Department of the Army Historical Summary: FY 1969

IV.

Personnel

The Army's personnel mission embodies the recruitment, training and schooling, assignment and utilization, compensation, discipline, health and welfare, spiritual sustenance, safety, and morale of military and civilian manpower. In fiscal year 1969 this mission was shaped by the size of the Army, its worldwide deployment, the war in Vietnam, and, above all, the requirement to maintain personnel levels in the theater of operations under the stringencies of the short tour turnover.

Military Personnel*

For the first time in several years, the Army's strength decreased in fiscal year 1969, from 1,570,343 to 1,512,169, a reflection of the leveling off of the war, the inactivation of the 6th Infantry Division, and a lower trainee population. There were 2,532 cadets, 172,590 officers, and 1,337,047 enlisted personnel. With 37,536 officer accessions during the year, the year-end officer strength was the highest since World War II. A total of 254,279 men were inducted into the Army and 200,897 men and women were acquired by first enlistment—a decrease of 79,943 in inductions and an increase of 2,037 in enlistments over the previous year.

Army strength continued to rise in Vietnam—from 355,000 to 361,000—but at a slower pace than during 1968. The 6,000 augmentation represented a 1.7 percent rise as compared with a 15 percent increase in fiscal year 1968.

Battle casualties were high during the fiscal year period. The Army had 7,653 killed and 53,034 wounded through hostile action; 30,652 of the wounded were returned to duty without hospital care. Total Army casualties over the course of the war from January 1961 through June 1969 numbered 23,324 killed and 149,265 wounded, and over half of the wounded were returned to duty without requiring hospital care.

Since July 1965 the Army has sustained a rate of 21.6 deaths per 1,000 troop strength per year as compared with a World War II battle death rate for active theaters of 37.4 per 1,000 troop strength per year. The rate in the European Theater of Operations alone for the year ending in May 1945 was 51.9 per 1,000 troop strength.

While reporting requirements for deaths have changed very little since 1941, there has been a marked change in casualty reporting of the


*Strength figures include reimbursables.

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wounded since the end of the Korean War. Earlier casualty reports were submitted on wounded personnel who were admitted to hospital and other medical treatment facilities. Reports on Army casualties in Vietnam include personnel who receive minor injuries due to hostile action and are treated on an outpatient or duty status without admission, as well as those who are excused from duty for treatment. Casualty reports compiled in Vietnam reveal that 95.2 Army personnel were wounded per 1,000 troop strength per year. In the Korean War the nonfatal, wounded in action rate was 121.1 per 1,000 troop strength per year; in World War II the figure was 90.1 in all active theaters and 152.0 in the European Theater of Operations during the 12 months ending in May 1945.

As of June 30, 1968, 185 Army personnel were missing in action in Vietnam and 27 were known to be prisoners of the enemy. As of June 30, 1969, Army casualties in these categories totaled 206 missing and 46 captured.

To insure that individual achievement, whether in or out of action, is identified and recognized in a timely manner, award procedures have been decentralized to some degree in Vietnam over the past two years. Separate brigade commanders were authorized to award the Bronze Star, while commanders at the level of major general were authorized to award the Silver Star. Final approval for the award of the Distinguished Service Medal remains with the Army Chief of Staff, while the President is the final approving authority for the Medal of Honor. The magnitude of recognition is evident in the fact that in calendar year 1968 a total of 427,823 decorations in all categories from the Purple Heart to the Medal of Honor were awarded, while another 318,345 were awarded in the first six months of 1969.

Sustaining U.S. Army deployments in Vietnam, Thailand, and Korea has been one of the major concerns over the period of the Army expansion and the Vietnam buildup. There are numerous facets to such a process. It has been necessary, for example, to meet the short tour (12 months) replacement turnover in Vietnam with the required numbers of individuals in the proper grades and skills, while maintaining the short tour policy in other areas, the long tour objectives (25 months) for the continental United States and certain overseas areas, an equitable assignment pattern for the career soldier subject to repetitive tours, an efficient training base, and a readiness posture against other contingencies. Of the approximate one-and-a-half-million men and women in the Army, some 700,000 are serving overseas at any one time. Of the more than 800,000 serving in the United States, over 197,000 are trainees not ready for assignment. This suggests the difficulty of maintaining the rapid turnover and providing qualified replacements.

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There are almost a thousand different categories of military skill, and these are not distributed equally between long and short tour areas. For example, there are 10 1/3 division forces in short tour areas and 9 1/3 in long tour areas. The disparity is even more marked where certain types of support units are concerned; a high percentage of individuals possessing certain skills are needed in short tour areas. A large proportion of the Army's enlisted requirements are in skills which are not self-sustaining because the requirements for them in long tour areas are inadequate to provide a rotation base for short tour areas.

