Its first director was Colonel Oveta Culp Hobby. Gillman C. Mudgett, the first WAAC Pre-Planner; however, nearly all of his plans were discarded or greatly modified before going into operation because he had expected a corps of only 11, women. The bill was held up for months by the Bureau of the Budget but was resurrected after the United States entered the war. The senate approved the bill on 14 May and became law on 15 May The day after President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the bill he set a recruitment goal of 25, women for the first year.
That goal was unexpectedly exceeded, so the Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson decided to increase the limit by authorizing the enlistment of , volunteers. The women were fitted for uniforms, interviewed, assigned to companies and barracks and inoculated against disease during the first day. The WAAC were first trained in three major specialties. The brightest and nimblest were trained as switchboard operators. Next came the mechanics, who had to have a high degree of mechanical aptitude and problem solving ability.
The bakers were usually the lowest scoring recruits. WAC armorers maintained and repaired small arms and heavy weapons that they were not allowed to use. A physical training manual titled "You Must Be Fit" was published by the War Department in July , aimed at bringing the women recruits to top physical standards. Be Ready To Take Over. The fitness manual was state-of-the-art for its day, with sections on warming up and progressive body-weight strength-building exercises for the arms, legs, stomach, neck and back.
It included a section on designing a personal fitness routine after basic training and concluded with "The Army Way to Health and Added Attractiveness" with advice on skincare, make-up, and hairstyles.
A resistance by senior Army commanders was overcome by the efficient service of WAACs in the field, but the attitude of men in the rank and file remained generally negative and hopes that up to a million men could be replaced by women never materialized.
