Education: ANSWERING THE CALL

TO be 17 in Booth Tarkington’s day was obviously perilous enough, but there was one problem that no Tarkington hero ever had to face: Should he make plans for his military service, or should he simply wait a year and then register for the draft? Last week, as commencement drew near at schools and colleges across the U.S., it was, for thousands of boys, time for the big decision.

Once registered, every fit young American male will sooner or later be called, and unless he is in a special category (ministers, divinity students, certain government officials), he will eventually have to serve. But before he gets his induction notice, a boy still has the power to choose his service. He can either join the National Guard, enlist in one of the reserves, or try for a special officers’ training program. The conditions and obligations:

¶The National Guard requires a man to sign up before he is 18½ and serve until he is 35. Each year he must attend 48 drills, train two weeks at camp.

¶The reserves involve participation in drills and training and the standard obligation to remain in the reserves for eight years. Except for the Air Force, each service requires that at least two of those years be on active duty; the Air Force requires four. The big advantage of the reserves: when called to active duty, a man can serve in the rating he has already earned while participating in his 48 drills a year and his annual two weeks at camp.

¶The Naval Reserve Officers’ Training programs include both college and non-college men. By applying to the Chief of Naval Personnel before Nov. 15 of his senior year, a high-school senior can become a candidate under the Holloway Plan, which is designed to train officers for the Navy and Marine Corps as a supplement to Annapolis. Of the 23,000 who applied last November, only 1,800 students and 200 men from the fleet were accepted. These men get $50 a month during school term and midshipmen’s pay on summer cruises.

If in college and accepted by the unit, a boy can sign up as one of the 2,000 “contract” students who receive no pay except on summer cruises. The “regulars” in the N.R.O.T.C. must serve three years on active duty, after being commissioned, while “contract” students serve two, with the usual reserve time at the end.

For college and university students between 17½ and 27 who are already in the Naval Reserve, the Navy offers one more opportunity: the Reserve Officers Candidate (R.O.C.) program. If accepted, the student takes two eight-week tours of summer training and must serve three years on active duty after being commissioned. The number of R.O.C.s graduated each year: 300.

¶The Army R.O.T.C. program has advanced units at 250 colleges, with 30,000 students working for commissions. The obligation of the new 2nd lieutenant: two years of active service plus six more in the reserve.

¶The Marine Platoon Leaders Course (about 3,000 students) is for men over 16 who are in their freshman, sophomore or junior years, and will not be more than 26 when they are commissioned. Those accepted must take two 45-day courses in any two summers they choose while in college. Service obligation: three years on active duty as officers.

¶The Air Force R.O.T.C. has units at 188 campuses in the U.S., Hawaii and Puerto Rico with a total enrollment of around 140,000. Those who take regular preflight training face three years of active duty and five more in the reserve, while the handful who train for non-flying technical jobs face two years of active service and six in the reserve. Physically qualified students are pressured to take air crew training.

¶The Coast Guard offers one final chance to men who have graduated from college, or are within 120 days of doing so. Each year the service selects 200 applicants for its 17-week O.C.S. training program, commissions them at the end of the course. The officer’s obligation after that: three years of active service and five more in the reserve.