Dinner Schools for National Guard' Maj. Robert C. Cotton, Infantry D. O. L. N APOLEON BONAPARTE'S oft quoted maxim "An army moves on its belly" has been expanded to such an extent that nowadays one can say, with equal truth, that an army not only moves on its belly but also fights, drills, defends and conceals itself in the It also learns very readily through its belly. It is with this last assertive clause that this little article has to do. same manner. For many years the War Department has required, in addition to the regularly scheduled drills for the National Guard, certain schools of various sorts besides correspondence, such as officers, non-commissioned officers, selected privates, specialists and officer-candidates. As a rule these schools have fared none too well. They have never been overcrowded and in many cases have been the cause of some individuals resigning their commissions or sacrificing their warrants. reasons for their none-too-marked success have been varied, but generally may be assigned to one of the following causes: Too many nights away from home for instruction purposes when school is held on other than drill nights; Too late in getting home when school is held after drill; Getting away from work too early, sometimes without 1 The the evening meal, when school is held before drill. Now, to have a really successful school for the National Guard, it is patent that all of these objections must be met and wiped away and at the same time instruction must be imparted with a pleasant taste and evident result in the esprit de corps and training of the organization. "Experience is the best teacher," so after several efforts of one sort or another, the 160th Infantry, California National Guard, Col. Walter P. Story commanding, finally hit upon what is, for it and its local conditions, the ideal school, not a "dinner dance," but substituting for the word "dance," "dinner"-a dinner school. It has been going now for a year, and it works in so many different ways that it is really a boon to the entire regiment. In the first place, in the excellent Los Angeles Armory, there are quartered the Regimental Headquarters and Medical Detachment and twelve of the eighteen companies of the regiment. There are six companies in nearby and outlying cities, none of which is more than forty miles away. The regiment is fortunate, of course, in being so closely concentrated because most of the officers and some of the non-commissioned officers and men of the outlying companies can and do get in to the Los Angeles Armory for the dinner school on the drill nights for the Los Angeles units. The Los Angeles Armory in Expo Instructor, 160th Infantry, California National Guard. sition Park is nicely equipped with an ample dining hall having a seating capacity of about 500 or 600, with good acoustic qualities, blackboard and raised rostrum at one end. A wellappointed kitchen is connected by noiseless, double-swinging doors so that the meal may be served with the minimum noise and confusion without interfering with the conduct of the .school. The preparation and serving of the dinner is run by a roster of twelve companies stationed at Los Angeles, so that the school feature in mess-management and preparation is of value. The necessary number of men to assist the cooks and serve the dinner are detailed on duty as kitchen police and receive a small remuneration therefor. When summer camp comes along, officers, mess and supply sergeants, cooks and men are not entirely green in the rudiments of "chow preparation." A nominal charge of 25 cents for men and 50 cents for officers is charged by the company serving the dinner and any profits accruing go to the company, which puts a premium on good mess-management. Dinner starts at 6.15 p. m. The instructor personnel have, of course, come earlier and prepared all of their blackboard work and other preliminaries. The instructors on deck hurry through their meal and at about 6.40 p. m. the adjutant starts the ball rolling by giving out the routine direction and matters usually taken up at officers' call. The commanding officer then makes any remarks he may have to make and introduces any guests he may desire to present to the officers and men in attendance. He then turns over the gathering to the instructors, whose digestive apparatus seems to be unimpaired by a hurried dinner once a week. The school proper commences about 6.45 p. m. and continues for one hour, when all are dismissed five or ten minutes before first call for the drill which starts at 8.00 p. m. Throughout the continuance of the school, all in attendance are leisurely and comfortably partaking of an excellent meal, for each company endeavors to excel all dinners which have preceded its own. "Learn while you eat" is just as true as "Live and learn." The savory odors of well cooked foods are conducive to a receptive frame of mind. Undoubtedly this is the reason why the human race, for centuries, has retained so many toasts, stories, and discussions heard at the banquet table. The dinner school is thrown open to all the personnel of the regiment, officers, non-commissioned officers and men, to all Reserve officers in the community and to any interested civilians. There is no attempt to make it an exclusive affair, but rather, the contrary. In case of war, perhaps 75 per cent of the present National Guard would become officers or non-commissioned officers, so it seems that whatever is good for officers is none too good for the This theory is apparently correct, if interest and the results of the last summer's camp may be taken as a criterion. men. The advantages of the dinner school are so obvious and the disadvantages, if there be any, so negligible, that it seems unnecessary to dwell upon the subject any longer. To try it is to be convinced that a soldier "learns through his belly" and that he "learns while he eats." Notes from the Chief of Infantry IDELITY to a superior or to duty -that is Loyalty. Concurrent effort or labor-that is Cooperation. They go hand in hand. Loyalty to the chief, whether he be a sergeant, a captain, or a major general, is obligatory. The man higher up may not do just what you would do in every instance. There may be occasions and frequently are-when you believe the man higher up is wrong. There may exist circumstances and conditions which convince you that you are a better man than the man higher up. But did you ever happen to think that the man higher up is responsible for the results from your actions, and that because of this he has the right to demand that things be done his way There is also a loyalty due from the chief to his subordinates. This loyalty, when given with judgment, with impartial fairness and with studious consideration as to commendation and reproof, will bring to the chief unseen. support of his policies. Even though the chief may not realize this support and therefore fail to appreciate it, the obligation of loyalty from the subordinate still exists. It is necessary for the advancement of the organization to which both belong and which it should be the greatest ambition of both