The effect of an inadequate rotation base has been to create a high level of personnel movement and turbulence throughout the sustaining base units of the Army. This has led to reduced readiness in the forces outside Vietnam and compromised to some degree the 25-month base tour objective. It has meant that 2,162 personnel were returned involuntarily to short tour areas in fiscal year 1968, and 8,952 in fiscal year 1969, before completing their base tours.

Another problem associated with the Vietnam buildup has been a decrease in experience levels throughout the Army. The 56 percent increase in Army strength since 1965 has been attained through increased accessions of untrained draftees and enlistees who stay in the Army for only two or three years. Currently, about half of the Army's commissioned officers and two-thirds of its enlisted men have less than two years of service. In spite of the expansion, there are 100,000 fewer enlisted careerists today than there were before the buildup. Career soldiers—individuals with more than three years of service—numbered nearly 400,000 in 1964; by 1969, with over half-a-million more men in the Army, the career force has been reduced by 25 percent to less than 300,000. The result is a chronic shortage of officers and enlisted men in the middle grades.

Several steps have been taken to sustain short tour deployments and relieve constraints in the middle grades. Short tour personnel returning to the United States with less than 150 days of service remaining have been discharged, obviating their assignment to units for such brief periods that they contribute little to unit readiness and much to personnel turbulence. Also, personnel have been encouraged to extend their tour of duty voluntarily in the combat area, with a 30-day leave as an incentive to a 6-month extension; short term extensions to create eligibility for separation under the 150-day early release program have also promoted stability. Yet another procedure has been to revise assignment priorities in selected units, permitting them to conduct more progressive training and reach higher levels of readiness while maintaining a stable personnel situation.

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Two actions in skill development also furthered the equalization process. Output from the skill development base program was accelerated, rising from about 4,500 in fiscal year 1968 to over 12,000 in 1969 and helping to fill the middle grade leadership gap; and the number of individuals trained in skills critical to Vietnam was increased to meet short tour replacement requirements (for example, 9,100 more riflemen and 2,800 more aviation mechanics were trained than would normally have been the case).

Finally, a word is in order concerning the Reserve contribution in this problem area. The call-up of approximately 20,000 Reservists provided a source of experienced middle-grade leaders. Of the total, about 6,100 of the Reservists were deployed to Southeast Asia with units and 6,000 as individual replacements. The availability of the latter had a stabilizing influence on rotational patterns; many more careerists would have had shortened base tours and been returned to Vietnam involuntarily in fiscal year 1969 had it not been for the Reserve augmentation.

The Army in fiscal year 1969 acquired 37,536 officers and warrant officers.

ACCESSIONS OF OFFICERS IN FISCAL YEAR 1969

Source

Accessions

Service academies

759

Reserve Officers' Training Corps

14,435

Officer Candidate School

8,807

Voluntary active duty

555

Professional (JAGC, WAC, MSC, CHAP)

1,716

Medical Corps, Dental Corps, Veterinary Corps

3,627

Regular Army appointments (from civil life)

36

Miscellaneous 1

431

Nurses and medical specialists

1,237

Warrant Officers

5,933

Total 2

37,536

1 Includes administrative gains such as recall from retired list and interservice transfers.
2 Excludes reimbursable personnel.

The total number of warrant officers in the Army increased from 20,185 at the end of fiscal year 1968 to 23,754 at the end of fiscal year 1969. The growth of the warrant officer program is illustrated by the fact that the strength at the beginning of fiscal year 1967 was 11,318. Approximately 47 percent of warrant officer positions are in aviation specialties. About 350 outstanding aviation warrant officers who demonstrated exceptional leadership capabilities and potential were awarded direct commissions during fiscal year 1969.

In another officer acquisition area, the Reserve Officers' Training Corps scholarship program was transferred on July 1, 1968, from departmental headquarters to Headquarters, Continental Army Command. Total scholarships in effect increased from 3,019 in 1968 to 3,907 in

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1969; another 2,138 outstanding high school and college students have been selected to receive Army ROTC scholarships for the 1969-70 school year. Eight hundred high school graduates were awarded 4-year scholarships to be used at any of 274 colleges and universities offering the 4-year Army ROTC program in the fall of 1969. Two-year scholarships were awarded to 1,338 outstanding college sophomores who completed two years of ROTC training. The program holds considerable promise for expansion to its statutory limits.

