Military Instructors Manual Part 42

At first call the non-commissioned officer in charge of quarters, or some other charged with that duty, will go through the barracks and awaken the men. After a short time this may be dispensed with.

MESS: First call (followed by mess call), 5.55 a.m.

a.s.sembly, 6.00 a.m.

Allow the men approximately 20 minutes for breakfast and the privilege of returning individually--this for purposes of attending to the calls of nature.

SICK CALL, 6.30 a.m.--Have the non-commissioned officer in charge of quarters put through this call; the sick will report to the orderly room, be entered on the sick report and marched to the hospital by the same non-commissioned officer. All men answering sick call should be questioned as to the nature of their trouble and its cause; men who are trying to dodge work should be caught up with. Care should be exercised in making out the sick report; be careful what you put on it and where you put it. The sick report will be treated further under "Paper Work."

MORNING INSTRUCTION: First call, 6.50 a.m.

a.s.sembly, 7.00 a.m.

Recall, 12.00 m.

Utilize this time according to the schedule laid down by higher authorities. It will no doubt be insisted that the schedule be closely adhered to; but this can be done without completely destroying individual initiative.

MESS: First call (followed by mess call), 12.10 p.m.

a.s.sembly, 12.15 p.m.

Allow 30 minutes for noon mess. The men may not consume it all; but judgment must be used in this matter. After mess have the company formed and marched back to barracks. This plan should be followed for a time, at least, particularly with "green" men purely for disciplinary purposes.

AFTERNOON INSTRUCTION: First call, 1.20 p.m.

a.s.sembly, 1.30 p.m.

Recall, 4,30 p.m.

Same general procedure as for morning work.

SICK CALL, 4.45 p.m.--When the sick report is sent to the hospital in the afternoon, it is customary to make a new entry for all men who are in the hospital. In this way a running account is kept and quickly referred to without running all through the book.

The time from recall to retreat at 5.30 or thereabouts can usually be used to advantage in cleaning up and getting ready for this ceremony.

RETREAT.--(Formal--on the parade grounds).

First call, 5.30 p.m.

a.s.sembly, 5.35 p.m.

Retreat, 5.50 p.m.

MESS: First call, followed by mess call, 6.00 p.m.

a.s.sembly, 6.05 p.m.

SCHOOL CALL (except Sat.u.r.days), 7.00 p.m.

TATTOO, 9.00 p.m.

CALL TO QUARTERS, 9.30 p.m.

TAPS, 9.45 p.m.

At taps lights should be out and absolute quiet should prevail. This rule should be insisted upon from the very beginning of the training period. A check roll call is often taken at taps and the company reported to the Officer of the Day. Likewise, the company is reported to the Officer of the Day at reveille, retreat and mess formations; however, these things are determined entirely by local conditions.

SUNDAYS AND HOLIDAYS.--Calls are 1/2 hour later, except retreat, tattoo, call to quarters and taps. In case an entertainment is given on the post, taps usually follow its close by a half hour.

DETAILS for any day should be published at retreat formation the day previous; bulletins and notices should also be published to the company at this formation.

PAPER WORK.--Paper work in the Army is generally viewed askance. A certain amount of it is absolutely necessary, but the amount can be reduced by careful attention to the way in which the work is done. A good first sergeant and a good company clerk will take a load of trouble off the shoulders of the company commander in this respect; but usually these men must be trained. Instructions on the blank forms should be carefully read the first time a certain paper is made out.

Attend to all paper work promptly and make a note of anything that cannot be handled immediately. Do not let anything get into the company files until it has been O.K'd. by the company commander or initialed by the officers. Have a basket for the company commander and one for the other officers where they may expect to find matters that are of interest to them. Get reports, requisitions and other papers in on time. Do not wait until they are called for. Establish a daily, as well as a monthly, system of doing things in the orderly room and then stick to it as nearly as possible. Have a file for:

1. General orders, post and W.D.

2. Special orders.

3. Memorandums, bulletins and notices may be included under this head.

4. Company orders.

5. Doc.u.ment file (copies of letters, etc.).

The needs for files will be determined largely by local conditions.

