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12-19-45
20
pin
n
3
the
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
A
ARCHIVES AMD
"NATIONAL RECORDS
December 18, 1945
MEMORANDUM FOR:
Judge Rosenman
Herewith are comments on Second Draft of Unification Message.
I recognize the validity of your statement that the details
of Unification should be threshed out later, but I strongly believe
that there should be a clear definition of thesduties and interrelation-
ships of the top people in the proposed Department of National Defense.
One of the strongest arguments against Unification is that plans for
it are "fuzzy" and "vague" and therefore dangerous, because in assent-
ing to Unification, we would be venturing into the unknown.
These criticisms would be applicable to portions of this
draft concerning the Chief of Staff of the Department of National
Defense. At best, such a figure will be a position of controversy
but much of it could be avoided if we define his duties, responsibili-
ties, and authority.
What, for example, is the relationship of the Chief of Staff
to the Secretary for National Defense? Is he subordinate to him, or
an equal of his? What is the relationship of the Chief of Staff for
National Defense to the Chiefs of Staff of the three component branches
of the single department? Is he their commanding officer? Is he
directly above them in the chain of command? To whom do the Chiefs
of Staff of the three branches report? To the Secretary of the Depart-
ment or to the Chief of Staff for National Defense?
These are questions of great importance and answers to them
will determine whether we continue to have overall civilian responsi-
bility for the armed forces or whether we will be setting up a single
military man whose power will be so great that he can overrule a
Secretary of a single department on any controversial issue. There
have been many occasions in the past where a strong military commander
of either the Army or the Navy has overridden the views of the civilian
Secretary of the War or Navy Departments. As our defense problems
become more complex, and as we merge the War and Navy Departments, it
will be increasingly likely that a strong Chief of Staff representing
all branches of the armed forces could override the civilian Secret-
aries' views on future controversies.
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"ocrText": "12-19-45\n20\npin\nn\n3\nthe\nTHE WHITE HOUSE\nWASHINGTON\nA\nARCHIVES AMD\n\"NATIONAL RECORDS\nDecember 18, 1945\nMEMORANDUM FOR:\nJudge Rosenman\nHerewith are comments on Second Draft of Unification Message.\nI recognize the validity of your statement that the details\nof Unification should be threshed out later, but I strongly believe\nthat there should be a clear definition of thesduties and interrelation-\nships of the top people in the proposed Department of National Defense.\nOne of the strongest arguments against Unification is that plans for\nit are \"fuzzy\" and \"vague\" and therefore dangerous, because in assent-\ning to Unification, we would be venturing into the unknown.\nThese criticisms would be applicable to portions of this\ndraft concerning the Chief of Staff of the Department of National\nDefense. At best, such a figure will be a position of controversy\nbut much of it could be avoided if we define his duties, responsibili-\nties, and authority.\nWhat, for example, is the relationship of the Chief of Staff\nto the Secretary for National Defense? Is he subordinate to him, or\nan equal of his? What is the relationship of the Chief of Staff for\nNational Defense to the Chiefs of Staff of the three component branches\nof the single department? Is he their commanding officer? Is he\ndirectly above them in the chain of command? To whom do the Chiefs\nof Staff of the three branches report? To the Secretary of the Depart-\nment or to the Chief of Staff for National Defense?\nThese are questions of great importance and answers to them\nwill determine whether we continue to have overall civilian responsi-\nbility for the armed forces or whether we will be setting up a single\nmilitary man whose power will be so great that he can overrule a\nSecretary of a single department on any controversial issue. There\nhave been many occasions in the past where a strong military commander\nof either the Army or the Navy has overridden the views of the civilian\nSecretary of the War or Navy Departments. As our defense problems\nbecome more complex, and as we merge the War and Navy Departments, it\nwill be increasingly likely that a strong Chief of Staff representing\nall branches of the armed forces could override the civilian Secret-\naries' views on future controversies.\n- -"
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