Enlisted procurement and career programs must be constantly reviewed, modified, and updated to fit the needs of the times. The first enlistment option was introduced in 1792. It authorized enlistments for the "Legion of the United States." It appears to have been successful, since in May 1794 the Congress authorized the enlistment of 754 men to serve three years in the Corps of Artillerists and Engineers. Army enlistment options today aim at providing specific training that will encourage qualified men and women to serve in the Regular Army for three or more years. Recently, two new options were established to attract men to the combat arms. A noncommissioned officer candidate course, under which enlistees are assured assignment to a combat arms noncommissioned officer candidate course and promotion to grade E-5 upon graduation, was initiated to fill middle management positions with intelligent and versatile young men. A ranger enlistment option, promising airborne and ranger training and assignment, was developed to provide a new source for volunteers for the recently reactivated 75th Infantry (Merrill's Marauders).

The intensified recruitment program, which concentrates on acquiring men from areas of high unemployment, progressed in fiscal year 1969. Army recruiters were conducting the campaign in 43 major cities and on the Navajo Indian Reservation. Some 12,000 men, about 6 percent of all male enlistments, were recruited from designated poverty areas during the year. The majority were unemployed, were not over 19 years old, had less than an 11th grade education, and scored correspondingly in classification tests.

The Army is establishing an enlisted career management program that is centralized at Department of the Army headquarters. Developed under Project MECCA (Management of Enlisted Careerists, Centrally Administered), the program will be implemented over the course of several years, and eventually will include all soldiers in grade E-5 and above who have completed three years of active service. The concept envisions that each soldier will be developed to the maximum based on his ability and diligence, and individual aptitude will be further cultivated in progressive schooling and assignments of increasing responsibility. The Enlisted Personnel Directorate at departmental headquarters will main.

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tain the career soldier's management file, select his assignments and schooling, and keep him posted on his progress and standing among his contemporaries. Individuals who demonstrate the capacity will be provided with more challenging assignments as well as advanced schooling and opportunities for more rapid advancement. The enlisted management program is aimed at improving the attractiveness of an Army career. In January 1969 one of the important parts of the program was launched—centralized promotion to grades E-8 and E-9. Thus for the first time, promotion to the top two enlisted grades is being made by selection boards on the basis of Army-wide consideration; the best qualified candidates will be elevated, no matter where they are serving around the world.

Increasing numbers of college graduates are entering the Army through induction or enlistment as a result of the termination of graduate deferments. Every effort is being made to benefit both the Army and the individuals by assigning them to activities that make use of their prior training, education, experience, and leadership potential. A survey was made of Army positions and occupational specialties, and three categories of skill were identified against which college graduates could be considered. Priority I embraces skills that can be correlated to academic fields or personal preferences of college graduates, such as officer training, scientific or engineer fields, or language training. Priority II consists of skills that challenge the leadership or technical capabilities of college men, such as combat arms potential, radar technology, or automatic data processing. Priority III comprises skills that are essential but which do not challenge or make use of the background of the average college graduate, for example, driver, cook, or shoe repairman. In fiscal year 1969, 37,246 college graduates were assigned in these general fields of priority: 62.1 percent (23,156) in the priority I area, 37.6 percent (13,944) in priority II, and 0.3 percent in priority III.

The information that is developed on a soldier at the time he enters the service is important both to him and to the Army in connection with the efficient utilization of personnel. To improve the methods by which that initial personnel information is collected, a contract has been awarded to a commercial firm to design, program, and install a new nationwide electronic communications system by means of which personnel data would be transmitted to a central location. This system for consolidation of accessions and trainees (SCAT) will be used to develop personnel data on all enlisted men entering the armed forces and provide information to various Department of Defense users.

In the field of officer utilization, the Military Assistance Officer Program, which incorporated the Civil Affairs Officer Program, has been established to identify and develop personnel for assignment to politico-

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military positions not only in the Army but throughout the Department of Defense. The program provides a career field for officers who have the skills to conduct required military activities of social, economic, and psychological impact. Training will be conducted at the John F. Kennedy Center for Military Assistance at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. About 1,000 command and staff positions are being considered for designation as key military assistance billets.

The end strength of the Chaplains Branch remained close to the level—1,866—attained at the end of fiscal year 1968. Although an increase of 100 spaces authorized a total strength of 1,925, procurement slowed down considerably toward mid-year, resulting in an end strength of 1,909 for fiscal year 1969. Of these, 1,429 were of Protestant denominations, 438 were Catholic, and 42 were Jewish.

One of the 410 chaplains who served in Vietnam during the fiscal year was killed in action and another died as a result of an aircraft accident. On November 19, 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson presented to Chaplain (Captain) Angelo J. Liteky the Medal of Honor for heroic action near Phuoc Lac, Vietnam. The first Army chaplain to receive this highest military honor since the Civil War, he was the fourth such recipient in the history of the U.S. Army chaplaincy.

