ROTC Seniors Not in Vital Industries to be Called For Active Duty in Two Months After Graduation

All Seniors in the Military Science Department will be called up for active duty within two months of their graduation this June unless they have some important reason for remaining in civilian life, the Department announced last night. "Important reason" means simply an important job in an industry which is taking a vital part in the program of national defense, Lieutenant Colonel Henry D. Jay, professor of Military Science and Tactics stated.

A questionnaire was distributed this week to all the members of the Class of '41 who are enrolled at present in Mil Sci 4 asking them to tell whether they do have important reasons for remaining on inactive duty.

They were also given a chance to apply for a deferment of their call to active duty. The deferment may be for either one or two months after graduation.

The securing of a commission is a necessary preliminary before being put on active service duty with the Army, and in order to gain a commission the Seniors must pass Mil Sci 4 and must graduate from Harvard. Those who fail these two requirements will lose their chances for a commission and will be liable for the draft.

Over 60 per cent of last year's graduating Reserve Officers are now on active duty, Colonel Jay estimated last night. He is at present engaged in determining the exact number of graduates of the past five years who are now in uniform.

The Seniors will have little chance to determine where they are to be sent and whether they wish to be in the horse drawn or the motorized field artillery, Colonel Jay indicated. They will be sent wherever there are vacancies in military camps. At the present time Harvard graduates are on duty at Camp Devens, Fort Ethan Allen (Vermont), Fort Sill (Oklahoma), and at other Field Artillery camps all over the country.

Since some 93 percent of the Field Artillery at the present time has been motorized, the chances of getting into the horse drawn battalions are slim, Colonel Jay predicted.