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S. Department +of Defense</h1> +<pre> +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at <a href = "http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></pre> +<p>Title: The Armed Forces Officer</p> +<p> Department of the Army Pamphlet 600-2</p> +<p>Author: U. S. Department of Defense</p> +<p>Release Date: May 15, 2008 [eBook #25482]</p> +<p>Language: English</p> +<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p> +<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ARMED FORCES OFFICER***</p> +<p> </p> +<h3>E-text prepared by Audrey Longhurst, Chris Logan,<br /> + and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team<br /> + (http://www.pgdp.net)</h3> +<p> </p> +<hr class="full" /> +<p> </p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 321px;"> +<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="321" height="500" alt="Cover" title="Cover" /> +</div> + +<div class="section_break"></div> +<h1>THE<br /> +ARMED FORCES<br /> +OFFICER</h1> + +<div class="seal" style="width: 150px;"> +<img src="images/seal.png" width="150" height="148" alt="Seal" title="Seal" /> +</div> + +<p class="title_dod">DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE</p> + +<p class="title_printer">UNITED STATES<br /> +GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE<br /> +WASHINGTON: 1950</p> + +<div class="section_break"></div> +<div id="intro_letter1"> +<h2>OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE<br /> +<span class="location">WASHINGTON</span></h2> + + +<p class="date"><em>November 1950</em></p> + +<p><em>This manual on leadership has been prepared for use by the +Department of Army, the Department of Navy, and the Department +of Air Force, and is published for the information +and guidance of all concerned.</em></p> + +<div class="signature" style="width: 150px;"> +<img src="images/signature.png" width="150" height="48" alt="G. C. Marshall" title="G. C. Marshall" /> +</div> +</div> + +<div class="section_break"></div> +<div id="intro_letter2"> +<p class="heading">DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY<br /> +<span class="location">Washington 25, D. C.</span>, <em>20 June 1956</em></p> + +<p>Department of the Army Pamphlet 600–2, The Armed +Forces Officer, is issued for the use of all concerned.</p> + +<p class="by_order_of">By Order of <em>Wilber M. Brucker</em>, Secretary of the Army:</p> + +<p class="signed"><span class="taylor">MAXWELL D. TAYLOR,</span><br /> +<em>General, United States Army,</em><br /> +<span class="taylor_position"><em>Chief of Staff.</em></span></p> + +<p>Official:</p> + +<p><span class="klein">JOHN A. KLEIN,</span><br /> +<em>Major General, United States Army,</em><br /> +<span class="klein_position"><em>The Adjutant General.</em></span></p> +</div> + + + +<div class="section_break"></div> +<h2>THE<br /> +ARMED FORCES<br /> +OFFICER</h2> + + + +<div class="section_break"></div> +<h3><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS</h3> + +<div id="toc"> + +<table summary="Table of contents"> +<thead> +<tr> + <th>Chapter</th> + <th> </th> + <th>Page</th> +</tr> +</thead> +<tbody> +<tr> + <td class="table_right">I.</td> + <td>The Meaning of Your Commission</td> + <td class="table_right"><a href="#CHAPTER_ONE">1</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="table_right">II.</td> + <td>Forming Military Ideals</td> + <td class="table_right"><a href="#CHAPTER_TWO">14</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="table_right">III.</td> + <td>Responsibility and Privilege</td> + <td class="table_right"><a href="#CHAPTER_THREE">25</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="table_right">IV.</td> + <td>Planning Your Career</td> + <td class="table_right"><a href="#CHAPTER_FOUR">32</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="table_right">V.</td> + <td>Rank and Precedence</td> + <td class="table_right"><a href="#CHAPTER_FIVE">41</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="table_right">VI.</td> + <td>Customs and Courtesies</td> + <td class="table_right"><a href="#CHAPTER_SIX">50</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="table_right">VII.</td> + <td>Keeping Your House in Order</td> + <td class="table_right"><a href="#CHAPTER_SEVEN">63</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="table_right">VIII.</td> + <td>Getting Along With People</td> + <td class="table_right"><a href="#CHAPTER_EIGHT">69</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="table_right">IX.</td> + <td>Leaders and Leadership</td> + <td class="table_right"><a href="#CHAPTER_NINE">79</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="table_right">X.</td> + <td>Mainsprings of Leadership</td> + <td class="table_right"><a href="#CHAPTER_TEN">93</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="table_right">XI.</td> + <td>Human Nature</td> + <td class="table_right"><a href="#CHAPTER_ELEVEN">99</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="table_right">XII.</td> + <td>Group Nature</td> + <td class="table_right"><a href="#CHAPTER_TWELVE">110</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="table_right">XIII.</td> + <td>Environment</td> + <td class="table_right"><a href="#CHAPTER_THIRTEEN">121</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="table_right">XIV.</td> + <td>The Mission</td> + <td class="table_right"><a href="#CHAPTER_FOURTEEN">131</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="table_right">XV.</td> + <td>Discipline</td> + <td class="table_right"><a href="#CHAPTER_FIFTEEN">139</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="table_right">XVI.</td> + <td>Morale</td> + <td class="table_right"><a href="#CHAPTER_SIXTEEN">147</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="table_right">XVII.</td> + <td>Esprit</td> + <td class="table_right"><a href="#CHAPTER_SEVENTEEN">158</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="table_right">XVIII.</td> + <td>Knowing Your Job</td> + <td class="table_right"><a href="#CHAPTER_EIGHTEEN">166</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="table_right">XIX.</td> + <td>Knowledge of Your Men</td> + <td class="table_right"><a href="#CHAPTER_NINETEEN">176</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="table_right">XX.</td> + <td>Writing and Speaking</td> + <td class="table_right"><a href="#CHAPTER_TWENTY">182</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="table_right">XXI.</td> + <td>The Art of Instruction</td> + <td class="table_right"><a href="#CHAPTER_TWENTY-ONE">196</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="table_right">XXII.</td> + <td>Your Relationships With Your Men</td> + <td class="table_right"><a href="#CHAPTER_TWENTY-TWO">206</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="table_right">XXIII.</td> + <td>Your Men's Moral and Physical Welfare</td> + <td class="table_right"><a href="#CHAPTER_TWENTY-THREE">213</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="table_right">XXIV.</td> + <td>Keeping Your Men Informed</td> + <td class="table_right"><a href="#CHAPTER_TWENTY-FOUR">222</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="table_right">XXV.</td> + <td>Counseling Your Men</td> + <td class="table_right"><a href="#CHAPTER_TWENTY-FIVE">228</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="table_right">XXVI.</td> + <td>Using Reward and Punishment</td> + <td class="table_right"><a href="#CHAPTER_TWENTY-SIX">240</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="table_right">XXVII.</td> + <td>Fitting Men to Jobs</td> + <td class="table_right"><a href="#CHAPTER_TWENTY-SEVEN">246</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="table_right">XXVIII.</td> + <td>Americans in Combat</td> + <td class="table_right"><a href="#CHAPTER_TWENTY-EIGHT">255</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <th>Appendix</th> + <th> </th> + <th> </th> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="table_right">I.</td> + <td>Recommended Reading</td> + <td class="table_right"><a href="#APPENDIX_ONE">264</a></td> +</tr> +</tbody> +</table> +</div> + + + +<div class="section_break"></div> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_ONE" id="CHAPTER_ONE"></a><span class="chapter_number">CHAPTER ONE</span><br /><br /> + +THE MEANING OF YOUR COMMISSION</h3> + + +<p>Upon being commissioned in the Armed Services of the +United States, a man incurs a lasting obligation to cherish +and protect his country and to develop within himself that +capacity and reserve strength which will enable him to serve +its arms and the welfare of his fellow Americans with increasing +wisdom, diligence, and patriotic conviction.</p> + +<p>This is the meaning of his commission. It is not modified +by any reason of assignment while in the service, nor is the +obligation lessened on the day an officer puts the uniform +aside and returns to civil life. Having been specially chosen +by the United States to sustain the dignity and integrity of +its sovereign power, an officer is expected so to maintain +himself, and so to exert his influence for so long as he may +live, that he will be recognized as a worthy symbol of all +that is best in the national character.</p> + +<p>In this sense the trust imposed in the highest military commander +in the land is not more than what is encharged the +newest ensign or second lieutenant. Nor is it less. It is the fact +of commission which gives special distinction to the man and +in turn requires that the measure of his devotion to the service +of his country be distinctive, as compared with the charge +laid upon the average citizen.</p> + +<p>In the beginning, a man takes an oath to uphold his +country's Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic, +to bear true faith and allegiance, and to discharge well +and faithfully the duties of office. He does this without any +mental reservation.</p> + +<p>Thereafter he is given a paper which says that because the +President as a representative of the people of this country +reposes "special trust and confidence" in his "patriotism, +valor, fidelity, and abilities," he is forthwith commissioned.</p> + +<p>By these tokens, the Nation also becomes a party to the con<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span>tract, +and will faithfully keep its bond with the man. While +he continues to serve honorably, it will sustain him and will +clothe him with its dignity. That it has vouched for him gives +him a felicitous status in our society. The device he wears, his +insignia, and even his garments identify him directly with the +power of the United States. The living standards of himself +and of his family are underwritten by Federal statute. Should +he become ill, the Nation will care for him. Should he be +disabled, it will stand as his guardian through life. Should +he seek to advance himself through higher studies, it will +open the way.</p> + +<p>Other than the officer corps, there is no group within our +society toward which the obligation of the Nation is more +fully expressed. Even so, other Americans regard this fact +with pride, rather than with envy. They accept the principle +that some unusual advantage should attend exceptional and +unremitting responsibility. Whatever path an American officer +may walk, he enjoys prestige. Though little is known of his +intrinsic merit, he will be given the respect of his fellow +citizens, unless he proves himself utterly undeserving.</p> + +<p>This national esteem for the corps is one of the priceless +assets of American security. The services themselves so recognize +it. That they place such strong emphasis upon the importance +of personal honor among officers is because they +know that the future of our arms and the well-being of our +people depend upon a constant renewing and strengthening +of public faith in the virtue of the corps. Were this to +languish, the Nation would be loath to commit its sons to +any military endeavor, no matter how grave the emergency.</p> + +<p>The works of goodwill by which those who lead the national +military forces endeavor to win the unreserved trust of the +American people is one of the chief preservatives of the +American system of freedoms. The character of the corps is in +a most direct sense a final safeguard of the character of the +Nation.</p> + +<p>To these thoughts any officer who is morally deserving of +his commission would freely subscribe. He will look beyond<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span> +the letter of his obligation and will accept in his own heart +the total implications of his new responsibility.</p> + +<p>So doing, he still might see fit to ask: "But to what do I +turn my thoughts? How do I hold myself so that while following +the line of duty, I will also exemplify those ideals +which may inspire other men to make their best effort?"</p> + +<p>It is suggested that there is a one-word key to the answer +among the four lofty qualities which are cited on every man's +commission.</p> + +<p>That word is <em>Fidelity</em>.</p> + +<p>As for patriotism, either a man loves his country or else he +would not seek commission at its hands, unless he be completely +the rascal, pretending to serve in order to destroy.</p> + +<p>Valor, on the other hand, can not be fully vouchsafed, since +it is not given to any man to know the nature and depth of his +personal courage.</p> + +<p>Abilities vary from man to man, and are partly what heredity +and environment have made them. If nature had not imposed +a ceiling, mere striving would make every man a genius.</p> + +<p>But Fidelity is the derivative of personal decision. It is the +jewel within reach of every man who has the will to possess it.</p> + +<p>Given an officer corps composed throughout of men who +would make the eternal try toward bettering their professional +capacities and furthering the working efficiency and harmony +within all forces, the United States would become thrice-armed +though not producing one new weapon in its arsenals.</p> + +<p>Great faith, rightness of mind, influence over other men, +and finally, personal success and satisfaction come of service +to the ideals of the profession. Were these strengths reflected +throughout the officer body, it could well happen that because +of the shining example, the American people would +become more deeply conscious of the need to keep their own +fibers strong than has been their disposition throughout +history.</p> + +<p>Accepting these truths as valid, a man still must know +where he stands before making a true reckoning of his line +of advance. This entails some consideration of himself (<em>a</em>) as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span> +to the personal standard which is required of him because +of his position in relation to all others (<em>b</em>) as to the reasons +in common sense which make this requirement, and (<em>c</em>) as +to the principles and philosophy which will enable him to +play his part well.</p> + +<p>The military officer is considered a gentleman, not because +Congress wills it, nor because it has been the custom of +people in all times to afford him that courtesy, but specifically +because nothing less than a gentleman is truly suited for his +particular set of responsibilities.</p> + +<p>This is not simply a bit of self-adulation; it is distinctly the +American tradition in the matter. The Nation has never attempted +to draw its officers from a particular class. During +World War II, thousands of men were commissioned in our +forces who had enjoyed little opportunity in their earlier environments. +They were sound men by nature. They had courage. +They could set a good example. They could rally other men +around them. In the eyes of the services, these things count +more than any man's blood lines. We say with Voltaire, "Whoever +serves his country well has no need of ancestors."</p> + +<p>On the other hand, from the time of the Colonies, this +country has despised press gangs, floggings, martinetism, and +all of the other Old World military practices which demeaned +the rank and file. Its military system was founded on the +dignity of man, just as was its Constitution. The system has +sought ever since to advance itself by appealing to the higher +nature of the individual. That is why its officers need to be +gentlemen. To call forth great loyalty in other people and to +harness it to any noble undertaking, one must first be sensible +of their finer instincts and feelings. Certainly these things +at least are among the gentle qualities which are desired in +every military officer of the United States:</p> + + +<ol> +<li>Strong belief in human rights.</li> + +<li>Respect for the dignity of every other person.</li> + +<li>The Golden Rule attitude toward one's daily associates.</li> + +<li><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span>An abiding interest in all aspects of human welfare.</li> + +<li>A willingness to deal with every man as considerately +as if he were a blood relative.</li> +</ol> + +<p>These qualities are the epitome of strength, not of softness. +They mark the man who is capable of pursuing a great purpose +consistently in spite of temptations. He who possesses +them will all the more surely be regarded as a "man among +men." Take any crowd of new recruits! The greater number +of them during their first few days in service will use more +profanity and obscenity, talk more about women and boast +more about drinking than they have ever done in their lives, +because of the mistaken idea that this is the quick way to get +a reputation for being hard-boiled. But at the same time, +the one or two men among them who stay decent, talk moderately +and walk the line of duty will uniquely receive the infinite +respect of the others. It never fails to happen!</p> + +<p>There is the other matter about how a man should feel +toward his own profession. Simply to accept the fact that the +bearing of arms is a highly honorable calling because the book +says so should not suffice one's own interest in the matter, when +a little personal reflection will reveal wherein the honor resides.</p> + +<p>To every officer who has thought earnestly about the business, +it is at once apparent that civilization, as men have known it +since the time of the Greek City States, has rested as a pyramid +upon a base of organized military power. Moreover, the general +possibility of world cultural progress in the foreseeable future +has no other conceivable foundation. For any military man to +deny, on any ground whatever, the role which his profession +has played in the establishment of everything which is well-ordered +in our society, shows only a faulty understanding of +history. It made possible the birth of the American system of +freedoms. Later, it gave the nation a new birth and vouchsafed +a more perfect union.</p> + +<p>Likewise, we need to see the case in its present terms. One +may abhor war fully, despise militarism absolutely, deplore all +of the impulses in human nature which make armed force +necessary, and still agree that for the world as we know it, the +main hope is that "peace-loving nations can be made obviously<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span> +capable of defeating nations which are willing to wage aggressive +war." Those words, by the way, were not said by a +warrior, but by the eminent pacifist, Bertrand Russell. It does +not make the military man any less the humanitarian that he +accepts this reality, that he faces toward the chance forthrightly, +and that he believes that if all military power were +stricken tomorrow, men would revert to a state of anarchy and +there would ensue the total defeat of the forces which are +trying to establish peace and brotherly love in our lives.</p> + +<p>The complete identity of American military forces with the +character of the people comes of this indivisibility of interest. +To think of the military as a guardian class apart, like Lynkeus +"born for vision, ordained for watching," rather than as a +strong right arm, corporately joined to the body and sharing its +every function, is historically false and politically inaccurate. It +is not unusual, however, for those whose task it is to interpret +the trend of opinion to take the line that "the military" are +thinking one way and "the people" quite another on some +particular issue, as if to imply that the two are quite separate +and of different nature. This is usually false in detail, and +always false in general. It not only discounts the objects of their +unity but overlooks the truth of its origins.</p> + +<p>Maybe they should be invited to go to the root of the word. +The true meaning of "populus," from which we get the word +"people," was in the time of ancient Rome the "armed body." +The pure-blooded Roman in the days of the Republic could not +conceive of a citizen who was not a warrior. It was the arms +which a Roman's possession of land enabled him to get that +qualified him to participate in the affairs of state. He had no +political rights until he had fought. <em>He was not of the people; +they were of him!</em> Nor is this concept alien to the ideals on +which the Founding Fathers built the American system, since +they stated it as the right and duty of every able-bodied citizen +to bear arms.</p> + +<p>These propositions should mean much to every American who +has chosen the military profession. A main point is that on +becoming an officer a man does not renounce any part of his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span> +fundamental character as an American citizen. He has simply +signed on for the post graduate course where one learns how +to exercise authority in accordance with the spirit of liberty. +The nature of his trusteeship has been subtly expressed by an +Admiral in our service: "The American philosophy places the +individual above the state. It distrusts personal power and +coercion. It denies the existence of indispensable men. It asserts +the supremacy of principle."