ACTIVATION OF NEW AAA UNITS By the time this is published approximately two hundred <strong>of</strong>licers and 2500 trained enlisted men will have arrived at Fort Bliss to provide the nucleus for the rapid expansion <strong>of</strong> the Antiaircraft <strong>Artillery</strong> and Guided ~lissile Center which is scheduled for this fall. Antiaircraf <strong>Artillery</strong> is high on the priority list for personnel to be in'ilucted this fall under the Selective Service Act with 3 brigades, II groups and forty-four battalions ultimately scheduled for activation. Of the forty-four battalions to be activated, 26 will train at Bliss and 18 will train at Camp Cooke, Tangair, California (on the coast 55 miles NvV <strong>of</strong> Santa Barbara, and 21 miles S\V <strong>of</strong> Santa ~laria). 1Inits will be trained in accordance with MTP 44-1 dated 3 January 1945 as modified by Ti\1 3, OCAFF. The majority <strong>of</strong> fillers arc expected to be <strong>new</strong> inductees, who will take their basic training at Bliss and Cooke. Upon completion <strong>of</strong> training, Divisional assignments will be given to some <strong>of</strong> the self-propelled battalions in order to provide each <strong>of</strong> our authorized Divisions with its organic AAI\ battalion. Further, it is con. templated that combined training with the <strong>Air</strong> Force will be conducted. The <strong>Activation</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>units</strong> is scheduled under four categories or priorities. The tentati\'e schedule for each is shown below but actually the whole program is con- lin::;ent upon the rate and phasing <strong>of</strong> induction. FIRST PIUORITY (To be activated and trained at Fort Bliss.) Units-One brigade, four groups, three operations detachments. three self-propelled battalions, two automatic weapons battalions, one 90mm gun bat- talion and one 120rnm gun battalion. The cadres fer the abO\'e <strong>units</strong> are scheduled for immediate arri\'al. the fillers for January, and the <strong>units</strong> ha\'e a readiness date <strong>of</strong> I August 1949. The readiness date is the date a unit must complete its basic training, not including combined training with di\'isions or <strong>Air</strong> Force <strong>units</strong>. SECOND PIUOIUTY (To be activated and trained at Bliss.) 1Inits-One brigade. four groups, three' operatiom detachments, eleven self-propelled battalions, two automatic weapons battalions, three 90mm gun battalions and three 120mm gun battalions. All cadres for the above <strong>units</strong> will arrive by the end <strong>of</strong> January; fillers will be received in April 1949 and the <strong>units</strong> will have a readiness date <strong>of</strong> I January 1950, Tllllm PIUOlUTY (To be activated and trained at Cooke.) Units-One brigade, four groups, four operations detachments, five self-propelled battalions, two auto- matic weapons battalions, eight 90mm gun battal- ions and three 120mm gun battalions, The cadres will arrive by the end <strong>of</strong> January; the fillers will be received in ~lay 1949 and the <strong>units</strong> will have a readiness date <strong>of</strong> I February 1950. FOURTH PIUOHITY (1'0 be activated at Bliss as soon as the first four battalions in the First Priority have departed for permanent change <strong>of</strong> station.) Units-One group, one operations detachment, one self-propelled battalion, one automatic weapons battalion and two 120mm gun battalions. The cadres will be assigned in August 1949 from Second Priority <strong>units</strong>, fillers will be received in September 1949 and <strong>units</strong> have a readiness date <strong>of</strong> I April 1950. In priorities one, three and four, one self-propelled battalion will be a Negro unit; priority two will ha\'e two similar Negro battalions; and in addition there will be one Negro airborne AAA battalion assigned to the 82d <strong>Air</strong>borne Di\'ision.
-. COAST ARTILLERY JOURNAL FOUNDED IN 1892 AS THE JOURNAL OF THE UNITED STATES ARTILLERY VOLUME LXXXXI JULY-AUGUST, 1948 CONTENTS * COVER-Third Army AAA Unit. Signal Corps Photo. (See page 50.) NUMBER 4 ACTIVITIES OF THIRD U.S. ARMY AAA. By Colonel [
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