Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 153, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 July 1917 — SELF HELPS for the NEW SOLDIER [ARTICLE]

SELF HELPS for the NEW SOLDIER

By a United States Army Officer

{Copyright, ISlT.by Um Wheeler Syndicate, IncJ HOW TO START AND STOP. There is small use in being taught how to march if the soldier does not know how to start. Knowing how to start is not only important—it Is fundamental. The whole unity and smoothness of a group movement depends upon whether it has had a precise beginning. Otherwise, it is ragged. Otherwise, it may be completely spoiled while individuals are bobbing along, trying to pick up the stride. Otherwise, also, fond mothers (as in the ancient story which has been handed down, perhaps, from the Macedonian Phalanx) may exclaim, “Look —look —everybody’s out of step with Johnnie I” *.

Knowing how to stop—to halt —is fully as important, if a movement is to have a trim and military finish. In some respects, it is <6ven more so, since a loose, slack movement with a snappy conclusion may leave a better impression than a well-conducted effort which slumps down at the end and expires. Just as all individual movements must he exact in order to form the essential habit of military precision, so all group movements must depend upon the degree of exactness in the individuaL •Whether a movement, well started, may be carried to a successful and precise termination rests upon cadence. The extent to which the new soldier may be assimilated into a military unit Is governed by the measure In which he is able to fit his steps and movements to the accepted cadence. This, for marching at quick time, parades and the manual of arms, is at the rate of 120 steps—or beats —a minute. Learn then to perform all movements mot otherwise specified at the rate of •two counts a second. After this, the mew soldier will find that he can be ■shifted from one unit to another without a hitch.

Marches start from the position of attention. At the command “forward,” the weight of the body is shifted to the right leg, but the left knee must be kept straight, and there must be no ■visible evidence of the transfer. “Forward” is a preparatory command, and •Its difference from “march,” the command of execution, will be explained ■ln a later article. At “march,” the left foot —always the left foot —is moved smartly forward for the regulation step of 30 inches. The sole remains near the ground and it is planted ■without a shock. There is no such contortion as the goose step in the United States army. The command “company (squad) halt” is given as either foot strikes the ground— which foot is governed hy the line on which the halt is to be made. If it is the left foot which strikes the ground when the command “halt" is given, the right foot will still be planted 30 inches ahead in marching- The left foot will then be raised and placed beside the right foot. This completes the halt. To “mark time,” the feet are raised alternately, and in cadence, about two inches from the floor and replaced in the same spot. This is continued until a further command —either "Forward march,” or “halt,” is given. The former is given as the right foot strikes the ground, so that the soldier starts off again with the left foot. “Mark time” is a command that holds a marching soldier in his tracks, so to apeak, in marching cadence.

WHY SOLDIERS MUST BE FLEXIBLE IN MOVEMENT. Any body of troops must be flexible in movement, since it may be necessary at any instant to change its purpose or direction. While such a body, without well-defined rules, would be most cumbersome and unwieldy—if not impossible—to handle, it must, in fact, respond to commands more quickly and precisely than a boat to its rudder, or an automobile to its wheel. A column of troops must not only learn to turn at an exact right angle, but, with equal celerity, it must be able to shift its movement in any specified direction, even to the exact reverse, without losing as much as a step. By the commands, “column right” or “left,” “right (left) turn,” “by the right (left) flank,” “right (left) oblique,” “incline to the right (left), and “to the rear," a unit may at once be able to switch direction toward any desired objective. When a company is in column of squads, that is, four men abreast, to change direction the command “cob umn right (left) march” is given, and fat the word “march,” the head of the column turns sharply, at a right angle ‘ln the specified direction. This is done on what is called a moving pivot, which will later be explained in the school of the squad. “Right (left) iturn” is executed when a company is iln line, that is, fifty-six men abreast, the line also turns on a moving ipivot to right or left, as the case may 'be. “Right turn” is executed by a squad as well as a company. “By the right (left) flank” is executed, as with all movements, at the command “march.” This command is Eas the right foot strikes the d. The soldier promptly turns i right on the balls df both feet mnd Immediately steps oft ifi that direction with the left foot In the “right (left) oblique” each {man performs half of “by the flank” — that is, be steps off in a direction 45

degrees to the right or left of his original front While he preserves this position, he keeps his shoulders to the guide (the man on the right front of the line or column), and also he so regulates his steps that the rank remains parallel to its original front. “Incline to the right (left)” is ngt a rigid movement, but the execution of the command is left to the discretion of the company guide. It is usually given to avoid an obstacle which protrudes into the line of march. “To the rear .... MARCH” completely reverses the direction of a column without bringing it to a pause or a halt At the command, “march,” which is given as the right foot strikes the ground, the soldier advances and plants the left foot; then he turns to the right about on the balls of both feet and immediately steps off with the left foot These are the basic commands of a soldier’s flexibility of movement, and the recruit who learns to execute them in unison with his fellows has taken a decided step on the road that leads to the accomplished soldier.

COMMANDS AND HOW AND WHY GIVEN. The execution of a command depends a great deal upon the way in which it is given. While it is true that green soldiers may not be able to execute in a clean-cut way a command which has been properly given, even veteran troops will become slipshod if a command is mumbled or drawled in a spiritless fashion by their commander. This would be the fault of the officer, for the work of a soldier is a credit to, or reflection upon, the ability of his officer. Nevertheless, if a soldier will not apply his intelligence and responsiveness to the words he hears —in short, if he goes to sleep on his feet —then the best officer in the world cannot make a real soldier of him. Every command is divided into two parts, or, into two separate commands. The first is called the preparatory command —the second the command of execution.

The preparatory command is intended to inform the soldier of the move-, ment which is to be executed. It should be given with a rising inflection, for it not only should inform the soldier, but it should bring his faculties to a poise ready for instant response to the second half of the command, or the command of execution. The rising reflection has the effect of balancing the soldier —psychologically—on the edge of the movement. Yet he must not twitch a muscle, on receiving it. The whole movement is damaged if one soldier anticipates the command of execution or even exhibits nervous shiftings of the hands and feet. The command of execution is given at the precise instant the movement is to commence. ■While the tone of the preparatory command must be “animated,” the command of execution is required by the infantry drill regulations to be “more energetic”—“firm in tone and brief.” In other words and in plain, unmilitary English, the command of execution must sound like a pistol shot and authoritative in the extreme, bringing instant obedience from the soldier.

A short interval should always elapse between the preparatory command and the command of execution. In the drill regulations, the former is printed in black italics and the latter in black capitals. „ A command is given as follows: “FORWARD . . MARCH!” “ABOUT . . FACE!” “COLUMN RIGHT 3 . MARCH!” “LEFT OBLIQUE . . MARCH!” “RIGHT SHOULDER . . ARMS!” “Company (squad) . ■ HALT!” When, as is the case in a few instances, the command is a single word, it is divided by syllables into a preparatory command and a command of execution. Thus, “attention” is pronounced : “Aten .... TION»!” Commands, signals or orders are the three classes of directions given to troops—many commands being by signals. These signals may be conveyed either by a whistle, the bugle, prescribed motions of the commanding offleer’s arms, or by flags. An order is employed only when the commands prescribed do not sufficiently indicate the will of the commander. In .other words, commands are of a limited and more or less rigid nature, while special instructions to on® or more men constitute an order. This may be communicated either by word of mouth, in writing, by telephone, telegraph, or by flag signals. - ......