 weapons coupled with the fighting skill of the American soldier stands ready on the alert all over the world to defend this country you the American people against aggression this is the big picture an official television report to the nation from the United States Army now to show you part of the big picture here is Sergeant Stewart Queen our need for military preparedness is said to be more urgent today than at any time in our country's history but military preparedness depends on manpower or a system of mobilization that can supply men for any or all services at times it seems as if new and powerful weapons are making the individual soldier less important our military experts say this is not so experience has taught them that an increase of weapons always increases a need for men men have become more important in modern warfare because not only is there a need for great numbers of them but more training is required to give them the knowledge and know-how to operate our complicated weapons through a selective service system we are trying to mobilize in peacetime for any eventuality since Korea selective service has delivered to the army approximately two million men as director of the selective service system Major General Lewis B. Hershey will tell you more about this manpower organization throughout history arguments between nations have resulted in war our own country has fought in a major war on the average of once every 22 years since wars basic need has always been manpower nations have had to mobilize their manpower in order to wage war the Congress has declared that an adequate arm strength must be achieved and maintained to ensure the security of this nation the Congress has further declared that in a free society the obligations and privileges of serving in the armed forces and in the reserve components thereof should be shared generally in accordance with the system of selection which is fair and just and which is consistent with our maintenance of an effective national economy the selective service system in accordance with law and benefited by the experience of manpower procurement through our history has established methods of operation it is with these methods that we wish to acquaint you how they work and what effect they have up on you these are young Americans selected as being qualified to fulfill a military obligation established by Congress this obligation is eight years in length and covers all physically fit young men in the nation normally a minimum of two years must be spent on active duty when this time must be spent depends on a man's age and his eligibility for deferment these are draftees the final product of our selective service system they've had two weeks training in the United States Army but even after that short period of time they're beginning to look act and in some cases feel like soldiers we've heard why they're here but how did they get here who selected them why were they selected and how do they feel about it man am I beating I think secretly they heard us test these shoes to find out how quickly they were up the way I feel it's gonna be me first you better tear up the worst is yet to come places driving me nuts walk walk walk I've lost two inches since I've been here the time I think of those greetings I get teed off mine came on an engraved card how about yours sure with a black border on it yet I wouldn't mind so much if there were a war going on or something but this business here we are and everybody in civilian life is taking it nice and easy well not everybody I'm most of them anyway there I was all set to get going for myself and then they put the finger on me now what two years and nothing well I'm in the same boat and I guess just about everybody is but I don't mind it too much I don't think time with the service ever hurt anybody except like a hole in the head by the way what are you recruiting for no I'm serious it all depends what a guy tries to get out of it and as far as coming in now what's the difference you still have to come in sooner or later you could get a deferment that's what I should have done yeah but you still have to come in sooner or later no matter what you do you mean I know guys who got them for school and for work and it's still got them as far as I know sure but you see a deferment is good for only one year and then you have to ask it all over again and if you haven't got a good reason they'll take it away from you you can get them renewed keep doing that pretty soon you're 26 you get it made ah you see a deferment is given only if the draft board thinks it's better to let a guy keep on with what he's doing and suppose you think about this once you get a deferment you're liable for the draft until you're 35 instead of 26 is that right yep well they told you that when you would enter register like that's when I found out up until then the only thing I did know was that you had to sign up within five days after you're 18 no matter what if you don't you're liable to get picked up for being a draft doctor knowing that I thought I'd be gone for I could say I yes or no but I soon found out that they can't draft you until you're 18 and a half that is unless you want to go sooner and volunteer top people in each community your neighbors are picked to be members of the board that classifies you they're familiar with the needs of their town or city and therefore no best when it comes to deciding what selections and deferments should be made this plus all the authority given local boards by selective service law makes it easy to consider each case individually about 85% of the people with selective service are not paid they feel you can't put a price on being patriotic and that's what it is because none of them have to do the job if they don't want to selecting people some of whom may be friends neighbors and even relatives especially in time of war is tough it's an honor to since members are appointed by the president on recommendations from the governors even