National Affairs: Toward Merger

The nominal unification of the armed forces had not stilled interservice bitterness, and no one knew it better than Secretary of Defense James Forrestal. A month ago, he decided that the air transport services of the Air Force and the Navy should be merged. He bluntly ordered the respective Secretaries to find out "how"—not whether—it should be done.

Last week Forrestal was able to announce the "broad outline" of the first major step toward effective integration. Planes and personnel of NATS and ATS would be combined to form the Military Air Transport Service,...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!