US Army Training Center - Yearbook (Fort Eustis, VA)

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SEVEN YEARSVTJF THE cMrc ff 3. t 3, a. W l SEVEN YEARS OF THE CMTC In 1920 the Military Training Camps Association appealed to the War' Department for the establish- ment of camps for the voluntary training of young men, as authorized in the National Defense Act of that year. lt was especially fitting that the appeal should be made by this group, since it was composed of men who had themselves enrolled in pre-war camps in the four years from IQI3 to 1916. The Secretary of War, the late Hon. John W. Weeks, approved the request and an appropriate item was included in the budget for the next fiscal year. When the proposal was presented to Congress by the Military Affairs Committees it was heartily supported by the Hon. james W. Wadsworth, Chairman of the Senate Com- mittee, and by the, late Hon. Julius Kahn, Chairman of the House Committee, both of whom remained ardent friends of the camps during succeeding years. The flrst appropriation was sufhcient for the training of 10,000 young men at ten dilferent centers throughout the country. The minimum age of admis- sion was fixed at sixteen years and plans were made for Z1 FIRST TO REPORT- A long, lean, freckle-faced lad, honest and good- humored, eager for thirty days in camp. series of three courses-the Red the White and the Blue, giving one monthls training in successive years. Later the mini: mum age was placed at seventeen and a preliminary course, the Basic, was added. Con- gress made the graduates of the last, the Blue Course, eligible for examination leading to a commission in the Organized Reserves. For several years General John Pershing, the Chief of StaH, gave much thought and stimulus to the development of the camps in which he was a strong believer. The same attitude has characterized the oflicial work of his successors, Major General John L. THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER -Unswerving devotion to our country and its flag is implanted in the heart of every young man who takes the oath of allegiance in the CMTC. Pagr N ine Y