disrupting good community
relations. The commander should remain interested, but he should leave
the work to his judge advocate so that the commander would not
personally be "caught in the middle" to the detriment of his community
relations program. If local authorities refused to cooperate, the
matter should be referred to higher authority who might pursue it with
local government officials. Such procedures might keep the commander
from becoming embroiled in locally sensitive issues.[20-53] In short,
discrimination was to be fought through voluntary action at the local
command level, but nothing was to be done that might compromise the
commander's standing with the local authorities.

[Footnote 20-53: Memo, Maj Gen Albert M. Kuhfeld,
USAFJAG (for CofSAF), for ALMAJCOM (SJA), 2 Feb 62,
sub: Air Force Policy Statement Concerning
Violations of Anti-Discrimination Law, and attached
Memo, Dep CofS, Pers, for ALMAJCOM, 30 Jan 62, same
sub, SecAF files.]

McNamara's office displayed the same good intentions and crippling
inhibitions when it considered policy on the participation of
servicemen in civil rights demonstrations. The secretary had inherited
a policy from his predecessor who, in the wake of a series of sit-in
demonstrations involving black airmen in the spring of 1960, had
approved a plan devised by the judge advocate generals of the services
and other Defense Department officials. Declaring such activity
"inappropriate" in light of the services' mission, these officials
banned the participation of servicemen in civil rights demonstrations
and gave local commanders broad discretionary powers to prevent such
participation, including the right to declare the place of
demonstration off limits or to restrict servicemen to the base.
Although all the services adopted the new policy, only the Air Force
published detailed instructions.[20-54]

[Footnote 20-54: Memo for Rcd, ASD (P), 23 Mar 60;
Memo, Dep Chief, NavPers, for Asst SecNav (Pers and
Reserve Forces), 23 Mar 60, sub: Considerations
Relative to Department of Defense Policy Concerning
Disputes Over Local Laws or Customs; copies of both
in ASD (M) 291.2. For the Air Force instructions,
see Memo, AF Dep CofS (P) for All Ma