SCIENTIFIC MANPOWER 269 



This simple procedure was adequate to protect the essential personnel 

 of NDRC and OSRD contractors during the period preceding the entry 

 of the United States into the war in December 1941. With that entry the 

 manpower situation became much tighter, and a special Selective Service 

 unit under Miss Miriam Madden was established within the Administrative 

 Office whose sole function it was to work with Selective Service headquar- 

 ters on the one hand and the local boards and the contractors on the other. 

 Miss Mary Lee Jones succeeded Miss Madden as head of the unit on 

 August II, 1942, and directed it in a highly competent manner through- 

 out the war. 



OSRD contractors were informed on February 4, 1942, of a newly estab- 

 lished procedure for requesting occupational deferment of essential person- 

 nel employed on OSRD contracts. The memorandum pointed to the prob- 

 ability that Selective Service classifications would be reopened and thus 

 introduce the possibility of reclassifications. Contractors were advised to 

 ascertain immediately the Selective Service status of each employee deemed 

 essential to the progress of work under an OSRD contract and to consider 

 the advisibility of requesting an occupational deferment. The OSRD policy 

 was stated to be that such a request should be made only when the loss of 

 the individual's services would result in detriment to the OSRD work at 

 hand because of his unusual qualifications or because of the existence of a 

 shortage of men of his particular type of training. To meet Selective Service 

 requirements, the requests were to be made on Selective Service Form 42A 

 filled out by the contractor. In order that they might be adequately reviewed 

 within OSRD, the requests were required to be supplemented by a detailed 

 statement from the contractor reciting specifically why the particular indi- 

 vidual was essential to the progress of the work and what steps the con- 

 tractor had taken to recruit other persons of equal or similar qualifications. 

 As this information was intended for use only within OSRD, the con- 

 tractor was able to use information of a classified nature which could not 

 be put on the form itself. The form and letter were sent through the 

 appropriate NDRC division for review and endorsement to the Adminis- 

 trative Office which in turn reviewed the correspondence and in appro- 

 priate cases transmitted the Form 42A to the local Selective Service board 

 with a suitable letter reciting OSRD's interest in the case. The Selective 

 Service regulations made provision for appeal of adverse decisions by local 

 boards, and OSRD required the appeals to be filed through the OSRD if 

 they were to be supported by it. 



OSRD kept in sufficiently close contact with the National Selective Serv- 

 ice Headquarters to anticipate probable developments in order that it might 

 advise its contractors. It was clearly apparent that the constantly increasing 

 military needs for manpower would multiply the difficulties encountered 

 in obtaining deferment of essential scientific and technical personnel. 