During the third quarter of the fiscal year, workshops for chaplains on the subject "Ministry to the Drug User" were held throughout the Army. The purpose was to prepare chaplains to counsel with and minister to drug users within the military community. Professional assistance from other branches of the Army and from the civilian community was effectively utilized and contributed immeasurably to the success of these workshops.

The professional training of chaplains in their area of pastoral ministry was furthered with the assignment of 15 chaplains to civilian educational institutions for 1-year courses in pastoral counseling.

On May 28, 1968, the Secretary of the Army directed that the Army's Artillery Branch be separated into an Air Defense Artillery Branch and a Field Artillery Branch. The decision was the result of a lengthy study, begun in September 1966, to determine what effect existing officer personnel policies had upon the efficiency of artillery units and the proficiency and career of the artillery officer. The study revealed that there were three categories of artillerymen—one group had served only in field artillery assignments, another had served only in air defense artillery assignments, and the third had served in both. Analysis showed that personnel in the last category had lower achievement levels than the other groups. They also achieved less academically than did those who served only in one field of artillery specialization. The study further revealed that integration of the artillery caused a

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waste of training time, imposed an unnecessary burden on units with cross-assigned artillerymen, and lowered the traditional professionalism of artillery officers. The separation once again into field artillery and air defense branches permits officers to develop maximum proficiency in their respective arms, improves their competitive chances and standings for promotion and schooling, and furthers combat readiness in units of both branches.

Retention of both officers and enlisted men is always a military personnel problem, and especially so in wartime. Inadequate retention levels since the Korean War have led to the present shortage in the middle grades of officers and enlisted men. Based on past experience, the present retention rate of Regular Army officers is within acceptable limits; for example, the rate for ROTC distinguished military graduates at the 4-year point (one year following the completion of obligated service) has averaged 85 percent, while that for U.S. Military Academy graduates has been 88 percent at the completion of one year following obligated service. Involuntary extension has had some impact on these rates, especially for the 1964 group.

Since the number of Regular officers is limited by statute to 49,500, expanded requirements have made it necessary to retain a large number of non-Regulars as careerists. To sustain an officer corps of 100,000 men, it is estimated that approximately 4,500 other-than-Regular officers must be retained annually as careerists. In recent years an annual average of 2,530 such officers have extended their service voluntarily. Although the ROTC program has been the major source of officers, the expanded officer candidate school program was used to provide the majority of junior officers during the Vietnam buildup. If the fiscal year 1969 retention rate of 27.7 percent (7,502 extensions out of 27,064 eligibles) continues in fiscal year 1970, the current shortage of captains in the Army will be partially alleviated.

Among enlisted personnel it is again in the younger brackets that the most active turnover occurs. Noncommissioned officer re-enlistments have declined since 1965, especially in grades E-5 and E-6. There is a higher proportion of non-Regulars in the middle NCO grades and therefore correspondingly lower re-enlistment rates. In a period of expanded requirements and accelerated promotion opportunity, this will continue to be a matter of concern. The reasons why men leave the service are well identified, and the Army is working along many lines to improve the retention picture.

In the personnel areas that concern separation and retirement, several programs have been going on that are out of ordinary routine. One of these, the early release program, has already been described. Another is the effort to smooth the transition for those departing the

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service. To insure that a member of the military family receives an appropriate send-off, and to enhance the image of the Army in the minds of those returning to civilian life, separation facilities and procedures were improved and departure ceremonies formalized during the year. In the retirement area, the selective retention program was continued and about 200 of some 1,200 Regular Army officers and warrant officers who applied for retirement were deferred.

During fiscal year 1969 a number of important manpower studies were in progress, primarily concerned with the acquisition and retention of personnel. At the top of the list, a working level investigation was launched to determine whether and how the Army could meet military manpower requirements without relying on the draft. The expansion of the Army and the buildup in Vietnam have been accomplished primarily through conscription, and opposition to the draft has produced increasing speculation over the possibilities of an all-volunteer Army. Any such study must address manpower management and personnel policies as they affect procurement, distribution, sustainment, training, and separation, and must include evaluations of the interaction of four central considerations—quality, quantity, cost, and socioeconomic implications. Ultimately, a package of programs and policies with associated costs will be developed. Meanwhile, a presidential commission composed of distinguished Americans from various walks of life is considering the subject in its national context.

Along more conventional lines, initial staffing on a concept study to guide personnel activities through the middle of the next decade was completed in the fiscal year. Rapid change was identified as the most significant factor in future operations; the principal challenge was anticipated to be that of maintaining personnel stability in a restless social, economic, and political environment.

Even as the Army was dealing with current problems of accession and retention, a study was a progress to determine the kind of officer grade structure that would provide the quality and quantity of leadership the Army needs to carry out its mission up to 1985. Such a structure must hold career appeal and be attainable and sustainable from the present base.

