STATEMENT OF SECRETARY OF DEFENSE CHARLES E. WILSON BEFORE THE SENATE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1957

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP61-00357R000100260025-6
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 12
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 20, 2013
• Sequence Number: 25
• Publication Date: February 21, 1957
• Content Type: MISC

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STATEMENT OF SECRETARY OF DEFENSE CHARLES E. WILSON
BEFORE THE SENATE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1957
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee:
I am very glad to have this opportunity to meet with your
Committee and together with Admiral Radford discuss our military
program for the coming fiscal year. I have some general observations
to make about the Department of Defense program for Fiscal Year 1958,
and Admiral Radford will discuss the international military situation
with the Committee. I also understand that in the next few days the
Secretaries of the Military Departments and the Chiefs of the Military
Services will go over their individual military programs in greater detail
with the Committee.
Last year I reported to the Committee that the Joint Chiefs
of Staff and the Military Departments had been requested to make a
complete and careful evaluation of the size, nature and composition of
the forces likely to be required for our security during the following three
years. This longer range study was designed to provide us with a sound
base for planning for our military procurement and other programs which
necessarily extend over a period of years.
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In March of last year we began those studies looking for-
ward to Fiscal Year 1958. At that time the Joint Chiefs of Staff held a
meeting in Puerto Rico for a part of their deliberations. They concluded
that our basic military programs were generally valid .and that, so far
as they could forecast at that-time, would continue to be valid through the
period 1958-60. The Joint Chiefs of Staff further pointed out that the
maintenance of current military programs would, in their opinion, be-
come increasingly costly in the period just ahead. They estimated that
with careful management and continual review annual military expendi-
tures during the period 1958-59-60 could be held within approximately
38 to,40 billion dollars if our present force levels and deployments were
maintained. I concurred in this estimate although I recognized that we
would have considerable difficulty in maintaining our programs within
these figures, and so stated at that time.
The first estimates of assumed requirements made in June
were excessive as is th'e case every year. There was also a staff study
which became public and which speculated about the effect on the Military
Departments if -we should reduce military personnel over a three-year
period by approximately 800,000 men. These estimates and staff studies
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did not in any sense represent the final judgment of the responsible
officials in the Department of Defense as to what should be done.
It should be obvious that a sudden increase of our military
budget by one-third to anything-in the order of 48-1/2 billion dollars
would be unreasonable and misunderstood all over the world. If it were
to be done at this time, it would require the imposition of some types
of controls on the economy, and in addition it Would represent a major
move toward mobilization. On the other hand, the sudden reduction in
the number of military personnel by 800,000 was and is not justified
considering the present international situation. Such a reduction would
require important changes in overseas deployments and in the absence
of sound disarmament agreements would have an impact abroad which
the Free World could ill afford at this time.
The situation in the Middle East and the Suez Canal area, as
well as the events that took place in Hungary several months ago, have
added some additional complications to our military planning. The inter-
national situation, as it affects the military program, is difficult to
evaluate but recent events seem to confirm the soundness of our decision
to maintain great military strength for the long pull. They do not seem to
justify major changes in our military planning or programs at this time.
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The Situation as it appears at this time seems to dictate somewhat more
emphasis upon forces in being and on instant readiness than upon longer-
range programs.
Looking back upon the situation during the Suez crisis, I
would like to pay a particular compliment to our military leaders and to the
Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps for the prompt way they ap-
praised the situation and wereiprepared to do whatever might have been
necessary to protect our national interests. In particular, the Sixth Fleet
is to,be commended for their splendid action in evacuating American
nationals from critical areas.
In November the Joint Chiefs of Staff again reviewed our
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military posture and recommended that:
"in the light of the present international situation it
appears desirable that our military programs continue
to be based upon essentially the present force levels
and personnel strengths as far as preparation of the
Fiscal Year 1958 budget is concerned. It is recognized
that should the situation markedly deteriorate it may be
necessary to recommend increases in certain programs
the exact nature of which cannot be determined at this time."
During November and December intensive reviews were made
of the various proposals of the Military Departments, and it became
apparent that the cost of maintaining our forces for Fiscal Year 1958 would
be higher than for either 1956 or 1957. This increase is both a reflection
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of the higher cost of developing; procuring, operating and maintaining the
newer and more complex weapons systems and equipment in the armed
forces and the result of increased prices for materials and wages..
