stances now where men complain that they are entitled to it, but are not drawing it because they are not in a position. It stops automatically if they are not in a position, Mr. Ford. We have had complaints in the past. We have a few now but we look into them as soon as the man complains. Mr. FORD. I hope that you could transfer a man who had the required qualifications and was in a job that rated proficiency pay to a new job that would warrant continued proficiency pay but inevittably you must transfer individuals to a second job where proficiency pay was not available. General COLLINS. That is right. You insisted on that 3 years ago. We are following through on this. Mr. FORD. I hope you can transfer them from one job to another where they continue, but you cannot always do that. That is just one of the breaks of the ball game. General COLLINS. We do it and at your request several years ago, we keep continually telling these people that this is a requirement, that this is not necessarily here to stay. We have got to prove it is beneficial to the Army and the service. SUBSISTENCE RATES Mr. FORD. In fiscal year 1961 what is the ration rate per man in continental United States? General COLLINS. $1.07 per man. Mr. FORD. What is in the 1962 budget? General COLLINS. The same thing, $1.07 per man. Mr. FORD. What is the ration rate per man overseas in the fiscal 1961 budget? General COLLINS. It was $1.12 per man. Mr. FORD. What is anticipated? General COLLINS. $1.20 in the fiscal year 1962 budget. Mr. FORD. What is the justification for the increase overseas? General COLLINS. It is caused by the increase in cost for fresh fruits and vegetables and meat and in some areas dairy products. Mr. FORD. Could we have the specifics in the record as to just how these increases are generated? General COLLINS. Yes, sir. (The information is as follows:) The increase in eight (.08¢) cents in the oversea ration rate is caused by: (4) Five (.05) cents of the increase is due to the higher cost of beef. (b) Two (.024) cents is due to the cost of increased milk consumption in overse areas; increased use of fresh milk in Alaska and Hawaii which milk is Lore expensive than reconstituted milk. (e) One (.014) cent is due to an increase in prices for local procurement items in oversea areas. Mr. FLOOD. If the gentleman will yield, would you want to discuss at this time or later to what extent is the surplus food program ilized for the Armed Forces in any categories, should it be more, what is it now or something like that? Would that fit in your line of questioning? Mr. FORD. I had not anticipated getting into that but if like to ask a question on it Mr. FLOOD. This would be the place for it. You ask it. Mr. FORD. Does the Army utilize any of our surplus food for subsistence? Colonel FERGUSON. Yes, sir. Under both milk-we have used milk and dairy products. We have been recently told we will not get any more butter. We have utilized a great deal of butter. Mr. FORD. Why aren't we using any surplus butter? Colonel FERGUSON. The last information I had was that there was none further available to us. Mr. FLOOD. That is not much of an answer. That begs the question. Mr. FORD. Let's get for the record what the utilization was in the past, when the order was changed and any other pertinent facts on this subject. Mr. FLOOD. And why isn't there more? Mr. LAIRD. Will you yield? Mr. FORD. Surely. Mr. LAIRD. I think the information you have on butter is a couple of months old because there is butter available now. That was true in November, but the Government is buying butter again now. General COLLINS. This is a Department of Agriculture congressional act which authorizes us to take surplus dairy products, Mr. Ford, as you know, and it is renewed each year. USE OF SURPLUS COMMODITIES Mr. FLOOD. I would not like to think, Mr. Ford, that these surplus foods are good enough to dump onto starving Americans or whoever but that they are not good enough for the Armed Forces. There is a problem here. We have never had a chance to examine it. I would like to see the quartermaster people put on a better performance about this whole surplus food program and its relationship to consumption by the Armed Forces. Maybe it is not a good idea. I do not know. I do not think the Armed Forces should be a dumping ground for a lot of moth-eaten wheat or something like that, but there is a balance that I have never felt was properly met. Mr. FORD. Let us see how much you have been using, when you stopped, et cetera. Colonel FERGUSON. Since November 1954 through last August 1960, we procured 102,254,000 pounds of butter in the open market. we obtained 34,635,000 pounds from the Commodity Credit Corpora tion at