OF A PROPER MILITARY POLICY FOR THE UNITED STATES PREPARED BY THE WAR COLLEGE DIVISION, GENERAL STAFF CORPS WAR DEPARTMENT, OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF STAFF, WAR COLLEGE DIVISION, Washington, September 11, 1915. Memorandum for the Chief of Staff: 1. Memorandums from your office, dated March 11 and March 17, 1915, directed the War College Division to make a complete and exhaustive study of a proper military policy for the United States, and to prepare a clearly and succinctly expressed statement of the policy, basing it, in a general way, upon the "Report on the Organization of the Land Forces of the United States, 1912," "eliminating everything that is not necessary for the easy and quick comprehension of the military policy, and adding anything which may be necessary to afford such comprehension." 2. The following extract from the memorandum of March 17, 1915, gives the subjects which the “statement was to cover, viz: The substance of this policy will, therefore, be a clearly and succinctly expressed statement, with the reasons therefor, of the recommended strength and organization of I. (a) The Regular Army; (b) The Organized Militia. This should be followed by II. A careful study of the question of a reserve for both the Regular Army and the Organized Militia and, if possible to agree upon it, a plan for the formation of such reserves. III. The Volunteers: Their organization and relation to the Regular Army and the Organized Militia. IV. Reserve material and supplies which should be available and which can not be promptly obtained if delayed till the outbreak of war. The Secretary of War is of the opinion that a statement which shall contain everything that is pertinent to the foregoing subjects will inform Congress of all the essential things that the best judgment of the War Department thinks it is justified in asking Congress to provide in peace and to be prepared to provide in war. These things, being such as commend themselves to the general military intelligence (if they do not so commend themselves there can be no policy such as is now aimed at), may be assumed to be those that will be asked for by succeeding administrations of the War Department—at least, they will indicate the general line of development to be pursued. Such a statement will constitute what he has in mind as a comprehensive military policy. There are many other things that will from time to time be asked of Congress or, when authority exists for it, that will be done without asking legislation. Such things may be requests for appropriations to build new posts in view of the abandoning of others; the concentration of the Army in a smaller number of posts in definite areas of the country; projects for promotion, retirement, etc.; plans for training the Army and the militia, etc. Such things have no part in the statement of a general military policy which the Secretary of War now desires to have prepared, and in order to save time III |