foreigners have to register for the draft some may not choose to serve a choice given them through our treaties with their native countries but if they don't they can't become united states citizens yes that's right generally after aliens have resided in nine states for six months they're required to register under the selective service act now if you'll sign please here there that about does it now several days will send you this registration certificate now you must carry this with you at all times most of boys put it in their wallet when you receive it you will notice there'll be a number on the back of this card and every time that you communicate with this board will appreciate your including this number as it is one of the quickest ways for us to locate you in our files now I mentioned this because regardless of where you move you're always going to be remain a register of this local board mean if I move to another state I have to come all the way back home now that will be necessary you can go to nearest local board and they'll work with us on it then we will send you very soon a classification questionnaire you'll fill that out and send it to us in 10 days now on the basis of the information in this questionnaire the local board will classify you now if you desire to submit anything else that you think that would help the local board in properly classifying you you may do so now every time you move you must notify us of your change of address and any time that you have any questions what or any problems you think we can help you with you come in and see us now if you're classified in class 1a the local board will notify you where and when to appear for your pre-induction physical examination if you're found qualified or a local board will notify you then you'll be placed on a list in this local board according to your age with the other available man in this local board the age merely establishes your priority in relation to the other available man in this local board the top man is the first one to go when we receive our next call okay but what are some of the other classes well now I have a list of them here maybe you'd like to see it now here we have class 1a those are the registrants who are available for service then we have the class 1a o those are the registrants who are morally opposed to serving in the armed forces in a combat combatant capacity but are willing to serve as long as they don't have to fight conscientious objectors you know then we have class 1c those are registrants who are members of the armed forces public health coast and geodetic survey and certain registrants who have had previous service then we have class 1d those are registrants who are members of reserve and rotc units now we have class 1o that covers the registrants who on religious grounds object to serving in the armed forces in any capacity however they are available for assignment in certain civilian occupation now we have class 1s those are the students who are deferred by law I want to ask about that I was planning on starting college well if your number comes up in this local board for induction in your full-time college students the local board under the provisions of the law will defer you until the end of the academic year now mr. Yates our chairman will be in soon and maybe you'd like to discuss that further with him because we have class 2s which covers students who desire to complete their college education class 1s also covers high school students under the provisions of the law high school students are deferred until they graduate until they reach 20 years of age or until they drop out of school whichever is the soonest now we have class 1w those are the conscientious of what objectors who are now serving in the certainness approved civilian positions now here we have class 2 that covers the registrants who are deferred because of their essentiality in certain positions including agriculture and study now we have class 3 that is for the registrants who are deferred because their entry into the armed forces would create an extreme hardship on their dependent now class 4 covers certain registrants who have had previous service the sole surviving son of a family whose son son or sons have been killed in the service certain elected officials divinity students and ministers now class 4f covers those registrants who are found physically mentally or morally unfit for service now all registrants after they passed the age of liability are classified in class 5a now I have a list of those here maybe you'd like to take it along with you and read it thank you well this makes it pretty easy to figure out how everybody should be classified but say somebody thinks he should be in another classification than the one the board puts them in is there any way he can have the classification changed selective service provides for cases of this sort through the right of appeal for all classifications except for it when you receive your notice of classification you have 10 days in which to make an appeal this appeal may be in the form of a request for a personal appearance before the local board or if they refuse to change their classification a written appeal through the local board to your state appeal board if the state board votes unanimously against the appeal the classification stands but if one or more votes are cast in your favor the appeal may be taken to the presidential appeal board in Washington DC their classification based on the file submitted is final you even have someone to help you with your appeal he's the government appeal agent unpaid and appointed the same way local board members are usually a lawyer it's his job to look out for the rights of the registrant and those of the government there's a lot more to selective service than pulling names out of a bowl as we see here about 40,000 members work tirelessly to support our armed forces protecting both the welfare of the country and the rights of the individual these people are spread