Whopper

The figure was something to make old-line admirals' eyes pop. The world's greatest navy, OWI announced last week, had reached a strength of 3,200,000 men. And that was not all. The U.S. Navy still needs 400,000 more men. By Sept. 1, when it hopes to have them all, it will hit a strength (3,600,000) never remotely approached by any sea force in world history.

By no means all of the Navy's men man ships. About 750,000 of them belong to the Navy's air arm, which has grown mightily since battleship-bred admirals discovered there was more to air power than met their seamen's eyes. The Navy, which had 7,631 aviators in 1942, now has some 35,850.

Shore-based personnel in the U.S. and in scores of far-flung bases accounts for another big chunk of Navy strength, the Marines total over 400,000 and the number of men actually afloat in warcraft is more than 1,000,000.

This year the Navy intends to commission a 50% increase in its floating strength. Most of the men to man the ships are already in training.

The Constant Drain. The Army, OWI reported, has already reached its top strength of 7,700,000 (including more than 2,385,000 in the Air Forces). But OWI was quick to warn the U.S. public that that does not mean the U.S.'s manpower problem will be solved when the Navy finally fleshes itself out to full strength. On top strength there will always be a constant drain.

Discharges for physical and psychoneurotic disabilities are still running in the thousands monthly. Battle casualties are running at the rate of around 15,000 a month, may be expected to increase radically when the Second Front is opened, despite the pep talk of Lieut. General Omar N. Bradley to his troops (see p. 26).

To fill all these gaps Selective Service estimated that 200,000 new draftees monthly will be needed for the Services for many months to come; the drain may never fall below 150,000 before war's end.

The Inconstant Supply. But how to meet this demand without interruption, befuddled Selective Service had not yet firmly decided. This week, after stern threats to draft every eligible man, regardless of family status (and of many formerly solid claims to occupational exemption), S.S. changed its tack again.

S.S. told the draft boards to take no one over 26 for the time being, to keep the pressure on the young men and forget about the oldsters -- even if that meant that the boards failed to meet their quotas.

Many an over 26 draftee who had already bade good-by to his employer, accepted his military absence bonus, shamefacedly went back to work -- to wait.

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