AMENDING AND EXTENDING THE DRAFT LAW AND RELATED AUTHORITIES WEDNESDAY, APRIL 12, 1967 U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON ARMED FORCES, The committee met, pursuant to call, at 10:05 a.m., in room 1224, New Senate Office Building, Senator Richard B. Russell (chairman) presiding. Present: Senators Russell, Stennis, Symington, Jackson, Cannon, Byrd of West Virginia, Young of Ohio, Inouye, McIntyre, Byrd, Jr. of Virginia, Smith, Thurmond, Miller, Tower, Pearson, and Dominick. Also present: Representative L. Mendel Rivers, chairman, Committee on Armed Services, House of Representatives. William H. Darden, chief of staff; T. Edward Braswell, Jr., professional staff member; Charles B. Kirbow, chief clerk; and Herbert S. Atkinson, assistant chief clerk. Chairman RUSSELL. The committee will come to order. This morning the committee is beginning what we hope will be at least 3 full days of hearings on S. 1432, a bill recommended by the Department of Defense to amend the Universal Military Training and Service Act. Since not all the issues in connection with the draft law and its administration are dealt with in this bill, the hearings will also cover related subjects. (S. 1432 follows:) [S. 1432, 90th Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL To amend the Universal Military Training and Service Act, and for other purposes Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Universal Military Training and Service Act is amended as follows: (1) Section 1(a) (50 App. U.S.C. 451(a)) is amended to read as follows: "(a) This Act may be cited as the 'Selective Service Act of 1967'." (2) Section 4 (50 App. U.S.C. 454) is amended by adding the following new subsection: "(m) Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, whenever the President determines that the enlisted strength of the Ready Reserve of the Army National Guard, Army Reserve, Naval Reserve, Air National Guard, Air Force Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, or Coast Guard Reserve cannot be maintained by voluntary enlistments at the level that he determines to be necessary in the interests of national defense, persons liable for training and service under this title who "(1) are between the ages of 182 and 26; and "(2) have not previously served in the Armed Forces (including the Reserve components of the Armed Forces); may be inducted into that Ready Reserve and shall perform an initial period of active duty for training of not less than four months. Persons shall be selected for induction under this subsection in accordance with rules and regulations prescribed by the President under section 5(a) of this title. A person who is inducted into the Army National Guard or the Air National Guard shall concurrently become a member of the Army National Guard of the United States or the Air National Guard of the United States, as the case may be." (3) Section 6(h) (50 App. U.S.C. 456(h)) is amended by striking out the last sentence. (4) Section 17 (c) (50 App. U.S.C. 467 (c)) is amended by striking out “July 1, 1967" and inserting in place thereof "July 1, 1971". SEC. 2. Section 1 of the Act of August 3, 1950, chapter 537, as amended (77 Stat. 4), is amended by striking out “July 1, 1967” and inserting in place thereof "July 1, 1971". SEC. 3. Section 16 of the Dependents Assistance Act of 1950, as amended (50 App. U.S.C. 2216), is amended by striking out "July 1, 1967" and inserting in place thereof "July 1, 1971". SEC. 4. Section 9 of the Act of June 27, 1957, Public Law 85-62, as amended (77 Stat. 4), is amended by striking out "July 1, 1967" and inserting in place thereof "July 1, 1971". SEC. 5. Sections 302 and 303 of title 37, United States Code, are each amended by striking out "July 1, 1967" whenever that date appears and inserting in place thereof "July 1, 1971". SEC. 6. Chapter 39 of title 10, United States Code, is amended (1) by inserting the following new section after section 673: "§ 673a. Ready Reserve: members not assigned to, or participating satisfactorily in, units "(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the President may order to active duty any member of the Ready Reserve of an armed force who— "(1) is not assigned to, or participating satisfactorily in, a unit of the Ready Reserve; "(2) has not fulfilled his statutory reserve obligation; and 66 "(3) has not served on active duty for a total of 24 months. "(b) A member who is ordered to active duty under this section may be required to serve on active duty until his total service on active duty equals 24 months. If his enlistment or other period of military service would expire before he has served the required period under this section, it may be extended until he has served the required period. "(c) To achieve fair treatment among members of the Ready Reserve who are being considered for active duty under this section, appropriate consideration shall be given to "(1) family responsibilities; and "(2) employment necessary to maintain the national health, safety, or interest."; and (2) by inserting the following