Rating Scale. Conclusion. Major Coffin was on his way to Mare Island. California, to install the personnel system at that point when the signing of the armistice necessitated his recall for demo- bilization work, and as a consequence the system was not installed at that depot. This terminated the activities of co- operation between the Marine Corps and the Personnel or- ganization, but not before the Army personnel system had been eagerly sought and heartily endorsed by that corps. SECTION XIII. DEMOBILIZATION To complete the history of the personnel system this section includes in one short chapter the resume of activities incident to the reversal of the mobiliza- tion machinery and the part which the personnel office played in the early days of demobilization. CHAPTER 50 DEMOBILIZATION EARLY PLANNING As early as April, 1918, some attention was given by the planning section to the problems of demobilization, a step in Army personnel procedure which was bound to follow the tri- umph of allied military force sooner or later. Mr. Clothier, on his way back from installing personnel work in the A. E. P\, spent some time studying the plans of the British Army to demobilization. He rendered a very complete report to the Committee and it was in turn called to the atten- tion of The Adjutant General of the Army and to the Secre- tary of War. The report outlined the various facts which would have to be taken into consideration in demobilization. This English plan called for demobilization largely in terms jf industrial needs and had been arrived at after careful con- sideration of other plans based largely upon military moves. The final section of this report suggested certain principles which would have to be considered by the American Army in demobilization and further called attention to the way in which present personnel organization could function in the matter. The Organization Chart of the Committee of November 8, 1918, (when the organization was part of the General Staff), as illustrated in Figure 3 of Volume II (The Personnel Man- ual) shows a demobilization unit as part of the planning sub- section. The investigations then being carried on, relative to demobilization, were under the direction of Lt. Col. J. J. Coss and Lt. Col. R. C. Clothier, in addition to the many other duties of these officers at that time. In this work they came in contact with a committee on this subject at the War College, 665 666 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL presented Mr. Clothier's report on the English plan of de- mobilization to this committee and kept in touch with plans which were being developed there. Nothing definite was ac- complished except possibly to clear the ground for a recon- sideration of the problem. Little was accomplished as none appeared to realize that the war would end so soon and Army officers at that time were interested in no other problem than that of winning the war. PLANS PROPOSED IN NOVEMBER, 1918 With the signing of the armistice demobilization plans be- came at once a topic of absorbing importance. The War De- partment, the Labor Department and the War Industries Board (particularly through the War Labor Policies Board) all took up the question of demobilization methods. The advocates of industrial demobilization advanced the belief that the attention of the country should be shifted from Army needs to the needs of production on a peace basis, and that considerations of Army organization and speed of discharge should be viewed as of secondary importance. They did not sufficiently realize at the time that any plan for dis- charging men on a priority schedule of needed occupations, made perfectly practicable through the classification system of the Army, could not be operated unless the needs of the coun- try for labor of each sort could be expressed on a time schedule. No machinery exact enough to determine these needs existed; furthermore, industry was so hesitant about the re- sumption of peace production that it could hardly predict needs two weeks in advance. The plan of demobilization which was accepted took as its first principle military need : units were not to be disorganized by partial demobilization, but would be demobilized in blocks in the order in which their discharge would least decrease mil- itary efficiency. Every effort was made to carry out demobiliza- tion as rapidly as safety permitted and economy demanded. Within this program the known needs of industry were met by DEMOBILIZATION 667 giving wherever possible preferential discharge to men actually called for by their previous employers. Conditions of unem- ployment which might arise from too rapid discharge were considered, and provision was made for checking demobiliza- tion from camps discharging into an overcrowded labor market. Weekly reports prepared jointly by the Labor Department and the War Industries Board were used as an index of con- ditions. GENERAL PROCESS OF DEMOBILIZATION The War Department commenced demobilization within a few days after the signing of the armistice. A telegram of November 14, from The Adjutant General outlined the gen- eral steps to be taken in separating officers and enlisted men from the service. The telegram closed with this sentence: "The preparation and disposition of records pertaining to discharge of officers, enlisted men and organizations will be under the supervision of the Camp Personnel Adjutant who will be responsible that the records are complete and conform' to instructions, and for the forwarding of the records to The Adjutant General of the Army." This telegram definitely established that the personnel adjutant would handle the papers incident to separation, just as he had previously handled them in the case of receiving selective service men into camp. Meanwhile, the personnel and functions of the Miscellan- eous Section, Personnel Branch, Operations Division, General Staff, were transferred to the control of The Adjutant Gen- eral of the Army (see Chapter 9). The personnel adjutants who were responsible for the demobilization procedure in the camps remained under the jurisdiction of the Classification Division. Instructions as to demobilization were sent out by tele- gram, letter, circular and General Orders from the War Department. These averaged more than one a day from 668 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL November 14. 1918, to the end of January, 1919. These in- structions were concerned with what to do but seldom stated how the many details were to be carried out. Each camp had to develop a procedure by which the many details could be carried out in an orderly and efficient manner. Needless to add, some camps developed excellent organizations, while others did not do so well. In order to facilitate the work in all camps, visits were made to several camps in order to see how the orders were carried out and then a "Memorandum on Separation of En- listed Men from the Military Service" was prepared and issued on December 6. This memorandum was "issued for the information of all concerned and it is suggested that it be published with necessary and appropriate changes as a camp memorandum." Later another memorandum was issued "On Separation of Enlisted Men from the Military Service: Suggested Organization of Procedure in Office of Company Commander." It gave in detail the procedure whereby a com- pany commander had prepared the papers of 60 enlisted men a day for separation from service. Up to that time it had been considered that the preparation of papers of 15 men a day was a good day's work for a company commander. On January 21, a blue-print showing the organization of the personnel office (see Figure 30) was issued by the Classifi- cation Division, Adjutant General's Office, together with a sheet of explanatory notes. On the same day a letter from the Adjutant General's Office authorized the force of 7 officers and 200 enlisted men in the personnel office of a depot Brigade Camj) to be cut down to 5 officers and 110 enlisted men. And on January 22, an "Appendix: Separation of Enlisted Men from the Military Service" was issued. This appendix was intended to bring the December sixth set of instructions up to date and in harmony with all the orders issued since that time. DEMOBILIZATION 669 UT/NT NEL PERS ^ p *< II ^> E XQ 5^ > ^ 3| ^fcS y U dU/ SvipjDnuojpuD - ru/so./ o) 9f>/s puo ra//j l-c (5 O rf OlfO/ftf -9 3U O^rt tu , 670 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL COOPERATION WITH DEPARTMENT OF LABOR As the employment problem increased in magnitude the Personnel Office made every effort to facilitate the coordina- tion effected between tfce Department of Labor and the War Department in the placement of discharged soldiers in indus- try. Because of information at its disposal concerning the qualifications of discharged men and because of its control over the process of demobilization, the Camp Personnel Office was in a position to cooperate, and it did cooperate with the United States Employment Service, the service established by the Department of Labor at the military stations to function as employment clearing-houses and guide the soldier back into civil industrial pursuits. CONCLUSION At the time of writing this chapter (February, 1919) the procedure of demobilization was still in a state of develop- ment. The confusion caused by constantly changing instruc- tions was being gradually corrected by the stabilization and amplification of instructions, and the work of the inspectors. But in this time the process had been shortened, and although far from perfected, approached a standard of efficiency. APPENDIX I PERSONNEL OF THE COMMITTEE ON CLASSI- FICATION OF PERSONNEL IN THE ARMY AND ASSOCIATES I. THE COMMITTEE ON CLASSIFICATION OF PERSONNEL IN THE ARMY Roster of members who have served on the Committee from its formation on August 5, 1917, to its absorption by the General Staff, September 