estimated, would be found sufficiently qualified and proficient for
such reassignment. He added parenthetically that Colonel Davis
understood the "implications" of the new policy and intended to
recommend only an individual "of such temperament, judgment, and
common sense that he can get along smoothly as an individual in a
white unit, and second, that his ability is such as to warrant respect
of the personnel of the unit to which he is transferred."

The technically unqualified but still "usable" men would be reassigned
to black service units. The staff recognized, General Edwards added,
that some Negroes were unsuited for assignment to white units for
"various reasons" and had specifically authorized the retention of
"this type of Negro" in black units. Finally, those who were found
neither qualified nor useful would be discharged under current
regulations.

The second major action would be taken at the same time as the first.
All commands would similarly screen their black troops with the object
of reassigning the skilled and qualified to white units and
eliminating the chronically unqualified. At the same time racial
quotas for recruitment and school attendance would be abolished.
Henceforth, blacks would enter the Air Force under the same standards
as whites and would be classified, assigned, promoted, or eliminated
in accordance with rules that would apply equally to all. "In other
words," Edwards commented, "no one is either helped or hindered
because of the color of his skin; how far or how fast each one goes
depends upon his own ability." To assure equal treatment and
opportunity, he would closely monitor the problem. Edwards admitted
that the subject of integrated living quarters had caused discussion
in the staff, but based on the Navy's years of good experience with
integrated quarters and bolstered by the probability that the number
of Negroes in any white unit would rarely exceed 1 percent, the staff
saw no need for separate sleeping accommodations.

General Edwards reminded the assembled commanders that, while
integration was new to the Air Force, the Navy had been following a
similar policy for years, encountering no trouble, even in the Deep
South where black troops as well as the nearby civilian communities
understood that when men left the base they must conform to the laws
and customs of the community. And as a parting shot he made the
commanders aware of where the command responsibility lay: