no. i.] PSYCHOLOGICAL EXAMINING IN THE UNITED STATES ARMY. 49 



of need upon General Orders, No. 74, and such existing special requests or established relations of psychological work 

 as are deemed of primary importance. 



3. The attention of the staff is respectfully called to the fact that by order of the Chief of Staff psychological sendee 

 has been thoroughly investigated during the past three months and fully reported on; that as a result of this investi- 

 gation and report Col. R. J. Burt, of the War Plans Division of the General Staff, prepared, by direction of the Chief of 

 Staff, general order referred to above. 



Thus far, in connection with provision of personnel for psychological work, the investigation, report and recommen- 

 dations of Col. Burt have been ignored. 



Simultaneously with investigation by the General Staff, the Assistant Secretary of War ordered thorough inquiry 

 concerning psychological service. Such inquiry was made with extreme care by Mr. G. H. Dorr, of the Secretary's 

 office. Mr. Dorr's report was favorable to the continuance of psychological work, and especially called attention to its 

 importance as supplementing the personnel work of the Army. 



On recommendation of the War Plans Division a letter of inquiry concerning the value of psychological work, its 

 continuance, and the possibility of having medical officers take charge of it was sent to the commanding officer of can- 

 tonments, camps, and posts. This letter elicited upward of 90 replies, most of which had nothing to do with psycho- 

 logical service, since psychological examiners had at the time of the inquiry been assigned to relatively few stations. 

 Almost all of the reports confused psychological service with neuro-psychiatric work. Several of the remainder, 

 ostensibly reporting on psychological service, were from stations in which the work had been but recently established 

 and was incompletely organized . The conclusion of all officers of the staff who considered these reports on their merits 

 is that they are entirely irrelevant to the psychological sendee, grossly misleading, and therefore valueless as a basis for 

 'decision concerning the continuation, conduct, or relations of psychological work. 



The attention of the staff is invited to the fact that psychological service is entirely distinct and different from neuro- 

 psychiatric service. The psychological work has reference primarily to classification according to intelligence and 

 effective assignment, whereas the neuro-psychiatric examining has to do with mental diseases or pathological con- 

 ditions. 



4. The numerous reports, memoranda, and official actions concerning psychological service which have accumu- 

 lated during the past year make it wholly clear (1) that there has been much confusion, misunderstanding and uncer- 

 tainty concerning this new work; (2) that whenever the staff has secured reliable information from the department and 

 officers who are responsible for the psychological service or from line officers who have had opportunity to judge of its 

 value, the resulting action has been favorable; (3) that all unfavorable decisions have been based upon the mistaken 

 idea that psychologists are attempting to do a portion of the work of the medical department or that the examination 

 of every individual is unnecessary because most men are mentally normal; (4) that although the War Department has 

 ordered competent investigators to make exhaustive inquiry concerning the value of psychological work to the service, 

 action has sometimes been based upon fragmentary or incorrect information instead of upon reliable and unprejudiced 

 official reports of investigators and of the Surgeon General. 



5. Conferences with General Staff members have indicated the extreme desirability of presenting in connection 

 with this request statements concerning the present status of psychological service, its varieties, ways in which its 

 results are being used, and the judgment of various line and medical officers on its values. 



6. In order that the specific requirements of general orders No. 74 may be complied with, it is requested that in- 

 crease in personnel as indicated below be authorized. 



(a) It is ordered that the Psychological Division be established at those points where depot brigades are or will 

 be established. The experience of the division has proved that four commissioned officers are required for the satis- 

 factory organization and conduct of the various kinds of psychological service demanded by depot brigades and 

 desired by personnel adjutants, commanding officers, and medical officers. Every cantonment will have a depot 

 brigade. It is estimated that during the next few months there will be at least an average of four additional depot 

 brigades. This statement is based upon the best information that the Division of Psychology has been able to secure 

 from the Operations Division of the General Staff. It is therefore indicated that for psychological staffs in 20 Depot 

 Brigade camps 80 commissioned officers will be needed. 



These officers will see (1) that an intelligence grade is secured for every man reporting in depot brigade; (2) that 

 this grade is promptly entered by personnel adjutant on the qualification card and used as relevant information in 

 connection with assignment of men to duty; (3) that the mental grade, along with other important personal data, is 

 promptly reported to the commanding officer to whom soldier is assigned; (4) that profitable ways of using information 

 concerning soldier's mental rating shall be explained to and discussed with commanding officers; (5) that medical officers 

 shall be assisted as seems necessary or desirable in the examining of men of low grade mentality or those who are difficult 

 to train or to control. 



Psychological sendee in the depot brigade will be primarily personnel work, despite the fact that it is conducted 

 under the supervision of the Surgeon General. Its only medical aspect and reference will be cooperation of psycholo- 

 gists with medical officers and assistance of the latter in securing mental grades for men who are either feeble-minded 

 or so nearly so that they can not be assigned to regular military organizations. 



It is regarded as important by the Committee on Classification of Personnel in the Army that intelligence grade 

 be furnished by the psychological staff to the personnel adjutant for every soldier within a few hours after he reaches 

 camp. Dr. Walter D. Scott, director of the personnel committee, has prepared a statement of opinion which is 

 appended to this letter. 



