NEW ARMY DIVISIONS

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29713, 5 January 1962, Page 9

NEW ARMY DIVISIONS

1 h Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright)

PALM BEACH (Florida). January 4. President Kennedy has ordered the Immediate formation of two new Army divisions, thus increasing the Army's strength to 16 permanent divisions. An announcement from the Palm Beach “White House” said the formation of the two divisions would permit the release later this year of two National Guard divisions (Citizen Military Forces) which were called to active duty last October 15 in the armed forces build-up prompted by the Berlin crisis The White House said the President's decision resulted from conferences with the Defence Secretary (Mr Robert McNamara), the Joint Chiefs

of Staff and other defence officials. The new divisions, the Ist Armoured and the sth Mechanised Infantry, will be incorporated into the new Army divisional structure announced by President Kennedy last May. Yesterday's announcement recalled that the President stressed then in a message to Congress that “greater firepower mobility and flexibility would be achieved " Guard Units* Release The announcement said the National Guard divisions would be released later this year as the international situation and the readiness status of the two new divisions permitted. It said the mobilisation of the guard units had demon-

strated “in unmistakeable terms our determination to resist Communist aggression.” In Washington, a Defence Department spokesman said formation of the two new divisions was not expected to require any increase in draft call-ups. The spokesman said the increased call-up quotas in effect since August had provided a sufficient manpower pool of new soldiers to man the two divisions, which would be built around a nucleus of experienced units. An Army spokesman said the two divisions would probably be ready for combat by the end of this year. With the new divisions, the regular Army wiU be composed of nine infantry, five armoured and two airborne divisions.