One of the keys to ameliorating the problems in officer career progression, grade balance, promotion patterns, leadership proficiency, and over-all stability rests in junior officer retention. A study of this subject revealed that the factors which most influence a junior officer's decision to leave the service or remain on active duty after completing his obligated service include his duties and his attitude toward them, career management, increased educational opportunities, relationships between personnel of the several components, leadership and morale,

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financial security, and family considerations. To the extent possible, policy in each of these areas will be adjusted to further officer retention.

Military Justice, Discipline, and Legal Services

There were several pivotal developments in the field of military justice during fiscal year 1969. Of far-reaching significance was the United States Supreme Court's decision, issued on June 2, 1969, in the case of O'Callahan versus Parker. This ruling holds that courts-martial are without jurisdiction to try soldiers for offenses which are not "service-connected." It specifically decided that the offenses of attempted rape, housebreaking, and assault with intent to rape, committed off post, while on leave, within the jurisdiction of Hawaii, against a civilian victim, and in peacetime, are not "service-connected." The exact limits of the ruling in the O'Callahan case and of the jurisdiction of courts-martial will be defined in subsequent cases in both military and civilian courts. The immediate effects of the decision will be the dismissal of certain charges now pending and referral of these charges to civilian courts. Many previously convicted soldiers will now claim that their cases fall within the rule of the O'Callahan case, thus generating a great number of collateral attacks on otherwise final cases and a vast number of applications for administrative correction of records and restoration of pay and other benefits.

During the fiscal year the Congress passed the Military Justice Act of 1968, an enactment favored by the Army and the entire Department of Defense. The act, which becomes fully effective on August 1, 1969, makes far-reaching changes in the Uniform Code of Military Justice. It provides the opportunity for accused at special courts-martial to be defended by a qualified lawyer, provides for detailing military judges (formerly called law officers) to special courts-martial, provides an option for trial by military judge alone at all general courts-martial and at those special courts-martial to which a military judge has been detailed, and makes other procedural changes.

In fiscal year 1969, 76,320 persons were tried by court-martial, a rate of 49.92 per 1,000 military strength, as compared with 57,685 in 1968, a rate of 38.14 per 1,000. By types of court-martial, the fiscal year statistics show that 2,482 were tried by general court-martial (1.62 per 1,000) compared with 2,375 in fiscal year 1968 (1.57 per 1,000) ; 59,597 were tried by special court-martial (38.98 per 1,000) as compared with 43,769 in fiscal year 1968 (28.9 per 1,000) ; and 14,241 received summary courts-martial (9.32 per 1,000) as compared with 11,541 in fiscal year 1968 (7.63 per 1,000). Under Article 86 of the Uniform Code of Military justice, 1,158 convictions were handed down for absent-without-leave (AWOL) offenses in fiscal year 1969 as compared with 1,100 in 1968. There were 140 desertion convictions by general court-martial

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under Article 85 of the code in fiscal year 1969 as compared with 139 the previous year. And 301,095 were punished for lesser offenses under Article 15 of the code (196.9 per 1,000) as compared with 263,612 in fiscal year 1968 (174.3 per 1,000).

Although AWOL and desertion rates per 1,000 enlisted strength increased in fiscal year 1969, they are generally in line with those for 1952 at the peak of the Korean War and those for 1960 in a period of lower Army strength. The increase in the number of military prisoners in confinement challenged the Army's correctional effort.

The U.S. Army's Correctional Training Facility began operation at Fort Riley, Kansas, on July 1, 1968, like the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks, under the command jurisdiction of the Army's Provost Marshal General. A program to improve Army stockades by modernizing correctional programs and facilities and training correctional specialists was initiated. Enforcement aspects of the absentee problem were studied and apprehension procedures were reviewed. The Department of Justice's Crime Information Center provides support for the Army's apprehension program. Eventually this program will be automated and extended throughout the armed forces.

During the year ending November 30, 1968, there were 23,832 cases in which U.S. Army personnel were charged with offenses that were subject to the jurisdiction of foreign courts. In 9,114 of these cases, the offenses were subject to exclusive foreign jurisdiction because they involved only violations of foreign law. The remaining 14,718 cases involved alleged violations of both U.S. and foreign law, over which the foreign country had primary jurisdiction. This was waived in 13,865 (94 percent) of these cases. Of the 6,924 U.S. Army personnel tried by foreign courts, only 89 received sentences to confinement that were not suspended.

During 1969 the Army Claims Service processed 82,645 claims representing over $20 million in obligations against the U.S. government, and recovered over $1.3 million from carriers, warehousemen, insurers, and other third parties.