</p> + +<p>An understanding of American principles of life and growth, +and personal zeal in upholding them, is the bedrock of sound +leading in our services. Moral and emotional stability are expected +of an American officer; he can usually satisfy his superiors +if he attains to this equilibrium. But he is not likely to +satisfy himself unless he can also achieve that maturity of +character which expresses itself in the ability to make decisions +in detachment of spirit from that which is pleasant or unpleasant +to him personally, in the desire to hold onto things +not by grasping them but by understanding them and remembering +them, and in learning to covet only that which may be +rightfully possessed.</p> + +<p>An occasional man has become wealthy while in the services +by making wise investments, through writings, by skill at invention, +or through some other means. But he is the exception. +The majority have no such prospect. Indeed, if love of money +were the mainspring of all American action, the officer corps +long since would have disintegrated. But it is well said that the +only truly happy people on earth are those who are indifferent +to money because they have some positive purpose which forecloses +it. Than the service, there is no other environment which +is more conducive to the leading of the full life by the individual +who is ready to accept the word of the philosopher that +the only security on earth is the willingness to accept insecurity +as an inevitable part of living. Once an officer has made this +passage into maturity, and is at peace with himself because the +service means more to him than all else, he will find kinship +with the great body of his brothers-in-arms. The highest possible +consequence can develop from the feelings of men mutually<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span> +inspired by some great endeavor and moving forward together +according to the principle that only those who are willing to +serve are fit to lead. Completely immersed in action, they have +no time for smallness in speech, thought or deed. It is for these +reasons that those who in times past have excelled in the leadership +of American forces have invariably been great Americans +first and superior officers second. The rule applies at all levels. +The lieutenant who is not moved at the thought that he is +serving his country is unlikely to do an intelligent job of directing +other men. He will come apart at the seams whenever the +going grows tough. Until men accept this thought freely, and +apply it to their personal action, it is not possible for them to go +forward together strongly. In the words of Lionel Curtis: "The +only force that unites men is conscience, a varying capacity in +most of them to put the interests of other people before their +own."</p> + +<p>The services are accustomed to being hammered. Like other +human institutions, they are imperfect. Therefore the criticisms +are not always unjust. Further, there is no more reason why the +services should be immune to attack than any other organic +part of our society and government.</p> + +<p>The service officer is charged only to take a lively interest in +all such discussions. He has no more right to condemn the +service unfairly than has any other American. On the other +hand he is not expected to be an intellectual eunuch, oblivious +to all of the faults in the institution to which he gives his +loyalty. To the contrary, the nature of that loyalty requires that +he will use his force toward the righting of those things which +reason convinces him are going wrong, though making certain +that his action will not do more damage than repair.</p> + +<p>His ultimate commanding loyalty at all times is to his country, +and not to his service or his superior. He owes it to his country +to speak the truth as he sees it. This implies a steadying judgment +as to when it should be spoken, and to whom it should be +addressed. A truth need not only be well-rounded, but the +utterance of it should be cognizant of the stresses and objectives +of the hour. Truth becomes falsehood unless it has the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span> +strength of perspective. The presentation of facts is self-justifying +only when the facts are developed in their true proportion.</p> + +<p>Where there is public criticism of the services, in matters both +large and small, the service officer has the right and the duty of +intervention only toward the end of making possible that all +criticism will be well-informed. That right can not be properly +exercised when there is nothing behind it but a defense of professional +pride. The duty can be well performed when the officer +knows not only his subject—the mechanism itself—but +the history and philosophy of the armed services in their relation +to the development of the American system. Criticism from +the outside is essential to service well-being, for as Confucius +said, oftentimes men in the game are blind to what the lookers +on see clearly.</p> + +<p>The value of any officer's opinion of any military question +can never be any greater than the extent and accuracy of his +information. His ability to dispose public thought favorably +toward the service will depend upon the wisdom of his words +rather than upon his military rank and other credentials. A false +idea will come upon a bad fate even though it has the backing +of the highest authority.</p> + +<p>Only men of informed mind and unprejudiced expression can +strengthen the claim of the services on the affections of the +American people.</p> + +<p>This is, of itself, a major objective for the officer corps, since +our public has little studious interest in military affairs, tends +ever to discount the vitality of the military role in the progress +and prosperity of the nation and regards the security problem +as one of the less pleasant and abnormal burdens on an otherwise +orderly existence.</p> + +<p>It is an explicable contradiction of the American birthright +that to some of our people the military establishment is at best a +necessary evil, and military service is an extraordinary hardship +rather than an inherent obligation. Yet these illusions are rooted +deep in the American tradition, though it is a fact to be noted +not without hope that we are growing wiser as we move +along. In the years which followed the American Revolution,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> +the new union of States tried to eliminate military forces altogether. +There was vast confusion of thought as to what freedom +required for its own survival. Thomas Jefferson, one of the +great architects of democracy, and still renowned for his "isolationist" +sentiments, wrote the warning: "We must train and +classify the whole of our male citizens, and make military instruction +a regular part of collegiate education. We can never be +safe until this is done."</p> + +<p>None the less, the hour came when the standing Army was reduced +to 80 men. None the less, the quaint notion has survived +that an enlightened interest in military affairs is somehow undemocratic. +And none the less, recurring war has invariably +found the United States inadequately prepared for the defense +of its own territory.</p> + +<p>Because there has been a holdover of these mistaken sentiments +right down to the present, there persists in many military +officers a defensive attitude toward their own profession which +has no practical relation to the strength of the ground on which +they are enabled to stand. Toward any unfair and flippant criticism +of the "military mind" they react with resentment, instead +of with buoyant proof that their own minds are more plastic +and more receptive to national ideals than those of any other +profession. Where they should approach all problems of the +national security with the zeal of the missionary, seeking and +giving light, they treat this subject as if it were a private game +preserve.</p> + +<p>It suffices to say of this minority that they are a barnacle on +the hull of an otherwise staunch vessel. From such limited concepts +of personal responsibility, there can not fail to develop a +foreshortened view of the dignity of the task at hand. The note +of apology is injected at the wrong time; the tone of belligerency +is used when it serves no purpose. When someone arises within +the halls of government to say that the military establishment +is "uneconomic" because it cuts no bricks, bales no hay and +produces nothing which can be vended in the market places, it +is not unusual to hear some military men concur in this strange +notion. That acquiescence is wholly unbecoming.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span>The physician is not slurred as belonging to a nonproductive +profession because he contributes only to the care and healing +of the body, and through these things to the general well-being +of society. Respect for formal education, organized religion +and all of the enterprises built up around the dissemination +of ideas is not the less because the resultant benefit to +society is not always tangible and saleable. Hence to say that +that without which society could not endure in its present form +is "uneconomic" is to make the word itself altogether meaningless.</p> + +<p>In that inner power of courage and conviction which stems +from the spiritual integrity of the individual, lies the strength of +democracy. As to their ability to produce toward these ends, the +military services can stand on the record. When shortly after +World War II, a census was taken among the returned men, +60 percent said that they had been <em>morally strengthened</em> by +their military service in the American uniform. About 30 percent +had no opinion or felt that military life had not changed them +one way or the other. An insignificant minority considered themselves +damaged. This is an amazing testimony in light of the +fact that only a small fraction of American youth is schooled to +believe that any spiritual good can come of military service. As +to what it signifies, those who take a wholly materialistic view +of the objects of the Republic are entitled to call the military +establishment "uneconomic." The services will continue to hold +with the idea that strong nationhood comes not of the making +of gadgets but of the building of character.</p> + +<p>Men beget goodwill in other men by giving it. They develop +courage in their following mainly as a reflection of the courage +which they show in their own action. These two qualities of +mind and heart are of the essence of sound officership. One is of +little avail without the other, and either helps to sustain the +other. As to which is the stronger force in its impact upon the +masses of men, no truth is more certain than the words once +written by William James: "Evident though the shortcomings +of a man may be, if he is ready to give up his life for a cause, +we forgive him everything. However inferior he may be to our<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span>selves +in other respects, if we cling to life while he throws it +away like a flower, we bow to his superiority."</p> + +<p>Theodore Roosevelt once said that if he had a son who refrained +from any worthwhile action because of the fear of hurt +to himself, he would disown him. Soon after his return to +civilian life, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower spoke of the worthwhileness +of "living dangerously." An officer of the United +States armed forces can not go far wrong if he holds with +these ideas. It is not the suitable profession for those who +believe only in digging-in and nursing a soft snap until death +comes at a ripe old age. Who risks nothing gains nothing.</p> + +<p>Nor should there be any room in it for professional smugness, +small jealousies, and undue concern about privilege.</p> + +<p>The regular recognizes as his peer and comrade the officer +from any of the civilian components. That he is a professional +does not give him an especial eminence, but simply a greater +measure of responsibility for the success of the total establishment. +Moreover, he can not afford to be patronizing, without +risking self-embarrassment, such is the vast experience which +many reservists have had on the active field of war.</p> + +<p>Toward services other than his own, any officer is expected to +have both a comradely feeling and an imaginative interest. +Any Army officer is a better man for having studied the works +of Admiral Mahan and familiarized himself with the modern +Navy from first-hand experience. Those who lead sea-going +forces can enlarge their own capacities by knowing more, rather +than less, about the nature of the air and ground establishments. +The submariner can always learn something useful to his +own work by mingling with airmen; the airman becomes a +better officer as he grows in qualified knowledge of ground and +sea fighting.</p> + +<p>But the fact remains that the services are not alike, that no +wit of man can make them alike, and that the retention by each +of its separate character, customs and confidence is essential to +the conserving of our national military power. Unification has +not altered this basic proposition. The first requirement of a +unified establishment is moral soundness in each of the integral<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> +parts, without which there can be no soundness at all. And on +the question of fundamental loyalty, the officer who loves every +other service just as much as his own will have just as much +active virtue as the man who loves other women as much as +his own wife.</p> + + + +<div class="section_break"></div> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span></p> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_TWO" id="CHAPTER_TWO"></a><span class="chapter_number">CHAPTER TWO</span><br /><br /> + +FORMING MILITARY IDEALS</h3> + + +<p>Any stranger making a survey of what Americans are and +how they get that way would probably see it as a paradox that +within the armed establishment the inculcation of ideals is considered +the most vital of all teaching, while in our gentler and +less rigid institutions, there is steadily less emphasis on this +subject.</p> + +<p>He would be entitled to the explanation that it is not so done +because this has always been the way of Armies, Navies, and +other fighting forces, or because it is universal in the military +establishments of the twentieth century, but because nothing +else would better suffice the American military system under +present conditions.</p> + +<p>There are two main reasons why.</p> + +<p>The first is that we are an altogether unregimented people, +with a strong belief in the virtues of rugged individualism and +in the right of the average man to go along about as he pleases, +so long as he does not do actual injury to society. Voluntary +group cooperation rather than absolute group loyalty, developing +from a strong spiritual bond, is the basic technic of +Americans in their average rounds. It is enough to satisfy the +social, political and economic needs of a democracy, but in its +military parts, it would be fatally weak. There would be no +possibility of achieving an all-compelling unity under conditions +of utmost pressure if no man felt any higher call to action than +what was put upon him by purely material considerations.</p> + +<p>Military ideals are therefore, as related to this purpose, mainly +an instrument of national survival. But not altogether so, since +in the measure that they influence the personal life and conduct +of millions of men who move in and out of the services, they +have a regenerative effect upon the spiritual fiber of the Nation +as a whole.</p> + +<p>There is the second and equally important reason that,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span> +whereas wars have sometimes been fought for ideal causes, as +witness the American Revolution and Civil War, war itself is +never ideal, and the character of our people is such as to insist +that from our side, its brutalities be minimized. The barbarian +who kills for killing's sake and who scorns the laws of war at +any point is repugnant to the instincts of our people, under +whatever flag he fights. If we did not have some men of this +type among us, our penitentiaries would not be filled. The +ravages which they might commit when all of the barriers are +down on the battlefield can be prevented only when forces as a +whole believe that armed power, while not ideal in itself, must +be made to serve ideal ends.</p> + +<p>To speak of ethics in the same breath with war may seem like +sheer cant and hypocrisy. But in the possibility that those who +best understand the use and nature of armed power may excel +all others in stimulating that higher morality which may some +day restrain war lies a main chance for the future. The Armed +Services of the United States do not simply do lip service to +such institutions as United Nations. They encourage their people +to take a deep personal interest in every legitimate activity +aimed to bulwark world peace. But while doing this, they keep +their powder dry.</p> + +<p>Military ideals are not different than the ideals which make +any man sound in himself, and in his relation to others. They +are called military ideals only because the proving ground is a +little more rugged in the service than elsewhere. But they are all +founded in hard military experience; they did not find expression +because some Admiral got it in his head one day to set an +unattainable goal for his men, or because some General wished +to turn a pious face toward the public, professing that his men +were aspiring to greater virtue than anything the public knew.</p> + +<p>The military way is a long, hard road, and it makes extraordinary +requirements of every individual. In war, particularly, +it puts stresses upon men such as they have not known elsewhere, +and the temptation to "get out from under" would be +irresistible if their spirits had not been tempered to the ordeal. +If nothing but fear of punishments were depended upon to hold<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span> +men to the line during extreme trial, the result would be wholesale +mutiny and a situation altogether beyond the control of +leadership. So it must be true that <em>it is out of the impact of +ideals mainly that men develop the strength to face situations +from which it would be normal to run away</em>.</p> + +<p>Also, during the normal routine of peace, members of the +Armed Services are expected to respond to situations that are +more extensive, more complex, and take longer to reach fulfillment +than the situations to which the majority of men instinctively +respond. Even the length of the enlistment period +looks like a slow march up a 60-mile grade. Promotion is slow, +duty frequently monotonous. It is all too easy for the individual +to worry about his own insignificance and to feel that he has +become lost in the crowd. Under these conditions a man may go +altogether bad, or simply get lazy and rock with the grain. +But nothing except a strong belief in the ideals he is serving +will make him respond to the larger situation and give it his +best effort. Ideals have the intensely practical end of strengthening +men for the better discharge of duties which devolve upon +them in their day-to-day affairs.</p> + +<p>What is the main test of human character? Probably it is this: +that a man will know how to be patient in the midst of hard +circumstance, and can continue to be personally effective while +living through whatever discouragements beset him and his +companions. Moreover, that is what every truly civilized man +would want in himself during the calmer moments when he +compares critically what he is inside with what he would like +to be. That is specifically the reason why the promulgation of +military ideals is initially a problem in the first person, singular. +The Armed Services have in one sense a narrow motive in +turning the thoughts of younger leaders toward a belief in +ideals. They know that this is a lubricant in the machinery of +organization and the best way to sweeten the lives of men +working together in a group toward some worthwhile purpose. +But there is also a higher object. All experience has taught that +it is likewise the best way to give the individual man a solid +foundation for living successfully amid the facts of existence,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> +irrespective of his situation. The military system of the United +States is not committed to grinding out warriors <em>per se</em>, but to +the training of men in such manner that they will be able to +play a better part anywhere, and will find greater satisfactions +in what they do. All the time, when the service seeks to emphasize +to its ranks what is the "right thing to do," it is speaking +of that course of conduct which in the long run is most +necessary and useful to the individual.</p> + +<p>As to what one man should seek in himself, in order to be +four-square with his own life and all others who are related to +his personal situation, it is simple enough to formulate it, and to +describe what constitutes maturity of character. In fact, that +can be done without mentioning the words "patriotism" and +"courage", which traditionally and rightly are viewed as the +very highest of the military virtues.</p> + +<p>No man is truly fit for officership unless in the inner recess of +his being he can go along with the toast known to every American +schoolboy: "My country, in her intercourse with other +nations may she always be in the right! But right or wrong, my +country!" And he will never do a really good job of supporting +her standards if, when the clutch comes, he is lacking in intestinal +fortitude.