18, 1918. Walter Dill Scott, Director. Director, Bureau of Salesmanship Research, Carnegie Institute of Technology, Pittsburgh. E. L. Thorndike, Chairman. Professor of Educational Psychology, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York. W. V. Bingham, Executive Secretary. Head of Division of Ap- plied Psychology, Carnegie Institute of Technology, Pittsburgh. J. R. Angell, Dean of the Faculties, University of Chicago, Chicago. R. C. Clothier, Assistant to Vice President, A. M. Collins Mfg. Co., Philadelphia. John J. Coss, Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Business Ethics, Columbia University, New York. W. R. DeField, Supervisor of Systems, Montgomery Ward & Co., Chicago. Raymond Dodge, Professor of Psychology, Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn. H. L. Gardner, Director of Employment, Cheney Bros. Silk Co., South Manchester, Conn. William Browne Hale, Attorney. Kelly, Hale, Dammann & Coolidge, Chicago. P. J. Reilly, Employment Manager, Dennison Manufacturing Co., Framingham, Mass. Winslow Russell, Agency Manager, Phoenix Mutual Life Insur- ance Co., Hartford, Conn. 671 672 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL J. F. Shepard, Associate Professor of Psychology and Supervisor of Building Construction, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich. Edward K. Strong, Jr., Professor of Psychology, George Peabody College for Teachers, Nashville, Tenn. J. J. Swan, Consulting Mechanical Engineer, New York City. L. M. Terman, Professor of Educational Psychology, Stanford University, California. J. B. Watson, Professor of Psychology, John Hopkins University, Baltimore. R. M. Yerkes, Professor of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. In August, 1917, the Committee consisted of: Messrs. Scott, Thorndike, Bingham, Angell, Clothier, Dodge, Gardner, Shepard, Strong, Terman, Watson and Yerkes. At the conclusion, September 18, 1918, the Committee consisted of: Messrs. Scott, Thorndike, Bingham, Angell, Clothier, Coss, Dodge, Hale, Reilly, Russell, Strong, Swan, Watson and Yerkes. II. MILITARY ASSOCIATES IN THE WORK OF THE COMMITTEE Major, later Lt. Col., Grenville Clark, A.G.D., Military Repre- sentative, August 5, 1917, to April 23, 1918. Lt. Col., later Colonel, A. M. Ferguson, A.G.D., Military Repre- sentative, April 23, 1918, to September 18, 1918. He continued in charge as Chief, Miscellaneous Section, Personnel Branch, Operations Division, General Staff, until November 23, 1918; then as Chief, Classification Division, Adjutant General's Office. Brig. Gen. R. I. Rees, General Staff. Colonel D. Y. Beckham, Adjutant General's Department. Lt. Col. R. H. Kimball, General Staff. Lt. Col. Royal Mattice, Adjutant General's Department. Lt. Col. E. N. Sanctuary, Adjutant General's Department. Major C. R. Coffin, Adjutant General's Department. Major S. A. Friede, Quartermaster Corps. Major J. W. Hayes, Medical Department, S. C. Major B. J. Kempter, Adjutant General's Department. Major J. Perry Moore, Adjutant General's Department. Major D. W. K. Peacock, Coast Artillery Corps. Major H. M. Rayner, General Staff. Major John W. Sorrelle, Adjutant General's Department. Major Lawrence H. Whiting, Adjutant General's Department. APPENDIX 673 Major George T. Wilhelm, Adjutant General's Department. Captain E. O. Buhler, Adjutant General's Department. Captain C. C. Dilley, Adjutant General's Department. Captain James Gregg, Adjutant General's Department. Captain Joseph M. Larimer, Adjutant General's Department. Captain M. II. Trabue, Adjutant General's Department. 1st Lt. J. W. Dissette, Air Service, DMA. 1st Lt. J. F. Haas, Adjutant General's Department. 1st Lt. H. J. Ryon, Adjutant General's Department. 1st Lt. J. R. Sedgwick, Adjutant General's Department. 2nd Lt. R. J. Byrnes, Adjutant General's Department. III. CIVILIAN SUPERVISORS AND CAMPS IN WHICH THEY ORIGINALLY INSTALLED PERSONNEL WORK * Indicates those that served throughout the life of the work. Philip Brasher, Winchester Repeating Arms Co., New Haven. Camp Jackson, S. C., Camp Hancock, Ga., and Camp Wheeler, Georgia. William Clark*, International Harvester Co., Chicago. Camp Travis, Tex., Camp Logan, Tex., and Camp McArthur, Texas. J. Walter Dietz, Western Electric Co., Chicago. . Camp Pike, Ark., Camp Beauregard, La., and Camp Shelby, Miss. C. R. Dooley, Westinghouse Electric and Mfg. Co., East Pitts- burgh. Camp Sherman, O. N. F. Dougherty, Pennsylvania Railroad, Philadelphia. Camp Lee, Va., and Camp Mills, N. Y. M. M. Jones, Thomas A. Edison, Inc., Orange, N. J. Camp Upton, N. Y. Robert B. King, Hyatt Roller Bearing Co., Newark, N. J. Camp Meade, Md. W. S. MacArthur*, Armour and Company, Chicago. Camp Custer, Mich., and Camp Cody, N. M. R. H. Puffer*, Larkin Company, Buffalo. Camp Grant, 111., Camp Bowie, Tex., and Camp Doniphan, Okla. Later commissioned Captain, A.G.D., and placed in charge of personnel work, Headquarters, S.O.S., London, England. Philip J. Reilly*, Dennison Mfg. Co., Framingham, Mass. 674 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL Camp Devens, Mass., and Camp Greene, N. C. Dr. William Alfred Sawyer, American Pulley Co., Philadelphia. Camp Dix, N. J., Camp Sevier, S. C., and Camp Wadsworth, S. C. J. E. Sheridan, Crane Co., Chicago. Camp Funston, Kansas. Dr. E. K. Strong, Jr.*, George Peabody College for Teachers, Nashville, Camp Taylor, Ky., and Camp Kearney, CaL Arthur J. Turner*, Washington Water Power Co., Spokane. Camp Lewis, Wash., and Camp Fremont, Cal. Kendall Weisiger*, Southern Bell TeL and TeL Co., Atlanta, Camp Gordon, Ga., Camp McClellan, Ala., Camp Sheridan, Ala., and Camp Forrest, Ga. C. J. Whipple, Hibbard, Spencer, Bartlett Co., Chicago. Camp Dodge, Iowa. IV. CIVILIAN SUPERVISORS ASSOCIATED WITH THE COMMITTEE AS THE WORK EXTENDED C. F. Axelson, Northwestern Mutual Life, Chicago. C. R. Beard, Sears Roebuck Co., Chicago. C. R, Chase, Ford Company, Chicago. O. L. Davis, Jr., O. L. Davis Lumber Co., Trinidad, Colo. E. M. Delabarre, Library Bureau, Cambridge, Mass. Alvin E. Dodd, Retail Research Association, New York City. (Supervisor in connection with personnel specifications for officers.) H. E. French, Edison Co., Chicago. C. M. Fuess, Amherst College, Amherst, Mass. A. A. Goes, Goes Lithographing Co., Chicago. Harry Gregg, Textile Manufacturer, Nashua, N. H. S. J. Gummere, Pennsylvania Railroad, Philadelphia. (Later commissioned Captain, A.G.D., and appointed Per- sonnel Adjutant, Camp Humphreys, Va., subsequently being ordered abroad and made Personnel Adjutant, Base Section No. 5, Brest, France.) E. R. Halliday, Real Estate, Columbus, O. J. W. Harrison, Farm Loans, Fort Worth. L. B. Hopkins, General Electric Co., Pittsfield, Mass. (Supervisor in connection with trade tests.) G. M. Leonard, Real Estate and Law, Springfield, Mass. W. H. Lillard, Tabor Academy, Marion, Mass. APPENDIX 675 S. B. Mathewson, Southern Bell Tel. and Tel. Co., Atlanta. N. H. Noyes, Eli Lilly and Co., Indianapolis. D. J. O'Connor, Swift & Co., Chicago. J. F. Page, A. M. Collins Mfg. Co., Philadelphia. Beardsley Rural, Carnegie Institute of Technology, Pittsburgh. (Supervisor in connection with trade tests.) Harry Wellman, The Lowney Co., Boston. (Supervisor in connection with development battalions.) V. CIVILIAN ASSISTANTS J. A. Balcom (T.T.) 1 Wm. H. Barnes (P.S.) Ralph T. Bickell (C.D.O.) Albert G. Borden (R.S.I.) Wm. B. Bosworth (C.D.O.) Storm V. Boyd (T.T.) Lawrence L. Brown (W.S.E.) Norman K. Bryant (W.S.E.) John C. Burg (C.D.O.) W. A. Caperton (R.S.I.) Walter M. Case (P.S.) J. Crosby Chapman (T.T.) E. M. Cummins (C.D.O.) Francis M. Currier (P.S.) Ithel B. Davies (C.O.) T. M. DeBlois (T.T.) L. H. Dodge (R.S.I.) Roger F. Evans (T.T.) John Norris Field (T.T.) Mervin G. Filler (W.S.E.) Lewis R. Frazier (C.D.O.) E. H. Furman (P.S.) P. N. Golden (T.T.) Benj. H. Gordon (C.O.) Edgar B Graves (C.O.) T. S. Hanson (W.S.E.) Walter B. Hill (C.D.O.) Chauncey G. Hobart (C.D.O.) Thomas F. Holgate (R.S.I.) G. B. Hotchkiss (C.O.) James A. James (R.S.I.) Carl W. Jones (W.S.E.) Truman L. Kelley (T.T.) T. J. Kirby (T.T.) Paul J. Kruse (T.T.) I. H. Lehman (P.S.) Gabriel I. Lewis (C.O.) James H. Lewis (C.O.) Robert D. List (W.S.E.) C. K, Lyans (T.T.) Geo. W. Mabey (T.T.) W L. MacCoy (C.O.) Hugh F. Magee (W.S.E.) Robert McDougal (R.S.I.) Franklyn Meine (T.T.) W. J. Moore (T.T.) Leonard Outhwaite (C.O.) Geo. F. Parsons (T.T.) Gilbert S. Pattillo (C.O.) Rudolph Pintner (T.T.) A. U. Pope (R.S.I.) C. L. Procter (W.S.E.) Leo Ranney (C.O.) R. M. Reinhold (T.T.) Sidney Rheinstein (W.S.E.) A. C. Robinson III (C.D.O.) E. S. Robinson (T.T.) Stanley Roth (W.S.E.) 1 The abbreviations stand for the following divisions of the Committee's work: (C.O.) Committee Office. (T.T.) Trade Test Division. (W.S.E.) War Service Exchange. (C.D.O.) Central Distributing Office. (P.S.) Personnel Specifications. (R.S.I.) Rating Scale Instructor*. 