The revised budget requests of the three .Military Departments
which were presented for final review in early November represented the
best estimate.s of the requirements of the individual. Military Departments
as they appraised their problems. Their presentations and budget analysis
were the best that have been presented to me since I have been Secretary
of Defense. Nevertheless, when we added up all the requests and the .
costs of the 'individualproject.8 En all programs, it became that they
could not all be financed _under. a reasonable total budget and some further
reductions were necessary.- We found we cannot afford. to, nor do we need
to push every program as rapidly as the individual advocates of each
program would like to see done. Even our great and prosperous country
cannot finance all the hopes and fears, dreams and ambitions of all the
people engaged in our defense effort.
The budget for the Department of Defense for Fiscal Year 1958
was finally arrived at after- discussions with all responsible officials, both
military and civilian. After.this careful review of our military .programs
and their cost for Fiscal Year 1958, recommendations were presented to the
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National Security Council and the President. The estimated expendi-
tures of 38 billion dollars are 2 billion dollars more than the estimated
expenditures of 36 billion dollars for Fiscal Year 1957. Only by careful
action by the responsible officials in the Department of Defense to make
all possible savings can our expenditures be held within these levels.
The Department of Defense is very conscious of the impact
of defense procurement and employment throughout the country,and the
adjustments we will be required to make will be accomplished in an ordairly.
manner. The new obligational authority being requested of 38-1/2 billion
dollars is 1-1/2 billion dollars more than the 37 billion dollars available
for Fiscal Year 1957.
During the summer and fall of 1956 we carefully reviewed a
number of important problem areas in order to clarify the roles and
missions of the armed services so that those clarifications could be
reflected in the 1958 budget. In particular, we made decisions in regard
to the use of .i.rcraft by the Army; the adequacy of our strategic and
tactical airlift; the operational use of the Intermediate Range Ballistic
Missiles; the tactical air support of the Army and in the field of air
defense. I feel that the decisions made will clarify these problem areas
and will result in the elimination of certain duplications which would tend
to become increasingly expensive in the years ahead. I am convinced
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that the decisions will be found to be constructive. I know that they
were made after a very careful review. They do eliminate unnecessary
duplications. They provide adequately for the needs of the individual
services. They are basically sound for either peacetime or combat.
With the permission of the Chairman I would like to place in the record
at this point a copy of the memorandum addressed to the Members of the
Armed Forces Policy Council dated November 26, 1956, which explains
these decisions in greater detail.
It is impossible to go through a year of study and review of
matters of thi s kind without realizing that never in the history of the
world have there been such rapid changes in military weapons nor have
the weapons been so relatively expensive. Our top military people have
a great responsibility in trying to appraise our new weapons systems and
determine what can be done with them to weight their cost in relation to
their military effectiveness. I understand this and have a great sympathy
for our military leaders as they struggle with this problem. I also under-
stand the tremendous burden which our defense budget imposes on the
nation. I feel that the budget which we are presenting this year represents
a sound resolution of these conflicting demands. It provides the maximum
in balanced national security while at the same time takes into account the
basic economic well being of the United States which stands back of this
security.
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We ended Fiscal Year 56 with active forces of 2,806,441.
Our active duty strength at this time is about 2,800,000 men and women.
We are financing this strength for the next Fiscal Year and expect to have
an Army of 1,000,000, a Navy of 675,000, a Marine Corps of 200,000,
and an Air Force of 925,000. Nevertheless, we will continue our efforts
to make manpower savings wherever possible through better utilization
of personnel and reduction of headquarters staffs and elimination of
unessential activities.
The ceiling authorization of 2,914,208 which the President
established a year ago remains in effect so that the Department of Defense
has a measure of flexibility should circumstances dictate and full justifica-
tion exist for any increase-above the 2,800,000 now programmed.
The over-all combat effectiveness of our forces will continue
to grow during Fiscal Year 1958 as more effective weapons are delivered
and the general level of experience of the active forces increases.