the world market price, and there was donated by this Publi Law 690, 136 million pounds, for a total of 272,920,000 pounds in that period of time. For cheese, we procured 23 million pounds. There was 11,883.00 pounds donated. Mr. FORD. Those are the only surplus commodities which you have used? Colonel FERGUSON. The Department of the Army normal milk requirements in this same period of time was 628,648,000 pounds, above normal requirements under the agreement with Public Law 690, 1,039,776,000 pounds, so the actual procurement of milk under this Public Law 690 was 62 percent of the total consumed in this period. Mr. FLOOD. What is the difference between the terms "procurement" and "donated"? Colonel FERGUSON. The amount of milk utilized in excess of that authorized in the ration is the part, in the Zone of Interior, that comes under this Public Law 690. All we pay is the packaging and the transportation. The Department of Agriculture pays the rest. Mr. ANDREWS. In other words, they give it to you and you get it over there? Colonel FERGUSON. Yes, sir. Mr. FLOOD. Does any of this surplus food of any category go into our oversea quartermaster operations? Colonel FERGUSON. No, sir. Mr. FLOOD. Your entire diet from the surplus foods has been butter, milk, and cheese? Colonel FERGUSON. Yes, sir. Mr. FLOOD. Nothing else? Mr. FLOOD. Are there other things? Colonel FERGUSON. Not to my knowledge. Mr. FLOOD. There are no other items in the entire surplus food program besides the three you mentioned? Colonel FERGUSON. That I do not know, sir. Mr. FLOOD. Don't you think you should? I do not know about personally. Are you a Quartermaster officer? Colonel FERGUSON. Yes, sir. Mr. FLOOD. Wouldn't you be curious about that? you Colonel FERGUSON. My advice has been that these are the only things hat are available to us. Mr. FLOOD. You have been advised by your superiors that the only items in the entire surplus food program available to the Armed Forces are the items you mentioned? Colonel FERGUSON. Yes, sir. (The information is as follows:) Use of Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) surplus food has been limited, In the past and at present, to such dairy products as butter, natural cheddar cheese, nonfat dry milk solids, and fresh fluid milk. Since enactment of Public Law 600, 83d Congress, the Army obtained the following approximate quantities for supply to the military services from November 1954 through August 1960: Batter -pounds__ 136, 000, 000 --gallons__ 12, 000, 000 500,000 121, 000, 000 Quantities of fresh fluid milk which are consumed over and above normal requirements are partially reimbursed under financing agreements between CCC and the military services. Information has been received from CCC that surplus butter may not be available to the military services in the future in view of the new civilian relief program. However, CCC stocks of other surplus dairy products will continue to be utilized to the maximum practicable extent. BEHAVIOR OF ARMY PERSONNEL Mr. FORD. General Collins, on page 7 of your prepared statement you discuss the increased or improved behavior of the personnel of the Army. You indicate some comparative figures. Let's have the record for the last 5 years so that we can look at it and see just what the trend is. I know it has been good and I think it is fine, but let's have a chart showing just what the record is. General COLLINS. Yes, sir. Mr. FORD. Have you ever figured out what this improved situation does as far as available manpower to the Army? General COLLINS. Yes, sir. We did figure out what closing the disciplinary barracks saved us. I would like to furnish that for the record, but we did save overhead personnel in closing those disciplinary barracks. These were, therefore, available to add to structure. However, personnel who were prisoners in those disciplinary barracks had already been dropped from the rolls. Other people such as stockade prisoners are carried on the rolls of their units until they are returned to duty. Reducing the numbers of these people does constitute a saving in utilization and means more filled foxholes in the frontlines. Mr. FORD. You have an overall strength of 870,000? General COLLINS. Yes, sir. Mr. FORD. If you have fewer people in disciplinary barracks, that means you have more people within the 870,000. General COLLINS. No; prisoners in DB's are dropped from the rolls; however, prisoners in stockades are counted within the 870,000. Mr. FORD. Let's see what kind of figures you can work up that show that because you have improved in this regard you have more people available for unit duty. General COLLINS. Yes, sir. We can do that, Mr. Ford. (The information requested follows:) |