676 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL H. O. Rugg (C.O.) L. L. Thurstone (T.T.) Archie H. Samuels (C.O.) Hathaway Watson (C.D.O.) Milton M. Samuels (C.O.) Max Watson (T.T.) F. E. Schuchman (T.T.) Harvey E. Weeks (W.S.E.) J. H. Sengstaken (T.T.) Graham C. Wells (W.S.E.) Walter P. Shatts (T.T.) G. M. Whipple (R.S.I.) Henry P. Shaw (C.D.O.) E. A. Wood (R.S.I.) Gothair Smith (R.S.I.) S. E. Wright (C.D.O.) C. W. Stone (T.T.) A. T. Wylie (T.T.) Herbert A. Toops (T.T.) ORIGINAL PERSONNEL OFFICERS NATIONAL ARMY September, 1917 Camp Division Personnel Officer Custer 85th Capt. Wm. Hendrie Devens 76th Capt. Lawrence Ewing Dix 78th Capt Frank Knox Dodge 88th Capt. B. R. Honeyman Funston 89th Capt. J. O. Strutz Gordon 82nd'. Capt. Richard L. Boyd Grant 86th Capt. L. H. Whiting Jackson 81st Capt Frank W. Ehrlich Lee 80th Capt J. Straughan Downing Lewis 91st Capt D. J. Coman Meade 79th Capt. T. S. Dunn Pike 87th Capt James T. Dortch Sherman 83rd Capt. Wayman C. Lawrence Taylor 84th Capt C. A. Edwardsen Travis 90th Capt. J. Perry Moore Upton 77th Capt Francis W. Perry ORIGINAL PERSONNEL OFFICERS NATIONAL GUARD November, 1917 Camp Division Personnel Officer Beauregard 39th Capt. D. E. Beams Bowie 36th Capt P. R. Crippen Cody 34th Capt N. W. Larimore APPENDIX 677 Doniphan 35th Capt. W. D. Moreland Hancock 28th Capt. C. B. Altemose Kearney 40th Capt. B. J. Kempter Logan 33rd Capt. W. C. Grierson McArthur 32nd Capt. E. H. Allen McClellan 29th Capt. D. W. Simons Mills 41st Capt. G. S. Tait Sevier 30th Capt. W. H. Kyle Shelby 38th Capt. J. R. MacManaway Sheridan 37th Capt. Royal Mattice Wadsworth 27th Capt. E. E. Gauche Wheeler . ..31st., ..Lieut. F. A. Feld APPENDIX II ADDRESS BY NEWTON D. BAKER, SECRETARY OF WAR AT EIGHTH SCHOOL FOR PER- SONNEL ADJUTANTS, AUGUST, 1918 It is a very great pleasure to me to be here this morning and meet this class. You represent a novel contribution to the making of armies. War is essentially revolutionary to a people whose arts hare been those of peace and whose occupations have been for the most part those of industry. The revolution is widespread, funda- mental and thorough-going, and I can perhaps illustrate to you more fully what I mean by telling you of an incident which recently took place in France, than by any further attempt to define the thought. This incident deals with the change in the attitude of men, of young men, toward life as brought about by their preoccupation in a war for a sacred cause. Mr. Fosdick told me that the Y. M. C. A. Director had assembled a group of 600 or 600 men, and was having one of those composite evenings which are characteristic of the social and semi-religious activities of the Y. M. C. A., when it sud- denly occurred to him that he did not know what was in the minds of those soldiers. If he had been in the United States he would have known the virtues to which young men aspired, and the vices against which they struggled, but here was a new group. It was no longer the civilian company that he used to see in the Y. M. C. A. halls of the United States. And so for ins own guidance and in- formation he passed around papers and pencils and asked each man in that company to write and pass up to him what he regarded as the three cardinal sins. When the vote was taken it was unani- mous on No. 1; nearly unanimous on No. 2; very largely preponderat- ing on No. 3, and those sins were as follows: The sin upon which they were unanimous as No. 1 was COW- ARDICE. The sin upon which they were substantially unanimous, No. 2, was SELFISHNESS not sharing with your partner in the trench, not taking your share of the hardships of the military life. And the sin upon which they agreed by majority for the third choice was BIG HEAD. Now that is a complete revolution in the mind oJ 678 APPENDIX 679 youth toward life. Those 600 young men, if they had been in the United States, and there had been no war, would have been en- gaged in getting ahead, each for himself, probably making money, preparing for or making a career, ambitious and struggling. The sins which they would have regarded*s essentially the most to be avoided would doubtless have been the evils of intemperance, the social evils, lying, stealing, and that sort of thing; but here, caught up in the clouds, as it were, by this great concentrated enterprise which requires a new set of virtues, an unused set of talents, these men are no longer thinking about the things which in private and civil life are the things which they have to struggle about, but they are ambitious now to be brave, they are struggling now to be gen- erous and unselfish, and they are filled with a fine desire to be lowly. I think that illustrates the point I want to make, it illustrates it in this way: the army is a new calling to nearly everybody in it. The men are no longer assorted and assessed now by their ability to do the things which in private life make success. A man might have the ability to accumulate money, which, say Mr. Rockefeller had, and might be totally devoid of the talents required of a soldier I don't know whether Mr. Rockefeller has any military talents or not, there is nothing personal in the illustration but he might have Mr. Rockefeller's ability to organize, business and in- dustry and accumulate wealth, and yet not have the sort of talent which in this emergency would entitle him to a commission. And in making this assortment of persons we are under the unhappy inhibition of taking any man's judgment of himself. There are very few of us, even in normal circumstances, where we hav* devoted a lot of time to the study of talents, who know what we are fitted for. We begin in our childhood to drift in a sort of way. I suspect many of you could reproduce my experience in that. When I was very little I was sure I was going to be a preacher, because my mother told me so. A little later I was sure I was to be a doctor, because my father was a doctor. When I began to stand a little on my own feet about the business I had an ambition to be a college professor, and it took me a long time to adjust myself to the fact that I did not know enough to be a college pro- fessor. And finally I studied law, and practiced law, as the result, perhaps, of a continuous practice of self-appraisement and self- assessment and seeking to find the place in life where such talents or capacities as I thought I had in any degree might be of a maxi- mum usefulness. And yet it is true with me as with most other people, there always remains a doubt as to whether the career chosen 680 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL and brought about by them is the wisest career after all, and we constantly see in life men who have achieved success in the pro- fessions who regard their professional occupation as a very sorry excuse for the things they could have done best. ... I have no doubt that all of you have fed the same experience, many of you, perhaps, that I have had not daily but hourly, of men coming to me and saying: "I am doing so and so." I say "Yes, you are doing it well," and they say, "but if I was just permitted to turn aside and do that thing I would do it so much better." It's the same spirit as when men are playing checkers. The bystander is quite sure he knows how to win the game. It is the occupation we see. over the fence and not that in which we are absorbed that seems to us the true field for our endeavors. So that in making an army we are not in a position to accept a man's own estimation of his fitness. And no matter if a man has set his heart on the job, that is no assurance of his fitness. And so we come down now to the things you gentlemen are to do. Here we are making a cross-section or series of cross-sections of the United States. We are taking men from the forests of the Northwest, and the cotton fields of the South, from every trade and occupation, from every economic and social status of life and grouping them advantageously. We are not getting the men of the same size in the same place, but all sizes in all places. We are getting this agglomerate of men, selected vicariously and by chance, as it were, into great groups. We have no time for men to grow up into those groups evolved by association, but we have to have a selective process by which we will get the round men for the round places, the strong men for the strong tasks and the delicate men for the delicate tasks. We have got to evolve a process by which that sort of assortment will take place. Always heretofore in armies that has been a matter of chance, it has been a matter of individual judgment of commanding officers. Even when com- manding officers are exercising their judgment, humanly speaking most dispassionately, it is quite impossible for them not to be aifected by elements which do not enter into the accounting. If one were to select, for instance, a general to command an expedition, he would be quite likely to select a man whom he liked as a man, and not with any relation whatever to his capacity to command the expedition. And this is true generally, so that some system of selection of talents which is not affected by immaterial principles or virtues, no matter how splendid, something more scien- tific than the haphazard choice of man, something more systematic than preference or first impression, is necessary to be devised. When APPENDIX 681 Dr. Scott presented to the War Department the question of calling in psychology in this work we all realized that that science had a particularly unfortunate name; it sounds very highfalutin' and cloud-stepping as it were. It is the skyscraper, so far as it it name is concerned, of modern science,*and there is a certain revul- sion in the ordinary man's mind when you speak to him about a thing that sounds as pretentious as that. -I -commend to my good friend Dr. Scott that he try to see whether they can't change that term to the study of human action or something with a popular ap- peal. I am sure that the impediment would be so much less if that could be done. But when you come down to it the psychology which Dr. Scott has applied in the methods of the Committee on Classifi- cation of Personnel in the Army is simply applied common sense, and those of us who are familiar with the work of this Committee with the thorough interview, the trade tests, the intelligence ratings, the use of Trade Specifications, the Tables of Occupational Needs we all realize that we have in this scientiiic procedure an un- rivaled and effective substitute for the irrational and impulsive per- sonal judgment which up to recent times had obtained. Now we have this great mass of men,' these millions of our fellow citizens, each one of them filled with the patriotic desire to do the things which he can do best, but each one inhibited from finding that place by reason of his previous inexperience or by some lack of standard of comparison between himself and someone else. Com- manding officers probably have no natural uniformity of