ARM-ED FORCES: Exposed Nerve

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ARMED FORCES

Every time that money-saving Defense Secretary Louis Johnson bragged that he had cut only fat, not muscle, he had to disregard the accusing stares of Marine aviators. In his new budget he had ordered a halving of the Marine Corps' precision-trained aviation forces, cutting them from 23 to twelve squadrons. Last week Louis Johnson conceded that in doing so he had touched a nerve—and also some muscle. He promised the Marines that they would now get 16 squadrons—with three extra planes per squadron. The Navy would save the needed $2,000,000 by closing down its Naval Air Station at Seattle.