THE COAST ARTILLERY JOURNAL - Air Defense Artillery

The Weak Spot in Military Progress
By MAJOR RALPH E. JONES, Infantry
A
farmer has no plow. He has a spade and a rake. He is ambitious and
energetic. But he has no plow. Of course his work lags. The casual
observer remarks, "The farmer is lazy. Look at the amount of his land that is
not planted!" But the casual observer is unjust. He does not know that the
farmer has no plow.
So it is with the weak spot in our military progress. We have no plow.
Our Army is lacking a suitable agency for general research, experimentation,
and development. We have supply agencies, and some of them (or all of them)
have experimental and development sections for certain purposes. We have
branch boards (Infantry Board, Tank Board, Air Corps Board, Cavalry Board,
Field Artillery Board, Coast Artillery Board, and so on) each of which can
make studies, within limits. But these minor agencies are severely limited as
to what they may do, and they have, individually, scant resources with which to
operate. And, most important of all, they are isolated one from the other.
These spades, rakes, and other tools are of course better than nothing, but they
cannot do the work for which the plow is needed. Criticism that attributes our
slow progress to ultra-conservatism is unjust. The fault lies not there, but in
the lack of a suitable agency. The missing element should be supplied.
This research and development organization that we need should include,
under one chief, officers of the forward-minded type from all branches. It
should have authority to call on certain troops from all arms for experiments
and tests. It should have shops and mechanics available in liberal measure,
and, of course, adequate funds for miscellaneous purchases, experiments, and
the like. It should be responsible for developments and improvements in such
matters as organization, tactics, arms, equipment, and methods of training and
administration. It should, of course, consolidate and systematize the records
of development and improvement projects. It should develop a systematic
history of such matters, and thus in many cases avoid unnecessary duplication
of effort. It should have cordial and cooperative relationships with the branches
and the services. It should naturally not relieve the latter of any of their procurement,
manufacturing, or supply functions, but it should take over from
them their duties of devising new types of equipment. And it should take over,
partially at least, the present duties of the hranch boards.
serve as a clearing house for progressive military ideas.
It should, in short,
Although such an organization would improve the efficiency of minor
investigations, it is in the many places where coordination is necessary that its
tremendous value would lie. This includes coordination hetween the activities
of cooperative hranches and coordination between means and method. In inter-
~: By special llI1"aIlgement between the a.uthor and the editors,. this article a.ppears in the March numbers
of publications other than the COAST ARTILLERY JOCBNAL ..
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