Army Cancels ROTC Summer Field Camps

All regular ROTC summer camps will be suspended until at least six months after the war, the Military Science Department announced yesterday. The information received in a radiogram from Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson offered no explanation for the sudden cancellation, but the War Department stated that details would follow.

Since shortly after the first World War, summer camps have been the main source of practical experience for students in the ROTC. Although comprehensive drills are held for about 12 weeks during the fall and spring college terms, the future officers have been expected to learn artillery technique under actual conditions in this six-week period of field duty. Mil Sci men usually attend camp at the end of their Junior year.

No Reasons Released

No definite information as to the cause of the innovation has yet been released. Authorities suggest, however, the possibility of a connection with the lowering of the age requirement for commissions and the abandonment of the college degree clause.

These new regulations open the way for the shortening of the time required to train for a commission. The suspension of summer camps removes one of the keystones in the inflexible structure of the four-year training program, and keeps the ROTC curriculum in step with the accelerated college course.

Under the new plan, students may condenser their military studies and may receive their field experience at training bases or on duty with inactive troops after receiving their commissions.