Jefferson Barracks Citizens Military Camps - Jeffersonian Yearbook (Lemay, MO)

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JEFFERSONIAN be given a standard applica- tion for commission in the lfnited States Army, which he will need to till out care- fully and return to the Xlili- tary Training Camps As- sociation office. Later he will be interviewed and exam- ined. In case the require- ment which attracted him has already been filled or his qualifications make him more suitable for some other service his application may be transferred or held, proper- ly classihed and available for use, in a deferred tile. A civilian who considers him- self qualified for service as a commissioned oflicer in any branch of the army, may, if he desires, make application through the nearest Xlilitary Training Camps Association office in advance of any def- inite statement of a need for men with his particular qualificationsfl ln no case, under the new procedure, is it desirable to travel or write to Wlashingtong since all recruiting for civil- ians to be commissioned in the specified staff corps will be managed bv a district headquarters of the recruiting subsection and the ofhces of the Rlilitarv Training Camps Association. 1 ri ii to the adoption of these reg- u itii n great confusion existed in the ar li iitnient owing to the duplica- ion ol ipplicaiits, the fact that the v :riot oiaiiclics of the Service had dif- ft iii l rms iff application blanks and tht ti mi ctition was keen between the clllfilln l iiicilief: iff the Service to secure lit lv I i ailahlf- officer material. Xlzinv ip ili inf failing twl!t'5i1'fI'tii11Xkzlsliiltg- it ii iii inert- oirlj to nnd that their ipp'i t i iiis were inislaitl or pigeon-holed. ll it 1 llqiiifin of :ill pending applica- tion tit itloptiiig of qi unifoiin applica- i t M- il, and the utilization of the fir llf

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JEFFERSONIAN Army and the Navy, including the vn- rollment in Chicago alone of over 7,000 skilled mechanics for ordnance regiments within three weeks. Similiar help was given to the Aviation Section. Balloon Service, Tank Corps, Signal Corps and Xfotor Transport Corps and the As- sociation received formal thanks from the Secretary of Xiiar, from high officers of the Staff and from Department and Camp Commanders throughout the country. ln the summer of Ifjlo the Associa- tion was called upon by the Har Depart- ment to perform even more important and responsible work. Xew regulations covering the granting to civilians of com- missions in the Army, were issued for thirteen branches of the General Staff. Instead of applying as formerly direct to each separate branch the following plan was adopted: Procedure in applying for a commission will be as follows: The civilian desiring to offer his services will watch the standard announcement of needs for officers published periodically in the news- papers. These announce- ments will be issued from the Wiashington headquarters of the recruiting subsection, and will be based on full de- scriptions of each need-type of man wanted and duty to be performed-furnished by the various branches of the army recruiting officers. As all publicity an officer needs will come from one source, there will be no contradiction, conflict, or competition on calls for menf' 'Wiihen announcement is made of a need for which the civilian considers himself in every way qualified, he will communicate with the nearest oH:1ce of the Kfilitary Training Camps Association and there obtain complete information on how to apply. If found qualified he will fum rzurfzfll

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JEFFERSONIAN services of the hlilitarv Training Camps Association for tht- prelimiivtrv ex'zmin'itiou of candidates produced remarkable results in securing the right man for the right place without loss of time and at a minimum expense. It was, perhaps, the most striking illustration of the value of civilian co-operation throughout the course of the Wiar. After the Wiar the Association earnestly believed that the principle of training should be continued as a means of promoting good citizenship and national securitv It per- fected its own organization on the basis of six departments, each with its own executive officers and committee. hIembership was broadened to include all men who believe in a policy which makes for the security of the country and the stability of its institutions. In IQIQ-IQZO the Association interested itself in the federal legislation for the reorg'1niz'1tion of the Army and pledged its support of the resulting Act. In August, IQZO, it proposed to the War Department the revival of the camps as a purelv peace-time measure Wihen this plan was discussed before the Congressional Committees, President flenry S. Drinker of Lehigh University, Grenville Clark, Horace C. Stebbins, Arthur I . Cosby, Secretary, and other members of the Executive Committee of the AI. T. C. A. spoke in behalf of it. Congress approved the proposal of training and in due season enrollment blanks for the Citizens' Camps of IQZI were distributed thru the Recruiting Adjutant in each Area, working in close conjunction with the officers and members of the Xlilitary Training Camps Association, which for this purpose had reorganized in advance its wartime system of Branch Chairmen as its representatives in every important communitv The Association welcomes all men, who take training, to enroll as camp members with nominal yearly dues. It does this with the expectation of building up year after year an organization, which shall presently number tens of thousands devoted to the prin- . I f . cipe o preparation for national service. Its Central Department includes the Fifth 7 Sixth and Seventh Corps Areas. Department Headquarters are maintained at 2Io Xfallers Building, Chicago, Charles B. Pike, President, George F. -lames, Secretary. The Iixecu- tive Committee includes F. KI. Alger, Detroitg Wiilliam XIarshall Bullitt, Louisvilleg Wi. L. Darling, St. Paul, C. lIcKinley, Wiheelingg Albert H: Klorrill, Cincinnati, Phelps Newberry, Detroit, John B. Reynolds, Indianapolis, C. S. Walker, Des Xloinesg Ira Ii. Wvright and Albert T. Perkins, St. Louis, together with the following Chicago members: Peirce Anderson, George Wi. Brooks, Wharton Clay, Xlarsliall Field, III, Robert Gardner John A. Holabird, Nobl B. I d l R' s ' ' ' ' ' and Tom R. Wvyles. The hfilitary Training Camps Association has fostered the principle of training by offering a bronze medal to be awarded, Mfor excellence , to the best man in each company of every Citizens' Camp throughout the country. These medals, awarded on the choice of company officers and presented at a special parade near the close of training, are highly prized and are an important influence in camp morale. A record of camp experience, prepared by the men themselves, is not only of great interest to them but also a valuable means of announcing future camps. Because such a record cannot properly be printed within the month of training the Association arranged in the Central Department and with the co-operation of the Commanding Generals of the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Corps Areas to publish the present group of Camp .Xnnuals for the men in training at Knox, Custer, Fort Snelling, Fort Des Xfoines and lefferson Barracks. The men paid their subscriptions at the various camps and the rnrinevireceived was devoted to the publication of the volumes at one place and time, thus affecting much economy in cost and making, what would have otherwise been impossible, a complete rpcord of eafchl camp from the opening to the closing day in a form somewhat reflecting tieworti t . ' ' 'i ' f ' ' ' 'A ' o ns very significant civic and patriotic movement in the current life of our countrv. e 5 u ai, alph Poole, ,loseph T. Ry erson, W. ILdw1n Stanleyi Pfzgf Sifxftwz '1'i'.,