Statement by the President on the Department of Defense Actions in Support of the War on Poverty.
BY MAKING available its vast resources and the diverse skills of its men and women, the Department of Defense has greatly assisted our national mobilization for the war on poverty. Without in any way reducing their combat effectiveness or interfering with their basic military mission, our Armed Forces have contributed to a speedier implementation of many antipoverty programs than would otherwise have been possible. And through their experience and efficiency, they have also achieved substantial economies in putting those programs into operation.
These accomplishments provide further proof that the American people, and their Government, are firmly determined to prosecute the war against poverty to a successful conclusion.
Note: The President's statement (made public at Austin, Tex.) is part of a White House release which also included the text of a memorandum from Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara.
The memorandum reported on assistance provided by the Department of Defense through May 1, 1965, for which, as provided by law, the Office of Economic Opportunity had reimbursed the Department. As of March 30, 1965, Secretary McNamara told the President, the reimbursement totaled $3,731 ,289.
The memorandum summarized the assistance furnished as follows:
"Excess Installations and Personal Property. Department of Defense installations and related personal property no longer needed for military purposes have been made available for Job Corps Urban and Rural Training Centers. Installations which have been turned over to the Job Corps for Urban Centers, each with a capacity for one thousand men or more, are: Camp Parks, Calif., Camp Alterbury, Ind., Fort Rodman, Mass., Fort Custer, Mich., Camp Kilmer, N.J.., Camp Gary, Tex.
"Former Department of Defense installations at Fort Breckinridge, Ky., and Tongue Point, Oreg., have also become Job Corps Urban Centers. The Navajo Army Depot in Arizona, the Cottonwood Radar Station in Idaho, and the Dickinson Radar Station in North Dakota have been made available for Job Corps Rural Centers.
"The Office of Economic Opportunity has a number of other Defense installations under consideration for future use, including Fort Slocum, N.Y., and Indiantown Gap, Pa. The Department of Defense's Office of Economic Adjustment is working closely with the Office of Economic Opportunity on plans for possible use of other excess military installations, and the Army Engineers are assisting in rehabilitation and construction work. Special arrangements have been made by the military departments and the Defense Supply Agency to expedite transfer of excess personal property to the General Services Administration for use by the Job Corps.
"Clothing and Subsistence. The Defense Supply Agency has been providing clothing for Job Corps enrollees and, as of April 30, 1965, had filled clothing requisitions valued at $1,042,233. The Defense Supply Agency and the Army are working with the Office of Economic Opportunity to develop a distinctive Job Corps uniform. The Defense Supply Agency also provides both perishable and nonperishable foods to the Urban Training Centers at Camps Alterbury, Park and Gary. Subsistence to other Centers is provided by local military installations. MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., and the Defense Supply Agency provide subsistence to the Women's Training Center at St. Petersburg, Fla. Such subsistence is furnished only where there is a saving to the Government.
"Financial Services. The Army Finance Center is now administering a complete program of payroll services for both the job Corps and Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA).
"Medical Services. The Army Surgeon General is assisting the Office of Economic Opportunity in developing a comprehensive medical program for members of both the Job Corps and VISTA.
"When particular non-military medical facilities are unavailable, and their regular workload permits, the military departments conduct medical examinations and immunizations for the Job Corps and VISTA. Approximately 3,000 such examinations had been performed by May 1, 1965.
"Assistance by Defense Personnel. Nearly 50 Department of Defense specialists in such fields as civil engineering, management analysis, civilian personnel management, training techniques, recreational program planning, and vocational curriculum development, have been temporarily assigned to the Office of Economic Opportunity. One of these specialists, Mr. Raymond Stellar of the Army Corps of Engineers, recently was commended for saving the Job Corps more than $2,000,000 in rehabilitation costs at Camp Kilmer."
Lyndon B. Johnson, Statement by the President on the Department of Defense Actions in Support of the War on Poverty. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/241363