FOREST REGIMENT OFF FOR FRANCE 



THE roster of commissioned officers in the "forest 

 regiment," or, as the War Department designates it, 

 the Tenth Reserve Engineers (Forest), has just been 

 announced and includes two regular army officers, 15 

 foresters from the U. S. Forest Service and two from the 

 Forest Branch of British Columbia, one lumberman from 

 the Indian Forest Service, and 13 foresters and lumber- 

 men taken from private or institutional work. 



The War Department has designated Lieutenant 

 Colonel James A. Woodruff of the Engineer Corps to 

 organize and command the regiment, and Beverly C. Dunn, 

 Captain of Engineers, as Adjutant. W. B. Greeley, now 

 Assistant Forester in charge of the branches of silviculture 

 and research, U. S. Forest Service, and formerly district 

 forester in charge of the National Forests of Montana 

 and Northern Idaho, has been selected to serve as Major 

 on the regimental staff and to aid in the organization and 

 equipment of the regiment. The remaining officers wUl 

 be as follows: 



Majors in command of battalions: R. E. Benedict, 

 assistant forester in the Forest Branch of British Columbia, 

 and C. S. Chapman, manager of the private timber pro- 

 tective associations of Western Oregon. 



Captains: Edward S. Bryant, forest inspector, U. S. 

 Forest Service, stationed at Washington, D. C; Inman F. 

 Eldredge, forest supervisor of the Florida National Forest, 

 stationed at Pensacola, Florida; J. D. Guthrie, forest 

 supervisor of the Coconino National Forest, stationed at 

 Flagstaff, Arizona ; Evan W. Kelly, forest examiner, U. S. 

 Forest Service, stationed at San Francisco; John Lafon, 

 assistant forester in charge of timber operations. Forest 

 Branch of British Columbia; David T. Mason, professor of 

 forestry at the University of California; W. N. MiUar, 

 professor of forestry at the University of Toronto; Barring- 

 ton Moore, a private forester from New York City; Arthur 

 C. Ringland, forest inspector, U. S. Forest Service, sta- 

 tioned at Washington, D. C; Dorr Skeels, logging engi- 

 neer and professor of forestry at the University of 

 Montana. The three captains taken from university 

 professorships are, it is stated, chosen because of their 

 extensive past experience in practical lumbering and 

 other woods work. 



First Lieutenants: Risden T. Allen of the Allen-Med- 

 ley Lumber Company, Devereux, Georgia; M. S. Bene- 

 dict, forest supervisor of the Sawtooth National Forest, 

 stationed at Hailey, Idaho; Robert L. Deering, forest 

 examiner, U. S. Forest Service, stationed at Albuquerque, 

 N. M.; Clarence R. Dunston, lumberman, U. S. Indian 

 Service, stationed at Dixon, Montana; D. P. Godwin, 

 forest examiner, U. S. Forest Service, stationed at San 

 Francisco; J. G. Kelly, lumberman, of Portland, Oregon; 

 Eugene L. Lindsay, forest examiner, U. S. Forest Service, 

 stationed at Washington, D. C; E. C. Sanford, forest 

 supervisor of the Idaho National Forest, stationed at Mc- 

 Cale, Idaho; H. C. Williams, who recently resigned from 

 the supervisorship of the same forest; Stanley L. Wolfe, 

 forest examiner, U. S. Forest Service, stationed at Wash- 

 ington, D. C. ; J. B. Woods of the Arkansas Land and Lum- 

 ber Company, Malvern, Arkansas; Herman Work, deputy 

 forest supervisor of the Caribou National Forest, stationed 

 at MontpeUer, Idaho. 



Second Lieutenants: H. R. Condon, forester with the 

 Pennsylvania Railroad, Philadelphia; S. H. Hodgman, 

 logging camp foreman with the Potlatch Timber Company, 

 Potlatch, Idaho; W. H. Gallaher, forest examiner, U. S. 

 Forest Service, stationed at San Francisco; J. W. Seltzer, 

 396 



forester with the New Jersey Zinc Company, Franklin, 

 New Jersey; H. B. Shepard, forester with the Lincoln 

 Pulp Company, Bangor, Maine; E. F. Wohlenberg, forest 

 examiner, U. S. Forest Service, stationed at Flagstaff, 

 Arizona. 



Recruiting for the rank and file of the regiment is 

 actively under way. The enUsted men will be picked 

 woodsmen. With only two thousand men needed out of 

 the vast number of woods workers which the lumber 

 industry of the United States employs, and with rapid 

 recruiting necessary, a special machinery has been devel- 

 oped to handle the preUminary stages of enlistment. Local 

 representatives of the Forest Service in various parts of the 

 country and a number of State forestry officials have been 

 designated as "listing officers" to secure applications from 

 men in their neighborhood who are known to be of the 

 right type. By this "still hunt" method it is believed that 

 an efficient force can be gathered much more successfully 

 than by encouraging a large number of miscellaneous 

 applications which could not be thoroughly sifted without 

 a great deal of effort. Great care will be used to secure 

 men proficient in woods work. 



The regiment will convert available timber behind the 

 battle lines in France into railroad ties, trench timbers, 

 mine props, bridge timbers, lumber, and cordwood needed 

 in the mihtary operations of the British Army. The work 

 may, it is stated, fall within the danger zone and will be 

 done largely in sprout forests of oak, beech, hornbeam, 

 and other hardwoods, with some stands of pine. The tim- 

 ber is small in comparison with most American forests, 

 much of it from 8 to 12 inches in diameter. These forests 

 resemble the woodlots of southern New England, and the 

 operations will be similar to portable sawmill logging and 

 tie cutting in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maryland, and 

 Virginia. The larger logs will be sawn into boards and 

 dimension material, while the smaller trees will be cut 

 into hewn ties, poles, props, etc. The closest possible use 

 of timber will be required. 



The French forests have for many years been managed 

 with great care and skill. It is the view of the Govern- 

 ment's forestry officials that if the American forest regi- 

 ment is to do creditable work, it must be able not only to 

 cut and manufacture the timber with high efficiency, but 

 also to avoid waste and leave the forests in good shape for 

 future production. This is the reason for selecting mainly 

 trained foresters as officers. 



The regiment will be made up of six companies of 164 

 men each, aside from battalion and regimental staffs, 

 drivers, and commissioned officers. It will be sent over- 

 seas as soon as organized, trained and equipped. It will 

 first be assembled at two training camps, the regimental 

 headquarters, and one battalion at the American Univer- 

 sity, Washington, D. C.,and one battalion at Fort Leaven- 

 worth, Kansas. 



Enlistment is for the period of the war. Recruits must 

 be between the ages of 18 and 40 and must be citizens of 

 the United States or have declared their intention to 

 become such. They are subject to the same physical 

 examination as that required for other military service. 



While designed to serve primarily as a mobile logging 

 and milling crew, the regiment will be organized on mili- 

 tary lines and its members will be uniformed and armed 

 like other units in the United States Army. The first duty 

 of its officers and men will be to learn military discipline 

 and teamwork through thorough-going drill at training 

 camps. 



