Word: guardsmen
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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Wilson's desire to strengthen the Guard in order to make it "a solid base" upon which to construct the country's military organization has resulted in a mandatory six-month, active-duty training period for all Guardsmen and Reservists who enlist after April first. This six-month period will be a minimum training requirement for all branches of the service, with one minor exception in the case of men under 18 1/2 years of age in the National Guard...
...National Guard, historically more powerful than the Regular Army in political battles, the hour had come for counterattack. Reviewing an Army directive requiring six months' active field training for new Guardsmen after April 1, Defense Secretary Charles E. Wilson labeled Guard Korean war recruiting "a draft-dodging business" (TIME, Feb. 11), and Chief of Staff Maxwell D. Taylor lamented the inadequacy of the Guard's preparedness...
...tests last year of National Guardsmen in summer camp and Army recruits completing eight weeks' basic training, 25,000 Guardsmen drawn from all 27 Guard divisions were ranged against 7,000 Army recruits in such soldierly accomplishments as scouting and patrolling, defense against armor and the use of the gas mask. Guardsmen outmaneuvered the Army in dismounted drill, a Guard specialty, and night training (in which neither group scored high). But overall, 84% of the Army recruits passed the tests satisfactorily, compared to 56.5% of the Guardsmen. The inference: Guard recruits would benefit from six months' active-duty...
...third reason, undefined but still apparent, is a feeling in the regular services that National Guardsmen get a soft berth. For instance, Guardsmen receive a full day's pay for each four-hour drill. They also receive many benefits of regular enlistment. Many who joined the Guard before the Korean G.I. Bill expired receive full educational and other benefits from the Bill, and the Army Guard serves its only intensive active duty in an annual two-week encampment...
...revised National Guard provisions have met vigorous opposition from the National Guard Association, a powerful lobby group representing 405,000 Guardsmen...