Closely associated with the active forces is our loyal civilian
work force. We ended Fiscal Year 56 with direct hire civilian employees
of 1,179,500. This is essentially the employment we now have. We expect
to continue our efforts to achieve better utilization of civilian manpower and
expect to make some reduction in this area through improved efficiency and
the finishing up of certain work.
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Much of the personnel legislation sponsored by the Department
of Defense and enacted by the last Congress had the objective of reducing
personnel turnover in the Armed Forces. The firm support of this
Committee was essential to passage of the Career Incentive Act and other
major laws on Survivor's Benefits, Dependent Medical Care, Regular
Officer Augmentation, and Doctor's Career Incentives. Many other laws
of importance to our service personnel were also enacted.
These laws have all been implemented and aggressive in-
formation programs conducted. This legislation has better enabled the
Services to meet their numerical manpower requirements. The Defense
Department greatly appreciates the effective and constructive understanding
of our manpower problems on the part of this Committee. Working together
I am certain we will continue to develop and put into effect sound manpower
policies for the armed services and our civilian employees.
Our over-all reenlistment rate has already increased from
the unsatisfactory low o123.7% in Fiscal Year 1954 to 43.6% for Fiscal
Year 1956. Preliminary reports show that we are holding at about this
same rate thus far in Fiscal Year 1957.
Retention of officers after obligated service has also improved
from the post-Korea low of about 1 out of 6 to the present ratio of 1 out of 4.
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We have had clear indicz,tions of a reversal of loss trends
with our doctors. The numbers of regular medical and dental officers
have slowly increased in the last year and the resignations from our
regular medical and dental personnel have sharply declined.
The Military Services are making good progress in implementa-
tion of the Regular Officer Augmentation authority. Applications for
regular commissions are being received in significant numbers and
the process of selection and integration of the best qualified officers
will begin shortly.
From the over-all point of view, we believe that much progress
has been made toward our objective of stabilizing our personnel. The
problem of getting the required numbers of personnel to meet the strength
objectives has been reduced to manageable proportions.
Our emphasis has shifted to the retention of individuals with
the special military qualifications to meet the increasing demands for
technically qualified individuals and competent leaders. Indeed, we
have had some improvement in reenlistments in our "hard skill" areas
but we still face the problem that the complexity of equipment being de-
livered advances faster than the ability of our personnel to take care of it
and get full returns ,from its engineered capabilities.
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And when when we look inside our research and development
activities and at the drawing boards of industry, we can foresee equipments
that require additional action now if we are to have qualified people ready
to handle that equipment when it is delivered. We are just as much in
need of personnel lead time as industry is in need of lead time to shift
to new designs.
Last May I appointed Mr. Ralph J. Cordiner, the President
of General Electric, the chairman of a Department of Defense Committee
on Technical and Professional Compensation. Mr. Cordiner and the
distinguished civilian and military membership of his committee have
energetically considered this problem the solution of which is so important
to the effective and efficient operation of our Defense Department. They
have travelled extensively, sampled the opinion of all segments of the
military community, and analyzed the most progressive practices of
industry. Their findings and recommendations are being processed in
the Department of Defense at the present time as they are being received
although the Committee has not made its final report. We expect to get
this final report within the next few days and process it promptly.
We have -proceeded vigOrOUb y-Virith iLILpleILlentatLuu of the
Reserve Forces Act of 1955. The total of reservists in paid drill status
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has increased, but the quality of our Reserve Forces in general remains
below the level required to meet time-readiness goals of current
mobilization plans.
We still have significant numbers of individuals in our Reserve
Forces who are not basically trained, and existing programs permit
continuation of this undesirable condition. To correct this situation we
are taking administrative action within the framework of the laws designed
to achieve Reserve Forces capable of fulfilling the mission mandated to
them by statute. We hope to make some real progress in this area.
We do not foresee at this time any major changes in) the
over-all level of our military forces during the next few years. There
will, however, be continuing changes in the nature and composition of our
forces, in line with scientific and technological progress and changes
in the international situation.
Under the program which we are recommending and which
the President has approved, we will continue to have military forces of
tremendous striking power which in my opinion adequately provide for
our national security at this time. It is also my feeling that these powerful
United States forces will continue to make a major contribution to peace
and stability in the international field. ii hope that our efforts in that direc-
tion are fully understood by the people of all nations as well as by our own
people.
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