Dissent

The Army's problems are to some degree a reflection of the nation's problems. American youths bring into the Army the ideals, philosophies, and opinions of their society. The forms of dissent are numerous and varied, and the exercise of some of them, deliberate or otherwise, in the military environment would be prejudicial to good order and discipline.

In the summer of 1968 there were increasing indications that deliberate attempts were being made to undermine discipline and resist established authority. Press attention focused on the potential for disruption from within the Army. To investigate the general situation and co-ordinate and monitor information and actions related to Army morale and discipline, a special committee was established in August 1968.

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The committee found that public manifestations of dissent spring from diverse undercurrents, ranging from the usual gripes of soldiers on through complaints of racial discrimination and up to politically motivated resistance to legally constituted authority. Actions have taken the form of refusal to obey orders, publication of so-called underground newspapers, soldier participation in antiwar meetings and demonstrations, and petitions in civil courts to establish the rights of soldiers.

Statistical yardsticks do not reveal a uniform magnitude to the threat. One determined soldier intent on spreading his personal philosophy by organizing others is not statistically significant, but he is a time-consuming nuisance to his unit leaders. The best estimates of the number of soldier organizers Army-wide place them at less than 100. Local commanders are responsible for handling individual cases; to assist them, a guidance letter was issued on May 28, 1969, outlining legally acceptable measures for dealing with dissidents and the tools of their trade.

Health and Medical Care

In fiscal year 1969, Army active duty personnel were admitted to hospitals and quarters at a rate of 376 per 1,000 average strength per year, slightly lower than the rate of 388 per 1,000 in 1968. The noneffective rate, representing the average daily number of Army personnel in an "excused from duty" status due to medical causes per 1,000 average strength, rose to 19.4 from 17.2 in the previous year. Noneffectiveness due to injuries resulting from hostile actions rose to 5.4 per 1,000 average strength from 4.5 in 1968.

The following table displays admission rates in Vietnam and other areas for all causes, and separately for all diseases and all injuries, along with incidence rates of malaria and certain other conditions which may cause a high proportion of noneffectiveness.

ADMISSIONS TO HOSPITALS AND QUARTERS AND INCIDENCE OF SELECTED
CONDITIONS—U.S. ARMY PERSONNEL ON ACTIVE DUTY
FISCAL YEAR 1969

(Rates per 1,000 average strength per year)

 

Worldwide

CONUS
Army
Areas

Oversea
Area
Total

Europe

Pacific

All Areas

Vietnam

Admissions
           

All causes

376

364

389

248

452

508

Disease

311

334

285

216

312

336

Injury 1

65

30

104

32

140

172

Incidence
           

Malaria

7.92

2.39

14.01

0.24

20.98

24.72

Diarrheal diseases

19.89

12.23

28.31

14.59

33.39

38.28

Acute upper respiratory infection and influenza

110.70

165.60

50.33

62.10

41.85

37.66

Skin diseases, including dermatophytosis

9.06

5.38

13.12

3.80

17.66

21.03

Neuropsychiatric conditions

11.17

10.73

11.66

8.24

12.92

13.64

Hepatitis Viral

3.42

2.09

4.88

0.28

7.15

7.81

1 Includes Army personnel wounded or injured as a result of actions of hostile forces.

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Army hospitals in continental United States were severely taxed during the year as a result of a sustained increase in patients from the expanded combat in Vietnam and shortages in authorized staff. The staff deficit was aggravated by civilian hiring restrictions imposed by Public Law 90-364, passed in July 1968, and reductions in Army medical detachment spaces in CONUS general support forces effective in January 1969. As the year closed, there were indications that the restrictive situation would be alleviated by the addition of 4,725 medical spaces under 1970 strength authorizations, although training lead time would delay their full effectiveness until the second and third quarters of that fiscal year.

To reduce work load under the stringent conditions and protect the statutory entitlement of active duty personnel of the uniformed services to unqualified care, an Army policy letter was issued on March 12, 1969, outlining priorities for medical care. Of necessity this had adverse impact in some areas for retired personnel and dependents, whose entitlement to medical care had to be limited to a "when available" basis. Lower priority eligibles were referred to civilian sources under the Civilian Health and Medical Care Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS), generally at a higher cost to the individual than if the care had been provided in a military facility.

Over the past several years a Department of Defense working group has been developing an automated medical examination system that would incorporate the latest recording, evaluation, and analysis techniques. The purposes of the system would be to conserve manpower, increase the accuracy and quality of the examination, complete forms automatically, improve record storage and retrieval, provide statistical data for further evaluation as to the validity of the present examination, provide a more accurate base line upon which to evaluate change in an individual's physical condition, and do all of this economically. As executive agent for the Department of Defense in the operation of the Armed Forces examining and entrance stations (AFEES), the Army has chaired the working group and conducted a successful field test at the Philadelphia AFEES. The new system will be installed in all 74 examining stations.

