Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 145, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 July 1917 — SELF HELPS for the NEW SOLDIER [ARTICLE]

SELF HELPS for the NEW SOLDIER

By a United States Army Officer

(Copyright, WK. by the Wheeler Syndicate, IncJ THE SOLDIER’S STEP AND ITS IMPORTANCE. As soon as the young soldier has learned to stand correctly he must learn how to step and to walk. If he does not learn how to walk, he will not know how to march. If he does not know how to march, he is of no more use to a military organization than an actual “tin soldier.” A soldier must learn how to step—that Is, to walk —for two reasons: he must learn how best to utilize and conserve his muscles, and how to conform to group movements. All a soldier’s work Is figured on a basis of the normal man's capacity. The normal man’s capacity is likewise figured on the possibilities of the natural—and normal —use of the muscles. It is not founded upon the subnormal or abnormal use of the muscles. The readiest way to fit oneself to become a soldier, therefore, is to teach the muscles to function correctly. The normal step of the soldier Is thirty inches. That fact must be kept In the mind until it grows there. Practice in marching will the step of some to that length and reduce that of others. If this standardization did not’take place—did not become habit —the step of the long-legged soldiers would invariably walk away from the short-legged soldiers and pull the whole line out of shape. This is what always takes place with green troops. The tall man strikes out at a swing which keeps the short man on a trot. And not only is the united endurance reduced according to the proportion of short men in the company, But the tall men cannot hold out with their equipment to nearly the same extent that they could If they adopted the company stride. Uniform motion is contagious, and the stimulus imparted to all helps to carry those for whom the longer step might at first be an exertion. A man must not walk on his heels. This throws his whole physique out of gear. It renders more difficult the thirty-inch step. A man must walk on the balls of his feet. He must bear the weight of the body easily with him —not drag it along behind him. The length of the step, thirty inches, is measured from heel to heel and Is taken at the rate of 120 a minute. Thirty inches —remember! No good soldier ever steps, or marches, otherwise unless specifically commanded to do so. Furthermore, the good soldier, while marching in this the basic, or normal step, is, except for the swing of the legs and arms, in the position of attention —described in a preceding article as the fundamental position of the soldier.