FULL COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION OF HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 876, TO AUTHORIZE THE PRESIDENT TO ORDER UNITS AND MEMBERS IN THE READY RESERVE TO ACTIVE DUTY FOR NOT MORE THAN 12 MONTHS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES, Washington, D.C., September 13, 1962.

The committee met at 10:10 a.m., Hon. Carl Vinson (chairman of the committee) presiding.

The CHAIRMAN. Now, members, let's come to order.

Members of the committee, we are called together to consider a resolution that I introduced on September 10.

Mr. Smart, will you please read this resolution?
Mr. SMART (reading):

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 876

Resolved by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That notwithstanding any other provision of law, until January 31, 1963, the President may, without the consent of the persons concerned, order any unit, and any member not assigned to a unit organized to serve as a unit, in the Ready Reserve of an armed force to active duty for not more than twelve consecutive months. However, not more than one hundred fifty thousand members of the Ready Reserve may be on active duty (other than for training), without their consent, under this section at any one time.

SEC. 2. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, until January 31, 1963, the President may authorize the Secretary of Defense to extend enlistments, appointments, periods of active duty, periods of active duty for training, periods of obligated service, or other military status, in any component of an armed force or in the National Guard that expire before February 28, 1963, for not more than 12 months. However, if the enlistment of a member of the Ready Reserve who is ordered to active duty under the first section of this Act would expire after February 28, 1963, but before he has served the entire period for which he was so ordered to active duty, his enlistment may be extended until the last day of that period.

SEC. 3. No member of the Ready Reserve who was involuntarily ordered to active duty under the Act of August 1, 1961, Public Law 87-117 (75 Stat. 242), may be involuntarily ordered to active duty under this Act.

SEC. 4. This Act becomes effective on the day after the Eighty-seventh Congress adjourns sine die.

The CHAIRMAN. Now, members of the committee, this is an executive session, and what happens in here this morning is classified. Now we have this morning the Secretary of Defense.

Mr. Secretary, the committee will be glad to have you submit any fact as to why the Congress should act favorably upon this resolution.

STATEMENT OF SECRETARY MCNAMARA

Secretary MCNAMARA. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I have a very brief statement I would like to read, if that is acceptable to you, and then I will be prepared to answer questions. The CHAIRMAN. Have we copies of your statement?

Secretary MCNAMARA. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. Here it is. You may proceed, Mr. Secretary. Secretary MCNAMARA. Thank you.

As you know, Mr. Chairman, I am appearing today in support of the House joint resolution you referred to and that was just read, 876, introduced last Monday.

I am very grateful to you and to the members of your committee for affording me so prompt an opportunity to testify on the proposal which the President considers to be of very, very great importance.

The House resolution on its face is an interim measure. It is designed to provide the President with authority while the Congress is out of session to order a limited number of members of our Ready Reserves to active duty for a maximum period of 12 months if in the judgment of the President the security requirement of our country so dictates.

The resolution specifically limits, as you know, the number of reservists that may be called to not more than 150,000. And further it provides that no member of the Ready Reserve involuntarily ordered to active duty under Public Law 87-117, which expired on July 1, may be involuntarily ordered to active duty under this act.

And it is our sincere hope, Mr. Chairman, that it will not be necessary to invoke the authority contained in this proposed resolution. One hundred and forty-eight thousand of the reservists, soldiers, sailors, and airmen, responded to the call last year, which was dictated by the current and immediate crisis of last fall.

Almost without exception they serve with distinction and they serve with remarkably little complaint.

Their response to the call, we believe, provided tangible evidence in the clearest manner possible of the ability and determination of this country to respond at whatever sacrifice when our vital security interests are involved, as they were then and as they may be in the future. I am sure there is no need for me to elaborate to this committee on the situation that confronts us today.

I understand that you were briefed yesterday along with the Foreign Affairs Committee on the current world situation.

President Kennedy has made crystal clear his recognition of the threats with which we are faced and of the policy of this Government not to allow the export of Communist aggressive purposes by force, in this hemisphere or in other areas of the world.

It is obvious to all Americans that we are in a period of acute international tension. It is also obvious that the forces opposed to us have the capability to precipitate crises, at the moment of their choosing, in many parts of the world-and that we must be able to respond promptly and decisively.

The authority requested in this resolution would permit such a prompt response, short of measures which would require the declara

tion of a national emergency-an action which would involve implications of a most serious nature.

The potential need for a callup of Reserve Forces to meet the military requirements similar to those imposed upon us a year ago has been considerably reduced.

Our conventional capability has been greatly enhanced during that period by the addition of 5 Army combat divisions, bringing our total to 16.

The Marine Corps has increased its active strength to the 190,000 men authorized by the Congress.

The Navy and Air Force have made commensurate improvements in operational capability through realinement of units and modernization of surface and air equipment.

The Strike Command, which combines the tactical units of the Army and the Air Force in this country, is now organized and has undergone tests and field exercises.

Our regular military forces are strong today, and their strength continues to improve.

The authority for a limited callup of Reserves, however, would provide us with a flexibility of response which could be crucial if the international situation deteriorates suddenly and specific crises occur. Inasmuch as the nature and seriousness of such crises are unpredictable, I cannot state at this time a firm anticipated requirement for the call of numbers and types of units. Alternative plans have been developed, however, which can be refined and implemented promptly when and if a requirement is established.

In summary, then, Mr. Chairman, I wish to emphasize that the President and the Defense Establishment are acutely aware of and very grateful for the sacrifice and the devotion to duty which was recently demonstrated by our Reserve Forces.

Those who have responded to that call will not be reordered to active duty under the authority now requested. We hope that this authority will not have to be invoked at all.