</p> + +<p>But there is this to be said about the nature of courage and +patriotism, in the same breath that we agree they are essential +in an officer of the fighting establishment—neither of these +qualities of itself carries sufficient conviction, except as it is the +product of those homelier attributes which give dignity to all +action, in things both large and small, during the course of +any average work day.</p> + +<p>When Dr. Johnson remarked that patriotism is the last refuge +of a scoundrel he was not belittling the value of love of country +as a force in the lives of men, but to the contrary, was +pointing out that a profession of patriotism, unaccompanied by +good works, was the mark of a man not to be trusted. In no +other institution in the land will flag-waving fall as flat as in +the Armed Services when the ranks know that it is just an act, +with no sincere commitment to service backing it up. But the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> +uniformed forces will still respond to the real article with the +same emotion that they felt at Bunker Hill and Manila Bay.</p> + +<p>There is a Civil War story from one of the campaigns against +Stonewall Jackson in the Valley. A Confederate who had had +his leg shot away turned on his pallet to regard a Union private +who had just lost an arm, and said to him, "For what reason +did you invade us and make all this trouble?" The boy replied +simply: "For the old flag." That may sound like sentiment from +a distant past. But turn to the story of Major Devereux and the +Marine defense of Wake Island. He wrote that the "music" +had always gone sour, and had invariably broken down when +he tried to play "The Colors." But on the morning of Pearl +Harbor, when the flag was raised, the garrison already knew +that the war was on. And for some reason which no man +could account for, the bugler rose to the occasion, and for the +first time, every note came straight and true. Devereux said that +every throat tightened and every head went higher. Yet Devereux +was a remarkably unmelodramatic fighting man.</p> + +<p>But to get back to those simpler virtues which provide a firm +foundation for patriotism and may become the fount of courage, +at least these few things would have to be put among the fundamentals:</p> + + +<ol> +<li>A man has honor if he holds himself to a course of +conduct, because of a conviction that it is in the general +interest, even though he is well aware that it may lead to +inconvenience, personal loss, humiliation or grave physical +risk.</li> + +<li>He has veracity if, having studied a question to the +limit of his ability, he says and believes what he thinks to +be true, even though it would be the path of least resistance +to deceive others and himself.</li> + +<li>He has justice if he acknowledges the interests of all +concerned in any particular transaction rather than serving +his own apparent interest.</li> + +<li>He has graciousness if he acts and speaks forthrightly, +agrees warmly, disagrees fairly and respectfully, participates +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span>enthusiastically, refrains from harboring grudges, takes his +reverses in stride, and does not complain or ask for help in +the face of trifling calamities.</li> + +<li>He has integrity if his interest in the good of the +service is at all times greater than his personal pride, and +when he holds himself to the same line of duty when unobserved +as he would follow if all of his superiors were +present.</li> +</ol> + +<p>The list could be longer, but for the moment, we can let it go +at that. These standards are not counsels of perfection; thousands +of officers have adhered to them. But it should be said as +well that if all leaders at the lower levels in all of the services +were to conform in the same way, the task of higher command +would be simplicity itself. The cause of much of the friction in +the administrative machinery is that at all levels there are individuals +who insist on standing in their own light. They believe +that there is some special magic, some quick springboard to +success; they mistakenly think that it can be won by bootlicking, +apple-polishing, yessing higher authority, playing office politics, +throwing weight around, ducking the issues, striving for cheap +popularity, courting publicity or seeking any and all means of +grabbing the spotlight.</p> + +<p>Any one of this set of tricks may enable a man to carry the +ball forward a yard or two in some special situation. But at least +this comment can be made without qualification: Of the men +who have risen to supreme heights in the fighting establishment +of the United States, and have had their greatness proclaimed +by their fellow countrymen, there is not one career which provides +any warrant for the conclusion that there is a special +shortcut known only to the smart operators. True enough, a +few men have gained fairly high rank by dint of what the late +Mr. Justice Holmes called "the instinct for the jugular"—a +feeling for when to jump, where to press and how to slash in +order to achieve somewhat predatory personal ends. That will +occasionally happen in any walk of life. But from Washington, +Wayne, and Jones down to Eisenhower, Vandegrift, and Nimitz, +the men best loved by the American people for their military +successes were also men with greatness of soul. In short, they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> +were idealists, though they likely would have disclaimed that +label, since it somehow connotes the visionary rather than the +intensely practical man.</p> + +<p>But it isn't necessary to look at the upper brackets of history +to find the object lesson. The things that any man remembers +about his own father with love and reverence have to do with +his forbearance, his charity toward other men, his strength and +rightness of will and his readiness to contribute of his force to +the good of other people. Or if not his father, then it may be an +uncle, a neighbor or one of his schoolmasters.</p> + +<p>In one way, however, it illuminates but half the subject to +reflect that a man has to find purpose in himself before he can +seek purpose in any of the undertakings of which he is a part +or in the society of which he is a member. No man is wholly +sufficient unto himself even though he has been schooled from +infancy to live according to principles. His character and the +moral strength from which he gains peace of mind need constantly +to be replenished by the force of other individuals who +think and act more or less in tune with him. His ability to remain +whole, and to bound back from any depression of the +spirit, depends in some measure on the chance that they will be +upgrading when he is on the downswing. To read what the +wisest of the philosophers have written about the formation of +human character is always a stimulating experience; but it is +better yet to live next to the man who already possesses what the +philosophers are talking about. During World War II, there +were quite a few higher commanders relieved in our forces because +it was judged, for one reason or another, that they had +failed in battle. Of the total number, there were a few who +took a reduction in rank, went willingly to a lower post in a +fighting command, uttered no complaint, kept their chins up, +worked courageously and sympathetically with their commands, +and provided an example of manhood that all who saw them +will never forget. Though their names need not be mentioned, +they were imprinted with the real virtue of the services even +more deeply than many of their colleagues who had no blemishes +on their records. Their character had met the ultimate test.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> +The men who had the privilege of working close to them realized +this and the sublime effect of this personal influence helped +strengthen the resolve of many others.</p> + +<p>Because there is so much at stake in the matter, the services +cannot depend solely upon such influence as would be exerted +on their affairs by the occasional idealist, but must work for +that chain reaction which comes of making the inculcation of +military ideals one of the cardinal points of a strong, uniting +inner doctrine. It is altogether necessary that as a body, the +power of their thought be shaped along ideal lines. The ideal +object must be held high at all times, even though it is recognized +that men are not perfect, and that no matter how +greatly they may aspire, they will occasionally fail. Nor is the +effort to lead other men to believe in the transcendent importance +of goodwill made less effective because the leader has a +conscience about his own weakness, <em>provided he has the good +sense not to flaunt it</em>. He need not be a paragon of all the +virtues to set an example which will convince other men that +his ideas are worth following. No man alive possesses perfect +virtue, which fact is generally understood. Many an otherwise +ideal commander is ruthless in his exactions upon his staff; +many a petty officer, who has won the absolute love of all men +with whom he served, has found himself in the middle because +he couldn't think straight about his debts. But these things do +not lessen the impact upon men of thinking together about +common ideals and working together toward the fulfillment of +some high obligation. The pursuit of ideals culminates in the experience +of mutual growth. If that were not so, men who have +served the arms of the United States would not continue to have +a special respect for the uniform, and an extra reverence for the +flag, for years after they have passed from the service. These +emotions are not the consequence of habit, but come of having +known the comradeship of other men whom they loved and +respected, who shared these same thoughts, and believed in the +same body of ideals.</p> + +<p>Any normal man loves his country and it is natural in him +to regard highly the symbols through which this affection is ex<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span>pressed. +An American child of kindergarten age already feels an +emotional attachment for the national emblem. The recruit who +has just entered upon service can begin to understand that his +regard for his uniform must be a far different thing than what +he felt about his civilian dress, since it is identified with the +dignity of the Nation. His training in military ideals starts at +this point, and for the main part is carried forward subtly, by +transfer of this same feeling to all other objects associated with +his military life. His perseverance in the care of weapons, in +keeping his living quarters orderly and in doing his full share +of work is best insured, not through fear of punishments, but +by stimulating his belief that any other way of going is unworthy +of a member of a fighting service.</p> + +<p>Precision in personal habits, precision in drill and precision in +daily living are the high road to that kind of discipline which +best insures cool and collected thought and unity of action on +the field of battle. When men, working together, successfully +attain to a high standard of orderliness, deportment and response, +each to the other, they develop the cohesive strength +which will carry them through any great crisis. For this reason +mainly, military life is far more exacting than civil life. But the +services hold that what is best for the many can be achieved +without cramping the personal life or blighting individuality +and initiative. Within the frame of our system, we can achieve +obedience and discipline without destroying independence and +impulse.</p> + +<p>This is idealism, though we seldom think about it in that +light. Further, it is all the better that in the beginning these +impressions are developed obliquely, rather than through the +direct approach of reading a lecture on ideals and ethics, since +it means that the man is assisted to reach certain conclusions by +himself, and as Kant has said, those things which a man learns +pretty much on his own become the ideas that he is least likely +to forget.</p> + +<p>Looking at this subject in its largest aspect, it should be perfectly +clear that any institution must know what its ideals are +before it can become coherent and confident, and that there<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> +must be present in the form of clearly available ideas an +imaginative conception of the good at which the institution +aims.</p> + +<p>This is fully recognized in the American armed establishment. +For many years, the program of indoctrinating military +ideals has been inseparably linked with instruction in democratic +ideals, teaching as to the American way of life and clear +statement of the policies and purposes of the Government of +the United States in its relations with all others powers and +peoples.</p> + +<p>Moreover, it is an accepted principle in all services that this +mission can not be carried forward competently except by those +officers who are directly in charge of forces. It is not a job for +chaplains or orientation specialists, because it cannot flourish +unless it is in the hands of those leaders whom men know well +and in whom they place their confidence. When men are well +led, they become fully receptive to the whole body of ideas +which their leaders see fit to put before them.</p> + +<p>There are two points which follow, as a matter of course.</p> + +<p>An officer's ability to talk effectively on these or other subjects +to his men can be no better than his information, irrespective of +his zeal or of his own firm belief in the ideals of his country and +service.</p> + +<p>All other things being equal, his effectiveness will depend on +the extent to which he participates in all of the other affairs of +organization. If he is remote from the spirit of his own unit, and +indifferent to the varying activities which enter into the building +of that spirit, he will not have a sympathetic audience when +he talks to men about the grand objectives of organization. +There is something terribly incongruous about a man talking to +troops on the ideal purposes of the military service if all they +see of him convinces them that he is loyal only to his own rank +and his pay check. It can be said without any qualification that +when an officer's interest in the unit is limited strictly to those +things which <em>have to be done</em> in line of duty, even though he +attends to them truly and well, he will never have a strong hold +on the sympathy and imagination of his men. When he takes an<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> +enthusiastic part in the sports program of the ship, the company, +the squadron or the battalion, even though he has no +natural talent for sport, when he voluntarily helps in furthering +all activities within the unit which are designed to make leisure +more enjoyable, and when he is seen by his men attending +religious exercises, his magnetism is increased. It was noteworthy +during World War II that church attendance among +enlisted personnel took a tremendous bound forward when it +was seen that their officers were present at church services. This +provided tremendous support to those chaplains who were +intent not only on praising the Lord but on passing moral +ammunition to all ranks so that they would be better prepared +for the ordeal ahead.</p> + +<p>Recognizing that instruction in the duties of citizenship, and +providing information which will enable Americans to have a +better understanding of their national affairs, is part of the arch +of morale and of a strong uniting comradeship, the Armed +Services nevertheless hold that <em>the keystone of the arch, among +fighting forces, is the inculcation of military ideals and the +stimulation of principles of military action</em>. Unless orientation +within the services is balanced in this direction, the military +spirit of all ranks will suffer, and the forces will deteriorate into +an assembly of Americans who, whatever their enthusiasms for +the nation, will lack an organized capacity to serve it efficiently +along the main line of resistance.</p> + +<p>To round out any discussion of how military ideals are +formed, much more needs to be said about the nature of courage +on the battlefield and, in preparation for it, about the +winning and meaning of loyalty within the Armed Services +and how instruction on these points and all related matters is +best advanced within the organization.</p> + +<p>But the object of this chapter is to define certain governing +principles. The substantive parts of the subject can be more +clearly presented further along in the book.</p> + + + +<div class="section_break"></div> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span></p> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_THREE" id="CHAPTER_THREE"></a><span class="chapter_number">CHAPTER THREE</span><br /><br /> + +RESPONSIBILITY AND PRIVILEGE</h3> + + +<p>There is a common saying in the services, and elsewhere, that +greater privileges grow out of larger responsibilities, and that +the latter justifies the former. This is part truth and part fable.</p> + +<p>In military organization, as in industry, business, and political +life, the more important a man's position, the more lavish he is +likely to be in his office appointments and living arrangements, +and the greater the care that is apt to be taken in freeing him of +trifling annoyances.</p> + +<p>But that is only partly because of the need for him to conserve +his time and energy. When men are successful, they like +the good things of life. Why deny it? Not one individual in +10,000 would aspire to power and authority if it meant living +like a hermit.</p> + +<p>There is no way that the military establishment can denature +human nature, and change this determining condition. Nor is +there any reason why it should wish to do so. Its men, like all +others, develop a sense of well-being from those advantages, +many of them minor, which attend, and build prestige, both in +private and in official life. The incentive system by which our +country has prospered has always recognized that privilege is a +reward for effort and enterprise. The American people have +always accepted that reasonable, harmless privileges should attend +merit. It is by enhancing the prestige of leaders and by +making their positions attractive that the Armed Forces get +better officers and men.</p> + +<p>One of the keenest-minded Americans of our time has said: +"Responsibilities are what devolve upon a person, and privileges +are what he ought not to have, but takes." In a perfect +universe, that would be a perfect truth. But men being as they +are, prideful and desirous of any mark of recognition, privileges +are the natural accompaniment of rank and station, and +when not wilfully misused, may contribute to the general wel<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span>fare. +At all levels, men will aspire more, and their ambition +will be firmer, if getting ahead will mean for them an increase in +the visible tokens of deference from the majority, rather than +simply a boost in the paycheck. To complain about this quality +in human nature is as futile as regretting that the sun goes +down.</p> + +<p>However, since it is out of the abuse of privilege that much of +the friction between authority and the rank-and-file arises, the +subject can't be dropped at that point. What puts most of the +grit into the machinery isn't that privileges exist, but that they +are exercised too often by persons who are not motivated by a +passionate sense of duty. For it is an almost inviolable rule of +human behavior that the man who is concerned most of all with +his responsibilities will be fretted least about the matter of his +privileges, and that his exercise of any rightful privilege will not +be resented by his subordinates, because they are conscious of his +merit.</p> + +<p>We can take two officers. Lieutenant "A" enters the service +with one main question in mind: "Where does my duty lie?" +So long as he remains on that beam, he will never injure the +morale of the service by using such privileges as are rightfully +his as an officer. But in the mind of Lieutenant "B" the other +idea is uppermost: "What kudos do I get out of my position?" +Unless that man changes his ways, he will be a troublemaker +while he remains in the service, a headache to his fellow officers +and a despoiler of those who are under him.</p> + +<p>In recent years, we have learned a lot about American manpower. +We have seen enough of the raw material under testing +conditions to know that, with the exception of the occasional +malcontent who was irreparably spoiled before he left home, +American young men when brought into military organization +do not resent rank, and are amenable to authority. Indeed, +they expect that higher authority will have certain advantages +not common to the rank-and-file, because that is normal in our +society in all of its workday relationships.</p> + +<p>But they do not like to have their noses rubbed in it by +officers who, having no real moral claim on authority, try to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span> +exhibit it by pushing other people around. And when that +happens, our men get their backs up. And they wouldn't be +worth a hoot in hades if they didn't.</p> + +<p>Even as privilege attends rank and station, it is confirmed by +custom, and modified by time and environment. What was all +right yesterday may be all wrong tomorrow, and what is proper +in one set of circumstances may be wholly wrong in another.