An efficient Army organization and capable business management are combined in the 1537th Service Unit, in charge of operating the German Prisoner of War Camp here. The organization and camp are under the supervision of the post commander, Col. Welton M. Modisette. Col. John L. Gammell is the commanding officer of the unit.

In addition to the base camp here, four branch camps are now operating in Indiana, giving the unit a large area to cover in their work of guarding, utilizing and maintaining prisoners of war.

The organization is largely self contained and to a certain extent, self supporting, since the revenue realized from prisoners of war labor in outside civilian activities and turned over to the federal treasury may amount to $135,000 monthly, the figure anticipated for October.

STANDARDS SET: Administration of the camps, in addition to being governed by Army Regulations, must also meet the exacting rules set forth by the Geneva Convention. These principals agreed to by the major powers, set the standards of treatment and care of all prisoners of war. In addition to the administrative problems posed by these international rules, the camp is subject to many inspections. It has been visited by representatives of the International Red Cross, the YMCA, protecting neutral powers, the Swiss legation, State Department, the Provost Marshall General's office, the House Military Affairs Committee and two personal representatives of the President of the United States.

COL. GAMMELL COMMANDS: Col. Gammell, commanding officer, is a veteran field artillery officer of the Regular Army and was awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in action in World War I, during which he took part in four major American campaigns and one while attached to the French Army. He came to Camp Atterbury in December 1942, from Ohio State University where he was on the ROTC staff as a professor of military science. He is a graduate of Brown University, the School of Fire at Ft. Sill, and the Command and General Staff School at Ft. Leavenworth. He also attended Oxford University in England, and was a newspaperman and football official for many years.

FOUR BRANCH CAMPS: The Service Unit is made up of headquarters and guard sections. There are now detachments stationed at branch camps in Vincennes, Austin, Windfall and Morristown, Ind. The enlisted strength of all sections has been increased recently by transfer of men from other stations. Members of headquarters section staff the various offices and sections of the unit and also form the administrative personnel of the prisoner of war units. The latter group is in charge of the prisoner of war companies and battalions in the stockade. These prisoner of war groups have their own non-commissioned officers, functioning under the supervision of American officers.

GUARD SECTION: The guard section which is responsible for guarding prisoners of war, both on and off the post, is under the command of Capt. R. L. Tate.

The establishment of four addition camps, together with their work program at a maximum during the summer and fall, has necessitated the officers and men working on overtime schedule. Leaves and furloughs are necessarily reduced to a minimum. However, when possible, enlisted men guard prisoners of war on transfer to other camps near the formers home are granted delays enroute to compensate for the lack of usual furloughs.

Much of the organization's work is concerned with utilizing to the maximum prisoner of war labor. Prisoners of war are not permitted to work on projects directly connected wit combat war effort. Those working are paid 80 cents a day for each full day's work. This is in addition to the 10 cents a day allowed all prisoners of war, whether they work or not. Payment is made in the form of coupons which are honored only in the prisoner of war canteens.

While many are engaged in maintenance work on the post, may more are used to relieve the labor shortage in near-by plants, and in harvesting and processing farm crops.

320 DETAILS USED: As many as 320 different details of prisoners of war, numbering from one to a hundred men, have been used in one day, and the distance to the various jobs varies from one to 50 miles. All arrangements for details, which are made on a daily basis, must be made between noon and 1630 of the preceding day.

Among the factors to be considered in planning a single detail are the number of men to be used, the classification of the prisoners of war, the number of guards needed, mess arrangements and the transportation required. Three eight hour shifts are used with most of the details leaving for work at 0700. Other shifts move out at 1300 and 1700.

Contracts for labor on civilian projects are made by the 1537th contract section after the project had been certified by the War Manpower Commission, which determines whether there is a need for labor which cannot be met through civilian channels. The agreement with the contractor covers the wage scale, hours and other conditions of employment.

TRANSPORTATION PROVIDED: Transportation is provided by the contractor and allowance made for this expense in the contract, according to the distance between the camp and place of work. The average daily wage of prisoners of war is $4.00, the labor being classified as "unskilled" on the majority of projects. Payment is made monthly on all projects, except those of short duration, directly to the unit, then turned over to the federal treasury.

In addition to preparing and maintaining all prisoner of war forms and records of the work performed each day by each prisoner of war belongs to the prisoner of war personnel and finance section. A form is opened for each prisoner of war upon arrival, and thereafter daily entries are made accounting for the hours worked, wages, project and the kind of work performed. Over 22,000 entries a day are made on this form alone for the camp here and the branch camps. This form originated with the 1537th SU and has now become standard in most prisoner of war camps throughout the country, as have other forms and methods used here.

An assembly line technique is used by the 1537th in receiving and processing prisoners of war upon arrival. Before each train bringing in a shipment of prisoners of war arrives at the camp loop, it is boarded by a staff officer who lines up the prisoners of war in their coaches, luggage in hand. When the train stops, the prisoners of war file out on the double between rows of guards and are counted. Immediately they are marched to the stockade, where they are stripped and given a medical examination. They then bathe and are issued a complete set of clothing and fed. Recently a very large shipment was received and completely processed in two hours from the time the train arrived until the last prisoner of war was fed.

Three dispensaries staffed by post medical and dental officers are kept busy. Since may prisoners of war are received direct from overseas, the percentage of men needing medical attention and care is high. In a recent shipment, many were found to have malaria; others suffered from sand colic, There are some cases requiring care in the PW wards at Wakeman General Hospital.