who have already been inducted or who have enlisted for service in one of the Regular components of our armed services. manner. * I am concerned, however, that compulsion shall be applied in an equitable It would be unfair to repeat coercion of an individual American citizen again and again, while thousands of other American citizens have never experienced any form of coercion or have not rendered 1 day of military service to their country.54 This position led to one of the major changes made by the Senate Armed Services Committee in the bill as passed by the House. The compulsory Reserve training features of that bill applied to those who entered the Armed Forces after July 27, 1953, the date of the Korean cease-fire. The Senate report stated: The committee felt that there was widespread misunderstanding among enlisted personnel now on active duty as to their liability, or obligation, actually to participate in 48 drills annually, plus 2 weeks of active duty on their return to civil life upon completion of their active service. Also, the 45-day period of active duty for training was a new approach. To insure that all men entering on active duty would have the opportunity clearly to understand their liability to this very appreciable requirement before they enter service, instead of after, the Senate version of the bill provides that it shall be applicable only to those entering the active forces on, or after, a date which shall be 30 days after the date of enactment of the bill. As an inducement to provide trained men for the Reserve during the interim, before those who hereafter enter on active duty complete their period of service, the bill provides a 2-year program for paying to prior-service men a bonus for enlistment in combat- and combat-support-type units of the Army and Marine Corps Reserve. The bonus is two-thirds of that payable to an individual of like rank or grade enlisting in the Regular Forces. 55 The difference of opinion as to the exact legal obligation of prior servicemen to participate in Reserve drills after the completion of their active duty was the most important issue involved in Senate consideration of H. R. 7000, as amended. A comparison of the major features of the House bill and the Senate amendment (the bill as rewritten by the Senate committee) reveals their differences and similarities. 1. Length of the military olbigation The total military obligation of 8 years provided in existing law for those who entered the Armed Forces after June 19, 1951, was retained in the Senate amendment. The House bill reduced this obligation from 8 to 6 years. 2. Size of the Ready Reserve Both House and Senate bills increased the size of the Ready Reserve from 1.5 to 2.9 million persons. During a national emergency proclaimed by the President, he may call up to 1 million men but any in excess of this number would have to be authorized by Congress. 3. Screening of the ready reservists Both bills provided for continuous screening of ready reservists into the Standby Reserve under regulations prescribed by the President. The purpose of this screening process is to insure combat readiness of the Ready Reserve in the event of mobilization. Daily Congressional Record, July 14, 1955, pp. 9092-9093. #Senate Rept. 840, 84th Cong., 1st sess., pp. 2-3. 4. Selective Service to order standby reservists to active duty The bills were alike in providing that members of the Standby Reserve may be ordred to active duty only after the Director of Selective Service made a determination that they are available. 5. Direct enlistments in Reserve components, other than the National Guard The House bill provided that until July 1, 1959, certain persons could enlist in Reserve components, within specified quotas, whenever the President found that the level of authorized Ready Reserve strength was insufficient. Such enlistees were to be deferred from induction as long as they participated satisfactorily in Reserve training. This was defined as 48 annual drills or equivalent training periods and not more than 17 days of active duty for training. Any person who served 8 years was to be exempt from induction provided he had completed not to exceed 6 months of active duty for training. Although the bill did not actually require that enlistments be for 8 years and that enlistees must participate in active duty for training, the Department of Defense indicated that direct enlistments in the Reserve components (other than the Army and Air National Guard) would not be permitted unless the enlistee agreed to perform such active duty for training. The House bill provided that a person could enlist in the Reserve (except the guard) for 6 years if he agreed to serve on active duty for 2 years within this period. His Ready Reserve service could be reduced by adding active-duty and Reserve service until the total time added up to 5 years. The Senate amendment to the House bill provided three programs whereby a person could enlist in a Reserve component: (1) A person may enlist in the Ready Reserve of any Reserve component under identical arrangements now in effect for the guard, i. e., a young man who has not yet become 18%1⁄2 years old may enlist in the Reserve components (those in addition to the guard) provided he is qualified and accepted. If his service is satisfactory, he is deferred from induction until he becomes 28 years old. (2) Young men not yet 20 years of age may enlist in Reserve components (other than the guard) for 8 years. They would have an initial period of active duty for training that would not be less than 3 nor more than 6 months, to be followed by satisfactory participation in Reserve training. (3) Young men may enlist in a Reserve component for 8 years provided that within that time they serve 2 years of active service. This is the same program as that provided in the bill as passed by the House except that the Senate amendment provides for 8 instead of 6 years. 