</p> + +<p>Take one example. In Washington's Continental Army, a first +lieutenant was court-martialed and jailed because he demeaned +himself by doing manual labor with a working detail of his +men. Yet in that same season, Major General von Steuben, +then trainer and inspector of all the forces, created a great +scandal and almost terminated his usefulness by trying to rank +a relatively junior officer out of his quarters. Today both of +these usages seem out of joint. Any officer has the <em>privilege</em> of +working with his men, if he needs exercise, wishes to see for +himself how the thing is done, or feels that an extra hand is +needed on the job at a critical moment. As for any notion that +his quarters are his permanent castle no matter who comes, he +had best not make an issue of the point!</p> + +<p>But to emphasize it once again, duty is the great regulator of +the proper exercise of one's rights. Here we speak of duty as it +was meant by Giuseppe Mazzini, Italy's great patriot of the +early Nineteenth Century, when he said: "Every mission constitutes +a pledge of duty. Every man is bound to consecrate his +every effort to its fulfillment. He will derive his rule of action +from the profound conviction of that duty." For finally the key +lies in this, that out of high regard for duty comes as a natural +flow that sense of proportion which we call common sense.</p> + +<p>Adjustment and dignity in any situation are impossible when +minds are bent only on a code of conduct rather than on action +which is consistent with the far objectives. In the early stages of +World War II, it was not unusual to see a junior officer walking +on the public sidewalk, hands free, and looking important, +while his wife tagged along, trying to keep step, though laden +like a pack mule. This was because someone had told him that +it was not in keeping with an officer's dignity to be seen heavily<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> +burdened. In the nature of things, anyone so lacking in gallantry +as that would stimulate very little respect for the officer +corps.</p> + +<p>Actually, in these times, there are relatively few special privileges +which attend officership, and though the war brought +perhaps a few excesses, the post war trend has been in the other +direction.</p> + +<p>Normally, an officer is not expected to buck a chow line, or +any other queue in line of duty, if he is sensibly in a rush. The +presumption is that his time is more valuable to the service +than that of an enlisted man. Normally, an officer is not expected +to pitch a tent or spend his energy on any hand labor +incidental to housekeeping. Normally, he has greater freedom of +action and is less bound by minor restrictions than the ranks.</p> + +<p>But the accent in these things is decidedly on the word +<em>normally</em>. If a mess line were in an area under general fire, so +that added waiting meant extra danger, then only a poltroon +would insist on being fed first. And while an officer wouldn't be +expected to pitch a tent, he would dig his own foxhole, unless +he was well up in grade. At that, there were a few high commanders +in World War II who made it a point of pride to do +their own digging from first to last. Greater "freedom of action," +too, can go out the window, for conditions arise, particularly +in war, when freedom of action can not be permitted +anyone except the very top authority. When a general restriction +is clamped down, the officer caught violating it is in more +serious jeopardy than the enlisted offender.</p> + +<p>As the entire body of this book is directed toward the consideration +of the fundamental responsibilities in officership, the +special comments in this chapter will relate mainly to propositions +not stated elsewhere.</p> + +<p>Though it has been said before, even so, it can be said +again: It is a paramount and overriding responsibility of every +officer to take care of his men before caring for himself. From +the frequent and gross violation of this principle by badly informed +or meanly selfish individuals comes more embarrassment +to officer-man relationships than perhaps from all other causes<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> +put together. <em>It is a cardinal principle!</em> Yet many junior +officers do not seem to understand that steadfast fidelity to it is +required, not lip service. "And of this," as Admiral Mahan +would say, "comes much evil." The loyalty of men simply cannot +be commanded when they become embittered by selfish +action.</p> + +<p>Then how deeply does this rule cut? In line of duty, it applies +right down to the hilt! When a command is worn, bruised, and +hungry, officers attend to their men's creature comforts and +make sure that all is going well, before looking to their own +needs. If an officer is on a tour with an enlisted man, he takes +care that the man is accommodated as to food, shelter, medical +treatment or other prime needs, before satisfying his own wants; +if that means that the last meal or the last bed is gone, his duty +is to get along the hard way. If a command is so located that +recreational facilities are extremely limited, and there are not +enough to go around, the welfare of the ranks takes priority +over the interests of their commissioned leaders; in fact, it +would be more correct to say that the welfare of men <em>is</em> the +prior interest of the officer.</p> + +<p>These few concrete illustrations show, in general, what is expected. +Once the main idea is grasped, the way of its total +application becomes clear. Officers do not go around playing +pigtail to enlisted men. But they build loyalty by serving the +men first, when all concerned are following a general line of +duty together.</p> + +<p>It is an incumbent responsibility on all officers to maintain the +dignity of the uniform and prevent anyone from sullying it. +This means not only the dress of person, but the uniform wherever +it is worn publicly by any man of the United States forces. +Where the offense is committed by a member of some other +service and the disgrace to the uniform is obvious, it is the +duty of the officer to intervene, or to bring about intervention, +rather than to walk out on the situation. This calls for judgment, +tact, nerve. The offense must be real, and not simply an +offense against one's private sensibilities. But indecencies, exhibitionism +and bawdiness of such a nature that if done on a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> +reservation would warrant trial of the individual for unbecoming +conduct will justify intervention by the officer under public +circumstances.</p> + +<p>Similarly, any officer has a responsibility to any enlisted man +who is in personal distress, with no other means of ready help. +Suppose they just happen to meet in a strange community. The +enlisted man's credentials are shown to be <em>bona fide</em>. But he has +had his pocket picked, or has lost his wallet, or has just missed +the train that would have carried him back from his leave on +time, and he doesn't know what to do. For any officer to +brush-off a forthright request for aid or advice under such circumstances +is an unofficerly act. Likewise, if one suspects, just +from appearances, that the man is in trouble and somewhat +beyond his depths, it will be found that, far from resenting a +kindly inquiry, he will mark it to the credit of the whole fighting +system.</p> + +<p>To say that an officer owes a fellow officer no less consideration +than this is to state the obvious. Officers meeting in +transit usually get into conversation; it is a habit that adds +much to one's professional education. When an officer is getting +into a strange town, or arriving at a new post, anything done +by a fellow officer to help him get oriented, or to make things +friendly and easy for him, furthers the comity of the corps. +Between officers of differing services these small courtesies are +particularly appreciated. Nor does the matter end there. Within +Unit A, the officers have the responsibility of continuing support +to the officers of Unit C, Unit B, and so on. Though they are in +a sense competing, each trying to build higher than the other, +they must never forget that the basic technique of organization +is cooperation. What "A" knows that has helped his unit, or +whatever he can do to assist "B" and "C" without materially +depriving himself, it becomes his official and moral obligation to +transmit. An officer can never understand his own command +problem very well unless he knows, at least a little, of how +things are going in other units. And the statement can be reversed. +He cannot judge the problems of other people unless +he tries passionately to understand his own people.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span>There are many other minor articles within what is sometimes +called the "unwritten code" which help to regulate life in +the services, and to sweeten it.</p> + +<p>But what counts most is not the knowing of the rule but the +sharing of the spirit which gives it meaning and makes its +proper administration possible.</p> + + + +<div class="section_break"></div> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span></p> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_FOUR" id="CHAPTER_FOUR"></a><span class="chapter_number">CHAPTER FOUR</span><br /><br /> + +PLANNING YOUR CAREER</h3> + + +<p>The main purpose of this book is to stimulate thought and to +encourage the average young officer to seek truth for, and in, +himself. It is never a good idea to attempt a precise formula +about matters which are by nature indefinite and subject to all +number of variable factors.</p> + +<p>Thus with respect to career planning, despite all of the emphasis +put upon that subject in modern America, it would be +plain error to infer that any man can become all-wise, as to the +direction which he should take with his own life, simply by +steeping himself in all of the information which is to be had on +this subject.</p> + +<p>That might qualify him to give top-lofty advice to all others +on how to make the start up the right ladder, and he would +win a reputation as a personnel expert, which in itself is no +mean assignment. But in all probability, he would still be doing +better by himself than by any other individual.</p> + +<p>American library shelves are stacked with such books as +"Planning Your Future," "New Careers for Youth," and "The +Problem of Vocational Guidance." The pages are laden with +sage counsel and bromidic expressions. But their chief public +value is that they enabled a writer, his publisher and the bookseller +to get a little further ahead in life.</p> + +<p>Reflecting the trend elsewhere in the national life, the Armed +Services are equipped to give their forces the advantage of career +management principles, and to assist their men to plan their +professional careers. The opportunities and the job qualifications +can be described. Also, somewhat more thoroughly than is +done in civil life, the establishment's system of record-keeping +throws a partial light on the aptitudes of the individual. The +qualified man is soon known by his "spec number" or maybe +two numbers. It might seem therefore that things are so well-<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span>regulated +that the prospect of every man finding his niche is +better than even.</p> + +<p>The fact remains that the majority of individuals spend the +greater part of their lives doing something other than that which +would bring out their best quality and give them the greatest +satisfaction, mainly because accident, in one form or another, +put them into a particular channel, and inertia kept them there.</p> + +<p>A boy builds model airplanes. His hobby being a force in his +youthful years, he becomes a pilot, and then discovers to his +shocked amazement that he does not have his heart in machines +but in the management of men. A man who has lived his life +among guns, and who enjoys the feel and the working of them, +enters the service and permits himself to be made a food procurement +specialist, having run that kind of business in civil +life only because he had inherited it from his father. An +officer assigned to a weapons detail finds it hard going. And the +fact that he takes a delight in writing a good paper still does +not signal to him that this is his main field and he should +exploit it to the fullest!</p> + +<p>To what do these things point? In particular, to this, that +despite all of the help which may be provided by outside +agencies, finding the straight thoroughfare in work is mainly a +problem of searching self-examination and personal decision. +The impression which any other person may have of our talents +and possibilities is largely formed by what we say, think and +feel about ourselves.</p> + +<p>This does not require that constant introspection which is +found in Cecil Forester's nervous hero, "Captain Horatio Hornblower." +That man doubtless would have died of stomach ulcers +before winning his second stripe. It is not a matter of, "How do +I look to someone else?" but of, "What do I know about myself?" +The kind of work which one likes best and does with the +greatest facility, the avocational study which is pursued because +it provides greater delight than an encharged responsibility, +the talent which one had as a youth but was dropped +because of the press of making a living, the task which looks +alluring though one has lacked either the chance, or the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> +courage, to try a hand at it—these are among the more +fertile points of inquiry.</p> + +<p>Weighing it out, the service officer has an unrivaled opportunity +for fruitful experiment.</p> + +<p>In the first place, he has made the fundamental decision to +serve his country in the profession of arms. The meaning of +that decision should not be lost on him. It is by nature patriotic. +But if he regards his inheritance simply as a snug berth and +the best way to provide "three squares" to himself and family +throughout a lifetime, he is neither soundly patriotic nor intelligently +selfish.</p> + +<p>After signing on the line for his country, the individual's duty +to himself is to strive by every honorable means to move ahead +of his competition by growing more knowledgeable and better +qualified. <em>It is the inherent right of every officer to request such +service as he believes will further his advancement</em>, and far +from discouraging the ambitious man, higher authority will invariably +try to favor him. In no other mode of life are older +men so ready to encourage the willing junior.</p> + +<p>Gen. H. H. Arnold, the great air leader of World War II, is +an inspiring case study with respect to several of these points. +He wrote in "Global Mission" how he considered quitting the +Army in disgust upon being commissioned in infantry, following +graduation, so deeply was his heart set upon service in cavalry. +But something held him to the assignment. Some years later he +tried to transfer to ordnance because the prospect for advancement +looked better. While still ruminating on this change, he +was offered a detail to the newly forming aviation section of the +signal corps, and took it, not because he had a clear vision of +the future, but because it looked like a chance to get ahead. +Thus, almost inadvertently, he met the opportunity of which +came his world fame.</p> + +<p>This emphasizes another peculiar advantage belonging to the +young officer who is trying to orient himself toward the line of +greatest opportunity. In civil life, the man who flits from job to +job is soon regarded as a drifter and unstable. In the military +establishment an ability to adjust from job to job and to achieve<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span> +greater all-around qualification by making a successful record +in a diversified experience becomes a major asset in a career. +Generalship, in its real sense, requires a wider knowledge of +human affairs, supported by specialized knowledge of professional +techniques, than any other great responsibility. Those who +get to the top have to be many-sided men, with skill in the +control and guidance of a multifarious variety of activities. +Therefore even the young specialist, who has his eyes on a narrow +track because his talents seem to lie in that direction, is +well advised to raise his sights and extend his interest to the far +horizons of the profession, even while directing the greater part +of his force to a particular field.</p> + +<p>After all, variety is the spice of life, as well as a high road +toward perfection. Of Princeton's 1932 class, 161, or 59 percent, +were in the armed services during World War II. Questioned +after the war 70 percent of the total number replied that military +service was interesting, broadening, and profitable. But the +main point was that they said in overwhelming number that its +great lure was that <em>they were doing something new</em>. They liked +it because it gave them a legitimate excuse to quit their jobs and +attempt something different. In the services, a man may give +vent to this natural desire without impairing his record, and if +he is young and not at all certain what is his favorite dish, +the more he broadens his experience, the more likely it becomes +that he will sharpen his view of his own capabilities.</p> + +<p>The possible hard consequence of looking at service opportunity +through any one lens is epitomized in one paragraph of a +reclassification proceedings on an officer relieved during World +War II while serving as assistant division commander:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"Through no fault of his own, General Blank has never served +with troops since he was a captain during World War I. He +has been unable to keep pace with the problems of a commander +on the battlefield of today. He is unqualified for command of +troops due to lack of practical experience."</p></div> + +<p>It is hard to imagine a more dismal ending for a career than +that of the man who aspires to rank, without having any<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span> +honest concept of its proportionate moral responsibilities, particularly +when the lives of others are at stake.</p> + +<p>So when we say that "career planning" is a springboard to +personal success within the military establishment, it is not with +the narrow meaning that any officer should proceed to limit his +field of interest, decide quickly and arbitrarily where he will put +his plow and run his furrow, and then sit down and plot a +schedule of how he proposes to mount the success ladder rung +by rung. That might suit a plumber, or tickle the fancy of an interior +decorator, but it will not conserve the strength of the +officer corps. Its consequence would be to stereotype the thinking +faculties of a professional whose inner power flows from the +questing imagination, eager curiosity and versatility of its individuals. +Intense specialization, to the exclusion of all peripheral +areas of knowledge, warps the mind and limits the useful action +and influence of its owner. Dr. Vannevar Bush was a greater +scientist on the day he made his decision to explore the sphere +of military knowledge, and greater still when he applied himself +to literature.</p> + +<p>There are few men of great talent who initially have an unswerving +inner conviction that they possess the final answer, +as to themselves. They may feel reasonably sure about what they +would like to do, though still reserving an honest doubt about +the validity of their instincts and of their power to compete. +Even long and successful experience does not always allay this +doubt. Said Washington, on being appointed Commander-in-Chief: +"I beg it may be remembered by every man in this room +that I this day declare with the utmost sincerity, I do not think +myself equal to the command I am honored with." Assurance, +or by its other name, self-confidence, is only a continuing willingness +to keep coming back and trying, without fear of coming +a cropper, but with a care to the constant strengthening of one's +own resources. The motto of Admiral Robert E. Peary: "I will +find a way or make one," is not over-bold; any officer can +afford to paste the words inside his own hat. But in the hard +game with which Peary's fame is forever linked, there were +countless errors, an occasional hit, and at last a run.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span>The health and progressive spirit of the services come of the +many-sided officer who can make not one career for himself but +three or four. Had officers from all services been unwilling to go +into the industrial workshops and scientific laboratories of the +Nation to try their hands at wholly new lines of work, had +successful cavalrymen been unable to evolve as leaders of +armored forces, had ship captains and ensigns disdained taking +to the air, had foot soldiers refused the risks of parachuting and +naval officers not participated as observers with the infantry +line to further SFC (ship fire control) we would have run out +of wind before winning World War II.</p> + +<p>Some months after the war ended, the Secretary of the Navy, +recognizing the dilemma which confronted thousands of men +who were asking whether the wave of the future would be to +the specialist or to the all-around man, sent a message which +applied not less to the officers of every service:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>It is intended that the highest posts will be filled by officers +of the highest attainments, regardless of specialty. Be assured, +whatever may be your field of endeavor, that your future as an +officer rests, as it always has, in your hands. The outstanding +officer will continue to be he who attacks with all of his energy +and enthusiasm the tasks to which he is assigned and who grows +in stature and understanding with his years and with his experience. +Responsibility comes to him who seeks responsibility. +It is this officer, regardless of his field of effort, who will be called +to high command.