to ad vance. Right or wrong, and regardless of what your personal feelings in the matter may be, give your loyalty to your superiors. Cooperation is necessary for the success of any plan where more than one party is concerned. It too often happens that several parties engaged in the execution of some plan fail to appreciate the difficulties of the other fellow's work, and fail to render such cooperation as will enable the plan to be completed with the least possible effort and loss of time. From a military standpoint, one of the most outstanding illustrations of the necessity for cooperation is that of a successful organization. A mediocre organization, from the military point of view, can be made into an efficient machine by the harmonizing of the efforts of its members. To do this, members must, in many instances, place their personal desires in a secondary position. The exhibition of a spirit of cooperation makes everybody concerned feel friendly toward the other fellow. Recruiting. "To be a distinguished shot on the 3d Infantry recruiting team you must observe the following rules." So declares the Recruiting Officer, Captain Paul Steele, 3d Infantry, at Fort Snelling, Minnesota, in one of his bulletins. The rules referred to are as follows: (a) Recruit on an average ten men a month. (b) Keep in excellent physical con- (c) Be soldierly in bearing and de- (d) Be (e) Be courteous and always wear a smile. (f) Have all the advantages of the Army on the tip of your tongue. (g) Work hard, regardless of whether (i) Be active, always on the alert. Remember that the Infantryman is the backbone of the Army. He is a fighter. He plugs along slow but sure. He is the man that gains a victory when the other branches of the service fail. Be a good Infantryman and you will be an efficient recruiter. The average officer of the line does not realize what the Recruiting Serv ice has to do to enlist a man in the Army. Many officers are almost "lost" when given a recruiting detail. It also takes several weeks to get a noncommissioned officer up to the standard that is required of a good recruiting sergeant. The above rules undoubtedly possess merit, and others in the recruiting game, who are going at it blindly, will do well to adopt a set of rules similar to the above. What we all need is to know more about how to "sell" the Army. We should know its good points and its weak points and if we have something instructive there will, in all probability, be even greater cooperation between Infantry organizations and the recruiting service. The Infantry Mileage Situation.— Extracts of a letter from the Adjutant General of the Army to the Chief of Infantry, dated November 28, 1922, on As the Adjutant General has been directed to keep the expenditure from these funds at a minimum, it is requested that these facts be borne in mind in connection with recommendations submitted for the permanent change of a station of officers and enlisted men during the remainder of fiscal year and that no requests for the issuance of such orders be made except in cases of extreme necessity and only with the personal approval of the Chief of Branch. The mileage situation is such as to create a more or less serious inconvennience to individuals in the Infantry. Many requests are received from officers, who do not seem to have an appreciation of the mileage situation. The extremely limited appropriation makes it impossible to readjust Infantry personnel as it should be. The natural result is an inequitable distribution of officers to Corps Areas. Every effort is being made to equalize the assignment of officers within the limits imposed by the mileage situation. There is little relief in sight for the situation during the present fiscal year. Company Camps.-One of our Infantry regiments has adopted the plan of keeping a company in camp the greater part of the year. Companies are to be changed every five days. The camp thus becomes practically a permanent camp for field instruction. The scheme is considered to be an excellent one and worthy of adoption by regiments that are situated within a day's march of a suitable camping place and have the proper climate. At many stations the plan might be amplified so as to have the company camps followed by battalion camps, in which battalion instruction could be carried on, and lead up to a regimental or larger camp. Another interesting fact is that this same regiment has slightly modified the Infantry Trophy problem to fit its known distance range, and, without leaving the post, is able to give some instruction in "ball cartridge" problems. Data on Target Ranges.-With the subject of Rifle Marksmanship occupying a prominent place in Infantry matters, there apparently has never been any consolidated record kept of the target ranges in the United States and its possessions, which are suited for Infantry usage. The Chief of Infantry evolved a plan to secure this information, and through the proper channels initiated the action which caused every target range to be inspected. While the matter is not in a state of completion it is progressing rapidly. The information is being arranged for ready reference in matters concerning training, mobilization, etc. It includes facilities available for target practice in all Infantry weapons, amount and types of ground suitable for musketry instruction, camping and housing facilities for troops, types of roads at ranges, proximity of railroads, and, in fact, much valuable information pertaining to target ranges. Relations Between Officers and Men-On page 3 of Marine Corps Manual, 1921, there appear six short paragraphs under the above title. They express so well our own views on the subject and embody so much of wisdom that we commend them to all officers. These paragraphs are quoted here without change. It is only neces sary to read into them the name of our own branch of the Military Service to make them serve admirably as an expression of what our own attitude should be: (1) Comradeship and Brotherhood.The World War wrought a great change in the relations between officers and enlisted men in the military services. A spirit of comradeship and brotherhood in arms came into being in the training camps and on the battlefields. This spirit is too fine a thing to be allowed to die. It must be fostered and kept alive and made the moving force in all Marine Corps organizations. (2) Teacher and scholar.-The relation between officers and enlisted men should in no sense be that of superior and inferior nor that of master and servant, but rather that of teacher and scholar. In fact, it should partake of the nature of the relation between father and son, to the extent that officers, especially commanding officers, are responsible for the physical, mental, and moral welfare, as well as the discipline and military training of the young men under their command who are serving the nation in the Marine Corps. (3) The realization of this responsibility on the part of officers is vital to the well-being of the Marine Corps. It is especially so, for the reason that so large a proportion of the men enlist |