6. Ready Reserve training obligation The House bill provided that men who enter the Armed Forces after July 27, 1953, should participate in Ready Reserve training. The Senate amendment changed the date from July 27, 1953, to 30 days after the enactment of the pending Reserve legislation. The Senate bill also provided that for 2 years an enlistment bonus should be given to prior-service men who participated in combat units of the Army and Marine Corps Reserve. This incentive was offered as an interim measure to strengthen these Reserve components until the compulsory Reserve training program got well underway and was understood by all men entering the Armed Forces. The bonus was to be two-thirds of the amount received by men of a similar grade who reenlisted in the Regular Forces. The number of men to whom the bonus was to be paid would be limited by congressional appropriations. 7. Ready Reserve minimum training requirements Ready Reserve training in both the House bill and the Senate amendment was set at not less than 48 scheduled drills or training periods annually and not to exceed 17 days of active duty for training (except for regulations that might be made by the Secretary of Defense). If an individual could not participate in weekly drills, he had the alternative of 30 days of annual active duty for training. If ready reservists failed to train, they would be ordered to active duty for training for not more than 45 days; or they could be discharged (if otherwise liable for induction) and given a priority for induction for 2 years of active duty. 8. Training for the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard In order to provide an incentive to National Guardsmen who enlist before they are 18 years old with a liability for induction extending to 28 years of age, the Senate amendment provided that the liability shall be reduced to 8 years for a person who participates in active duty for training for not less than 3 months. 9. Commissions guaranteed to graduates of certain officer-training courses The House bill and Senate amendment are alike in providing that commissions shall be given to qualified graduates of certain officertraining courses. If they are not needed for active duty for service at the time of graduation, they are to train as officers on active duty for 6 months and thereafter go into the Ready Reserve to continue in a training program. 10. Ministers and students of ministry Both House and Senate bills provided that any person who is a reservist and who becomes a regular or duly ordained minister of religion shall be entitled upon his request to a discharge from the Reserve component of which he is a member. If a member of a Reserve component is preparing for the ministry in a recognized theological or divinity school, he shall not be required to serve on active duty, to participate in active training and service, active duty for training, or inactive duty training. The Senate amendment to the House bill provided "That this act may be cited as the 'Reserve Forces Act of 1955'." The legislation was debated by the Senate on July 14, 1955, and with minor committee and floor amendments, passed the Senate by a vote of 80 to 1 with 2 Senators answering "present".56 The Senate requested a conference and appointed the following conferees: Senators Richard B. Russell, Harry F. Byrd, John M. Stennis, Leverett Saltonstall, and Styles Bridges. On July 18, 1955, the House agreed to a conference and appointed its conferees: Representatives Carl Vinson, Overton Brooks, Paul J. Kilday, Dewey Short, and L. C. Arends. Daily Congressional Record, July 14, 1955, pp. 9124-9125. XJV. CONFERENCE REPORT AND ITS ADOPTION On July 20 and 21, 1955, the conferees of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees met to consider the difference between the House bill, H. R. 7000, and the Senate amendment, in order to reach agreement on a conference report. The recommendations of the conference committee were embodied in a report which was filed in the House on July 21, 1955.57 When the conference report was brought to the House on July 25, 1955, Hon. Overton Brooks outlined the agreement that had been reached on the provisions of the Reserve Forces Act of 1955. Mr. Brooks analyzed the three major points of difference between the House and Senate and explained how they had been settled. The first question was: What would be the effective date after which a person would be obligated to train in the Ready Reserve upon his release from active duty? The Senate amendment answered this question by providing that the Reserve training obligation would begin 30 days after the date of enactment of the bill. The House bill set the date as that of the Korean cease fire-July 27, 1953. The House managers agreed with the Senate concerning the widespread misunderstanding among men now in the Armed Forces over their obligation to participate actively in Reserve training. Under