</p></div> + +<p>There is not a chief of service who would shade the general +tone of this paragraph if asked to put before his own officers +the one rule which, most closely followed, would most surely +bring success. Nothing need be added to it and nothing should +be taken away; it states the case.</p> + +<p>At the same time, and as the message itself implies, specialization, +like sex and the automobile, is here to stay. In the service, +perforce, even the balanced, all-around man has his specialty. +In the beginning, true enough, he may aspire only to being a +soldier, marine, sailor or airman. That is good enough in the +cocoon stage. But ultimately he emerges with the definite color<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span>ing +of a ground fighter, a gunner, an engineer officer, a signals +man, a submariner, a weapons man, a navigator, an observer, a +transport officer or something else. If his tact, bearing and quick +pick-up suggest to his superiors that he may be good staff +material, and he takes that route, there are again branch lines, +leading out in roughly parallel directions, and embracing activities +in the fields of personnel, intelligence, operations, supply +and military government. And each one of these main stems has +smaller branches, greatly diversified. The man with a love for +logistics (and few have it) might some day find himself +running railroads or managing a port. The engineer could become +a salvage officer working a crew of deep sea divers, or as +easily a demolitions expert running a company of dynamiters. +The expert in communications? His next task might be setting +up a radio station near the North Pole or helping perfect radio +control of troops over a 50-mile area.</p> + +<p>It is in these things that the privilege of free choice arises, +for despite the popular theory that in the services you take what +you are given and like it, the placement of officers according to +their main aptitudes and desires is a controlling principle of +personnel policy. It is recognized throughout the military establishment +that, in general, men will do their best service in that +field where they think their natural talents are being most usefully +employed.</p> + +<p>Among the combat line commanders in World War II there +were doctors, dentists and even a few ministers. They could have +had places in their regular corps, but they were permitted to +continue with the duty of their own choice.</p> + +<p>Concerning the main problem of the officer, in fitting himself +for higher command, the controlling principle is well expressed +in the words of a distinguished educator, Wallace B. Donham: +"The hope of the wisdom essential to the general direction of +men's affairs lies not so much in wealth of specialized knowledge +as in the habits and skills required to handle problems involving +very diverse viewpoints which must be related to new concrete +situations. Wisdom is based on broad understanding in perspective. +It is common sense on a large canvas. It is never the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span> +product of scientific, technological, or other specializations, +though men so trained may, of course, acquire it."</p> + +<p>This puts just the right light on the subject. The military +officer specializes strictly to qualify himself more highly in his +main calling—the management of men in the practice of arms. +Becoming a specialist does not <em>ipso facto</em> make him a better +officer, or win him preferment. It is part of the mechanism, +though not the main wheel. As Admiral Forrest P. Sherman has +so well said: "We are not pushed willy-nilly into specialization; +there is never an excess of the all-around, highly competent +combat officer."</p> + +<p>Concerning his choice, all general advice is gratuitous. Whatever +might be written here would be worth far less than the +counsel or suggestion of any superior, or for that matter, a colleague, +who has observed his work closely over a long period, +who has some critical faculty, and whose good will is beyond +question.</p> + +<p>Particularly, the <em>voluntary</em> advice of such a person is worth +notice. That which is spontaneous usually has shrewd reason behind +it. When counsel is deliberately sought, it may catch the +consultant unaware, and in lieu of saying that which is well-considered, +he may offer a half-baked opinion, rather than be +disappointing. But when another person having one's trust, says: +"Your natural line is to do thus-and-so," it is time to ask him +why, and check his reasoning with one's own. Worth just as +much earnest consideration is his negative opinion, his strong +feeling that what one is about to undertake is not particularly +suitable.</p> + +<p>As for the man himself, it remains to survey thoughtfully the +whole range of possibilities, to keep the mind open and receptive +to impressions, to experiment but take firm hold in so doing, to +tackle each new task with as much enthusiasm as if it were to be +his life work, to ask for difficult assignments rather than soft +snaps and to be calmly deliberate, rather than rashly hasteful, in +appraising his own capabilities.</p> + +<p>Self-study is a lifetime job. A great many engineers didn't +realize that they were born to make nuclear fission possible until<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> +there was a three-way wedding between science, industry and +the military in 1940. Many officers who have had a late blooming +as experts in the field of electronics and supersonic speeds +had lived out successful careers before these subjects first saw +daylight.</p> + +<p>As Elbert Hubbard said of it, the only way to get away from +opportunity is to lie down and die.</p> + + + +<div class="section_break"></div> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span></p> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_FIVE" id="CHAPTER_FIVE"></a><span class="chapter_number">CHAPTER FIVE</span><br /><br /> + +RANK AND PRECEDENCE</h3> + + +<p>The regulations that govern precedence among officers of the +same service and among the services in relation to each other +have a very real utility not only in determining succession to +command and as reminders of the authority to which all persons +in the Armed Services are subject but in providing precedent for +all official or ceremonial occasions in which officers or organizations +of the several services may find themselves cooperating. +It is easy to imagine the confusion that would result without +such rules, especially if a junior commander of a senior service +had to defend the right of his organization to occupy the place +of honor ahead of a very senior commander with a detachment +from a junior service. These regulations are also the arbiter in +disputes arising between officers of equal rank who aspire to +command of the same unit.</p> + +<p>The legislation which separated the Air Force from the Army +again raised the question of precedence in parades and ceremonies. +Since the Air Force is the junior service, as to date +of recognition, the change indicated the following parade order: +(Reference, <em>Federal Register</em>, Volume 14, Number 160, August +19, 1949, page 5203)</p> + + +<ol> +<li>Cadets, United States Military Academy.</li> + +<li>Midshipmen, United States Naval Academy.</li> + +<li>Cadets, United States Coast Guard Academy.</li> + +<li>United States Army.</li> + +<li>United States Marines.</li> + +<li>United States Navy.</li> + +<li>United States Air Force.</li> + +<li>United States Coast Guard.</li> + +<li>National Guard of the United States.</li> + +<li>Organized Reserve Corps of the Army.</li> + +<li>Marine Corps Reserve.</li> + +<li><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span>Naval Reserve.</li> + +<li>Air Force National Guard of the United States.</li> + +<li>United States Air Force Reserve.</li> + +<li>Coast Guard Reserve.</li> + +<li>Other training organizations of the Army, Marine +Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard, in that +order, respectively.</li> +</ol> + +<p>During any period when the United States Coast Guard shall +operate as a part of the United States Navy, the Cadets, +United States Coast Guard Academy, the United States Coast +Guard, and the Coast Guard Reserve, shall take precedence, +respectively, next after the Midshipmen, United States Naval +Academy, the United States Navy, and the Naval Reserve.</p> + +<p>In any ceremony in which any or all of these components act +together, the table of precedence in appropriate regulations +determines their location in the column.</p> + +<p>The ranks and insignia in the Armed Services have been substantially +the same since 1883. During World War II there were +newly established the five star ranks of general of the army and +fleet admiral. After the first World War the rank of general-of-the-armies +was created to honor General Pershing, who was permitted +to choose the number of stars he would wear. He chose +four. After the Spanish-American War the rank of admiral-of-the-navy +was established for Admiral Dewey. No one has held +this rank since.</p> + +<p>On November 15, 1776, Congress established the ranks of admiral, +vice-admiral, rear admiral and commodore corresponding +to general, lieutenant general, major general, and brigadier +general. It also established three grades of naval captains—captain +of a 40-gun ship and upward to rank with colonel, captain +of a 20 to 40-gun ship to rank with lieutenant colonel, captain +of a 10 to 20-gun ship to rank with major, and lieutenant to +rank with captain in the Army.</p> + +<p>Although the top naval ranks were provided, the only two +officers ever to attain a higher rank than captain prior to 1862 +were Ezekiel Hopkins, whom Congress on December 22, 1775, +commissioned with the rank of <em>C-in-C of the Fleet</em>, and Charles +Stewart who was commissioned <em>Senior Flag Officer</em> by Congress<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> +in 1859. Hopkins and Stewart were called "commodore" as was +any other captain who commanded more than one ship.</p> + +<p>During our War of Independence, the Army had the rank of +ensign and the Navy did not. The several Army ranks were then +distinguishable by the color of the cockade, green for lieutenant, +buff for captain, and pink or red for a field officer. As early as +1780 major generals wore two stars on their epaulettes and +brigadier generals one. During our quasi-war with France, toward +the end of the eighteenth century, Washington was commissioned +lieutenant general, our first, and three stars were +prescribed to be worn by him.</p> + +<p>In the Army Register for 1813 the rank of ensign had disappeared +but there were third lieutenants (as in the Soviet Army +today) and coronets. In 1832 the eagle was adopted as the insignia +of colonel in the Army and in 1857 the lieutenant colonel, +captain, and first lieutenant wore the same insignia as today. +These insignia were adopted some time in the interval between +1847 and 1857. The gold bar, insigne of the second lieutenant, +was authorized just prior to World War I.</p> + +<p>The Navy has used the same shoulder insignia as the Army +since the Civil War. However, shoulder insignia on blues were +discontinued by the Navy in 1911 but the insignia were still +prescribed on epaulettes. The Navy adopted the eagle for captain +in 1852, twenty years after it had been approved by the +Army for colonels.</p> + +<p>In the first half of the last century the Navy List contained +officers of four grades only. A captain wore three stripes, a master +commandant, two (master commandant, established in 1806, +was changed to commander in 1837;) and a lieutenant, one. +A master had no stripe but three buttons instead. There were +midshipmen too, but they were warrant officers and <em>aspirants</em> +for commissioned rank as the present French term designates +them.</p> + +<p>Our first full general was U. S. Grant and our first full admiral, +David D. Porter; both won their rank in the Civil War. +In that war there was a large increase in the Navy and more +naval ranks were established. In 1862 ensign was provided in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span> +Navy to correspond to second lieutenant; and the term lieutenant +commanding became lieutenant commander. An ensign +wore one stripe as now; an additional stripe was added for each +rank till the rear admiral had eight. Since 1869 the senior +officers have worn the same stripes as now prescribed. In 1883 +the rank "master" was changed to lieutenant, junior grade.</p> + +<p>The rank of commodore, which had been abolished, was +temporarily revived during World War II. The rank of passed-midshipman +was abolished about 1910; thereafter graduates of +the Naval Academy were commissioned ensign. The rank of +ensign had previously been attained by passed-midshipmen after +2 years at sea and a successful examination at the end of that +cruise. The only permanent change in recent years was the addition +of aviation cadet to both the Air Force and Navy listings. +The warrant rank of flight officer in the Air Force, which was +created during the war, has now been abandoned, all the flight +officers then holding warrants either being commissioned second +lieutenants or separated. The naval rank of commodore was +likewise dropped, and brigadier generals of the Army and Air +Force now rank with admirals of the lower half.</p> + +<p>The following are the present corresponding ranks in the +Armed Services:</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span></p> + +<div class="visible_table"> +<table summary="Corresponding ranks across the armed services."> +<thead> +<tr> + <th>NAVY</th> + <th>MARINE CORPS</th> + <th>ARMY</th> + <th>AIR FORCE</th> + <th>COAST GUARD</th> +</tr> +</thead> +<tbody> +<tr> + <td>Fleet Admiral</td> + <td> </td> + <td>General of the Army</td> + <td>General of the Air Force</td> + <td> </td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>Admiral</td> + <td>General</td> + <td>General</td> + <td>General</td> + <td>Admiral</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>Vice Admiral</td> + <td>Lieutenant General</td> + <td>Lieutenant General</td> + <td>Lieutenant General</td> + <td>Vice Admiral</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>Rear Admiral (upper half)</td> + <td>Major General</td> + <td>Major General</td> + <td>Major General</td> + <td>Rear Admiral (upper half)</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>Rear Admiral (lower half) and Commodore</td> + <td>Brigadier General</td> + <td>Brigadier General</td> + <td>Brigadier General</td> + <td>Rear Admiral (lower half) and Commodore</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>Captain</td> + <td>Colonel</td> + <td>Colonel</td> + <td>Colonel</td> + <td>Captain</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>Commander</td> + <td>Lieutenant Colonel</td> + <td>Lieutenant Colonel</td> + <td>Lieutenant Colonel</td> + <td>Commander</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>Lieutenant Commander</td> + <td>Major</td> + <td>Major</td> + <td>Major</td> + <td>Lieutenant Commander</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>Lieutenant</td> + <td>Captain</td> + <td>Captain</td> + <td>Captain</td> + <td>Lieutenant</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>Lieutenant (Junior Grade)</td> + <td>First Lieutenant</td> + <td>First Lieutenant</td> + <td>First Lieutenant</td> + <td>Lieutenant (Junior Grade)</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>Ensign</td> + <td>Second Lieutenant</td> + <td>Second Lieutenant</td> + <td>Second Lieutenant</td> + <td>Ensign</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>Commissioned Warrant Officer</td> + <td>Commissioned Warrant Officer</td> + <td>Chief Warrant Officer</td> + <td>Chief Warrant Officer</td> + <td>Commissioned Warrant Officer</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>Midshipman</td> + <td> </td> + <td>Cadet</td> + <td>Cadet</td> + <td>Cadet</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>Warrant Officer</td> + <td>Warrant Officer</td> + <td>Warrant Officer Junior Grade</td> + <td>Warrant Officer Junior Grade</td> + <td>Warrant Officer</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>Aviation Cadet</td> + <td> </td> + <td> </td> + <td>Aviation Cadet</td> + <td> </td> +</tr> +</tbody> +</table> +</div> + +<p>Officers of all the fighting service, whether regular or reserve, +take precedence among themselves according to their dates of +rank. Officers take command in their respective services in accordance +with their dates of rank in the line, the senior, unless +otherwise ordered, taking command, whether regular or reserve. +The command of a task force or group composed of commands +from two or more services devolves upon the senior commanding +officer present in the force or group unless otherwise designated +by the appropriate common senior, acting for the President.</p> + +<p>The obvious exceptions to this are that officers outside the line +(that is, commissioned in specialized branches or corps) cannot +command line organizations. They may, however, in the Army +and Air Force, command organizations within the structure of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> +their own corps. Non-rated officers in the Air Force and Navy +are not eligible to command tactical flying units. As a specialized +case of command, the assigned first pilot and airplane commander +of any aircraft continues in command even though a +pilot senior in rank may be aboard.</p> + +<p>Retired officers of the Army rank at the foot of active officers +of the same grade; those of the Navy according to date of rank.</p> + +<p>Changing personnel policies have been reflected by frequent +revisions of the scale and grade given noncommissioned leadership. +This subject should therefore be checked against current +regulations. But as a rough guide, the following can be taken +as the corresponding noncommissioned grades and rates in the +services:</p> + +<div class="visible_table"> +<table summary="Corresponding noncommissioned grades and rates in the services."> +<thead> +<tr> + <th>PAY GRADE</th> + <th>NAVY AND COAST GUARD</th> + <th>ARMY</th> + <th>AIR FORCE</th> + <th>MARINE CORPS</th> +</tr> +</thead> +<tbody> +<tr> + <td>E-7</td> + <td>Chief Petty Officer</td> + <td>Master Sergeant</td> + <td>Master Sergeant</td> + <td>Master Sergeant</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>E-6</td> + <td>Petty Officer First Class</td> + <td>Sergeant First Class</td> + <td>Technical Sergeant</td> + <td>Technical Sergeant</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>E-5</td> + <td>Petty Officer Second Class</td> + <td>Sergeant</td> + <td>Staff Sergeant</td> + <td>Staff Sergeant</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>E-4</td> + <td>Petty Officer Third Class</td> + <td>Corporal</td> + <td>Sergeant</td> + <td>Sergeant</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>E-3</td> + <td><a name="FNanchor_A_1" id="FNanchor_A_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_1" class="fnanchor">[A]</a>Airman<br /> +<a href="#Footnote_A_1" class="fnanchor">[A]</a>Constructionman First Class<br /> +<a href="#Footnote_A_1" class="fnanchor">[A]</a>Dentalman<br /> +Fireman<br /> +Hospitalman<br /> +Seaman<br /> +Stewardsman<br /></td> + <td>Private First Class</td> + <td>Corporal</td> + <td>Corporal</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>E-2</td> + <td>Apprentice</td> + <td>Private</td> + <td>Private First Class</td> + <td>Private First Class</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>E-1</td> + <td>Recruit</td> + <td>Recruit</td> + <td>Private</td> + <td>Private</td> +</tr> +</tbody> +</table> +</div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_A_1" id="Footnote_A_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_1"><span class="label">[A]</span></a> Does not apply to Coast Guard.</p></div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span>Enlisted insignia of rank are of cloth, sewn on the sleeve of +the outer garment. Army chevrons are worn on both sleeves with +the point up, and special devices may be incorporated within +the chevron to indicate specialties. Chevrons for combat soldiers +are blue on a gold background, and all others are gold on a +blue background. Naval chevrons are worn point down. Air +Force chevrons have no point, but are a compound reverse +curve with the deepest part of the curve worn down; over this +is imposed a star within a circle. Marine Corps chevrons are +worn on both sleeves with the point up and are gold on a +crimson background for the dress blue uniform, green on a +red background for the forest green uniform, green on a khaki +background for the khaki uniform, and for combat uniforms +the chevrons are stenciled on the sleeves in black ink.