Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 144, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 July 1917 — SELF HELPS for the NEW SOLDIER [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

SELF HELPS for the NEW SOLDIER

By a United State* Army Officer

(Copyright, WIT, by the Wheeler Syndicate, Mo.) THE FIRST LESSON OF THE SOLDIER. The first thing of all that the young American of the new army will be taught, and must learn thoroughly if he is to Serve his country efficiently as a soldier, is obedience —obedience evpressed in discipline. Discipline is the fundamental of the soldier. Discipline is not punishment. Discipline is not the goose step. Discipline, in the proper sense, is control —control for a definite purpose. Obedience is merely the adapting of oneself to such control. And to make the system effective from the private to the army corps, the discipline to the soldier must begin with the discipline of himself. Obedience, or discipline, is not intended to convert a man into an unthinking machine. A soldier who can think is twice the soldier who cannot The most efficient National Guardsmen on the border a year ago were invariably the most Intelligent. What discipline does attempt to do is to supply a man with the machinery of action after his thoughts have been blasted to pieces by shells. His motions must be Ingrained—automatic. This is attained through steady drill, the routine of camp, and “the school of a soldier." No man is fit to comand who has not learned to obey. Command, in the nature of things, will fall to those who obey most quickly, most intelligently. Discipline, to the young American soldier, will be manifest in his conduct; in the way he carries himself — the poise of his head, the exactness of his shoulders. It will be evident in the neatness of his clothes; the care with which he buttons his uniform; in the way that he ties his shoes. It will be evident in the degree that he keeps himself washed and brushed; in the scrupulous fashion in which he dresses his cot, his kit, his quarters. It will be obvious in the conscientious manner In which he attends to all the routine duties of the day; in his observance of the code of military etiquette. Discipline of this character runs throughout the whole day, except when a man is off duty, and then he can be as care-free as he likes. But a man whose mind and muscles have had the training of a soldier no longer finds himself at ease in the old slouchy, flabby slump of the boy of the street corner. His body, corrected, becomes the figure that nature intended, both walking or sitting. The fact that discipline runs through the day—and the night—is important. That is the method by which it becomes a habit. If discipline were confined to marching or drilling, then it would impress itself only when marching or drilling—at other times to be forgotten. This would not save the situation if the camp vyere attacked by surprise. The point is simply this: the soldier learns that everything he does is the way most carefully studied out to bring the most effective results from a large body of men, with the least confusion, the least loss of energy, or combined power. When he has learned this, the young American will have learned his first lesson as a soldier. THE SOLDIER’S RESPONSIBILITY. A soldier’s muscles must not only be strong—they must be elastic. He must be prepared to run, to jump, to crawl, to wriggle, to shoot or to handle the bayonet from the most unexpected positions. That is why he is put through the settling-up exercises. By bending, thrusting with his arms and legs, raising himself from the floor, his body is made athletic and supple for every demand which may be imposed upon it. Military discipline begins with the muscles, must be imparted to the nerves, and become imbedded in the brain. A rounded shoulder is a slack rope. The soldier whose body sags out of shape spends almost as much energy in pulling himself together as he does in the specified motion itself. On the Dther hand, the man whose muscles are disciplined is at a balance, ready at once to respond to any command from the brain. When a man’s muscles are soft, they sullenly resent all orders from the brain. They have not learned to obey. The nerves must be even more strictly disciplined. For even if a soldier’s muscles are trained to execute any order he receives, if his nerves run-away with him, good legs only carry him faster. And discipline of the mind is most important of all, for the mind administrates through the nerves. , A disciplined mind will think precisely. That is why military training requires that a soldier speak precisely, that he follow correct forms in recelv-

Ing and transmitting orders. In making out reports, in addressing a letter. The -Crispness of military intercourse does not stunt mental development. put war is the most exact of modern sciences and a soldier must strive to become exact In other words, he is ■imply taught how to think—not what to think. As soon as a soldier begins to think he will understand his place in a group formation. He will learn that the handling of large bodies of men pivots upon the handling of a squad. He will familiarize himself with his work in a squad, and in that way discover his Importance to the command as a whole.

The squad consists of eight men, tn two rows of four. It is under the command of a cofporal. Two squads form a section, under the command of a sergeant. Three sections (at peace strength) form a platoon and two platoons a company. Four companies make a battalion; three battalions, plus a headquarters company, a machine gun company, and supply company, a regiment. The young soldier learns that as the squad moves, so the company or the regiment moves. He learns that if he individually executes the orders he receives in the appointed space and at the appointed moment, a whole regiment may wheel from squad to company front and back again, for example, without the loss of'a step. Each part of the machine will fit perfectly into place. On the other hand, if he as an individual falls down in his part, the squad evolution is spoiled, the symmetry of the company is broken and the whole regiment suffers in consequence. The responsibility rests upon each man —this the young soldier must learn. And he must also learn, that discipline is the quickest means yet devised to give any body of soldiers that perfect team work, that automatic, unconscious co-ordination without which battles and campaigns cannot be successfully planned and fought.

THE FUNDAMENTAL POSITION OF THE SOLDIER. The young soldier, before he can handle a gun, how to handle himself. He must learn that there are right ways and wrong ways of carrying his arms and legs, just as there are with a rifle. He must learn how to stand, how to walk. The boy on the street usually stands on his heels, with his shoulders slouched over, his stomach thrust forward and his spine curving hi and out like an hour-glass. Literally, he has no “back-bone.” Back-bone is the first essential of the soldier. The position of a soldier does not require that he shove his chest ahead of him like a bay-window, or stiffen'his

head, or spread his feet painfully. The position of a soldier might be most quickly and correctly obtained if a man could be taken by a hair and lifted up until every part of his* body except his 'feet became suspended. This would establish the natural vertical alignment. With the weight resting equally upon the balls of the feet and the heels, the waist drawn in, and the head properly raised, a straight line would pass approximately from the balls of the feet through the belt buckle to the chin. The body is then at the balance, with the muscles relaxed, not rigid. The soldier is now in position to execute any order which may be required of him. Specifically, according to. the regulations, the heels are placed on the same line, the feet turned at an angle of 45 degrees; the knees straight without stiffness; hips level and drawn back slightly; body erect aqd resting equally qn the hips; chest lifted and arched; shoulders square and falling equally; ariis and hands hanging naturally, thumb along the seam of the trousers. (In past times, the little finger was placed along the seam of the trousers with the palm turned out, producing an artificial rigidity which does not belong to the modern American soldier.) The head must be erect and squarely* to the front, chin drawn in so that the axis of the head is vertical, with the eyes also straight to the front. This is the fundamental position of the soldier. It is the position of attention, the basic command to which every soldier responds. It is from the position of attention that all movements of the soldier proceed. It follows that until a soldier has mastered the art, or science, of-standing at attention easily and naturally, he cannot properly execute the movements of the drill. It is therefore highly important that the young soldier school himself to stand properly, or at attention, until such time as that pose becomes unconsciously as much a part of his being as his arms or legs. A man' who can Instantly assume the position of attention and hold it until otherwise ordered has taken a very important step toward becoming a good soldier. He has learned a big lesson in physical, nervous and mentaldiscipline. ‘ \

Attention —the First Position of the Soldier.