The Military Blood Program Agency, a part of the Office of The Surgeon General, discharges all responsibilities and functions delegated to the Army for the conduct of the Department of Defense blood program. The agency receives requirements for whole blood and makes allocations among the armed services. The Army operates 17 blood donor centers, strategically located near large troop concentrations. It has provided over 52 percent of the blood needed in Southeast Asia; by June 30, 1969, 625,000 units of blood had been shipped there, almost double the amount supplied during the Korean War.

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Housing, Safety, and Awards

Based on long-range strength and deployment estimates, Army requirements for family housing total 350,743 units. Available at permanent installations at year-end in military-controlled on- and off-post housing were 207,661 units. Progress in reducing the deficit will depend upon approval of Army budget requests for family housing construction and upon congressional funding.

There is also a substantial worldwide deficit in bachelor housing for both officers and enlisted men. About 32,874 new bachelor officer quarters (BOQ) spaces and 230,560 enlisted men's barracks spaces are required. Army personnel are still housed in obsolete World War II buildings at many locations. Efforts are under way to improve BOQ standards, but this will cost money in a period of heavy competing demands. To overcome the backlog in a reasonable period of time would require annual outlays of about $100 million for barracks construction and $25 million for BOQ's.

For the 21st time in the past 25 years, the Army received the National Safety Council's highest award for achievement, the Safety Award of Honor, this time for its record in accident prevention in fiscal year 1968. In turn, the Department of the Army presented its Award of Honor for Safety and Award of Merit for Safety to major commands, armies, and divisions for outstanding records in accident reduction. The Army safety program is designed to hold to a minimum the accidental loss of manpower, materiel, and monetary resources that retard efficiency and reduce the combat effectiveness of the Army. Major causes of accidental fatalities usually involve privately owned motor vehicles, aircraft, military vehicles, small arms, and drownings. Except for the first of these, the bulk of the problems were associated with activities in Vietnam.

In January 1969 the President established a Meritorious Service Medal to recognize noncombat meritorious service or achievement. The new medal joins the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, and Army Commendation Medal in the peacetime award picture, serving as a counterpart to the Bronze Star Medal of wartime application.

Civilian Personnel

Army civilian personnel strength rose during fiscal year 1969 from 566,417 to 577,045. Except for the transfer of about 24,000 National Guard civilian technicians into the Army, this strength would have shown a slight decline. On an adjusted basis, the net decrease for the year was 2.4 percent, with the full-time permanent work force declining less than 1.7 percent. The citizen work force declined 3.8 percent; however, the local national work force increased by 1.3 percent due to an 18.1 percent increase in Southeast Asia. Direct hire employees this year outnumbered

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indirect hire employees for the first time since the oversea commands have used the indirect hire system.

Public Law 90-364, the Revenue and Expenditure Control Act of 1968, was signed on June 28, 1968, and became effective on July 1, 1968. One of its purposes was to reduce government expenditures by reducing the number of federal employees. The law prescribed that full-time employment in permanent positions be reduced to June 1966 levels, and that employment in temporary and part-time positions be restricted in any month to the number assigned in the same month of 1967. The reduction in full-time employment was to be accomplished by filling only 75 percent of vacancies created by separation after June 30, 1968.

The Army had 416,280 employees in full-time permanent military functions on June 30, 1968, compared with 340,991 on June 30, 1966. The bulk of the increase was due to the war in Vietnam and the civilianization program under which about 20,000 positions were converted from military to civilian occupancy. Some of the increase was due also to new and expanded missions approved by Congress.

The new law raised several problems in personnel management as well as in over-all operation of the Army. July, the month in which the law took effect, is a month of high intake, especially among college graduates who are hired to replace current and anticipated losses. Such personnel receive firm offers during the academic year preceding entry on duty, and the Army is legally obligated to honor such commitments. Long-range programs to attract highly qualified personnel suffered damage. Commanders were unable to respond to mission needs by shifting intake patterns, and were forced to readjust their civilian resources by mandatory reassignments and reductions in force, at a heavy price to civilian morale. Imbalances caused by a need to support high priority missions at levels substantially above that of June 30, 1966, caused inadequate staffing in other programs essential to Army operations.

The Army sought and was granted a measure of relief. As of October 1, 1968, the Army was authorized to exempt from the employment provision of the law those positions established after June 30, 1966, to support Southeast Asia operations and located in the theater. Similarly, teachers in the oversea dependent school program were exempted, and temporary and part-time ceilings for fiscal year 1969 were amended. But exemption of the civilianization program was denied, as was exemption for new programs like the Sentinel-Safeguard system.