the provisions of the bill this training consisted annually of 48 drills and in addition not less than 17 days of active duty for training. In order to give every person entering the Armed Forces an opportunity to understand his total military obligation-Reserve training as well as active duty-the conferees decided upon a new date-that of the enactment of the law (which turned out to be August 9, 1955). This decision created an immediate, interim problem because it meant that men would continue to be discharged from active duty and not required to participate in Ready Reserve training until the new program was under way. The first date that prior servicemen could be discharged from active duty with the new requirement for Reserve training would be in August 1957, 2 years after the passage of the Reserve Forces Act of 1955. Thus, the second major question that the conferees had to decide was: What should the Congress do to provide incentives for persons to train in the Ready Reserve when they had no obligation to do so? Should we pay them a bonus, or should we offer inducements to encourage them to train ***? This issue of how best to get trained men in the Ready Reserve during the next 2 years was met by providing 2 new incentives for prior servicemen to participate in Reserve training. (1) Until July 1, 1957, it was provided that the Secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force (with the approval of the Secretary of Defense, and of the Secretary of the Treasury with respect to the United States Coast Guard) may provide regulations whereby persons on active duty who have served at least 12 months, may be released before serving their periods of enlistment if they volunteer for transfer to the Reserves and participate in training for a period which, when added to that of active duty, will total 4 years. This program is 67 Conference report to accompany H. R. 7000 on the Reserve Forces Act of 1955. House of Representatives, rept. No. 1335, 84th Cong., 1st sess. July 21, 1955, 14 pp. limited by an annual quota of 150,000 so that the strength of the Regular Forces will not be lowered by the release of too many persons. (2) Until July 1, 1957 the service secretaries may accept enlistments in units of the various Reserve components for 1 year from persons who are released from active duty after the date of enactment of the law. Those who enlist under this program shall be required to participate in Ready Reserve training. The conferees agreed that these two programs would offer incentives to prior servicemen and thus build up the strength and combat readiness of the Ready Reserve; the inducement for the first program was an early release; that for the second was the opportunity to train for only a short time. The third major issue was: What should be the total overall military obligation for all persons entering upon active duty with the armed services? This question had been answered in the House bill by a provision for 6 years, whereas the Senate amendment provided for an 8-year obligation. The conferees reconciled these points by deciding that men who entered the Armed Forces prior to the date of enactment of the Reserve Forces Act of 1955 would have an 8-year obligation, whereas those entering after that date would be obligated for 6 years. A number of minor questions were decided as will be seen in the text of the conference report which is quoted in full at the end of this section. After Mr. Brooks had explained these various points to the Members of the House, he said: After much labor and much effort, we present to you a program which will work. It is not a perfect program; but it will strengthen our Reserve Establishment, it will give this Nation the combat Reserve, ready for emergencies in this atomic age, upon which it may safely rely. With full knowledge of our imperfections, but with calm reliance upon the sincerity of our labors and our devotions, I submit this conference report to you and ask for its adoption.58 Hon. Dewey Short, one of the conferees, reported: Mr. Speaker, certainly this is not a perfect measure, but it is by far the best that has been presented on the Reserve since I have been a Member of this House. The question is a very complex, complicated, and difficult one, and I believe we have a good bill, if the Pentagon can and will make it work.59 Hon. Paul J. Kilday, also a conferee, expressed his opinion of the report: It is my considered opinion that we are bringing back to you now a better bill than was passed by the House, and a better bill than was passed by the other body. I believe it to be better than the bill which was requested by the Department of Defense at the time that the matter was originally considered.60 The House agreed to the conference report by a vote of 315 to 78 on July 25, 1955.61 On the following day, July 26, 1955, the conference report was considered by the Senate. Senator Russell explained the principal issues involved in reconciling the differences between the House bill and the Senate amendment. With particular reference to the question of whether or not men who have had active duty should be obliged to train in the Ready Reserve, Senator Russell said that the conferees had agreed, in part, to the Senate amendment in that the compulsory Daily Congressional Record, July 25, 1955, p. 9842. (The debate is covered in pp. 9839-9849). Ibid., p. 9846. Ibid., p. 9847. "Ibid., pp. 9848-9849. |