</p> + +<table summary="Insignia"> +<tbody> +<tr> +<td class="figcenter" style="width: 150px;"> +<img src="images/army_insignia.png" width="150" height="150" alt="ARMY AND MARINE CORPS" title="ARMY AND MARINE CORPS" /> +<span class="caption">ARMY AND MARINE CORPS</span> +</td> + +<td class="figcenter" style="width: 150px;"> +<img src="images/navy_insignia.png" width="150" height="150" alt="NAVY AND COAST GUARD" title="NAVY AND COAST GUARD" /> +<span class="caption">NAVY AND COAST GUARD</span> +</td> + +<td class="figcenter" style="width: 150px;"> +<img src="images/airforce_insignia.png" width="150" height="150" alt="AIR FORCE" title="AIR FORCE" /> +<span class="caption">AIR FORCE</span> +</td> +</tr> +</tbody> +</table> + +<p>All military and naval personnel are addressed in official +correspondence by their full titles. Off duty in conversations and +in unofficial correspondence, officers are addressed as follows:</p> + +<table summary="Addressing officers"> +<tbody> +<tr> + <th colspan="2">Army, Air Force, Marine Corps</th> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>All general officers</td> + <td>General</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>Colonels and Lt. Colonels</td> + <td>Colonel</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>Majors</td> + <td>Major</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>Captains</td> + <td>Captain</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>Lieutenants</td> + <td>Mister or Lieutenant</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>Lieutenants in Medical Corps</td> + <td>Doctor or Lieutenant</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>All Chaplains</td> + <td>Chaplain</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>Army nurses</td> + <td>Nurse</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td colspan="2">Cadets</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="table_indented">(Official address)</td> + <td>Cadet</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="table_indented">(Unofficial address)</td> + <td>Mister</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>Warrant Officers</td> + <td>Mister</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>All sergeants</td> + <td>Sergeant</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>Corporals</td> + <td>Corporal</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>Privates and Privates, First Class</td> + <td>Private Jones or Jones</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td colspan="2" class="table_indented">When the name is not known, an Army private may be addressed +as "Soldier," and in the Marine Corps the term, "Marine," is +proper in such a case.</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <th colspan="2"><br />Navy, Coast Guard</th> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>All Admirals</td> + <td>Admiral</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>Commodores</td> + <td>Commodore</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>Captains</td> + <td>Captain</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>Commanders</td> + <td>Commander</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>Lieutenant Commanders, lieutenants, ensigns and midshipmen</td> + <td>Mister</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>All Chaplains</td> + <td>Chaplain</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>All medical officers (to commander)</td> + <td>Doctor</td> +</tr> +</tbody> +</table> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span>Except when in the presence of troops, senior officers frequently +address juniors as "Smith" or "Jones" but this does not +give the junior the privilege of addressing the senior in any +other way than his proper title. By the same token, officers of +the same grade generally address one another by their first or +last names depending on the degree of intimacy. The courtesy +and respect for others which govern the conduct of gentlemen +are expected to prevail at all times.</p> + +<p>Enlisted men are commonly addressed by their last names. +Except in cases where the officer has a blood relationship or a +preservice friendship with an enlisted man, the occasions on +which an enlisted man can properly be called by his first name +are extremely rare. Speaking face to face, it is proper to use +either the last name, alone, or the title of rank, or the last name +and any accepted abbreviation of the title. In calling First +Sergeant Brown from among a group, it would be acceptable to +call for "Brown" but better still "Sergeant Brown." In the Navy, +the common practice in addressing Chief Pharmacists Mate<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> +Gale, for instance, would be either "Gale" or "Chief." On formal +occasions, as in calling a senior enlisted man front and center +at a formation, the full military title would be used: "Chief +Bo's'ns Mate Gale and Master Sergeant Brown, front and center." +The longer form of address would also be proper in directing +a third party to report to Master Sergeant White.</p> + +<p>A painstaking observation of the courtesies due to ranks of +other services is more than a sign of good manners; it indicates a +recognition of the interdependence of the services upon one +another. Failure to observe or to recognize the tables of precedence +officially agreed upon among the services is both stupid +and rude. Any future war will see joint operations on a scale +never before achieved, and its success will be dependent in +large part upon the cooperation of all ranks in all services. +Likewise, in combined operations, the alert officer will take it +upon himself to learn and respect the insignia, relative ranks, +and customs of his Allies. By exerting himself in the recognition +of other ranks, by exacting adherence to the official tables of precedence, +he contributes not only to his own stature as a professional +soldier, sailor, marine or airman, but adds to the +reputation of his service.</p> + +<p>In the main requirements, military courtesy varies but little +from nation to nation. During service abroad, an American +officer will salute the commissioned officers and pay respects to +the anthems and colors of friendly nations just as to those of his +own country.</p> + + + +<div class="section_break"></div> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span></p> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_SIX" id="CHAPTER_SIX"></a><span class="chapter_number">CHAPTER SIX</span><br /><br /> + +CUSTOMS AND COURTESIES</h3> + + +<p>Mutual respect and courtesy are indispensable elements in +military organization. The junior shows deference to the senior; +the senior shows consideration for him. The salute is the ancient +and universal privilege of fighting men. It is a recognition of a +common fellowship in a proud profession. Saluting is an expression +of courtesy, alertness, and discipline. The senior is as +obliged to return it as the junior is to initiate it. In fact, in the +Army particularly, it is not unusual to see the senior salute first. +Interservice salutes should be exchanged as punctiliously as between +members of a single service, for both services stand to +gain or lose by the manner in which this act is performed.</p> + +<p>The general rules governing saluting are based on common +sense, good manners, and the customs of the times. For instance, +soldiers actively engaged in sports are not required to salute, nor +is any man leading a horse, since the sudden motion so near +the horse's head might make it restive. There will always be +occasions when it is inconvenient, impractical, or illogical to +render or require the return of a salute. The intent of the regulation +is not that it embarrass or demean the individual, but that +it serve as a signal of recognition and greeting between members +of the military brotherhood. According to regulations, in all +services, the salute is initiated by the junior, and at any convenient +distance that insures recognition, the least being about +six paces. The form of the salute is the same in the Army, Navy +and Air Force, and it is given either from the position of attention +or at a walk. It is not given indoors except when reporting +to another officer in an official capacity. In the Navy, it is customary +for the junior initiating a salute to combine it with "Good +morning, Sir," as a means of reinforcing its meaning as a greeting. +Where this is done in the other two services, it is usually the +result of a local directive expressing the wish of a particular +commander. While it is expected that the junior will initiate<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span> +such a greeting, there is no obligation upon him to do so, nor is +there any reason that the senior may not say it first.</p> + +<p>The Navy and Air Force require that the junior, when engaged +in work that brings him in reasonably frequent contact +with the same seniors during the course of the working day, +salute each senior officer the first time that he is passed during +the day, but not subsequently unless a change in circumstances +requires it. In the Air Force an enlisted mechanic working on the +line would salute the engineering officer and his assistants the +first time he recognized them during the day. If he passed one of +the same officers later in the day, for example in front of the +post exchange, he would salute again. The Army requires that a +salute be given and returned each time the junior passes the +senior, unless circumstances dictate that it be temporarily suspended +by common agreement. The Commanding Officer of a +naval vessel is saluted whenever met.</p> + +<p>Salutes are not mandatory on the driver of a vehicle, whether +moving or idling at the curb, for the reason that the operator is +presumed to need both hands for driving. Salutes are not exchanged +between moving vehicles, between moving and halted +vehicles, or between persons walking and persons riding in official +cars except when it is obvious that the passenger is a senior, +or when it is required as part of a ceremony. Official vehicles +carrying general officers or flag officers will be clearly marked +outside, and will be saluted. A salute is exchanged between +persons in a parked vehicle and persons walking, unless the car +is a bus or taxi. When two boats pass each other, the senior +officer in each boat salutes without rising.</p> + +<p>Aside from saluting, there are certain other customs that govern +conduct around official vehicles. Since the place of honor is +on the right, the junior not only walks on the left, but rides +there as well. In entering a car, the junior enters first, followed +by other members of the party in inverse order of rank, each +seating himself so that the senior may take position on the right +side. In leaving the car, the senior debarks first. However, if +following this general procedure would necessitate any member<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> +of the party climbing over another, or in any other way cause an +awkward situation, the senior may enter first and alight last.</p> + +<p>The same rules govern for boarding and leaving small boats, +except that the junior rides forward and the senior aft.</p> + +<p>In boarding aircraft with a single hatch, the pilot enters first, +followed by the copilot and other members of the crew. With the +crew in place, other passengers enter according to rank, the +senior first; he takes the seat of his choice if the aircraft is +equipped with seats. In either transport or tactical aircraft, the +senior officers generally ride as far forward as possible. In leaving +the aircraft, the aircrew who handle deplaning normally leave +first, followed by passengers in order of seniority.</p> + +<p>The long association of the Air Force with the Army precludes +any large body of custom and tradition that can be called +peculiarly Air Force in origin or usage. In time undoubtedly a +considerable body of distinctive official and social courtesies +will grow, but at present most of the official and unofficial +usages given here for the Army are understood to be applicable +to the Air Force as well, and will be so treated.</p> + +<p>The hand salute is required on all military installations and in +occupied territories, whether on or off duty; in all official greeting +in the line of duty both on and off the base; for ceremonial +occasions; and in honoring the National Anthem, or color, or +distinguished persons.</p> + +<p>Since most military posts or bases are guarded on a twenty-four +hour basis, the first official contact will be with the guard +on the main gate. He may be a soldier or airman selected by +roster and under the temporary control of the Officer of the +Day, a Military Policeman wearing an MP brassard and under +the command of the Provost Marshal, or a civilian guard either +under the Provost or some other special staff agency of the Post +or Base Commander. On the ordinary post or base, officers of +other services will be admitted if wearing uniform, even when +accompanied by civilian dependents. If the stay is of short duration, +a "visitors" tag on the car may be sufficient; in other cases +it may be necessary to secure a temporary pass from the Provost.</p> + +<p>Except for civilian guards, who do not salute, and who will be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> +readily identified in their police uniforms, the guard, if armed +with a pistol or carbine will give a hand salute. During the hours +for challenging (usually extending from a short time before darkness +until after reveille the next morning) sentries on an Army +post may require any officer to halt, give his rank and name, and +advance for recognition. The challenging sentry stands at "raise +pistol" or "port arms" until the challenged party has been +recognized, after which he simply returns his weapon to the +normal carrying position; if armed with a rifle, he executes +"present arms" and holds it until the salute is returned.</p> + +<p>On any post or base, the adjutant usually acts for the commanding +officer in greeting the visitor and directing him to the +various facilities of the base, although if the visit is to be of +short duration—say, just for the purpose of seeing a friend—it +would be impertinent to bother him. But if the visiting officer +is reporting for temporary duty, or if he will be living in the +immediate vicinity for some time on special detail and desires +the use of post facilities, he is required to report to the adjutant.</p> + +<p>Most posts and bases have not only a bachelor officers quarters, +more popularly known by the abbreviation BOQ, where the +visitor may obtain lodging, but also a Hostess House where the +officer may stay with his dependents. These accommodations are +usually under the supervision of the Billeting Officer, who makes +the assignments and charges a nominal fee for the services provided. +Other facilities that the visitor may use include the +Officer's Club and dining room, the Post Exchange (corresponding +to Navy Exchanges), and the post theater. Under certain +conditions the visitor may secure permission from the adjutant +or executive to make purchases at the Commissary, which deals +in foodstuffs and other perishables.</p> + +<p>Special dinners are served to the enlisted men on Christmas, +Thanksgiving, July 4, New Year's Day and sometimes on February +22. The company commander and lieutenants of the company +accompanied by their wives and families and other guests +visit the dining room and kitchen just before Christmas dinner +is served, often remaining for dinner as guests of the organization. +In some companies the soldiers are permitted to invite their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> +wives and other ladies to dinner. In some commands, the post +commander accompanied by his staff and some of the ladies of +the garrison visit all the dining rooms and kitchens just previous +to dinner hour.</p> + +<p>A newly arrived officer on a post and the adult members of +his family are usually invited to be in the receiving line at the +first regimental function after their arrival.</p> + +<p>If you arrive at a post at which you expect to remain longer +than 24 hours you should check with the post adjutant for rules +on calling. The adjutant will also give the normal calling hours +in effect at the post or station. You are usually expected to call +on the post commander. If assigned to duty there, you would +normally call on all of your intermediate commanders at their +offices. These calls should be made immediately after the call +on the post commander. If unable to wear uniform, an explanation +should be made for appearing in civilian clothes.</p> + +<p>When it is in keeping with local rules, as verified by the adjutant, +you should follow the official visit by a social call on the +post and intermediate commanders at their residence within 72 +hours after your arrival. If the commander is married and his +wife is present on the post, it is customary for you to make the +visit accompanied by your wife. These calls should be formal +and ordinarily last no longer than fifteen minutes.</p> + +<p>You need not make other calls until the officers of the battalion, +regiment or garrison have called on you except that as +junior officer you should make the first call on field officers of +your organization.</p> + +<p>It is customary for all officers of a unit or garrison to call +upon the commanding officer on New Year's Day. (Again the +commanding officer's desire in this matter can be asked of his +aide or adjutant.)</p> + +<p>The visitor at the average Army and Air Force post will +probably see few ceremonies other than retreat. This ceremony, +which closes the official day, may be accompanied either by +appropriate bugle calls, or by a parade with a military band. In +the former case, the music will sound <em>To the Color</em>, and in the +latter, the <em>National Anthem</em>, while the flag is being lowered.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span> +Retreat is held daily at a fixed time, usually about 1700 hours. +Posts with saluting cannon fire one round at the designated +hour. At the first note of either the <em>National Anthem</em> or <em>To the +Color</em>, all dismounted persons face toward the color or flag and +render the prescribed salute from attention; the salute is held +until the last note of the music has been played. In the event the +flag cannot be seen and the location of the flag staff is unknown +to the person saluting, he faces toward the sound of the music.</p> + +<p>At parades and reviews and on other occasions when uncased +colors are carried, all military personnel salute at six paces +distance and hold the salute until the color or standard is the +same distance past. When personal honors are being rendered to +general or flag officers at a review, all military personnel present +and not in formation salute during the ruffles, flourishes, and +march. When a cannon salute is given, personnel in the immediate +vicinity conform to the actions of the person being saluted. +No salute is required during the 48 gun salute to the Nation on +the Fourth of July.</p> + +<p>Military personnel also salute during the passing of a caisson +or hearse in a military funeral. If attending the services at the +grave side either as mourners or as honorary pallbearers, they +stand at attention with the head-dress over the left breast at any +time the casket is being moved, and during the service at the +grave, including the firing of the volleys and the sounding of +<em>Taps</em>. In cold or inclement weather, the head-dress is left on +and the hand salute is rendered during the movement of the +casket, the firing of the volleys, and the sound of <em>Taps</em>.</p> + +<p>On ships having 180 or more men of the seaman branch, the +side is attended by side boys for visiting officers of our Armed +Services, except in civilian clothes, and for officers of the Foreign +Service when they come on board and depart. This courtesy +is also extended to commissioned officers of the armed services of +foreign nations. Officers of the rank of lieutenant to major inclusive +are given two side boys, from lieutenant colonel to colonel +four side boys, from brigadier to major general six side boys, and +lieutenant general and above eight side boys. Full guard and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> +band are given to general officers, and for a colonel the guard +of the day but no music.</p> + +<p>During the hours of darkness or low visibility an approaching +boat is usually hailed "Boat ahoy?" which corresponds to the +sentry's challenge, "Who goes there?" Some of the answers are as +follows:</p> + +<div id="challenge_table"> +<table summary="Answers to sentry's challenge"> +<thead> +<tr> + <th>Answer</th> + <th>Meaning: <span class="reply_start">Senior in boat is:</span></th> +</tr> +</thead> +<tbody> +<tr> + <td>"Aye aye"</td> + <td>Commissioned officer</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>"No no"</td> + <td>Warrant officer</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>"Hello"</td> + <td>Enlisted man</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>"Enterprise"</td> + <td>CO of U.S.S. Enterprise</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>"Third Fleet"</td> + <td>Admiral commanding Third Fleet</td> +</tr> +</tbody> +</table> +</div> + +<p>Similarly if the CO of the 13th Infantry is embarked or the CO +of Fortress Monroe, the answers would be "13th Infantry" or +"Fort Monroe."</p> + +<p>On arrival, at the order, "Tend the side" the side boys fall +in fore and aft of the approach to the gangway, facing each +other. The boatswain's mate-of-the-watch takes station forward +of them and faces aft. When the boat comes alongside the +boatswain's mate pipes, and again when the visiting officer's +head reaches the level of the deck. At this moment the side boys +salute.</p> + +<p>On departure, the ceremony is repeated in reverse, the bo's'ns +mate begins to pipe and the side boys salute as soon as the departing +officer steps toward the gangway between the side boys. +As the boat casts off the bo's'ns mate pipes again. (Shore boats +and automobiles are not piped.)