item in the analysis: "673a. Ready Reserve: members not assigned to, or participating satisfactorily in, units.” Chairman RUSSELL. The first witness before the committee is a distinguished retired officer of the U.S. Army, Gen. Mark W. Clark. All of you are familiar with his contributions to the history of this Nation. Following his military service in several high positions, including those of commanding general of the 5th U.S. Amy in World War II, U.S. High Commissioner for Austria after World War II, and commanding general of the U.S. forces in the Far East during the Korean war, General Clark served long and honorably as the president of The Citadel, the historic military college of South Carolina. More recently General Clark functioned as chairman of a civilian advisory panel with other highly competent and valuably experienced members that conducted a study of military manpower procurement in compliance with a request from the distinguished chairman of the House Committee on Armed Services, Hon. L. Mendel Rivers. The Chair was extremely favorably impressed by the report of this panel. For those persons who may think it unusual for the chairman of the panel to appear first before the Senate Committee on Armed Services, the Chair should state that when it proved practical for the Senate to start hearings on the draft this morning, Chairman Rivers graciously indicated that he had no objection to our requesting General Clark to testify this morning and, equally graciously, General Clark indicated his willingness to appear. (The aforementioned report to the House Armed Services Committee is entitled "Civilian Advisory Panel on Military Manpower Procurement," dated Feb. 28, 1967.) After General Clark's testimony and questioning have been concluded, Hon. Thomas D. Morris, Assistant Secretary of Defense, Manpower, will comment on the bill recommended by the Department. As first witness on Thusrday, April 13, Hon. Burke Marshall, who served as Chairman of the National Advisory Commission on Selective Service that was appointed by the President of the United States, will give the committee the benefit of his testimony. Following Mr. Marshall's testimony, several Members of the Senate and the House of Representatives and representatives of national organizations have requested an opportunity to testify. Of course, members of the committee will be eager to hear the views of Lt. Gen. Lewis B. Hershey, Director of the Selective Service System, but the Chair thought that General Hershey's testimony might be more helpful after all the suggested changes to the draft law and procedures have been presented. Accordingly, and with General Hershey's understanding, his appearance has been postponed until later in the hearings. Before General Clark begins, the Chair desires to make very brief general observations. The draft law now in effect and under which the necessary manpower has been provided for our Armed Forces since 1951 is largely a result of comprehensive hearings conducted that year in the House and before a Senate subcommittee of which the chairman was the then Senator Johnson of Texas, now the President of the United States. That this law has provided the necessary manpower is a practical demonstration of its flexibility and effectiveness. The Chair believes that it has served the Nation well and that General Hershey, his staff, and the thousands of unpaid members of local boards are entitled to the warm appreciation of a grateful Nation for their diligent efforts in administering this law. Of course, we approach these present hearings with an open mind. If there is a better and a fairer way to provide the manpower to defend our country, we want to find it. But the Chair thinks it would be exceedingly unwise to make changes just for the sake of change or to supplant a working system with an untried one merely because there may be dissent over our military activities in southeast Asia, more dissent than there was over some of our other military engagements. This is a good hour, the Chair hopes, for him to emphasize the importance of approaching this subject with the desire for a solution that provides what the United States needs, instead of becoming excessively preoccupied with details and alleged inequities. What the Chair has in mind was stated cogently by Col. Samuel H. Hays, a member of the faculty of the U.S. Military Academy, in an article published in the February edition of the Army magazine. Colonel Hays' words are these: When equity for the individual and the welfare of society as a whole are inconsistent, decisions for society may be hard decisions to make and it may have to LAW AND RELATED AUTHORITIES HEARINGS BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES NINETIETH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION ON S. 1432 TO AMEND THE UNIVERSAL MILITARY TRAINING 77-909 APRIL 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, AND 19, 1967 Printed for the use of the Committee on Armed Services U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON: 1967 |