judgment in the mere matter of personal judgment of men, and the problem is to weld those millions not merely into an army which will fight-- any American army will fight, we have discovered that; not merely into an army which is willing to die, if necessary, in order to main- tain its position and uphold its traditions we have discovered now that this is true of Americans everywhere; but an army which will fight with the least wastage, the most effective execution, the most intelligent cooperation, the most complete because the most understanding subordination, and that sort of an army comes only when men are doing the things for which they are by nature and training best adapted. Now that is a very high task, it is a task of contributing the finishing touches of efficiency to tin's great Ameri- can army. I have myself been tremendously stimulated, not only by the care and wisdom employed in assigning each enlisted man but also by the result which Dr. Scott and his associates have obtained in the officer selecting tests which they have devised. The Rating Scale has been enthusiastically received by the Army, but I am told 682 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL officers have occasionally objected to answering some of the Binet test questions the doctor has put up to them; I have been rather afraid to take a Binet test myself, but when you finally come down to it, the Rating Scale and tests for mental alertness are the application of a perfectly rational method to the great problem of putting a man in the position where he can be of the most service to the country and to the common cause. Now that is a perfect parallel to the story about the boys of the Y. M. C. A. I told you at the beginning; they have a new set of virtues, a new outlook on life. The soldier must be helped and guided into the right place for the best use of his talents. And that is the task which is set before you in the various organizations to which you belong. It is a wonderful army we have on the other side. We are already beginning to hear what we expected to hear about it. 1 am not speaking now about its movements as a mass of men, but we are beginning to hear that the individuality of the American soldier is attracting attention, that the individual marksmanship of the American soldier is telling on the adversary. I have seen some confidential reports of examinations of American prisoners made by German Intelligence Officers, and intended to be transmitted to the German General Headquarters for the information of Hinden- berg & Company, but before they could be transmitted they were captured with their authors. Such of them as I have seen have com- mented on two or three things about the American soldier: that he is more of an individual than is customary among soldiers; that he has a naive confidence, a fundamental moral basis for his par- ticipation in this war; and that he seems to be quiet and undismayed even when alone under conditions which the German officers say are usually regarded as too severe a test for men as individuals. So that we have an entirely different problem from that of the German Government. For forty years it has been making all Germans very much alike, suppressing individuality except in particular lines; men have been permitted to be as individual as they chose about religion and about chemistry, but not about themselves or their relations to one another or about the State, and as a consequence the raw material of the German soldier is every man of a uniform type. But we have the individual American; we have the wide/ diversity of occupations and talents which America produces. 'And we have to discover in the man whose occupation up to now has been felling trees in the great Northwest the mode of converting his native talents and native virtues into military talents and virtues. It is a splendid occupation, a very necessary undertaking, and your attendance at this school for the purpose of acquiring the rules ano APPENDIX 683 regulations, attempting to systematize this process, is a very vital and efficient thing for the American Army. I hope that you will remember all the time this one word of caution I want to give you about your task. We deal with people, when we have millions of them, too much as the census taker does; we deal too much with them as though we were making a city directory of them. I went out to Fort Leavenworth a few days ago, and while I was at the Disciplinary Barracks I wanted to see some of the interesting cases of personality of young men who have been drafted in the Army and, carelessly, have fallen afoul of the military regulations. I wanted to get their statement and their attitude towards military life, and after I had been at it for perhaps an hour I found myself asking them the same questions in the same order. I asked them how old they were, whether they were married, if they had ever been in love, and whether their girls had gone back on them, but before very long it was obvious to me that it was be- coming mechanical. Now the danger that we have in this Person- nel Division is that with the size of the task and the frequency of the repetition of our contact with individuals, it is likely to make us fail to remember that each man wilh whom we deal is more than a card in the index, and is individually a man, that he is an individual American and that no straight- jacket set of questions will reach his ultimate possibilities. Now if we can approach the task as though he were in a chemi- cal laboratory, a research laboratory, not seeking to reproduce some striking experiments which other chemists have taught us how to do by putting together some sort of ingredients which look blue and look brown when mixed, but making a research and putting together nncombined elements, trying by experiments to get new products, I am sure that the work will be even more useful than it would otherwise be. I am not a lecturer in this clasg; I have no right to attempt to add anything to the very full and wise course by Dr. Scott. My presence here today is chiefly to give an expression of complete approval to this really great innovation, and to help the innovation in the formation of a military army. APPENDIX III ADDRESS BY MAJOR-GENERAL R. HUTCHISON, C.B.,D.S.O.. DIRECTOR OF ORGANI- ZATION, BRITISH ARMY BEFORE PERSONNEL OFFICERS' SCHOOL, CAMP MEIGS, WASHINGTON, D. C., MAY 1, 1918 General and Officers: We "over there" have been at war for some three and one-half and going on to four years, and during that time we have gone through many changes and developments of our military system and machine. One of the greatest changes we have made is in the way we are now dealing with this question of Personnel. By "Personnel" we mean all the main officers, under officers, non-commissioned officers and men that we use in our military machine. At the beginning of the war, or rather during 1915, when Lord Kitchener started to expand our all too small regular army, he, without knowledge of the difficulties of personnel, drew into the military net every man who would voluntarily come forward, and, as a result, we had skilled mechanics and apprentices, men in all forms of trade, laborers, university graduates, politicians in fact every kind of man serving in infantry formations. They made very good infantry soldiers, but this plan very seriously interfered with the output of many vital things. In addition there soon existed a shortage of skilled trades, so that our various engi- neer units and repair units were soon short of the necessary type of men to fill their ranks. As you know, our shipbuilding yards gave their quota of men to the army, the result being that the output of ships fell down very seriously in 1916. That at the moment did not concern us, because we had an apparently ample supply of ships. The same took place in our coal fields and collieries. These colliery men came forward patriotically, thereby reducing the output of coal necessary for all our various munition and other factories. Fortunately we had your great country behind us in the produc- tion of the necessary munitions during that critical period when we were in the process of building up our army. You came for- 684 APPENDIX 685 ward nobly and provided us with a great deal of what we wanted then. However, the effects of this policy of robbing trades fol- lowed right through our building program. In 1916, when we found it necessary to introduce conscription into our country, and had to compel all those who did not wish to volunteer to corne forward and do their share for their country, the same unfortunate mistakes were made. Again the conscripts were called out of all types of civil employment and placed in our military machine without an\ consideration of what they had been doing in civil life. Towards the end of 1916 we began to suffer very severely indeed from the eflerls of this policy. We found that we were unable to supply the number of men required for munition factories, for the shipbuilding program, and for the neces- sary Royal Engineer units, that were expanding every day and in need of necessary men to turn out the proper amount of work for our heavy batteries. We also suffered for the necessary railway engi- neers to complete new engines and to repair the ones that had been worn out, and so on. I could talk for a long time on the various points which cropped up at that time. The need was then so apparent that our General Staff stated to our Adjutant General that something would have to be done to get us out of the unfortunate mess that we were in. You will understand what great difficulty we had to reorganize when I tell you we over there were fighting for our lives all the time. Consequently many in authority were opposed to any effort to take tradesmen out of the active army and return them to in- dustry at home. Naturally if you want to pull a man away from a fighting organization, it is charged that you are interfering with such and such a General's winning this or that battle; and it became more and more obvious to us that if we were to get any result out of reorganization it would have to be done by some authority who was more or less supreme. After various I was going to say futile attempts, but they were not, they all had their result in the end we got the machine work- ing. This result was accomplished through the agency of General Sir William Robertson, our Chief of Staff, who was convinced that such a reorganization in the army machine was necessary. After two or three months in the initial stages, 1 was brought in and given control of what we know as our Department of Organization, with the title of "Director of Organization." The first difficulty in starting this reorganization was to over- come "vested interests." We had in our army a great number of "vested interests," and I found that any attempt to arrne at what 686 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL I thought was necessary was met repeatedly in this direction and in that direction by I won't say direct opposition but a retard- ing influence that rendered any efforts that I made too slow. So I had to go to the Chief of Staff .