The Armed Forces Officer Part 26

XXV

The United States abides by the laws of war. Its armed forces, in their dealing with all other peoples, are expected to comply with the laws of war, in the spirit and to the letter. In waging war, we do not terrorize helpless non-combatants, if it is within our power to avoid so doing. Wanton killing, torture, cruelty or the working of unusual and unnecessary hards.h.i.+p on enemy prisoners or populations is not justified in any circ.u.mstance. Likewise, respect for the reign of law, _as that term is understood in the United States_, is expected to follow the flag wherever it goes. Pillaging, looting and other excesses are as unmoral where Americans are operating under military law as when they are living together under the civil code. None the less, some men in the American services will loot and destroy property, unless they are restrained by fear of punishment. War looses violence and disorder; it inflames pa.s.sions and makes it relatively easy for the individual to get away with unlawful actions. But it does not lessen the gravity of his offense or make it less necessary that const.i.tuted authority put him down. The main safeguard against lawlessness and hooliganism in any armed body is the integrity of its officers. When men know that their commander is absolutely opposed to such excesses, and will take forceful action to repress any breach of discipline, they will conform. But when an officer winks at any depradation by his men, it is no different than if he had committed the act.

XXVI

On the field of sport Americans always "talk it up" to keep nerves steady and to generate confidence. The need is even greater on the field of war, and the same treatment will have no less effect. When men are afraid, they go silent; silence of itself further intensifies their fear. The resumption of speech is the beginning of thoughtful, collected action, for self-evidently, two or more men cannot join strength and work intelligently together until they know one another's thoughts. _Consequently, all training is an exercise in getting men to open up and become articulate even as it is a process in conditioning them physically to move strongly and together._

XXVII

Inspection is more important in the face of the enemy than during training because a fouled piece may mean a lost battle, an overlooked sick man may infect a fortress and a mislaid message can cost a war.

In virtue of his position, every junior leader is an inspector, and the obligation to make certain that his force at all times is inspection proof is unremitting.

XXVIII

In battle crisis, a majority of Americans present will respond to any man who has the will and the brains to give them a clear, intelligent order. They will follow the lowest-ranking man present if he obviously knows what he is doing and is morally the master of the situation, but they will not obey a chuckle-head if he has nothing in his favor but his rank.

XXIX

In any action in which the several services are joined, any American officer may expect the same measure of respect from the ranks of any other service as from his own, provided he conducts himself with a dignity and manner becoming an American officer.

For all officers, due reflection on these points, relating to the character of our men in war, is not more important than a continuing study of how they may be applied to all aspects of training, toward the end that we may further strengthen our own system. This is the grand object in all military studies. That service is most perfect which best holds itself, at all times and at all levels, in a state of readiness to move against and destroy any declared enemy of the United States.

APPENDIX ONE

RECOMMENDED READING

Army Historical Division--Okinawa: The Last Battle, 1949.

Omaha Beachhead, 1946.

H. H. Arnold--Global Mission, 1949.

Basil Bartlett--My First War, 1941.

William Lisc.u.m Borden--There Will Be No Time, 1946.

David L. Brainard--The Outpost of the Lost, 1929.

Bernard Brodie--A Guide to Navy Strategy, 1944.

The Absolute Weapon, 1946.

Vannevar Bush--Modern Arms and Free Men, 1949.

Winston S. Churchill--The World Crisis, 1931.

The Unknown War, 1931.

The River War, 1933.

Marlborough: His Life and Times, 1933-35.

A Roving Commission, 1939.

The Second World War, 1948--.

Hugh M. Cole--The Lorraine Campaign, 1950.

W. F. Craven and J. L. Cate--The Army Air Forces in World War II, 1948--.

Edward S. Creasy--Decisive Battles of the World, 1862.

James P. S. Devereux--The Story of Wake Island, 1947.

Giulio Douhet--Command of the Air, 1927.

Clifford Dowdey--Experiment in Rebellion, 1946.

Theodore Draper--The Six Weeks' War, 1944.

Dwight D. Eisenhower--Crusade in Europe, 1948.

Report by the Supreme Commander, 1946.

George Fielding Eliot--The Ramparts We Watch, 1938.

If Russia Strikes, 1949.

Charles W. Elliott--Winfield Scott, 1937.

Cyril Falls--The Nature of Modern Warfare, 1941.

Ferdinand Foch--The Principles of Warfare, 1913.

J. F. C. Fuller--Decisive Battles, 1940.

The Generals.h.i.+p of Ulysses S. Grant, 1929.

Armament and History, 1946.

The Second World War, 1948.

Armored Warfare, 1943.

Douglas F. Freeman--R. E. Lee, 1934.

William A. Ganoe--History of the United States Army, 1942.

James M. Gavin--Airborne Warfare, 1947.

Joseph I. Greene--The Living Thoughts of Clausewitz, 1943.

Russell Grenfell--The Bismarck Episode, 1949.

U. S. Grant--Personal Memoirs, 1885.

Augustin Guillaume--Soviet Arms and Soviet Power, 1949.