</p> + +<p>You uncover when entering a space where men are at mess +and in Sick Bay (Quarters) if sick men are present. You uncover +in the wardroom at all times if you are junior. All hands +except when under arms uncover in the captain's cabin and +country.</p> + +<p>You should not overtake a senior except in emergency. In the +latter case slow, salute, and say, "By your leave, sir."</p> + +<p>Admirals and captains when in uniform fly colors astern +when embarked in boats. When on official visits they also display +their personal flags (pennants for commanding officers) in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span> +the bow. Flag officers' barges are distinguished by the appropriate +number of stars on each side of the barge's hull. Captains' +gigs are distinguished by the name or abbreviation of +their ships surcharged by an arrow.</p> + +<p>Where gangways are rigged on both sides, the starboard gangway +is reserved for officers and the port for enlisted men. Stress +of weather or expedience (in the discretion of the officer of the +deck or OOD) may make either gangway available to both +officers and men.</p> + +<p>Seniors come on board ship first. When reaching the deck you +face toward the colors (or aft if no colors are hoisted) and salute +the colors (quarterdeck). Immediately thereafter you salute the +OOD and request permission to come on board. The usual form +is, "Request permission to come aboard, sir." The OOD is required +to return both salutes.</p> + +<p>On leaving the ship the inverse order is observed. You salute +the OOD and request permission to leave the ship. The OOD +will indicate when the boat is ready (if a boat is used). Each +person, juniors first, salutes the OOD; then faces toward the +colors, salutes and embarks.</p> + +<p>The OOD on board ship represents the captain and as such +has unquestioned authority. Only the executive and commanding +officer may order him relieved. The authority of the OOD +extends to the accommodation ladders or gangways. He is perfectly +within his rights to order any approaching boat to "lay +off" and keep clear until in his judgment he can receive her +alongside.</p> + +<p>The OOD normally conveys orders to the embarked troops via +the Troop Commander but in emergencies he may issue orders +direct to you or any person on board.</p> + +<p>The <em>bridge</em> is the "Command Post" of the ship when underway, +as the quarterdeck is at anchor. The officer-of-the-deck is +in charge of the ship as the representative of the captain. Admittance +to the bridge when underway should be at the captain's +invitation or with his permission. You may usually obtain permission +through the executive officer.</p> + +<p>The <em>quarterdeck</em> is the seat of authority; as such it is respected.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> +The starboard side of the quarterdeck is reserved for the captain +(and admiral, if a flagship). No person trespasses upon it except +when necessary in the course of work or official business. All +persons salute the quarterdeck when entering upon it. When +pacing the deck with another officer the place of honor is outboard, +and when reversing direction each turns towards the +other. The port side of the quarterdeck is reserved for commissioned +officers, and the crew has all the rest of the weather +decks of the ship. However, every part of the deck (and the +ship) is assigned to a particular division so that the crew has +ample space. Not unnaturally every division considers it has a +prior though unwritten right to its own part of the ship. For +gatherings such as smokers and movies, all divisions have equal +privileges at the scene of assemblage. Space and chairs are reserved +for officers and for CPO's, where available, and mess +benches are brought up for the men. The seniors have the place +of honor. When the captain (and admiral) arrive those present +are called to attention. The captain customarily gives "carry on" +at once through the executive officer or master-at-arms who accompanies +him to his seat.</p> + +<p>If you take passage on board a naval vessel you will be assigned +to one of several messes on board ship, the wardroom +or junior officer's mess. In off-hours, particularly in the evenings, +you can foregather there for cards, yarns or reading. Generally a +percolator is available with hot coffee.</p> + +<p>The Executive Officer is ex officio the president of the wardroom +mess. The wardroom officers are the division officers and +the heads of departments. All officers await the arrival of the +Executive Officer before being seated at lunch and dinner. If it +is necessary for you to leave early, ask the head at your table +for permission to be excused as you would at home. The seating +arrangement in the messes is by order of seniority.</p> + +<p>Naval Officers are required to pay their mess bills in advance. +The mess treasurer takes care of the receipts and expenditures +and the management of the mess. The mess chooses him by +election every month. When assigned to a mess you are an honorary +member. Consult the mess treasurer as to when he will re<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span>ceive +payment for mess bills. Your meals are served by stewards +who in addition, clean your room, make up your bunk, shine +your shoes. This is their regular work for which they draw the +pay of their rating. They are not tipped.</p> + +<p>The Cigar Mess is the successor of the old Wine Mess. You +may make purchases from this mess, for example, of cigarettes, +cigars, pipe tobacco and candies. The cigar mess treasurer will +make out your bill at the end of the month or before your detachment. +Before you are detached be sure that the mess treasurer +and the cigar mess treasurer have sufficient warning to make +out your bills before you leave. Once a ship has sailed, long +delays usually occur before your remittances can overtake it. The +unpaid mess bill on board is a more serious breach of propriety +than the unpaid club bill ashore because of the greater inconvenience +and delay in settlement.</p> + +<p>Passenger officers should call on the captain of the ship. If +there are many, they should choose a calling committee and consult +the executive officer as to a convenient time to call. The +latter will make arrangements with the captain.</p> + +<p>Gun salutes in the Navy are the same as in the Army, except +that flag officers below the rank of fleet admiral or general of +the Army are, by Navy regulations, given a gun salute upon +departure only. By Army regulations gun salutes for the same +officers are fired only on arrival.</p> + +<p>The rules governing saluting, whether saluting other individuals +or paying honor to the color or National Anthem, are the +same for the Air Force as in the Army, with the minor exceptions +already noted. Because a most frequent contact between the +Air Force and the other services comes of the operations of air +transport, an officer should know what is expected of him when +he travels as a passenger in military aircraft.</p> + +<p>It is assumed that the majority of officers visiting an Air +Force base will arrive by air at the local military airfield. In addition +to the Base Operations Officer, who is the commander's +staff officer with jurisdiction over air traffic arriving and departing, +the Airdrome Officer is charged with meeting all transient +aircraft, determining their transportation requirements, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> +directing them to the various base facilities. General officers and +admirals will usually be met by the Base Commander if practicable. +RON (Remaining Over Night) messages may be transmitted +through Base Operations at the same time the arrival +notice is filed.</p> + +<p>Pilots of transient aircraft carrying classified equipment are +responsible for the safeguarding of that equipment unless it can +be removed from the aircraft and stored in an adequately guarded +area. Under unusual circumstances, it may be possible to +arrange for a special airplane guard with the base commander.</p> + +<p>Passengers from other services, who desire to remain overnight +at an air force station should make the necessary arrangements +with the Airdrome Officer, and not attach themselves to the +pilot who will be busy with his own responsibilities. By the +same token, passengers of other services who have had a special +flight arranged for them should make every effort to see that the +pilot and crew are offered the same accommodations that they +themselves are using, unless the particular base has adequate +transient accommodations.</p> + +<p>Passenger vehicles are never allowed on the ramp or flight +line unless special arrangements have been made with the Base +Operations Officer; this permission will be granted only under +the most unusual circumstances.</p> + +<p>The assigned first pilot, or the airplane commander, is the final +authority on the operation of any military aircraft. Passengers, +regardless of rank, seniority, or service, are subject to the orders +of the airplane commander, who is held responsible for their +adherence to regulations governing conduct in and around the +aircraft. In the event it is impractical for the airplane commander +to leave his position, orders may be transmitted through +the copilot, engineer, or flight clerk, and have the same authority +as if given by the pilot himself.</p> + +<p>The order of boarding and alighting from military aircraft—excluding +the crew—will vary somewhat with the nature of the +mission. If a special flight is arranged for the transportation of +Very Important Persons, official inspecting parties, or other +high ranking officers of any service, the senior member will enter<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span> +first and take the seat of his choice, unless the aircraft is compartmented +otherwise. Other members of the party will enter in +order of rank, and precedence among officers of the same rank +will be determined among the officers themselves. In alighting +from the aircraft, the senior member will exit first, and the other +members of the party will follow either in order of rank, or in +order of seating, those nearest the hatch alighting first. The +duties of the crew preclude their acting as arbiters in matters of +precedence, and order of boarding and alighting will be decided +among the members of the party.</p> + +<p>In routine flights, officers will normally be loaded in order of +rank without regard for precedence, except that any VIP will +be on- and off-loaded first; in alighting, officers will leave as they +are seated from the exit forward—officers seated near the +hatch will debark first, and so on to those who are seated farthest +forward. In the event civilian dependents are being carried, or +an enlisted man accompanied by dependents, they will be loaded +after any VIP and before the officers, and leave in the same +sequence.</p> + +<p>Aircraft carrying general or flag officers will usually be marked +with a detachable metal plate carrying stars appropriate to the +highest rank aboard, and will be greeted on arrival by the Air +Force Base Commander, if the destination is an Air Force base. +Other aircraft are usually met by the Airdrome Officer, who is +appointed for one day only, and acts as the Base Commander's +representative.</p> + +<p>Other personnel on active duty, seeking transportation on +navigation or training missions, should realize that the flight is at +the pilot's convenience. While the pilot will usually agree to any +reasonable request, he can not deviate from his approved flight +plan simply to accommodate a passenger. By the same token, +passengers should be prompt, observe all pertinent safety regulations, +and remain in the passengers compartment of the aircraft +unless specifically invited to the flight deck or pilot's compartment. +Under instrument conditions—so-called "blind" +flying—continuous movement of the passengers of the aircraft +makes unnecessary work for the pilot in maintaining balance,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span> +trim, and his assigned altitude. Passengers who are abnormally +active while in the air are sometimes called—with exasperation—"waltzing +mice."</p> + +<p>Since flights are somewhat dependent on weather, especially +when carrying passengers, the decision of the pilot to fly or not to +fly, or to alter his flight plan enroute will not be questioned by +the passengers of whatever rank or service. Regulations governing +the use of safety belts; wearing of parachutes; smoking +during take-off, landing, fuel transfer, or in the vicinity of the +aircraft on the ground are binding on all classes of passengers.</p> + +<p>When airplanes participate in the funeral of an aviator, it is +customary to fly in a normal tactical formation, less one aircraft, +to indicate the vacancy formerly occupied by the deceased. The +flight should be so timed that it appears over the procession +while the remains are being carried to the grave. Care should be +exercised that the noise of the flight does not drown out the +service at the edge of the grave.</p> + +<p>Other ceremonies, including Retreat and reviews, are the +same for the Air Force as for the Army.</p> + +<p>By custom; and because it is the natural way of an American, +the officers of the host service accord more than their average +hospitality to the individual from any other service who may be +visiting or doing duty among them. Even the young officer, having +this experience for the first time, and in consequence feeling +a little strange about it, is not permitted to feel that way long. +He quickly finds a second home, provided there is that in his +nature which responds to friendship.</p> + +<p>These amenities, carefully observed at all levels, contribute +more directly to a spiritual uniting of American fighting forces +than all of the policies which have been promulgated toward the +serving of that object.</p> + + + +<div class="section_break"></div> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span></p> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_SEVEN" id="CHAPTER_SEVEN"></a><span class="chapter_number">CHAPTER SEVEN</span><br /><br /> + +KEEPING YOUR HOUSE IN ORDER</h3> + + +<p>In one of Lord Chesterfield's letters to his son there is to +be found this bit of wisdom: "Dispatch is the soul of business +and nothing contributes more to dispatch than method. Fix one +certain hour and day in the week for your accounts, keep them +together in their proper order, and you can never be much +cheated."</p> + +<p>Although that is good advice in any man's league, there is +just a little more reason why the military officer should adopt +a system of accounting whereby he can keep his record straight, +his affairs solvent and his situation mobile than if he had remained +in civil life.</p> + +<p>He rarely, if ever, becomes permanently fixed in one location +or remains tied to one group of individuals who know his credit, +his ability, his past accomplishments and his general reputation. +In the nature of his work, these things have to be reestablished +from point to point, and if he personally does not take pains to +conserve them, he can be certain only that no one else ever will.</p> + +<p>On the whole, the attitude of the services toward the private +affairs and nonduty conduct of their officers can be best set +forth by once again employing Chesterfield's phrases: "If you +have the knowledge, the honor, and probity which you may +have, the marks and warmth of my affection will amply reward +you; but if you have them not, my aversion and indignation will +rise in the same proportion."</p> + +<p>Reassignment to a distant station is of course a day-to-day +possibility in the life of any military officer. Far from this being a +general hardship, it is because the pattern of work and environment +changes frequently, and the opportunity to build new +friendships is almost endless, that the best men are attracted +to the services. To vegetate in one spot is killing to the spirit of +the individual who is truly fitted to play a lead part in bold<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span> +enterprises, and for that reason there is something very unseemly +and unmilitary about the officer who resists movement.</p> + +<p>On the other hand, a move order is like a club over the head +to the officer who hasn't kept his own deck clean, has made no +clear accounting of himself and is out of funds and harassed +by his creditors.</p> + +<p>Concerning the evils of running into debt, there is hardly need +for a sermon to any American male who has brains enough to +memorize his general orders. As Mr. Micawber put it to David +Copperfield, "The blossom is blighted, the leaf is withered, the +god of days goes down upon the dreary scene, and—and in +short, you are forever floored." The over-extension of credit is +a not unknown American failing. It is now the nigh universal +custom to overload the home with every kind of gadget, +usually bought on time, and nearly all intended to provide the +householder with every possible excuse for resisting human toil +or for declining to use any personal ingenuity in making life interesting +for his family. It is all good enough for those who +must have it, but it is well for an officer to remember that the +greater the accumulation, the less his chance of accommodating +his personal establishment to the requirements of the service. All +moves are costly, even though the government pays most of the +freight.</p> + +<p>For these and many other reasons, the habit of systematic +saving is an essential form of career insurance. The officer who +will not deprive himself of a few luxuries to build up a financial +reserve is as reckless of his professional future as the one who in +battle commits his manpower reserve to front-line action without +first weighing his situation.</p> + +<p>In the old days, keeping up with the Joneses was almost a +part of service tradition. If the colonel's lady owned a bob-tailed +nag, the major's wife could be satisfied with nothing less than a +bay. And so on and on. Things are no longer that way. They +have become much more sensible.</p> + +<p>There is one other kind of credit—the professional credit +which an officer is entitled to keep with his own establishment. +Junior officers are entitled to know that which their superiors<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> +are often too forgetful to tell them—that if they have made +some especially distinct and worthy contribution to the service, it +belongs in the permanent record. If, for example, an officer has +written part of a manual, or sat on a major board or committee +or provided the idea which has resulted in an improvement of +materiel, the fact should be noted in the 201 file, or its equivalent. +Such things are not done automatically, as many an +officer has learned too late and to his sorrow. But any officer is +within propriety in asking this acknowledgment from his responsible +superior.</p> + +<p>The legal assistance office in an officer's immediate organization +will usually suffice his needs in the drawing of all papers +essential to his personal housekeeping.</p> + +<p>To make a will is merely good business practice, and to neglect +it simply because one's holdings are small is to postpone forming +the habits which mark a responsible person. Because of +superstition and a reluctance to think about death, about three +out of every four Americans die intestate. That is about as +foolish as leading men into battle without designating a second +in command. The Armed Services counsel all officers to take the +more responsible view, and make it easy for their officers to do +this duty without cost.</p> + +<p>A power of attorney enables one person to take certain legal +steps for another in his absence, and execute papers which would +usually require his signature. When an officer is going on an +extended tour overseas, his interests are apt to be left dangling +unless he leaves such a power with his wife, mother, best friend +or some other person, thereby avoiding loss of money and excess +worry.</p> + +<p>Any citizen may draw up a will in his own handwriting, and if +it is properly attested, it will have some standing in court. Likewise, +a power of attorney can be executed on a blank form. But +it is foolish for a military officer to do these things halfway when +the legal offices of the service are available to him, not only for +performing the work, but for counseling him as to its effect.</p> + +<p>There is one other step that the responsible man takes on his +own. It is not likely that his wife or any other person knows at<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span> +any one time the whole story of his interests, obligations and +holdings, as to where goods may be stored, savings kept, insurance +policies filed, what debts are owed and what accounts are +receivable. In the event of his sudden death, next of kin would +be at a loss to know whom and where to call to get the estate +settled smoothly, and with all things accurately inventoried. So +it is a practical idea to keep an up-to-date check list in ledger +form, but containing all pertinent information whereby things +may be made readily accessible. If for some private reason, it is +preferred not to leave this with next of kin, it can be kept in a +top drawer at the office, where it could scarcely escape attention.</p> + +<p>A current inventory of household goods is also a safety and +time-saving precaution. As changes occur, the list can be corrected +and kept fresh. Then in case of a sudden move, there is +almost nothing to be done in preparation for the movers, and in +the event of loss anywhere along the line, one's own tables will +provide a basis for recovery. Goods are not infrequently mislaid, +lost, or damaged when shipped or warehoused, and the more +authentic the description of the goods in question, the better the +chances for the claim.