US Army Training Center - Yearbook (Fort Bragg, NC)

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PEHSUNNEI. EE TEH The War Ileparlrnent Personnel Center at Ifort Bragg. one oi' TT such installations sit up throughout the lni.ed States. is tln- most recent organization to he established at the Post. In operation since Septemher 1, l9l-li, it is de- signed to he-gin and to end the cy cle ol' the military life of thousands ol' men and women from this area. from induction into the Armed Forces to Separation and return to civilian Iile at the termination of their periods of active duty. The Personnel Center is composed of live Service Command units. narnc-ly the Armed Forces lnduction Station, the lte- ception Center. the Special Training linit, the Reception Station. and the Separation Center. Four of these had already been in operation for some time, but were in- corporated into the Personnel Center on its establishment. The Separation Center, which is the most recent to he acti- vated. is set up to process the men and women from this area who are to he released from active duty. When the Personnel Center began to function in Sep- tember, I9-1-1-, its commanding ollicer was Brigadier General John T. Kennedy, Connnanding General of Fort Bragg. Lieu- tenant Colonel Horace I.. Johnson, formerly Commanding Oilicer of the lteception Center and Special Training Unit. was named Executive Uflicer. and Captain Homer W. Rain- sey, previously on duty at the Armed Forces Induction Sta- tion, Adjutant. On November 15, 194-lr, Colonel Johnson assumed com- mand of the Personnel Center. and Major Williatrri lVl. Gil- lespie became Executive Oflicer. The Cominanding Ollier-rs of the five units operating under the Personnel Center, although they supervise the activities within their own units, are directly responsible to Colonel Johnson. These include: Captain ,lohn H. Newsom, Armed Forces Induction Stationg Major Dallas l. Larkin, Reception Centerg Major Hcnjamin IT. l.enhardt. Special Training Unitg Major Simon N. Graham, Reception Station No. 11-, and Major 0. D. Uoehler, Separation Center. Top, left. Personnel Center Statf Officers, seated Uett to rightjz Lt. Col. Frederick K. Herpel, Surgeonq Lt. Col. Horace L. Johnson, Commanding Officer: Major W. M. Gillespie, Executive Officer: Capt. Brooks S. Stuart, Control Officer. Standing lleft to rightjz Lt. Robert D. Gamble, Assistant Adjutant: Capt. Homer W. Ramsey, Adjutantg Major William R. Middleton, Jr., Supply Officer: Lt. Don E. Friedcwald, Special Services Officer, and Lt. James E. Bryant, Assistant Adjutant. . . . Commanding Officers of Personnel Center Units, from left to right: Capt. John H. Newsom, Armed Forces Induction Station: Major Otto Doehler, Separation Center: Lt. Col. Horace L. Johnson, Commanding Officer of Personnel Centerg Major Benjamin F. Lenhardt, Special Training Unit: Major Simon N. Graham, Recep- tion Station No. 4, and Major Dallas I. Larkin, Reception Center .... Bottom, left: Office section ofthe Personnel Center Headquarters .... Bottom, right: Exterior view of Personnel Center Headquarters. af-- 'A f f' V ,X ff! as tittt R . N M. if