-.gain and say that, unless I be given a free hand, he must find somebody else to carry out the reorganization; and after some discussion and arrangement I was given, as far as possible, a free hand to carry out this reorganiza- tion work. From that point my job was fairly easy. The chief thing was to consider every interest involved and work in as closely as possible with the General Staff, and with the various general officers com- manding troops in the field and at home. In this personnel work you have really to set about educating your superior officers, and telling them the reason why you have to do certain things. The difficulty of educating those officers was that very few people were in a position to educate, and it was only after you began training your own officers and training the machine generally that they in their turn were able to train others and distribute the knowledge that they had acquired. I take it that you here are assembled to be instructed and learn personnel and organization work and go down as disciples amongst the army and distribute what you learn and deal with your own people. In addition to the hard and fast type of orders which, after all, have got to be carried out, you will find the machine improves out of all knowledge if you can carry your officers with you, that is, if they realize that what they are ordered to do is for the good of the -whole army. Now, I would just like to point out to you, before I go any further, one or two of the effects of our unfortunate action in the army in neglecting proper selection and placing of men in the early stages of the war, which we have had to correct since. After enlisting and training and equipping and sending out to the field fine types of man, "man power," we found it necessary to draw from our army back to civil life some thirty or forty thousand shipbuilders. Now those men were all fit and good soldiers, and you can imagine the effect on the various divisional and corps com- manders when they found those excellent men having to be drawn out of the army and put back into plain clothes to work in the shipyards. We had to do exactly the same thing with our agricultural experts, that is, people who had been accustomed to plow the land and work tractors and things like that, because, you know, we were in danger of going without food; and we had to develop all the available land APPENDIX 687 we could and put it under corn. To do that we had to draw from the army a great number of men, I think something like seventy thousand, from the army and put them into agriculture. Well, that derangement and breaking up of the machine might have been avoided, and I hope and trust that your personnel branch will be able to avoid the various pitfalls and morasses we fell into on the wayside. It is difficult in dealing with the subjects for which I have such an enthusiasm to limit my remarks to a reasonable time, and if you find me getting beyond your endurance I hope you will tell me. The great difficulty that we experienced in dealing with the reor- ganization which we commenced in 1916 was to convince our superior officers and when I say "our superior officers" I mean the various officers who commanded the various corps of the armies when such a reorganization was necessary. This was only done by writing very carefully worded letters, explaining the great shortage in the various types of trades, and asking them to co-operate with us and let us know what members of the various trades they had employed in their various formations. In infantry battalions, for instance, army service corps units by army service corps units we mean what you call quartermaster units in our medical units we wanted many tradesmen returned to us for transfer to other arms or industry, and we asked: "How many mechanics have you got? How many skilled engineers? How many shipbuilders?*' How many of a thou- sand and one trades? We found that on the whole we got very good results from that Hut our machine was not perfect, and we found by the time we issued orders for certain men to be transferred from the thirty-fifth infantry battalion, let us say, that those men had gone overseas or gone somewhere else, and so it became a sort of hunt all through the army to find out where these men had gone; and that led us to the conclusion that it was undesirable to trust too much to the various commanders of units for this information, and that we must have that information in an independent way. You will see when a battalion commander is judged, whether rightly or wrongly, by the results that are produced by his command, whether he has got a good battalion or a bad battalion, and whether the men do their work well or not, he is very much opposed to giving up what he calls his good men, whether they are wanted for the good of the nation or for anything else. He considers that his bat- talion is of first importance in his mind, and therefore we found it very difficult to get a correct return from those commanding officers, HISTORY OF PERSONNEL from divisional generals and other people who kept on hiding people ! We found mosl curious things going on. We found orderlies who were very skilled mechanical engineers, very nice men, delight- ful manners, always working efficiently, and the battalion commander did not want to lose them. He kept them, and did not realize or refused to realize the situation, saying, 'Well, the one or two men did not matter so long as I gave up the others." This went on through the army, and so we found it necessary to start our great index system. I understand that you have got this index system now in your army, and that you have avoided all our earlier difiiculties. This great index system is practically your system. The man is recorded on a card where he is, that is, where he is in the army, what his profession was before he came into the army, whom he was employed by, the last two employers, and his home, that is, where he lived. In our card index, which is in London and is kept up to date, whenever a man went from one unit to another his card was moved cor- respondingly to indicate where he went. For instance, he went from Newcastle to London, or from London to Bristol his movements were recorded in the large card index system for the whole army at home. In that way we found out where our various skilled tradesmen were, and in that way we have been slowly able to move them about, gathering them up and putting them into their proper places, taking skilled carpenters and putting them in the airplane units; taking skilled tinkers from the cavalry and the infantry and putting them in the artillery units, and so on. As soon as the man goes overseas, his card is marked "overseas," and we take care that a skilled man goes to a suitable unit in France. This card index system gives us two things: it gives us a line as to where we have got men misemployed, whether employed in units that ought not to have that type of man power, and it also gives us a check on the numbers of men, the total number of men we have got in the country. Now, when I came in to our directorate of organization in London I found that nobody knew the number of men we had at home, so that we were hundreds of thousands out. I do not mean to say we had lost one hundred or two hundred thousand men, but there was no one in authority to give me a return that told me the number of men we had in the land within that figure. You say it is an astonishing thing that in a small country like the United Kingdom you did not know within two hundred thousand what you had. But the fact remains that this was the case, for unmilitary people were APPENDIX 689 dealing with all types of returns. We found that some units did not return anything at all. When I say they were asked by orders to return certain papers, and they filled out a paper and stated the number of men and officers they had and sent it into our war office, that was quite simple. Some officers thought: "We will get criticism from these things," and they did not send them in at all ! And the result was like a return for income tax, as long as you don't send any return nobody bothers ! Well, this went on. We then started and collected from various units the different returns. By returns, you understand, we mean a report stating what you've got, num- bers of men, arms, munitions, anything in the form of a return. I found that units were issuing or returning some thirty or forty returns per week to all sorts of different authorities. The quarter- masters wanted a return of this and that; the Adjutant General wanted several returns; the district commander in which the unit happened to be stationed also