On the day he retired as Assistant Secretary of Defense, Dr. John A. Hannah unveiled a new plan for a reorganized military-reserve force (TIME, Aug. 9). As Hannah described the plan, the Air Force and the Army Reserves would be merged, the National Guard federalized, and "all qualified young men" called up for military service. Some 3,000,000 veterans would be signed up in an active, ready reserve.
Any plan that close to universal military training and any plan that would upset the powerful reserve and National Guard lobbies is politically imprudent in an election year. Last week, 72 hours...