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The Last Years of Peacetime 1938-39
The last years of peacetime 1937 -1938
General Parsons takes command (at his brevet four star rank in the US and Philippine Army) and with the help of Eisenhower and Ord, as well as High Commissioner McNutt help Quezon get a new Defense Act passed. This act changes conscription to a 1 year active duty period and 4 years of active reserve, followed by another 4 years of inactive reserve. Those in the inactive reserve are assigned to the newly created (on paper) Philippine Militia, which will provide internal security troops to assist in guarding population centers and installations. For now it remains entirely a paper force but it is hoped by the time 1943 comes arms and organization can be provided. Those who volunteer for service will have 4 years active duty followed by 4 years of active reserve, or may reenlist. The draft call for 1938 forward is modified to take into account the Eisenhower Plan.
In January 1938, the engineer brigades are put to work building training camps, a new air base for the Philippine Army Air Force, as well as an entire brigade put to work improving roads in Bataan. Parsons also makes Eisenhower his Department Chief of Staff when Holbrook retires, while making Ord chief of staff for his other function as commander of the Philippine Army. Eisenhower begins breaking the US Army out of its comfortable colonial life style and a number of officers and senior enlisted men who are lazy or drunks find themselves heading home or forced to shape up.
Frustrated by the unwillingness of the US Army to part with Springfields at all, or Enfields at a reasonable price, Colonel Ord persuades Parsons to allow him to pursue other options. As the Constabulary military police and engineers, as well as the Coast Guard and Air Force are second line combat forces, they can get by with civilian rifles, trench guns and what submachineguns can be found. An order for 25,000 weapons is placed with Winchester (12,000 Winchester Model 1897 trench guns, 12,000 Model 70 Winchester bolt action rifles with 22 inch barrels chambered for the 30 06 Springfield round, and 1,000 Thompson submachineguns). This along with the 45,000 Enfields already on order, should allow by the time delivery is completed in 1941 for the Philippine military to have sufficient small arms for its troops.
In 1938 and 1939, Parsons also sends a small number of American and Filipino junior officers to China to act as observers with the Chinese Nationalist Army as well as a handful that are sent to observe with the Japanese Army (through private arrangements made by Quezon on his visit there in 1938).
To assist with communications, Parsons also orders the establishment of schools with the teaching of English to all Filipino officers and enlisted men who reach corporal are required to take literacy classes. There are shortages in available teachers, but efforts are made to improve on this. Reserve officers who have training as teachers find themselves doing their civilian job in the Army.
By the end of 1939 the Eisenhower Plan is well underway and is having far more success than the initial 1937 year. The Philippine Army Air Force has been started as has the Philippines Coast Guard with the help of the US Navy and US Army, and many of the peace time attitudes of the US Army in the Philippines are finally being shaken off.
However Eisenhower, who has been in the Philippines since 1935 and whose wife has had serious health problems, is ready to go home. In December 1939 he returns to the US to take command of a brigade of the Third Infantry Division in Fort Lewis, Washington and with it gains permanent rank as a Brigadier General US Army. By early 1941 he is Chief of Staff of the US Third Army, working for Walter Krueger and would distinguish himself in the Louisiana Maneuvers that same year. That performance leads Marshall to decide that Krueger and Eisenhower are the men to send to Philippines in September 1941 when General Parsons is finally retired due to health reasons.
Training the Philippine Army 1939
General Parsons takes command (at his brevet four star rank in the US and Philippine Army) and with the help of Eisenhower and Ord, as well as High Commissioner McNutt help Quezon get a new Defense Act passed. This act changes conscription to a 1 year active duty period and 4 years of active reserve, followed by another 4 years of inactive reserve. Those in the inactive reserve are assigned to the newly created (on paper) Philippine Militia, which will provide internal security troops to assist in guarding population centers and installations. For now it remains entirely a paper force but it is hoped by the time 1943 comes arms and organization can be provided. Those who volunteer for service will have 4 years active duty followed by 4 years of active reserve, or may reenlist. The draft call for 1938 forward is modified to take into account the Eisenhower Plan.
In January 1938, the engineer brigades are put to work building training camps, a new air base for the Philippine Army Air Force, as well as an entire brigade put to work improving roads in Bataan. Parsons also makes Eisenhower his Department Chief of Staff when Holbrook retires, while making Ord chief of staff for his other function as commander of the Philippine Army. Eisenhower begins breaking the US Army out of its comfortable colonial life style and a number of officers and senior enlisted men who are lazy or drunks find themselves heading home or forced to shape up.
Frustrated by the unwillingness of the US Army to part with Springfields at all, or Enfields at a reasonable price, Colonel Ord persuades Parsons to allow him to pursue other options. As the Constabulary military police and engineers, as well as the Coast Guard and Air Force are second line combat forces, they can get by with civilian rifles, trench guns and what submachineguns can be found. An order for 25,000 weapons is placed with Winchester (12,000 Winchester Model 1897 trench guns, 12,000 Model 70 Winchester bolt action rifles with 22 inch barrels chambered for the 30 06 Springfield round, and 1,000 Thompson submachineguns). This along with the 45,000 Enfields already on order, should allow by the time delivery is completed in 1941 for the Philippine military to have sufficient small arms for its troops.
In 1938 and 1939, Parsons also sends a small number of American and Filipino junior officers to China to act as observers with the Chinese Nationalist Army as well as a handful that are sent to observe with the Japanese Army (through private arrangements made by Quezon on his visit there in 1938).
To assist with communications, Parsons also orders the establishment of schools with the teaching of English to all Filipino officers and enlisted men who reach corporal are required to take literacy classes. There are shortages in available teachers, but efforts are made to improve on this. Reserve officers who have training as teachers find themselves doing their civilian job in the Army.
By the end of 1939 the Eisenhower Plan is well underway and is having far more success than the initial 1937 year. The Philippine Army Air Force has been started as has the Philippines Coast Guard with the help of the US Navy and US Army, and many of the peace time attitudes of the US Army in the Philippines are finally being shaken off.
However Eisenhower, who has been in the Philippines since 1935 and whose wife has had serious health problems, is ready to go home. In December 1939 he returns to the US to take command of a brigade of the Third Infantry Division in Fort Lewis, Washington and with it gains permanent rank as a Brigadier General US Army. By early 1941 he is Chief of Staff of the US Third Army, working for Walter Krueger and would distinguish himself in the Louisiana Maneuvers that same year. That performance leads Marshall to decide that Krueger and Eisenhower are the men to send to Philippines in September 1941 when General Parsons is finally retired due to health reasons.
Training the Philippine Army 1939
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