The point is to have things where they can be found readily under an appropriate heading; and to have them accessible to others besides the company clerk. Keep a copy of everything, as nearly as possible, but do not clutter up your company files with unimportant items. Keep your orderly room looking as neat as possible.

MILITARY CORRESPONDENCE.--A very important feature of Army Paper Work.

Neatness, brevity and clarity are to be sought--ceremonial forms are avoided.

References to Army Regulations: Paragraphs 225, 512, 776, 778, 779, 780, 786, 789, 790, 822 (g.o. 23 w.d.).

A letter consists of three parts; heading, body and signature. The heading consists of designation of the command, place and date, all placed in the upper right-hand corner. At the left, and with a margin of about an inch, should be:

From:

To:

Subject:

A double s.p.a.ce should be left between these lines.

The body should be divided into numbered paragraphs, each paragraph treating of but one topic. The lines should be single-s.p.a.ced, but a double s.p.a.ce should be left between the paragraphs. The signature should be made without any unnecessary forms.

Any good treatise on this subject will show the proper forms for a military letter.

Indors.e.m.e.nts follow the signature in succession on the same page or on added pages. They are very brief, follow a prescribed form and, if necessary, are paragraphed in the same way as the letter. Letters should be made in three, four, five or six copies, according to destination. They should always be handled through military channels; time will be lost if you try to dodge it.

MORNING REPORT.--This is a complete record of daily events and should be kept with great care. It is submitted daily to the proper authority, checked and returned. Any standard work on this subject will show the proper method of making entries. Be sure to make entry of all events affecting your company, its numbers or condition. If there is no change, say so.

RATION RETURN.--This form is made out in duplicate for periods of from 10 days to a month. In case men join the company after the ration return has been submitted for a given period, one ration for each man for each day from date of joining to date of submitting next return, may be drawn on the next return. The same plan is followed in making deductions for men in the hospital or absent from the company. For ration allowances see a.r. 1202-1252.

SICK REPORT.--A commissioned officer of the company and the medical officer sign on one line following the last entry for the occasion.

Neither may encroach on the territory of the other and both enter their opinions as to whether the sickness is in line of duty. No erasures are allowed.

DUTY ROSTER.--For any roster the key word should be "equality of all duties." It means the difference between contentment and dissatisfaction among your men. Keep an exact list of men available for every duty and detail them in exact rotation; adjust to complete satisfaction any little differences that arise. Let the men know that you want to give them a square deal and they will respond. The longest man off duty is the first man to be called. In the regular service the roster covers guard duty and other duties, notably kitchen, police and other fatigue work.

MONTHLY RETURN.--The form is self explanatory. Read the instructions on the blanks before filling them in. By keeping in the company a record of events you can easily fill out the return properly when the time comes.

SERVICE RECORD.--References in Army Regulations: Paragraphs 115, 118, 124, 135, 138, 938, 1337, 1361, 1451, 1535. Article 16.

The service record is a complete personal history of the soldier and follows him wherever he goes. It contains: a descriptive list, report of a.s.signment, record of prior service, current enlistment, military record, record of allotments, clothing account and settlement, deposits, indors.e.m.e.nts (this latter to give reasons for change of status or station of the soldier).

DISCHARGE.--Discharges are of three kinds: honorable, dishonorable and plain discharge. The first is on a white sheet and ent.i.tles the soldier to re-enlist; the second is on a yellow sheet and is given following sentence of a general court-martial; the third is on a blue sheet and is given on account of physical disability--it does not ent.i.tle the soldier to re-enlist.

FINAL STATEMENT, a.r., Art. 21.--The final statement is issued to every enlisted man upon his discharge unless he has forfeited all pay and allowances and has no deposits due him.