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Top, left, from left to right: Lt. Joseph F. Rollings, Assistant Transportation Officer: Major Earle N. Zeigler, Post Transportation Officer: Lt. Dorothy E Wolfe Mileage Administrator, and Capt. Robert L. Hinson, Motor Pool Officer .... Top, right: Office staff of Transportation Branch at work .... Bottom, left: Dispatchlng vehicles at the Post Motor Pool .... Bottom, right: Selectees leaving Reception Center on troop train 'For Replacement Center. THA SPUHT!-XTIIJ UFFIEEH Before the expansion of the Army, transportation at the Post was handled by an ollicer appointed by the Quarter- master, assisted by a clerk who executed the necessary paper work involved. The rapid growth of the Army brought with it an enormous increase in volume of traftic, and the need for a separate agency to handle the work became acute. The reorganization in the War Department, in 19-1-2, included the creation of the Transportation Corps. The principal function of the Transportation Corps per- sonnel here is to arrange and provide for the transporta- tion of military personnel and military supplies and equip- nzent moving to and from the Post. There are approximately 28 miles of Government-owned trackage on the reservation, and a classification yard with a capacity of 265 cars. Switches and side tracks can ac- commodate an additional 750 cars at one time. The Post Railroad, using four locomotives, is operated, under con- tract to the Government, by the Cape Fear Railways, lnc. A staff oi' l5U persons, including both military and civilian personnel and headed by the Post Transportation Ufficer, Major Earle N. Zeigler, assisted by three other officers, is required to handle the work performed by the Branch. Between ,lanuary l, 1942, and September 30, 194-1 411,063 freight cars and l7,298 passenger cars have been handled by the Post Transportation Uftice. A major share of the work has dealt with personnel moving to and from the Reception Center, the lnduction Station, and the Field Artillery Replacement training center. On one occasion. l0,000 troops were handled in approximately 10 hours. Without a single train departing late. During one week, in another instance, the office moved, for one organization alone, -l-8 mixed trains consisting of approximately l.5UO cars, all this in addition to routine work performed. The Post Transportation Officer is also charged with supervision over all buses and taxi-cabs operating in and out of, as well as on the Post, and hc supervises the opera- tion of the Post Motor Pool and the Office of Mileage Administration.

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Interviewing section of the Armed Forces Induction Station. Officer Personnel of the Armed Forces Induction Station, seated lleft to rightlz Capt. John H. New- som, Commanding: Capt. Ozzie L. Wilson, Adjutant .... Standing ileft to rightl: Lt. George S. August, Capt. J. J. Abbott, Capt. R. R. Juele, Lt. Commander J. C. Belk, Major J. Kempfner, Major E. F. Buchner, Jr., Lt. Commander Charles I. Solomon, Capt. Edmund Weber, Lt. QSGJ M. J. Capron, Major J. M. Murphy, Lt. F. T. Cook, Lt. Lester J. Waldman, Lt. R. W. Scott, Lt. Arthur Berger, Lt. W. C. Buchanan. Arrival at the Armed Forces lnduction Station is for most men of this area the first step in the process of becom- ing a soldier. Here is determined whether or not the pros- pective 'ccandidatesi' furnished by the State Selective Service local boards meet the standards for induction into the Armed Forces as set up by the War' Department in Washington. Those who fail to meet these minimum requirements are re- turned to civilian life. The eligible ones are sent to their homes to await the call to military duty. Actual induction procedures for all selectees begin on the day when they register for possible military duty with their local boards. A preliminary physical screening eliminates the most obviously disqualified men. The physically quali- fied individuals, as well as borderline and doubtful cases, are passed on to the lnduction Station, where the examina- tions are much more rigorous. The local boards also decide on the deferment of civilians on account of dependency and essential work performed. The Fort Bragg lnduction Station was activated on November 13, 1940, under the supervision of Colonel Earle C. Ewert, Commanding Ofiicer of the Reception Center. The actual induction of selectces did not begin until De- cember 1, when the first small group arrived. The station was set up to handle only 200 men per day, and twelve Medical Othcers were assigned here to conduct the examina- tions of the selectees. The Fort Bragg Induction Station, as set up originally, eX- amined only men who were drafted for Army Service, the other branches of the Armed Forces conducting separate in- duction and recruiting centers of their own. The recruiting of all service personnel was started here in January, 1943. On February 11 of the same year the lnduction Statigi was re- designated the '4Armed Forces lnduction Stationi. Lieuten- ant Colonel Lloyd S. Spooner was appointed Commanding Olhcer. At this time joint induction by the Armed Forces was begun. Representatives from the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, including ollicers and enlisted men, were as- signed to the station to conduct induction Work for their respective branches. lnductions have been made for these branches since that time. When the Personnel Center was established at Fort Bragg in September, 1944, the Armed Forces lnduction Station be- came one of its units. The present Commanding Ufhcer of the Station is Captain John H. Newsom. Over 300,000 men have already been processed at the Armed Forces lnduction Station since its activation. Of these approximately 135,000 have been rejected for service in the Armed Forces. Although the Station was set up to handle 200 men per day, the number of inductees passing through has increased considerably, a daily average of more than 700 undergoing examinations during the two-month period of March and April 1944.