Ballard Hits Wilson Arms Memorandum

John A. Ballard, Research Fellow in the Defense Studies Program, said yesterday that Defense Secretary Charles Wilson's memorandum on interservice rivalries failed to discuss the real issues of the dispute.

In a letter to The New York Times, Ballard noted that although "bugetary limitations" ostensibly were responsible for some of the Air Force's reluctance to support Army operations, this reluctance "reinforces tendencies within the Air Force itself." Army officials have maintained that the Air Force could not or would not provide the Army with air transport and air-ground support.

The primary missions of the Air Force are strategic retaliation and continental air defense, Ballard said. Therefore, the Air Force rightly tries to subordinate other missions such as helping the Army.