wanted similar returns. The brigade commander said, "Oh, yes; we are having these; we will have some- thing else," and they had returns; and so it mounted up like a snow- ball a mania for returns. If a staff officer was suddenly ordered by his General to report "how many men under seventeen or eighteen have you got in the brigade or in the division?" he said "I don't know." "Well," the General would reply, "it is your business to know." Immediately he said, "Well, order a return." Well, that is quite all right; "order the return," but it was never stopped and went on repeating itself every week, and so these returns mounted up. Well, to make a long story short, we had a meeting of the various commanding officers, Adjutants, Staff Officers, and representatives of the General Staff, the Quartermaster's Staff, the ordnance people, Adjutant General people, and then said: "Now look here, what re- turn do you want?" and then we made what we call a. "consolidated return," and this return was made as far as possible to give all the information that was required by the various branches and departments, and also at the same time to satisfy the requirements of the local district commander. The return was made up, giving the body of it to an Adjutant General's return that is, it came to me, the Director of Organization they all came in to me, giving the number of officers and men that they had, whether the men were fully trained or whether partly trained, whether fit for service or unfit, whether doing special courses, and so forth, and the number of officers that were fit and the ones unfit. On the edges of it there are various returns showing the number of serviceable rifles the unit has in its possession, and the amount of small ammunition. Down another side probably the number of cars and vehicles and 690 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL horses they have in their possession may be shown. On another side some other form of return. These pieces on the sides are perforated, and when they reach my office, where all these returns are received, I tear off one par- ticular portion and send it to the Quartermaster General, and another slip and send it to the Genral Staff, and another slip and send it to the Ordnance, and they get their slip containing their portion of the return and file it, and I have my bit left, from which I compile a complete return, a book about three-quarters of an inch thick, a book which gives every unit we have got in the United Kingdom, showing the number of officers, men, etc. As a matter of fact, a consolidation of these weekly returns. After about two months' working at this book I succeeded in getting an accurate return of the men in the United Kingdom; and it is astonishing how very accurate that book became, because of these returns being made over the commanding officers' signatures. And we had one or two inspectors who went around and said: "Where is your return for week before last?" and they said: "Here is our return for week before last." "How many men have you got?" and they checked it, and said "All right. Let's have a look at these men." You have machine gunners under training and you check up thoroughly, and if the commanding officer is found to be issuing a return without check- ing up properly, that is, using his signature simply to cover mis- statements, he is dealt with accordingly, and in a short time we find returns are very accurate. Now, the commanding officers mean well, and they mean to give you a correct return, but they have to catch a train or get to some other barracks, and the return is prepared by some sergeant or under officer, or someone else, and he is not very accurate, and the General keeps on finding things that are not accurate. You will have to deal with this also, and it is your business to see that the number of men you have in the country is reported correctly, where they are, where they live, what they are doing; otherwise you will find that large numbers of men will live in your country on Govern- ment pay, wear a uniform and not do one bit towards winning the war. I do not know why it is; I don't know where they go, but we found that thousands and thousands of men got hidden in the country; they got on the railways; they got into offices, they got into all sorts of things. You won't believe the occupations they get into, but they will go into them. They will drive tram cars. They will do all sorts of things unless you get a return on them and get your hand on them and use them to the best interest. APPENDIX 691 Now, I have rather been talking in a general sense of my direc- torate, and I would rather like now to get down to the more impor- tant part of my work on the other side, which concerns you; that is, what we had to do and what we do now in the grading and the directing of personnel into their proper channels. Before doing so, I would just like to say this, that if you are going to direct, and if you are going to guide, it has got to be done by one man and one authority. You cannot have more than one man direct- ing and showing, and his various subdirectors and individuals that he employs throughout the country must be under his control. That being so, if you go into a game like this, and one of you is concerned in looking after personnel, you must be directly under one authority and under nobody else. Otherwise you will get driven off your path by other interests, and as far as I see of your machine here from the top downwards, it's one of the lines where you will have to strike out for yourselves and insist on recognition of the personnel branch as the most important branch in the army, as it really is. You cannot fight without men and you can't fight well unless the men are properly Used, and no matter whether a General is a good tactician or a good strategist, he will do no good unless he gets the right type of men as soldiers, and the right type of men in the various organizations that he is going to fight with; and it does not matter whether the General has got ammunition or tanks or guna or anything else, he can do no good without the men, and the right kind of men; and it really depends on the personnel branch of any country whether a country is going to be successful in war or unsuccessful. It's a long, long way the most important thing we have in our country. So much so that it is on the correct use of our man power, both in the army and in civil ranks that success depends, because, after all, to get the results from a country you have got to use men where they are most useful. If the country decides to build more ships or to do this and that, they have got to get men to do it with, and on the correct allocation of personnel among the various branches of the army and in civil life depends the effort that a country is going to put into a great venture like this. Now, in order to visualize to you what our methods are, to vis- ualize just how we get hold of a group of men who are working in civil life in the United Kingdom and handle them until they ulti- mately go overseas to take a part in the war, I will trace what happens when we call up, or as you say draft, men. The actual method of calling out the men from civil rank does not concern you. They go as you do after getting notification. They are ex- 692 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL ainined by doctors. If they feel that they have got a just right, they probably protest and say, "Well, we ought not to be taken for another three months." Their case is decided by a tribunal, but after all that is decided they get their final calling out notice. They then report to a "posting center." At that posting center they arrive in plain clothes and go through the door or the gate of the depot. They then come under my control. We put them into uni- form if we accept them. In certain cases we think the man is un- suitable for any employment whatsoever in the army. We then reject him, and he goes back to civil life. But if we accept him, and we accept the most of them, he goes into uniform; he is then interviewed by a personnel officer. The personnel officer is part of the posting establishment, and he decides in his own mind from what the man looks like physically, and what his occupation has been in civil life, into what branch of the service he is going to place this man. We will take an example: A man has been doing, we will say, what corresponds to your cowboy work, punching cattle, and our officer decides that he will do well in the cavalry, as a cavalry soldier, and he sends him along to the cavalry service. Another man comes along, and the officer finds that he has been a watchmaker, and says, "Now, what on earth wih 1 I do with this fellow? We don't make watches in the army, but what will I do with him?" He looks up the army need and says, "Well, he ought to make a good instrument repairer, or he may make us a good man in dealing with telephone work, or a man who has been working in very fine work like that might become valuable in the Royal Engineer work." So he says, "Very well, the most I can do now from what I see here is to send him to a unit for training," so he sends him to a Royal Engineer unit, and there he goes; but it's here that what you call "sifting out" of the skilled men from the unskilled takes place. In these training units where the man undergoes his preliminary training, varying from fourteen weeks up to four or even five months in the case of very skilled trades, this man is trained for his occupation. As soon as he is fully trained, he is either drafted overseas as a reinforcement that is, what you call a "replacement man" or he is sent to a new unit at home preparing to go abroad. As far as possible we avoid sending any man to a new unit, that is, to a divi- sion that is going overseas, or a battalion going overseas, until he is a "trained man" individually, and the reason is that, when he goes to