e propose," he told Forrestal, "to adopt a
policy of integration." But he qualified that statement along the
lines suggested by the Air staff: "Although there will still be units
manned entirely by Negroes, all Negroes will not necessarily be
assigned to these units. Qualified Negro personnel will be assigned to
any duties in any Air Force activity strictly on the basis of the
qualifications of the individual and the needs of the Air Force."[13-90]
Symington tied the new program to military efficiency, explaining to
Forrestal that efficient use of black servicemen was one of the
essentials of economic and effective air power. In this vein he
summarized the program and listed what he considered its advantages
for the Air Force.

[Footnote 13-89: Memo, Maj Gen William F. McKee for
Symington, 22 Dec 48, sub: Mr. Royall's Negro
Experiment, SecAF files.]

[Footnote 13-90: Memo, SecAF for Forrestal, 6 Jan 49,
Negro Affairs, 1949, SecAF files.]

The proposal forwarded to the Secretary of Defense in January 1949
committed the Air Force to a limited integration policy frankly
imitative of the Navy's. A major improvement over the Air Force's
current practices, the plan still fell considerably short of the
long-range goals enunciated in the Gillem Board Report, to say nothing
of the implications of the President's equal opportunity order.
Although it is impossible to say exactly why Symington decided to
settle for less than full integration, there are several explanations
worth considering.

In the first place the program sent to Forrestal may well not have
reflected the exact views of the Air Force secretary, nor conveyed all
that his principal manpower assistant intended. Actually, the concern
expressed by Air Force officials for military efficiency and by civil
rights leaders for equal opportunity always centered specifically on
the problems of the black tactical air unit and related specialist
billets at Lockbourne Air Force Base. In fact, the need to solve the
pressing administrative problems of Colonel Davis's command provoked
the Air staff study that eventually evolved into the integration
program. The program itself focused on this command and provided for
the integrated assignment of its members throughout the Air Force.
Other black enlisted men, certainly those serving as laborers in the F
Squadrons, scattered worldwide, d