Management of the Army's civilian work force under an arbitrary legal formula has created administrative problems that outweigh the advantages expected to be achieved under the law. Agencies with a high turnover were faced with continually reducing staffs without commensurate decreases in work load; this turnover was often an accident of

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geographical location and not a reflection of management skill. The formula also caused a skill imbalance, as agencies had no control over skill losses that occurred under the voluntary attrition program.

The Army managed to achieve its fiscal year 1969 reduction goal, but the full impact is difficult to measure, and there may be far-reaching consequences. For example, maintenance of equipment and facilities which had been performed on an austere basis during the Vietnam buildup has had to be further curtailed; minor projects will become major programs by the time resources can be diverted to them. Dollar savings resulting from the personnel cutback are a matter of record, but the debit side is unknown at the present time. The full impact on over-all Army mission accomplishment and on morale, motivation, and recruitment of the civilian work force is yet to be measured.

In the area of position and pay management, supergrade positions were reviewed in fiscal year 1969 and the Army worked with the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Civil Service Commission in the development of grade structures, evaluation plans, regulations, and instructions concerning the Coordinated Federal Wage System. The position structure at all levels was kept under surveillance.

The Army has been the pioneer in the federal service in the establishment of a structured career management system. Although Army-wide activity began in earnest only in the early 1960's, programs are well established and operational and have served as forerunners for Defense-wide programs and information sources for other federal agencies, including the Civil Service Commission. Army civilian career programs are composed of key professional, managerial, or technical occupations. At the present time, more than 81,000 Army civilians in grades GS-5 through GS-18 are included in 14 Army-wide programs. The objectives of the program are to anticipate and meet continuing and future personnel needs with quality personnel while providing career opportunities that will attract and retain qualified employees.

In September 1968 the Civil Service Commission announced guidelines on a new federal promotion and internal placement policy. The Army's merit promotion program, already generally in line with the new policy, must conform fully by July 1, 1969. The more significant changes related to consideration, application, and testing of employees.

There was continuing active attention during the year to a battery of important personnel programs—the equal employment opportunity program; the federal women's program; the Youth Opportunity Campaign; Project Value, under which the disadvantaged in metropolitan areas are provided employment; employment of the handicapped; and the Vietnam era veterans employment referral program. The Civil Service Commission inspected the equal employment programs of some 70 Army

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installations during the year; women were increasingly employed in nontraditional and higher grade positions; over 18,000 youths were employed by the Army in the summer of 1968; the Army acquired responsibility for 13 metropolitan areas and employment of 1,350 disadvantaged workers under Project Value; a new honorary award was established to recognize outstanding contributions by handicapped employees; and the Army employed as civilians over 5,500 Vietnam veterans during calendar year 1968.

In November 1968 the Secretary of the Army approved the establishment of an award to recognize and encourage achievement and potential of young men and women who undertake a career in civilian personnel administration in the Army. Designated the William H. Kushnick Award in honor of the Army's Director of Civilian Personnel in World War II, the new award is presented for important achievements or contributions in civilian personnel administration within the department, or for outstanding performance in this field.

Both military and civilian personnel made valuable suggestions during the year that contributed to more economical and efficient operations. Under the Army suggestion program, 95,217 civilians (220 per 1,000 employees) submitted suggestions during fiscal year 1969, of which 28,138 were adopted, leading to first-year measurable benefits of close to $76.5 million. There were 47,158 suggestions from military personnel, and the 5,337 adopted will produce first-year measurable benefits in excess of $14.5 million.

Employee union activity increased in the fiscal year, although the pace was reduced from the two previous years. There are now 694 bargaining units in the Army—461 exclusive and 233 formal. The ratio of exclusive to formal units continues to increase each year, reflecting continued efforts by unions to obtain the right to negotiate labor-management agreements covering conditions of employment. At year-end there were 243 such agreements in force. The need to train top management officials, supervisors, and civilian personnel technicians in labor relations has grown, and 430 personnel attended seminars during the year.

The Army's U.S. citizen civilian employees overseas continued to provide specialized knowledge and expertise in logistic and support activities in various areas of the world. Attention was given to the rotation program under which career employees accepting foreign assignment agree to return within five years to a position in the United States. Army commands continued to rely heavily on indigenous employees in various host countries for various skills. Although local national wages and benefits continued to rise in all countries during the year, the payroll cost of a local national remained considerably below the cost if importing a U.S. citizen civilian to fill a job. Foreign commands continued to conduct training programs to develop the capability of indigenous personnel.

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Last updated 9 August 2004