a unit, such a battalion or a battery, or a cavalry squadron per- haps, he is then used as part of that organization and they do not have to spend a vast amount of time giving individual instruction. You get a collection of trained men, and you use them as a unit. APPENDIX 693 It is then the business of the officer commanding that unit to train it as a unit. And so you go on to the formation or collection of battalions, which is a regiment, and a collection of regiments into a brigade, and a collection of brigades into a division, in all of which collective or group training is necessary. You cannot at the same time teacli him his trade and train him to be part of a division or a battalion. That is our reason for having training centers. To hark back for a moment to the man that comes to one of these training centers. You will find there that the man either is not what he said he was, or he is something else, or he has more skill, and it's there during his training period, if the man is wrongly placed, that we drop him out. You get men who want to go to army service corps units to drive a motor truck or car, and you will find all sorts of people who like that sort of work, and you will find that by trade that man is some form of skilled man you want very badly. For instance, the other day I had to find within the army certain what we call "dental mechanics" a man that makes a plate for false teeth for a lot of our men we are calling out now have bad teeth, and in order to eat the rather hard food in the trenches they must have their teeth repaired, and in order to repair their teeth we have to have dental mechanics. We had to search the army for dental mechanics, and we found most of them in the army service corps driving cars. We asked them why, and they said "they preferred to do that work," so we had to shift them to their proper place. During the training period we often have to sift men into more useful occupations, and here it is that we have got to use what we call our "trade testing." It does not always follow that if a man says he is a skilled fitter that he is a skilled fitter, and, in order to verify what a man says, we have to send men to a trade center where the self-styled "skilled fitter" is put at a bench, and by look- ing at his work a skilled instructor and practical man can very quickly mark him a "skilled fitter," when he goes straight back to his occupation. If he fails he may be "tested" for some other trade. The most difficult thing we have to deal with in Trade Testing has been the classification of a man within a -trade. Now, in civil life you get men, we will say, with ten classifications in a particular trade. You get them not according to their money value, but according to what they can do. In the army it is not a business occupation and you cannot classify to that fine degree, but what you can do is this: You can classify the man as an expert at his trade or as what we call semi-expert, skilled or semi-skilled, and in that way you can use a man as a skilled man straightaway, or if semi-skilled you 694 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL can send him to various workshops to get more training. He then becomes good enough to take his place as a skilled workman in a particular army unit, and it is this question of grading which :s concerning us very much just now at home. Here in your case, I take it, you will not be so critical for tlie moment, as you have a great many skilled workmen of all sorts in this country, and it is only a question of whether you can distribute the several occupations and take those men for your army. We have had to deal with all kinds and types of men that we could pos- sibly put into a trade. For instance, now, we have been very short of blacksmiths, and we have had to take, skilled farriers, that is, men who make shoes for horses farriers-^and train them to be blacksmiths, and they make very good blacksmiths, most of them. In that way you get allied tradesmen going on helping you out in a place where you have no men. If you go on long enough in this war you will have to do it, and it is just as well to have your machine so arranged that you can deal with such a situation. The man that we cut out from our trade test, or fail to pass, is reported as no good in that particular trade. He then goes back to infantry or cavalry, as the case may be, or where an unskilled man is required. There is just one other point: Your personnel officers who work in the various camps and divisions and other formations will have many difficulties similar to ours. You will find a few unsympathetic Generals, unsympathetic officers, who think you are a nuisance. You have got to be tactful and carry them with you, and I have found that the best way to deal with them is to make it to their interest to arrange a suitable personnel and shift it about from one for- mation to another so they can see the advantages coming to others through a careful placing of men. A good way to get a sympathetic hearing for personnel work is to get your Director to have the General Staff to give a helping hand, to say that it's to the interest of the army that these things should be done, and that the personnel officers should be encouraged to look about and search for the different types of tradesmen which you want in the army; ^and when any General Staff officer goes down to a division or a camp he ought to be instructed by the Chief of the Staff or somebody under him to always mention that point of Personnel, and say, "the Chief of the Staff attaches great importance to this question of personnel and the correct placing of this personnel, and he will hold you responsible. It is in his interest and in the interest of the army that this proper grading of per- sonnel be carried out by you." If an officer has done particularly APPENDIX 695 good work in a camp or a division I think it is up to you, the Director and your people, to bring his name to the notice of the General Staff, and say "this officer has been most helpful in placing the personnel where it is required." A pat on the back from the General Staff to whoever has been thus helpful is most encouraging, and this officer becomes known throughout the army, and other people desire to do likewise. It's the only way. When it becomes known throughout the army that the General Staff considers it is important and it is recognized as good work if a man works in that direction, even though it is against the interests of his own command, from the point of view of the efficiency of his command, then I think you will get good results. You must educate the army people who do not realize the needs of modern warfare and tell them that this is the right thing to be done for the army; they may not believe you and won't carry it out unless helped along by their own superiors. It is very desirable in dealing with this question of personnel not only to think alike amongst yourselves, but also to keep very close touch through your supervisors with the General Staff. Now, the General Staff organization really is the controlling bodv of the army, that is, it controls the kind of army you are going to have, where you are going to employ it, how you are going to em- ploy it, and a hundred and one other things, and therefore you have to work very closely with the General Staff. It is of the greatest importance, once you have arrived at a decision as to how a particular thing is to be done, that is, how the men are to be placed in their proper places, how the men are to be moved from one organization to another, then to accept the plans until snoie- thing better has been developed, and all preach the same gospel and not say, "Oh, I could do it better than that, I would do it this way," or again, "I should do it that way." Preach the same gospel, and say: "This is the way it ought to be done until something better has been devised." If you think you know a better way, bring it to the notice of your Director. If there is anything of value in your sug- gestion I have no doubt it will receive every consideration, but until there has been some change in the system back the system you have. We have had great difficulty in our army through our officers who have not what you call "military discipline," but always think they can go one better, and they suggest other methods. Well, that leads to doubt in the minds of the people you are trying to work with that is, your various generals and camp commanders, and the like of that. If you all preach the same gospel you will find that Mr. 696 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL Jones tells them this, and Captain Smith tells them the same thing, and Captain So and So tells them the same thing, and the Chief of the General Staff tells them the same thing, and finally they think that is the right thing to do, and they do it. But if one tells them one thing and another another tiling, they are in doubt and nothing is done. So this unity of purpose is very, very important. I cannot impress on you too much the very great importance of this personnel problem, and you will find as you go on in this war that it. will become, if not the dominating factor in your arihy, cer- tainly one of the most dominating factors that you have got to meet and deal with. I can only wish you every success in your efforts to make an army of the right kind of men, and have them employed in the right places, because it's the thing we have suffered from and are suffering > from now, and we can't help it, simply because we did not have a working Personnel Organization at the beginning of our efforts. INDEX NOTE Abbreviations used: CCP, for Committee on Classification of Personnel in the Army ; EST, for Committee on Education and Special Training; SATC, for Students' Army Training Corps; PMGO, for Provost Marshal General's Office ; AGO, for Adjutant General's Office Abel, Maj. Chas. A., 109, 485 Achilles, Mr. Paul S., 44 Address by Major General R. Hutchison, 684 696 . by Secretary of War. 678-683 Adjutant General's Office, CCP, under jurisdiction of, 56 consolidation of draft paper- work by, 586 forms of, (See Forms) muster rolls abandoned by, 585 officers' qualification card files of, 591 paper-work, study by, 583-596 reports of changes instituted by, 585 service record changes by, 590- 591 special reports to, 592 statistical section of, 587-590 war service exchange of, 586-587 Aids for interviewers, illustration of, 352 issue of, 371 TT-1, 78, 156, 353 TT-2, 351 Air Division of Signal Corps, 57-58 Air Service Military Aeronautics classification for officers of, 630- 631 intelligence test enlisted men in, 628-630 mental alertness test of, 614-617 personnel for, in peace, 631 personnel problems of, 476, 477 personnel specifications of, 190 qualities for aviator In, 620-628 qualities for flying In, 617-620 qualities for ground schools of, 608-613 selection of officers for, 604-608 services rendered the, by CCP, 632-633 Allen, Capt. E. H., 76 Altemose, Capt. C. B., 74 Allotment machinery, 529-531 Allotment sheet, 402 Allotment, sub-section of CCP, 108. 