throughout a vast system of 56 headquarters located in states territories and possessions plus one each for New York City and Washington DC everywhere from large cities to small towns in rural areas and of course the national headquarters in Washington selective service provides for the future as well as the present as we see in the policy of deferment for certain students in order to maintain educational levels now what would you like to know well I'm planning on starting college but it looks as if the draft is going to throw a monkey wrench into the works do you just registered with us yes sir that means you won't be called for a while you could start college yeah I know but I hate to get pulled out halfway through but you wouldn't have to be I hear something I'd like to have you think over you take this with you so he went on to tell me about deferments and how to go about making applications did he make any suggestions no we just said that if I was going to school when I was called I could get deferred until the end of the year that is provided I was going full-time and was passing everything well what about after the years up with then well then I could apply for another type student deferment by taking a qualification test if I could pass the test or keep in good standing in my class I could probably stay on right until graduation or so another way to do it would be to join an ROTC unit and after I finished that during school I'd go on active service for two years no matter what I do I still have that two years active service well then it's not a question of whether or not you go into service but when and how you do it right and I can enlist right up until the time I received my induction notice that is if I want to how do you feel about the whole thing I don't know that's a tough thing to decide but but I think I just as soon go in now and get it over with what do you know how long you'd have to wait before your number comes up didn't they tell you that no I asked the same question but they said they could only guess you see they don't know themselves until about two months ahead of time just how many men they have to send so I might have to wait quite a while but you can volunteer to go sooner though you can sure then they can give you a good idea of when you might go you see by volunteering you go right to the top of the list that might be the best thing to do I'm beginning to think so I just want to get started on something and not waste time and as far as the army goes I might get a job that would teach me something I could use in civilian life seems like there might be a good chance of that with all these modern things they have in the army today sure now some of the guys who would in a while ago wrote and said they're doing just about everything under the sun I always thought there wasn't much to do in the army except march around and carry a gun but like you said but with all these modern things atomic weapons and guided missiles need a lot more training and it doesn't make any difference in which branch of the service you're put because there are hundreds of difference of jobs in each branch I over 600 in the army alone and if you asked me now what I wanted to major in in school I couldn't tell you it might be that the army will get me interested in one particular thing so then I could go to a special school for that when I got out instead of going just anywhere I'm glad to see you feel that way I saw so many people when I was in the service who figured they'd gotten a raw deal and they just didn't make any effort to help themselves or the service oh I don't think it's a raw deal if it isn't a lot of guys have gotten one so as I'm concerned there's a good reason for it that's right when there's a war going on everyone realizes why they're going in it's just a little bit harder to understand now but that still doesn't mean there isn't a good reason for it maybe you won't use any or all of the experience you get in service but you're certainly not wasting your time as long as you're learning I know I learned a lot when I was in the service a lot about getting along with all kinds of different people and situations a lot to help me grow up and it's ready what's the big discussion talking about the draft I think it's a shame the way these boys are having their lives interrupted you don't want to be a soldier do you know making soldiers out of all these babies don't worry you know how mothers are about losing their sons come on let's get some home cooking you'll be missing it soon enough like students certain people in particular jobs are deferred this is done in order to balance the requirements of civilian life with those of the service since physically fit young men have to serve sooner or later the deferments merely adjust each man's induction date so it'll be at a time the draft board thinks is best people who need time to finish essential jobs and those who can't be replaced right away are the kinds of people that are deferred in some skills it's been recognized that we have shortages the president has designated a number of these skills as being short and in need of apprentice trainee programs to select and train unskilled workers here again members of certified training programs may be deferred farmers are also considered when weighing civilian and military needs no army or any service for that matter could do without food therefore some farmers are deferred to keep the farms producing what all these deferments boil down to is that during a man's period of liability he'll be used when and where he can do the country the most good notice in hand I reported from my pre-induction physical there was a good size group there the first thing they did was to tell what we'd have to do during the day we discovered what they mean when they say in the army it's hurry up and wait seem like most of the day was spent in lines waiting for something to happen but actually by the time the day was over we'd accomplished a lot to begin