Page:Legislative History of the AAF and USAF.djvu/87

 �This Page Declassified lAW EO12958 Bittitling the Posivar Air Force .j life. Acting with the advice of an appointive Civil Defense Advisory Council, the Civil Defense Admmlstrator was to act through and with state and local governments to organi2e and develop a program ol civil defense for the protection of life and prop- erty in the United States. *- Obviously ths legislation concerned the Ar Force, as well as the other two armed setwoes, because of the Importance of an adequate civil defense program/n maintaining mvamn (and mrl- tory) morale and war production in the event of any large-scale attack on the con- tinentel United States.* Besides the legislation discussed above there were enacted miscellaneous measures of interest to the Air Force. Among these were the International Aviation Facfiities Act, Public Law 64V, 80 Cong., 2 Sess. (ap. proved 16 June 1948), which authorized any department of the National Military EstabIishment to transfer certain airport or airway property to the Civil Aeronautms Administrator; and Public Law 889, 80 Cong., 2 Sess. (approved 2 July 1948), which authorized the Secretary of the Air Force to donate excess and surplus property to be used for educational purposes s In addition to the legislation already dis- cussed there was, of course, a great body of legislation enacted in the sm years follow- lng World War II which directly concerned the Air Force and its members. and which lends itself to classification under the man headings of personnel legislation, matoriel and related legislatmn, and appropriations. Some of this was enacted while the mr arm was still a part of the Army (although an autonomous part); the first separate De. pertinent of the Air Force legislative pro- gram was prepared by the Air Force Legis- lative Policy Board for the fiscal year 1948. As has been prewously pointed out, the re- sponibil/ty for the Air Force legislative pro- grams thereafter lay with the Directorate of Legislation and Liaison, OSAF. PERSONNEL [EGISLATION One of the major personnet problems facing the JL at the end of World War ZT could well be dlsas[rous In the event of atomic attack was that of procuring officers in sufficient numbers and of high enough quality to meet the postwar requirements of the AAF. ßhis problem had been foreseen as early as 5 June 1944 when General Arnold was warned that the end of the war and edmo- billaCtion would cause the AAF to lose many of its best officers. It was pointed out that there was an hmperatve need for legislation to commission into the regular service the best combat leaders and commanders who had been or were being developedJ These officers were to be drawn from those AAF officers who held commissions in the Army of the United States. In the fall of 1945, Lt. Gert. Ira C. Eaker submitted to the Chief of Staff and the Secretary of War a draft of proposed legislation authorizing such com- missiomng of additional officers. Shortly afterward Congress passed Public Law 281, 79 Cong., 1 Sess. (approved 28 December 1945), which, making no special reference to the AAF, prowdeal for the appointment as offSeers in the Regular Army of a litrated number of persons whose outstanding erv- me as temporary officers of the Army of the United States demonstrated their fit- ness to hold commissions in the Regular Army. The number of appointments to be made by the President under the terms of this act was not to bring the totaI com- missioned strength of the Regular Army to over 25,000 officers. The additional appoint- ments were to be made only in the grades of second lieutenant through major, in- clusive. Congress passed further leg/sla- tion /n 1946 which amended ths act to increase the limit on the number of Regular Army officers, including additional officers appointed, from 25,000 to Legislation was also enacted in 1946 au- thorizing the President, by and with the adme and consent of the Senate, to ap- point as permanent brigadier generals of the line in the Regular Army, the following AAF general officers: Lt. Gert. (temporary) Hoyt S Vandenberg; Lt. Gem (temporary) James H. Doolittle; Maj. Gen. (tern. porary) Curtis LeMay, and Maj. Gen. (temporary) Lauris Norstad. 4 Another act of Congress, lublic Law 333, 79 Cong., 2 ess. (approved 23 March 1946), authorized THIS PAGE Declassflied lAW EO12958
 * Unfo?t, unatey lttlle progress in etttng np au equte