After the War Department downgraded the 9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments, and the 24th and 25th Infantry Regiment from combat units to service elements in the early 1920s, the Philippine Scouts (hereafter referred to as PS) had become the long service professional element of the US Army. Raised from Filipino volunteers, and officered by Americans, the PS were controlled by a supplemental act of Congress, and were not considered as part of the US Army for budgetary purposes. (The reason for this difference is that they could only serve in the Philippines.) During the lean defense years of the 20s, the PS managed to escape many a budget cut as a result. The enlistment officers had the luxury of having 20 or more volunteers for each vacancy in the Scouts. It was not uncommon for Filipinos wishing to enlist to attach themselves as unpaid volunteers to the unit that they were hoping to join in the hope of impressing that unit's NCOs with their qualities. Once the had enlisted, they would remain in service until retirement. To discharge a Scout before his tour of enlistrnent was up was the ultimate punishment. In the late 1930s the Scout establishment began to be cut back, in anticipation of the independence of the Philippines and the activation of the new Philippine Army. The Philippine Department of the US Arrny was to work with the Commonwealth Government and do what it could to aid the formation of the Philippine Army, but was not under MacArthur's orders. There existed a dual command structurr with all of the problems associating with it. (An ongoing problem for the commanders of the Philippine Department was how to deal with MacArthur's rank of field marshal, since that rank did not exist in the US Army at the time.) As the US mobilized in 1940 and prepared for war, all eyes were on Europe. As relationd deteriorated with Japan in the summer of 1941, a build up American forces in the Pacific was deemed necessary. MacArthur and the Commonwealth Government had been lobbying for some time for a unified command in the Philippines, with MacArthur recalled to service with the rank of general. During this time, the only officer in the US Army allowed to hold the rank of general was the chief of staff, and that was a temporary rank that went with the job. Normally major general was the highest permanent rank allowed, although officers who ha served as chief of staff were allowed to retire with the courtesy rank (but not the pay) of general. The call-up of the National Guard had included setting up an acting rank system including that of lieutenant general, but those ranks were not permanent. In the fall of 1944, while Omar Bradley was commanding the 12th Army Group, he was overjoyed to learn that the Senate had confirmed him as a Brigadier General in the regular army, which after the war, he would not revert to his actual rank of colonel. The unified command was set up June 26 when President Roosevelt issued an executive order calling the Philippine forces into American service, and the War Department set up the United States Army Forces in the Far East. On that date, Major General (as that was his permanent rank) Douglas MacArthur was re-called to active service as its commander. The following day, he was promoted to the acting rank of lieutenant general. The officers who had served with MacArthur became the headquarters staff of USAFFE, and the military build-up in the Philippines started off in an attempt to make up for lost time. The Philippine Army units that were called up were the 1st Division RA, and 11th, 21st, 31st, 41st, 51st, 61st, 71st, 81st, 91st, and 101st. The 61st, 8st, and 101st served on the southern islands, while the other divisions were called into service on Luzon. The plan was to call up divisional services and one infantry regiment up to start with, and then add the additional units as space, equipment, and time permitted. Philippine Infantry Division, 1942 Paper Strength On paper, a Philippine infantry division was to have the following (In Command Decision terms): 1st Division, Regular; Morale: 9 (All other divisions, Trained; Morale: 8) Headquarters, with 1 command stand, 1 command car, and 1 staff radio truck Headquarters Company, with: 1 command stand 1 command car 2 support stands 1 MP stand 1 baggage supply truck 1 supply truck with field kitchen 3 Infantry Regiments, each with: Regimental Headquarters, with 1 command stand, 1 command car, and 1 staff telephone truck Regimental Mortar Company, with 1 81 mm mortar stand (ds) and 1 medium truck Regimental AT Company, with 1.50 HMG (ds) and 1 medium truck Regimental Supply Company, with 3 support stands 1 general supply truck 1 baggage supply truck 1 supply truck with field kitchen 3 Infantry Battalions, each with Battalion Headquarters, with 1 command stand 1 command car 1 support stand 1 baggage supply truck 1 supply truck with field kitchen 3 Rifle Companies, each with 1 command infantry stand 2 infantry stands Machinegun Company, with 2 MMG stands 1 Artillery Regiment, with; Regimental Headquarters, with: 1 command stand 1 command car 1 staff telephone truck 1 support stand 1 medium supply truck 2 Battalions, each with: Battalion Headquarters, with: 1 command stand 1 spotter stand 2 command cars 1 support stand 1 baggage supply truck 1 supply truck with field kitchen 2 Batteries, each with: 1 gun crew stand (ds) 1 medium truck 1 75L33 field gun 1 Battalion, with: Battalion Headquarters, with: 1 command stand 1 spotter stand 2 command cars 1 support stand 1 baggage supply truck 1 supply truck with field kitchen 2 Batteries, each with: 1 gun crew stand (ds) 1 medium truck 2.95" mountain guns 1 Antitank Battalion, with: Headquarters, with 1 command stand, 1 command car, 1 support stand, and 1 medium supply truck 3 Light Companies, each with 1 gun crew stand, 1 light truck, and 1 37L53 AT gun 1 Heavy Company, with 1 M 3 GMC 1 Engineer Battalion, with: Headquarters, with 1 command stand, 1 command car, and 1 medium supply truck 3 companies, each with 1 command engineer stand and 2 engineer stands 1 Signal Company, with: 1 command stand 1 command car 1 support stand 1 medium telephone truck 1 medium repair truck 1 Quartermaster Company, with: 1 command stand 1 command car 2 support stands 6 medium supply trucks Notes 1. Elements within a division were numbered as follows: All elements except for the infantry regiments carried the divisional number. Infantry regiments were numbered as the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd plus the divisional number in 10s, so that the 11th Division had the 11th, 12th and 13th Infantry Regiments, the 61st Infantry Division had the 61st, 62nd, and 63rd, etc. Company usage was the same as for the US Army. 2. The Philippine Divisions use the following firing data: Type ROF Eff. Range Infantry 1 6" MMG 2 10" Support Gun Crew 1 4" More United States Army Forces in the Far East 1941 Introduction Post WWI and Proposed 1942 TO&E Actual 1941 TO&E MacArthur Restructuring Artillery and Tanks Back to Table of Contents -- Command Post Quarterly #1 To Command Post Quarterly List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1993 by Greg Novak. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. 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