with we took our mental test it was one of those multiple choice deals pretty interesting test current events and practical application of things I'd learned in school I wanted to myself what would happen if I failed it I know the army doesn't want morons but when it came right down to what I try just as hard as I could and it seemed as though everybody else was doing the same thing after everybody finished the papers were passed in corrected and the marks read off I got a fairly high mark would surprise and please me once we finished that we lined up for our physical examination they certainly gave us a thorough physical they carefully checked everything I could think of and more eyes ears heart lungs by the time I got to the end of the line I felt as though I was in pretty good shape and so did they for they said that as far as the army was concerned I was physically fit you know right now the army is the only one that is taking draftees but all the services can and did during World War two when lunch was over we went back to finish up the processing which consisted of filling out some papers loyalty certificates and so forth about mid-afternoon we were through and they let us go outside a bunch of us got together and decided we would like to volunteer to go right away so off we went to the draft board and down at the draft board they had us all signed volunteer statements and told us that they would let us know as soon as possible when we were to go sure enough I got the notice in a couple of weeks since I was waiting for it and was all set to go I was happy when it came but mom and Anne and my girl were upset they make you feel like you're going away and never coming back they mean well but they just don't understand sometimes it's true I didn't understand all I could think about was that it was unfair to me I complained and I was sullen but thank heavens bill is a clear thinking wonderful guy and he finally got it through my foolish head that thanks to selective service he was going to benefit the country was going to benefit and so was our future bills and mine even had a party thrown for me all the gang was there and we had a great time although I couldn't help feeling a little sad because I realized that I was leaving something that I could never quite come back to again a lot like moving away from your old neighborhood and leaving all your friends behind oh I've been to parties of the same kind for pals of mine who left before it sure makes a difference when you're the guy that's going I guess it's times like that when you realize you're growing up and it hurts a bit well time was short after that what was saying goodbye to friends and relatives and getting things in shape to leave I said goodbye to the folks at the house the morning I left and went down to where we were supposed to meet by myself I hate goodbyes and I didn't like the idea of doing it in front of everybody as it was most of the fellas did the same thing some of the members of the local board were there to see us off I thought to myself they must have seen a lot of fellas leave here month after month some that didn't come back theirs is not the easiest job in the world by a long shot it was only a short ride to the induction center where we had a quick physical inspection and then we were sworn into the army I'll have to admit I got a funny feeling when we stepped forward for the swearing in I guess I just felt this was it I was finally in the army there was an army sergeant there a nice pleasant looking fella not much older than myself but there was no fooling around when he hustled us on to the bus it wasn't far to the army camp and I realized as we entered the gate that selective service had done its job and delivered us signed and sealed so here I am after two weeks training I still feel pretty much like a civilian but I'm beginning to feel a lot like a soldier too that's to be expected feeling like a soldier not only feeling like one but looking like one acting like one for the army has a great and dedicated interest in every one of its men it gives them the best that American resources can offer in clothes he's the representative of good taste of appearance in food it may be k rations in time of battle emergency but the soldier at all times is sumptuously catered to by dietitian cook and the quartermaster general in health the surgeon general's vast staff of specialists keep him fit then comes the training putting an iron grip into manpower and military preparedness in today's army so great is the need for excellence that to be adequate is not enough a man must be good the soldier's mind must be alert he must reason he must figure he must be an individual not just a mechanical cog taking orders and that calls for mental as well as physical development maybe all the things that the American soldier expects out of the army don't materialize but this much he can depend on he can depend on becoming a vital part of his country's strength he works he learns and he plays and what does he take back with him into civilian life and the awareness of responsibility toward home family and country an opportunity to establish a firm foundation for building toward a secure future through the fair and orderly process of selective service the soldier helps give meaning to the terms manpower and military preparedness we have seen the selective service system in operation and we feel you have gained a clearer understanding of its purpose and methods this is sergeant stewart queen inviting you to be with us again next week for another look at your United States Army in action on the big picture the big picture is a weekly television report to the nation on the activities of the army at home and overseas produced by the signal core pictorial center presented by the US Army in cooperation with this station you can be an important part of the big picture you can proudly serve with the best equipped the best trained the best fighting team in the world today the United States Army