At this point, John had no choice but to put away his game mentality and seriously consider his army's "career plan". www.biquge.info It was only September 1940, and many of the future American generals were only a junior officer, and John's starting point was much higher. With a good plan, it is not impossible to enter the core of the Allied High Command in the future.

Moreover, the Vanderbilt family is not without roots in the Army. When President Roosevelt Sr. was in power, the Vanderbilt family was also "powerful" in the military. Uncle Stimson's ability to hold the position of Secretary of War in his early 40s relied heavily on the support of the Vanderbilt family.

Decades have passed, and with the gradual death of the older generation, the Vanderbilt family's influence in the Army has long since vanished. But the emaciated camel is bigger than the horse, and there is still a little bit of resources left.

If nothing else, the Vanderbilt family alone has those recommended places for admission to West Point, which is enough to help John weave a good network of relationships within the Army for decades.

However, these resources were in William's hands before, and John did not know much about the specifics of them. To this end, John went to the headquarters of the Republican National Committee near Capitol Hill to ask William about the situation.

For John's intention, William had been prepared for a long time. He handed John a large list of 86 people. John was surprised to find that there were still 4 generals on the list, and the first in line was Major General Walter Short, commander of the First Army of the United States Army.

"These people on the list are all active-duty Army officers with ties to their families." Seeing John's surprised gaze, William said with some embarrassment: "Just take a look at those senior officers inside." We've been out of the Army's core for too long, and our influence over a few of them is limited. ”

Also, with the Vanderbilt family's resources within the Army, it is difficult to push these people to their current position. It is estimated that these people have some incense with the family, and if they really want to mobilize a few of them to "serve" themselves, it is estimated that there is no play.

"What's the situation with that Major General Short?" John was a little reluctant. Forget about the other brigadier generals, Walter Short is also a historical celebrity. And with his current development trend, if he hadn't encountered that "unfortunate thing", a four-star general would not have been able to run away in the future. If the family had been close to him, John could have found a way to help him escape.

"Schott, he's from the First Red Division. It was Sagem (John's third uncle) who recommended him to Seibet (William Seibert, the first commander of the 1st Red Division, who was a close friend of Sagem). William said helplessly: "Don't expect him, old Ford has already made a heavy bet on him, and I heard that his granddaughter is going to marry Ford." ”

Well, it's no fun. The Vanderbilts are not guilty of tearing up their faces with the Ford family for the sake of a major general. Then this Captain Walter Short deserves to be unlucky. Since you're mixed up with the Ford family, you can't blame John for "dying and not saving".

Historically, the First Army was the main force of the American army in the Pacific theater, and Short could have become a military officer (his successor, Robert Eichelberg, was a four-star general after the war). Unfortunately, in February 1941, he became lieutenant general commander of the Hawaiian ground forces. As a result, after the "Pearl Harbor attack", he and the commander of the Pacific Fleet, Admiral Kimmel, were dismissed for negligence, and a few months later they were forced to retire with the rank of major general.

"You're going to be aware of the mid-level officers I've marked with an asterisk. They are all in the last ten years, and I recommend going to West Point. William specially reminded John: "These people's abilities are not bad, although the development is not fast, but it is also smooth." And these people are not of a high level, and they don't have much to do with other aspects, which is exactly what you need. ”

William's words made a lot of sense, as long as Stimson was still sitting in the position of Secretary of the Army, John didn't have to worry too much about the resources at the top. What's more, he was registered with Roosevelt and Churchill, and had a good relationship with Arnold, Eisenhower, Bradley, Devers, Clark, Jair, and other top bigwigs of the U.S. military during the war, so it really doesn't matter if there is one more Schott or one less Schott.

Now, what John needs most is precisely a bunch of subordinates. The so-called political resources not only mean that there must be backers at the top, but also a group of junior brothers at the bottom to support you. No matter how capable John is, he can't do everything himself, and someone has to help him achieve his intentions. Without a group of subordinates who charged into battle and waved flags for him, John would not have been able to become a bare-bones commander.

Moreover, John's situation is quite special. In a way, the cultivation of one's own lineage is even more important than the development of John himself. Because he will definitely retire and go home after the war. No matter how good his personal development is, as long as he takes off this military uniform, his influence on the army will be greatly reduced.

But if he can use a few years to train a group of descendants in the army, it will be different. In the future, even if John has retired from the army, these people will become his tentacles in the army. Regardless of John's future career in business or politics, as long as these people were still in the army, he could still exert influence on certain matters in the army.

John carefully skimmed through the list of mid-level officers. Although none of them were "familiar" to him, most of these people were battalion and company-level officers of combat units, including infantry, armored troops, and aviation units. If it works well, these majors and captains will be the backbone of the US military in the future, and it is not impossible to produce a few generals.

However, one name on the list without an asterisk caught John's idea. Captain James Gavin, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Army, U.S. Army.

"This James Gavin is also recommended by you to go to West Point?" John was a little excited.

"He has a special situation, he was recommended by the army to go to West Point after joining the army." William didn't understand why John would be interested in a captain alone, but he patiently explained: "This Captain Gavin was originally an orphan in Brooklyn, New York, spent several years in the orphanage of the Family Education Foundation, and was later fostered into a working family. Alfred's side may have known more about his situation. ”

That's right, it's him. Although William did not know much information, John was already able to confirm that this captain, who was three years younger than him, was the youngest major general in the U.S. Army in the history of World War II, and James Gavin, the commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, who was known as the three heroes of the Airborne Division along with Matthew Ridgway and Maxwell Taylor.

What excites John even more is that he comes up with a new solution to the problem of where he goes. Perhaps, he needs to get in touch with Bradley. Ever since he went to the Fort Benning Infantry School, this guy has been wholeheartedly his "good principal". I don't know how his "teaching and educating people" kung fu compares with that Principal Jiang.