Army Draft Call Cut, Reduction in Air Forces Seen

The Army yesterday announced the lowest Selective Service draft quota in over a year when it issued a call of 23,000 men for the month of July.

At the same time it was revealed that the Air Force is making sharp cuts in many of its special programs in order to keep in line with severe Defense Department budget slashes. At a press conference held Tuesday, Charles E. Wilson, head of the Department of Defense, revealed that manpower cuts will probably be in the vicinity of 291,000 within the next 12 months. Most of these are expected to come from the cut-back in the formerly planned 143 Air Force Wings.

The July draft call compares with 32,000 for June 1953 and increases the total number of men drafted or earmarked for induction since Selective Service was resumed in September 1950 to 1,469,430.

Secretary of Defense Wilson indicated that he hopes to reduce draft calls to a steady 25,000 monthly after July. He explained that this would be possible because there is now a lower rate of turnover in military manpower and because "we are going to try to use more people in the Army now farther up front in combat units."