109, 112 Alton, Maj. R. M.. 487 American Expeditionary Forces, occupational statistics of, 212- 216 personnel work in, 82, 83, 92 qualification cdrd in, 553 rating of officers in, 569, 570 American Federation of Labor, 349 American Psychological Associa- tion, 54 Angell, Dr. James R., 57, 59, 79, 218, 533, 543, 596 Anthony, Mrs. Gladys G., 110 Applicants' qualification card, 152, 636 Applied psychology, 41-43 Army needs (See occupational needs ; occupational special- ists : personnel specifications) Army paper- work (See paper- work) Army schooling, 200 Army training. necessary to unit, 200 pre-enlistment. 128 pre-servlce. 128 post-enlistment. 128 school certificates of, 127 Army trade specifications (See trade specifications) Army trade tests (See trade tests* Army unit, balancing of skill and grades in, 198, 199 697 698 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL function of, 193 placement of specialists in, 196, 197 subsidiary operations of, 194, 195 Artillery equipment expansion, 29 Assignment chart (limited service men), 343 Assignment of men geographically, 240 Aviation section, Signal Corps (See Air Service) Axelson, Mr. C. F.. 102. 109, 591 B Baker, Hon. Newton D.. 62, 678 Balancing a unit, examples of, 117, 118 general principles of, 292 methods of, 295 new organizations. 293-304 occupational needs in, 293, 298 partially formed organizations, 305-307 requisitions in. 301-304 supply and demand factor in, 297-299 use of intelligence tests in, 295, 297 Balancing units. 84. 239-240 Balcom, Mr. J. A.. 351, 353, 375, 381 Beams. Capt. D. E.. 75 Beard. Mr. C. R.. 102. 107 Beckham. Col. D. Y., 275, 474 Bentley. Dr.. 54 Berres, Mr. A. J.. 349 Bickell, Mr. Ralph T.. 108. 399 Bigelow, Maj. Warren, 486 Bingham. Lt. Col. (Dr.) W. V., 42. 43, 55. 56, 57, 59, 64. 80. 101, 105, 107. 181. 203, 359, 409 Bjornstad. Brig. Gen. (Maj.) A. W., 46 Bowman, Capt. R. G., 487 Boyd, Capt. Richard L., 68. 71 Boyd, Mr. Storm V., 102. 106, 381 Brackett, Col. E. G., 513 Brasher, Mr. Philip, 66. 71. 75 Broadhead, Mr. J. W.. 376 Brooks. Lt. Com. Leroy. 653 Brown, Mr. L. L., 109 Bugge, Col. (Maj.) Jens, 65, 68, 69, 70 Buhler. Capt. E. O.. 107. 373 Bureau of Labor Statistics, 348 Bureau of Salesmanship Research, 41-43, 44, 56 Burg, Mr. J. C., 102, 402 Burnham, Capt. C. D., 477 Burtt, Capt. H. E., 54, 617, 620 Byrnes, 2nd Lt. R. J., 105 C Cadets Air -Service (See Air Serv- ice) Camp commanders, 67 Camp Joseph E. Johnston, division of personnel work at. 640 early personnel work at. 641-643 organization of, 640 procedure in receiving men, at, 646 rating scale instruction, at, 643 reorganization of personnel work, at, 643-649 Camp medical officer, 257 Camp Meigs, 649 Camp procedure, 105 Campbell, Capt. E. H. (USX), 653, 656 Carberry, Col. J. E., 630 Carnegie Institute of Technology. 42, 44 Carruth, Mr. Wm., 638 Casuals. paper-work concerning. 465 Catlln, Brig. Gen. A. W., 159-161 tallying of, 161 use of, by company commanders, 161-162 use of, in coast artillery, 177 use of, in local requisitions, 284 Sources of Army personnel system applied psychology, 41-43 employment management, 40-41 traditional army practice, 39 Spalding, Maj. Geo. R., 48 Specialists, occupational (See occu- pational specialists) Special tests, soldier's score In, 132-135 Spengler, Maj. J. H., 634 Staff corps cooperation with, 404 competition between, 223 needs of, investigated, 493 requisitions by, 78 Staff corps camps, personnel work In, 268-273 Staff corps personnel work, plan- ning group on, 106 Statistical adjutant, 276, 277 Statistical summary of occupa- tional needs, 202-216 712 HISTORY OF PERSONNEL Statistical work, 216-252 Stebbins, Maj. F. F., 51 Stocksdale, Mr. T. B., 354 Stratton, Capt. G. M., 56, 617, 618 Strength of army, increase of, 28 Strength returns, 589, 590, 638 Strong, L,t.-Col. (Dr.) E. K., Jr., 57, 71, 75, 78, 82, 86, 101, 105, 106, 109, 171, 254, 471, 474, 486, 601, 635. Strutz, Capt. J. C., 72 Students' Army Training Corps (SATC) authorization of 536 officer material selection in, 537, 538 personnel work in, 106 procedure for induction into, 538, 539 program of, 537 record card of, 149 Summary of personnel principles, 26 Supervisors, personnel (See person- nel supervisors) Supply and demand, study of, 108, 109, 202-216 Supply of men, recording of, 401- 403 Supply section, central distributing office, 398 Surgeon General's Office (Also see Medical Department), 11, 79 Swan, Lt.-Col. J. J., 78, 83, 92, 101, 106, 171, 173, 354, 355, 513, 515 Symbols, occupational, 126, 127 Tabbing qualification cards, 159- 161- Tait. Capt, G. 8., 74 Tallying qualification cards, 161 Tanks corps, personnel specifica- tions of, 190 Terman, Maj. L. M., 45, 57, 59, 600, 602 Thompson, Rev. Alexander, 109 Thorndike, Dr. E. L., 43, 46, 54, 57, 58, 105, 106, 359, 538, 539, 6OO. 604. 628. 631 Thorndike rating plan, 537-539 Thorndike test of mental alertness, 614-617 Thorne, Mr. Robert, 634 Thurstone, Dr. L. L., 364, 381, 382 Tompkins, Capt. E. R., 48, 49 Toops, H. G., 381 Tornquist, Lt., 383 Trade schools, 80 Trade skill, 122, 123 Trade specifications, 13, 14, 78, 83, 106, 173-177, 191, 348, 354-356 Trade terminology 78 Trade test building, 362 Trade test division, 347, 349-351 Trade test school, 377, 383 Trade tests application of, in reconstruction, 603 assembly of information on, 350, 351 early development of, 78 first, 351-354 first attempt at standardized, 358-360 first experiments in standardized, 361-362 first plans for installation of, 371-374 force for operation of, 261-262 general nature of, 11, 134, 135 installation of, 107, 374-380 list of, 384-386 operation of, 155 part of, in occupational classifi- cation. u47 preparation of, 106 procedure in making standard- ized, 366 production of, 380-386 recording of, on qualification card, 134, 135 revised method of preparation of standardized, 365-370 sources of information for, 348, 349 standardization of, 92, 363 study of British, 382 summary of, 386 testing of standardized, 363 training officers for, 377, 383 two conceptions of standarized, 357 INDEX 713 Training personnel (adjutants) of- ficers (See personnel school) Training sub-section, CCP, 109, 111 Transfer of CCP, 99, 100, 110 Transfer list, 290 Transfer of personnel avoidance of unnecessary, 22-24 from national army camps, 88, 89, 309-311 paper-work Involved in, 266, 267 railroad men to Engineer's corps, 288 use of officers' qualification cards in, 556 Transfer report, 289 Troland, Dr. L. T., 617 Tuck School, 40 Turner, Mr. A. J., 66, 72, 102, 107, 487 U Unfit officers, removal of, 556, 557 Upton plan, 253 Use of personnel, 21, 22 V Vanderblue, 1st Lt. H. B., 486 Van Horn, Maj., 58 Van Moss, Lt. D. (USMC), 658 Vocational Education, federal board for, 128 Voluntary enlistment, 30 W Walsh, Lt.-Col. (Maj.) J. O., 69 War Department Circular No. 73, 575 General Orders No. 15, 529 General Orders No. 42, 245, 300, 585 General Orders No. 45, 338, 513 General Orders No. 46, 551, 553, 591 General Orders No. 60, 259 General Orders No. 78, 557 General Orders No. 80, 275 General Orders No. 85, 574, 578 General Orders No. 86, 262 telephone directory, 494 War Industries Board, 666 War Labor Policies Board, 666 War Service Exchange absorption by, of intelligence bureau, 498 centralized personnel organiza- tion projected by, 97, 499-503 cooperation of, with military training camps association, 498 correspondence work of, 495 discontinuance of, 112 establishment of, 80, 586, 587 expansion of activities by, 497- 499 information blank used by, 493 methods of, 495-499 operation of, 109 organization of, 491 personal interviews by, 497 purpose of, 491-492, 511 sources of supply used by, 495 telephone directory by, 494 transfer of, to General Staff, 510, 511 Watson, Mf. Hathaway, 108, 402 Watson, Maj. (Dr.) J. B., 57, 58, 351 Watson, 2nd Lt. J. E. (USMC), 661 Watson, Mr. Max, 78, 106, 156, 349, 364, 381 Weeks, Harvey E., 109 Weislger Mr. Kendall, 66, 71, 75, 81, 82, 85, 102, 108, 181, 471, 474, 486, 601, 636 Wellman, Mr. H. L., 102, 105, 108 Wells, Capt. E. L., 620 Wells, Mr. G. C., 109 Weston, Maj. E. H., 471, 474 Whipple, Mr. C. J., 66, 72, 102 Whipple, Dr. G. M., 42, 43 Whitely, Yeoman (chief clerk), 653 Whiting, Maj. (Capt.) L. H., 72, 83 Wigmore, Col. (Maj., Lt.-Col.), J. H., 80, 97, 529, 595 Wilhelm, Maj. G. F., 107, 264 Willard, Col. Charles, 375, 376 Winship, Lt.-Com. Emery, 653 Wood, Brig. -Gen. R. E., 636 Woods, Mr. Edward A., 42 Woodward, Maj. F. C., 595 Woodworth, Dr., 54 Wright, Mr. S. E., 102, 109 Yerkes, Maj. R. M., 43, 54, 57, 600 Yoakum, Maj. C. S., 602 University of California SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1388 Return this material to the library from which it was borrowed. _ iium IIII,M u was uui luweu. 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