But we are faced with a period of a few months, with the Congress out of session, at any time during which we may face a challenge requiring an immediate and effective response.

The enactment of House Joint Resolution 876 will constitute an endorsement by the American people of our determination to make that response, to make it promptly, decisively, and the resolution will provide us with the means to do so.

Thank you.

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Mr. Secretary.

Now, Mr. Secretary, I understood when I got back to the office this morning that a hearing was had in the Senate and that the Senate has recommended favorable approval of this resolution, with certain Senate amendments.

Now, before we go into the matter, I want to clear this phase of it up.

Have you examined those Senate amendments?

Mr. Smart, will you be kind enough to read what the Senate amendments were?

Mr. SMART. Mr. Slatinshek has them, Mr. Chairman.

The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Slatinshek, will you read them?

Mr. SLATINSHEK. On page 1 of the resolution, lines 3 and 4, strike out "January 31" and insert "February 28" in lieu thereof.

The CHAIRMAN. Now, what have you to say in reference to that Senate amendment, Mr. Secretary?

Secretary MCNAMARA. This is desirable, I believe, Mr. Chairman, in order to extend the authority to cover the weeks of the initial organization of the new Congress.

The CHAIRMAN. Well, the only question is, on the date, how long? Secretary MCNAMARA. Yes; it extends for 4 weeks

The CHAIRMAN. All right.

Secretary MCNAMARA (continuing). The period of authority.
The CHAIRMAN. That is right.

Mr. VAN ZANDT. Why?

The CHAIRMAN. What is the next amendment?

Mr. VAN ZANDT. Why the extension?

Mr. SLATINSHEK. May I respond to that, Mr. Chairman-
Secretary MCNAMARA. If I may, please?

The CHAIRMAN. Yes, Mr. Secretary.

Secretary MCNAMARA. The authority is extended because the Senate believed that during the early weeks of the Congress it would not be timely or appropriate to take immediate or precipitate action on a subject of this kind.

The resolution is inconsistent as it was originally drafted because the early sentences referred to January 31 for certain purposes and certain similar but not identical purposes recovered later by Feb

ruary 28.

Mr. VAN ZANDT. All right.

Secretary MCNAMARA. And consistency would require that either the February 28 date be changed or the January 31 date be changed, and the Senate chose to change the January 31 date, and this is entirely acceptable to us.

We want to emphasize, and did emphasize in the original drafting of the resolution, that this is an interim measure designed to cover a situation that may arise while Congress is out of session or during the early weeks of its organization.

Mr. VINSON. Now, what is the next amendment that the Senate offered?

Mr. SLATINSHEK. On page 1, beginning on line 5, strike out "and any member not assigned to a unit organized to serve as a unit, in"and insert in lieu thereof "or any member, of," in lieu thereof. The CHAIRMAN. Now they struck that out. Secretary MCNAMARA. Mr.

The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Secretary, what have you to say in reference to that amendment?

Secretary MCNAMARA. Mr. Chairman, we are quite willing to accept the resolution either as it was originally presented or as the Senate has suggested it be modified.

The CHAIRMAN. I see.

Secretary MCNAMARA. If you wish a word of explanation, I think I can explain why they did what they did.

The CHAIRMAN. That is right.

Secretary MCNAMARA. The Senate believed that some of the problems associated with the callup of last fall could have been avoided

had we had at that time the authority to call individual members assigned to units when their unit was not to be called. And it was to permit that action that they proposed to modify the resolution. The CHAIRMAN. In other words, the reservist can be plucked out of an organized unit?

Secretary MCNAMARA. Yes.

The CHAIRMAN. Of his organization. And under the 1961 call, he had to be in the organization-the unit had to be called? Secretary MCNAMARA. If he was assigned to a unit.

The CHAIRMAN. That is right.

Secretary MCNAMARA. Organized to serve as a unit he would be called only as part of the unit under the 1961 resolution and under the draft as we presented it to the Congress last week.

The Senate chose to change that. It increases our flexibility. We would propose, if the Senate language is endorsed by the House, to use such authority only very sparingly, because we understand it to be the sense of Congress that units organized to serve as units should remain so constituted that they can serve as units.

The CHAIRMAN. That is right.

Secretary MCNAMARA. Which means that they should not be fragmented and torn apart with individual assignments to other units.

The CHAIRMAN. Then you much prefer-while you would have the authority, you much prefer to call the unit instead of plucking the individuals out of the unit, is that correct?

Secretary MCNAMARA. We understand that that is the sense and intention of Congress.

The CHAIRMAN. That is right.

Secretary MCNAMARA. That we should act that way, and we believe it is also militarily sound to act that way.

Mr. HÉBERT. Mr. Chairman, at that particular point may I direct the attention of the Secretary that in the last callup such was the language.

However, the Air Force violated that language and did pluck individuals from units, and it was sustained by the Department of Defense attorney as well as the Air Force attorney?

Secretary MCNAMARA. There were I believe

Mr. HÉBERT. There was a suit filed-there was a case filed in which the Federal court upheld the Department's position, but the testimony before the committee indicated, in fact, stated, that the callup was auhorized and ordered by the Air Force without the legal authority, which was only obtained after the spirit and the letter of the law had been violated.

Secretary MCNAMARA. Mr. Chairman, I believe that Mr. Hébert is entirely correct, that the Air Force did call a certain number of individuals, I have forgotten the number-I believe it was 150 or something on that order-from units.

[Deleted.]

Mr. HÉBERT. You could not be more frank and fair.

Mr. RIVERS. Let me ask the Secretary a question right there.

So the Senate provision is going to give you this wide latitude to call people irrespective of their attachment to a unit?

Secretary MCNAMARA. That is correct.