Statement on the Army Specialized Training Enlisted Reserve for Seventeen-Year-Old Graduates.

I am delighted that the War Department has expanded the Army Specialized Training Enlisted Reserve for seventeen-year-old high school graduates. This enlarged program will provide the armed forces with a necessary reservoir of younger men with specialized training at the college level. For those properly qualified in this age group the enlisted reserve program provides the best possible opportunity for them to serve their country.

To be eligible for training all young men who will be high school graduates by July I must take the joint Army-Navy qualifying examination on March 15. It will be given in thousands of high schools and colleges throughout the country.

Everyone who passes this test and a physical examination, and is within the proper age limits set by the Army and Navy, will be given an opportunity to apply for the reserve and to express a preference for either the Army or Navy program. Those selected will be sent to a college or university at the expense of their Government until the time they become eighteen years of age, or for longer periods depending upon their age, special qualifications, and the national need of their services in the armed forces. The Army will call no one for active duty until after his eighteenth birthday.

I urge every young American who will be a high school graduate by July first to investigate the Army and Navy reserve programs immediately. It is of the greatest importance to the Nation that as many as possible take the March 15 examination.