Evening Republican, Volume 59, Number 90, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 May 1917 — BIG TASK TO GET REGIMENT READY [ARTICLE]

BIG TASK TO GET REGIMENT READY

Springing to Arms Is Not Done as Quickly as Going to a Fire. MAKE-UP OF A REGIMENT Under New Law It Consists of 2,015 Officers and Men—Takes Time to ( Drill and Teach Men How to Care for Themselves. New York.—The recent mobilization of National Guard regiments has brought home to the public the -fact that even though troops are trained—as these were by service on the Mexican border —a mobilization order is far different from a fire alarm. With the best of the regiments there was no springing to arms overnight, the men ready to march forward and meet the enemyz —*—— Few persons, noting that a certain number of regiments had been ordered out, really knew the number of men in a regiment of infantry of the United States army and National Guard. In a general way, it was understood that a regiment consists of about one thousand men, commanded by a colonel, and that an infantry regiment is composed of foot soldiers, armed with rifles. Alt nations have their own rules as to the number of men to be massed as a regiment. In the United States this has varied. Last summer a new law went into effect which resulted sh every regiment consisting of 51 commissioned officers and 1,964 enlisted men when at war strength. That law, embodied in the National Defense Act, is of interest, as showing that lining up groups of men and giviqg rifles and ammunition to them does not make an efficient regiment of infantry, . What a Regiment Is. That part of the law giving the composition of Infantry units is Section Seventeen of the “Act for making further"autt~inOTe effectual provision for the national defense, and for other purposes.” It reads: • “Each regiment of infantry shall consist of one colonel, one lieutenantcolonel, three majors, 15 captains, 16 first lieutenants, 15 second lieutenants, one headquarters company, one machine gun company, one supply company, and 12 infantry companies organized into three battalions of four companies each. “Each battalion shall consist of one major, one first lieutenant, mounted (battalion adjutant), and four companies. Each infantry company in battalion shall consist of one captain, one first Heutenant,~”one second lieutenant, one first sergeant, one mess sergeant, one supply sergeant, six sergeants, 11 corporals, two cooks, two buglers, one mechanic, 19 privates (first class), and 56 privates. “Each infantry headquarters company shall consist of one captain mounted (regimental adjutant): one regimental sergeant major mounted; three battalion sergeants major, mounted; one first sergeant (drum major); two color sergeants; one mess sergeant; one supply sergeant; one stable sergeant; one sergeant; two cooks; one horseshoer; one band leader; one assistant band leader; one sergeant bugler; two band sergeants; four band corporals; two musicians,