policy prescribed by
the Secretary of Defense.[14-22] Summing up his reaction to these
responses for the Personnel Policy Board, Reid said that the Army had
a poor policy satisfactorily administered, while the Navy had an
acceptable policy poorly administered. Neither service complied "with
the spirit or letter of the request."[14-23]

[Footnote 14-22: Memo, Actg SecNav for Chmn, PPB, 2
May 49, sub: Equality of Treatment and Opportunity
in the Navy and Marine Corps; Memo, SA for SecDef,
21 Apr 49, sub: Equality of Treatment and
Opportunity in the Armed Services; both in FC
file.]

[Footnote 14-23: Min, PPB Mtg, 5 May 49, FC file.]

[Illustration: SECRETARY OF DEFENSE JOHNSON.]

Not all the board members agreed. In the wake of the Army and Navy
replies, some saw the possible need for separate service policies
rather than a common policy; considering the many advances enumerated
in the replies, one member even suggested that Johnson might achieve
more by getting the services to prosecute their current policies
vigorously. Although Chairman Reid promised that these suggestions
would all be taken into consideration, he still hoped to use the Air
Force response to pry further concessions out of the Army and
Navy.[14-24]

[Footnote 14-24: Ibid.; see also Ltr, Thomas Reid to
Richard Dalfiume, 1 Apr 65, Incl to Ltr, Reid to
author, 15 Jan 71. All in CMH.]

The Air Force plan had been in existence for some time, its
implementation delayed because Symington had agreed with Royall in
January that a joint Army-Air Force plan might be developed and
because he and Zuckert needed the time to sell the new plan to some of
their senior military assistants.[14-25] But greater familiarity with
the plan quickly convinced Royall that the Army and Air Force (p. 348)
positions could never be reconciled, and the Air Force plan was
independently presented to the Fahy Committee and later, with some
revision that further liberalized its provisions, to Johnson as the
Air Force reply to his directive.[14-26] The Personnel Policy Board
approved the Air Force's proposal for the integration of a large group
of its black personnel, and after discussing it with Fahy and the
other services, Reid recommended to the Secretary of Defense that he
approve it al