</p> + +<p>For any officer with dependents, insurance is of course a +necessity. How much it should be, and what its form, are matters +for his judgment and conscience, and according to his circumstances. +The services do not try to tell a man how he should +provide for his family. Men of honor need no such reminder, +though they may be bothered by the question: "How much can +I afford?" On that point, sufficient to say that it is <em>not</em> more +blessed to be insolvent and worried about debts from being overloaded +with insurance than for any other reason. Many retired +officers supplement their pay by selling insurance. When a young +service officer wants insurance counsel, he will find that they are +disposed to deal sympathetically with his problem.</p> + +<p>A few recurrent expenses, such as insurance premiums and +bond purchases, can be met with allotments through the Finance +or Disbursing Officer. The forms for the starting of an allotment +are quite simple. When an officer is going overseas, if his dependents +are not to follow immediately, an allotment is the best<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span> +way to insure that they will get their income regularly. Overseas +expenses are usually quite light, which means that the allotment +may safely be made in larger amount than half the monthly pay. +Under certain circumstances, it may also be arranged for allotments +to be made to banks, as a form of steady saving.</p> + +<p>Adverting for a moment to the question of what happens to a +service officer when he becomes ridden by debt and plagued by +his creditors, it is a fair statement that the generality of higher +commanders are not unsympathetic, that they know that shrewdness +and thrift are quite often the product of a broadened experience, +and that their natural disposition is to temper the +wind to the shorn lamb, if there are signs that he is making a +reasonable effort to recover. When it becomes clear that he is +taking the service for a ride and cares nothing for the good +name of the officer corps, they'll send him packing. A man +harassed by debt, and not knowing how to meet his situation, is +always well-advised to go to his commander, make a clean +statement of the case, and ask for his counsel.</p> + +<p>Every officer should be absolutely scrupulous about keeping a +complete, chronologically arranged file of all official papers having +anything to do with his status, movements, duties, or possessions. +That may seem burdensome, but it is well worth doing, +since one never knows when an old paper will become germane +to a current question or undertaking.</p> + +<p>Likewise, receipts are necessary whenever one spends money +on anything (for instance, travel) on which reimbursement is +expected from the Government. Regulations are clear on this +point—the Government simply will not give the individual the +benefit of the doubt. No receipt; no check from the Treasury.</p> + +<p>The military society is a little more tightly closed than a +civilian society, particularly in posts, camps and stations. For +that reason the pressure from the distaff side is usually a little +heavier. Wives get together more frequently, know one another +better, and take a more direct interest in their husbands' careers +than is common elsewhere. That has its advantages, but also its +headaches. There is an occasional officer who is so immature in +his judgments as to permit his wife's feelings about a colleague<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> +or a colleague's wife to supervene in the affairs of organization. +This is one way to ask for trouble.</p> + +<p>Gossip is to be avoided because it is vicious, self-destructive, +unmanly, unmilitary and, most of the time, untrue. The obligation +of each officer toward his fellow officer is to build him up, +which implies the use of moral pressure against whatsoever influence +would pull him down. While the love of scandal is universal, +and the services can not hope to rid themselves altogether +of the average human failings, it is possible for any man +to guard his own tongue and, by the example of moderation, +serve to keep all such discussion temperate. Were all officers to +make a conscious striving in this direction, the credit of the corps +as a whole, and the satisfactions of each of its members in his +service, would be tremendously increased. Besides, there is another +point: gossip is the mark of the man insufficiently occupied +with serious thought about his personal responsibilities. His +carelessness about the destruction of the character of others is +incidental to his indifference to those things which make for +character in self.</p> + +<p>As for the rest of it, we can turn back to Chesterfield, with +whom we started. For how might any man state it more neatly +than with these words:</p> + +<p>"Were I to begin the world again with the experience which I +now have of it, I would lead a life of real, not of imaginary +pleasure. I would enjoy the pleasures of the table and of wine, +but stop short of the pains inseparably annexed to an excess of +either.</p> + +<p>"I should let other people do as they would without formally +and sententiously rebuking them for it. But I would be most +firmly resolved not to destroy my own faculties and constitution +in complaisance to those who have no regard for their own.</p> + +<p>"I would play to give me pleasure, but not to give me pain. +That is, I would play for trifles in mixed companies, to amuse +myself and conform to custom. But I would take care not to +venture for sums which if I won I would not be the better for, +but if I lost, should be under a difficulty to pay."</p> + + + +<div class="section_break"></div> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span></p> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_EIGHT" id="CHAPTER_EIGHT"></a><span class="chapter_number">CHAPTER EIGHT</span><br /><br /> + +GETTING ALONG WITH PEOPLE</h3> + + +<p>The main answer can be stated almost as simply as doing +right-face. Hear this:</p> + +<p>If you like people, if you seek contact with them rather than +hiding yourself in a corner, if you study your fellow men +sympathetically, if you try consistently to contribute something +to their success and happiness, if you are reasonably generous +with your thoughts and your time, if you have a partial reserve +with everyone but a seeming reserve with no one, if you work to +be interesting rather than spend to be a good fellow, you will +get along with your superiors, your subordinates, your orderly, +your roommate and the human race.</p> + +<p>It is easy enough to chart a course for the individual who is +wise enough to make human relationships his main concern. But +getting the knack of it is sufficiently more difficult that it is safe +to say more talk has been devoted to this subject than to any +other topic of conversation since Noah quit the Ark. From +Confucius down to Emily Post, greater and lesser minds have +worked at gentling the human race. By the scores of thousands, +precepts and platitudes have been written for the guidance of +personal conduct. The odd part of it is that despite all of this +labor, most of the frictions in modern society arise from the individual's +feeling of inferiority, his false pride, his vanity, his unwillingness +to yield space to any other man, and his consequent +urge to throw his own weight around. Goethe said that the +quality which best enables a man to renew his own life, in his +relation to others, is that he will become capable of renouncing +particular things at the right moment in order warmly to embrace +something new in the next.</p> + +<p>That is earthy advice for any member of the officer corps. +For who is regarded as the strong man in the service—the individual +who fights with tooth and nail to hold to a particular +post or privilege? Not at all! Full respect is given only to him<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span> +who at all times is willing to yield his space to a worthy successor, +because of an ingrained confidence that he can succeed +as greatly in some other sphere.</p> + +<p>For a fresh start in this study of getting along with people, +we could not do better than quote what was published some +time ago in the United States Coast Guard Magazine. Under +the title "<em>Thirteen Mistakes</em>," the coast guardsmen raised their +warning flares above the 13 pitfalls. It is a mistake:</p> + + +<ol> +<li>To attempt to set up your own standard of right and +wrong.</li> + +<li>To try to measure the enjoyment of others by your own.</li> + +<li>To expect uniformity of opinions in the world.</li> + +<li>To fail to make allowance for inexperience.</li> + +<li>To endeavor to mold all dispositions alike.</li> + +<li>Not to yield on unimportant trifles.</li> + +<li>To look for perfection in our own actions.</li> + +<li>To worry ourselves and others about what can't be +remedied.</li> + +<li>Not to help everybody wherever, however, whenever +we can.</li> + +<li>To consider impossible what we cannot ourselves perform.</li> + +<li>To believe only what our finite minds can grasp.</li> + +<li>Not to make allowances for the weakness of others.</li> + +<li>To estimate by some outside quality, when it is that +within which makes the man.</li> +</ol> + +<p>The unobserving officer will no doubt dismiss this list as just +so many clichés. The reflective man will accept it as a negative +guide to positive conduct, for it engages practically every principle +which is vital to the growth of a strong spiritual life in +relation to one's fellow men.</p> + +<p>Certain of these points stand out as prominently as pips on a +radar screen to the military officer bent on keeping his own ship +out of trouble. The morals contained in 4, 5, 12, and 13 all come +to bear in the story told by Sgt. Fred Miller about Pvt. Fred +Lang of Hospital No. 1 on Bataan. Miller had tried to do what +he could for Lang, but no one else in the detachment was willing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span> +to give him a break. He was an unlettered hillbilly and, being +ashamed of his own ignorance, he was shy toward other men. +The rest of the story is best told in Miller's words.</p> + +<p>"When the Japs made their first bombing run on Marivales, +most of us, being new at war, huddled together under such +cover as we could find. Some people were hit outside. We stayed +where we were. But we looked out and saw Lang. He was trying +to handle a stretcher by himself, dragging one end along the +ground in an effort to bring in the wounded. I remember one +member of our group remarking, 'Look at old Lang trying to do +litter drill right in the middle of a war.' Lang was killed by an +enemy bomb that night. I guess he had to die to make us understand +that he was the best man."</p> + +<p>There is hardly an American who has been in combat but can +tell some other version of this same story, changing only the +names and the surroundings. All too frequently it happens in the +services—we look at a man, and because at a casual inspection +we do not like the cut of his jib, or the manner of his response, +or are over-persuaded by what someone else has said about +him, we reach a permanent conclusion about his possibilities, and +either mentally write him off, or impair our own capacity for +giving him help.</p> + +<p>It suffices to say that when any officer has the inexcusable +fault that he takes snap judgment on his <em>own</em> men, he will not +be any different in his relations with all other people, and will +stand in his own light for the duration of his career. Which +leads to one other observation. When any man, bearing a bad +efficiency report, comes to a new organization, it is a fact to be +noted with mild interest, but <em>without any prejudice whatever</em>. +Every new assignment means a clean slate, and there should be +no hangover from what has happened, including the possible +mistaken judgments of others. The system was never intended +to give a dog a bad name. To be perpetually supervised, questioned +and shadowed is to be doubted, and doubt destroys confidence +and creates fear, slyness and discontent in the other individual. +Every man is entitled to a fresh hold on security with his +new superior. Any wise and experienced senior commander will<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> +tell you this, and will cite examples of men who came to him +with a spotty record, who started nervously, began to pick up +after realizing that they were not going to get another kick, and +went on to become altogether superior. For any right-minded +commander, it is far more gratifying to be able to salvage human +material than to take over an organization that is sound from +bottom to top.</p> + +<p>However, the truth in point 9 applies universally. The studied +effort to be helpful in all of our relations with our fellow men, +and to give help not grudgingly, but cheerfully, courteously and +in greater measure than is expected, is the high road to wide +influence and personal strength of character. More than all else, +it is the little kindnesses in life which bind men together and +help each wayfarer to start the day right. These tokens are like +bread cast upon the water; they ultimately nourish the giver +more than the direct beneficiary. One of our best-known corps +commanders in the Pacific War made it a rule that if any man +serving under him, or any man he knew in the service, however +unimportant, was promoted or given any other recognition, he +would write a letter to the man's wife or mother, saying how +proud he felt. He was not a great tactician or strategist but, +because of the little things he did, men loved him and would ride +to hell for him, and their collective moral strength became the +bastion of his professional success.</p> + +<p>Of Maj. Gen. Henry T. Allen, who commanded our first Army +of Occupation in Germany, a distinguished contemporary once +said: "It surprised us that Allen did so well; in the old Army +we regarded him as a swashbuckler." Maybe that was because he +was a cavalryman and liked to strut, and he liked to see chestiness +in his own people, right down to the last file. But General +Allen was infinitely considerate of the dignity of all other men, +and he disciplined himself to further their growth and give +them some mark of his thoughtful regard so far as lay within +his power. It was because of his rich understanding humanity, +and not through any genial slackness, that he kept a tight hold +on discipline. To the units he commanded he gave his own tone. +He warmed men instead of chilling them with fear. Thousands<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span> +returned to civil life better equipped for the passage because of +what they had seen him do and heard him say.</p> + +<p>So we can link points 1, 6, 7, and 8 from the Coast Guard's +list into one binding truth not less essential to sound officership +than to action anywhere which seeks the cooperation and goodwill +of men: <em>It is not more blessed to be right than to be loved</em>, +Henry Clay's remark that he would rather be right than president +notwithstanding. The absolute perfectionist is the most +tiresome of men, and a waster of time and of nerves. The +stickler, the fly-speckler, the bully and the sadist serve only to +encumber those parts of the establishment which they touch; +their subordinates spend part of their own strength clearing +away the wreckage which these misfits make.</p> + +<p>Other than these comments, it is not necessary to say a great +deal about the <em>inner qualities</em> which give an officer a free-wheeling +adjustment with other persons in all walks of life. Once +again, however, it might be well to speak of the importance of +enthusiasm, kindness, courtesy, and justice, which are the safeguards +of honor and the tokens of mutual respect between man +and man. This last there must be if men are to go forward together, +prosper in one another's company, find strength in the +bonds of mutual service, and experience a common felicity in +the relationship between the leader and the led.</p> + +<p>But it is sadly the case that the reputation of any man, as to +what he is inside, forms in large measure from what others see +of him from the outside. That is what makes poignant the story +of Pvt. Fred Lang; like a singed cat, he was better than he +looked. In the military service, more than elsewhere in life, +manner weighs heavily in the balance, if only for the reason +that from the public point of view, the military officer is supposed +to look the part. He is expected to be the embodiment of +character, given to forthright but amiable speech, capable of +expressing his ideas and purpose clearly, careful of customs and +good usage, and carrying himself with poise and assurance. For +if he does not have the aura of vitality, confidence and reflection +which is expected in a leader of men, it will be suspected that +he is incapable of playing the part. However unfairly discrimi<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span>nating +that judgment may seem to be, in comparison with the +attitude toward other professions, it has a perfectly logical basis. +The people are willing to forgive preoccupation in all others, +since how an engineer dresses has no relation to his skill as a +mathematician, and when a doctor mumbles it doesn't suggest +that he would be clumsy with a scalpel. But when they meet an +uncivil or unkempt officer, or see an untidy soldier or bluejacket +on the street, they worry that the national defense is going to +pot. One reason for the great prestige of the Marine Corps is +that the public seldom, if ever, sees a sloppy marine, though its +members do sometimes look a little gruesome on the field of +battle.</p> + +<p>The officer corps does have its share of "characters." Some +are men born in an uncommon mold, with a great deal of +natural phlegm in their systems, a gift for salty speech and a +tendency to drawl their words as if their thoughts were being +raised from a deep well. Usually, they are men of extraordinary +power, and are worth any dozen of that individual who scuttles +about like a water bug, making an exhibition of great energy +but, like the whirling dervish, keeping in such constant motion +that he has no chance to observe what goes on under his nose. +Here, as in all things, it is steadiness that does it. The blunt +soldier, the old sea-dog type of naval officer, is endurable and +even lovable in the eyes of most other people, when he has done +his scrapping with fire rather than firewater, when his personal +credentials are sound, and when his outward manner is bluff in +both meanings of the word. But the fakers who affect the crusty +manner, the glaring eye and the jutting jaw, simply because +they are wearing military suits and think mistakenly that these +things are in the tradition, will be recognized as counterfeit as +quickly as a lead quarter.</p> + +<p>There is nothing else that serves as well as the natural manner, +with some polishing of the surfaces here and there, and a +general tightening at the corners.</p> + +<p>While a partial check list is not likely to reform the establishment +overnight, if kept simple enough, it may afford help to an<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span> +occasional individual, instead of giving him the fear that he is +falling apart at the seams.</p> + +<p>The smartest physical culturists are swinging around to the +idea that correct posture alone is the great secret of physical +fitness, that if a man sits well, stands erect and walks correctly +all the time, he is doing more for his health and longevity than +all of the setting-up exercises and sweat baths yet devised. At the +same time he is making a favorable impression on all who see +him. Clumsy one-sided postures, fidgeting on a chair, slouching +while sitting or standing, moving along at a shambling gait and +speaking with the chin down on the chest produce quite the +opposite effect. Right or wrong, they are taken as a sign of indolence, +fatigue, or inattention. There is always an hour for +complete physical relaxation, for stretching and letting the muscles +melt; Winston Churchill attributed a large part of his vigor +and recuperative powers to the habit of taking a 30-minute cat +nap in midday. That is a smart trick if one can master it. But +trying most of all for <em>physical ease</em> when in conversation, or at +conference, or in attending to any matter wherein one comes +under the surveillance of those whose good opinion is worth +cultivating is as certain a handicap as putting excess weight on +an otherwise good horse.</p> + +<p>In the services, as in any situation in life in which deference +to higher opinion is compelled by the nature of an undertaking, +the young will do well to consider the wisdom of the precept, +"Be patient with your betters."</p> + +<p>It is lamentably bad judgment to act by any other rules. +Where differences of opinion exist, time and forbearance not infrequently +will work the desired change, where stubbornness or +rudeness would utterly fail. More than that, a junior owes this +much consideration to any senior whose heart is in the right +place. It is bad manners, but even worse from the standpoint of +tactics, to attempt publicly to score a victory over a senior in +any dispute, or to attempt by wit to gain the upperhand of him +in the presence of others. Though the point may be gained for +the moment, it is usually at the cost of one's personal hold on the +confidence of the senior.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span>But there is also the other side of the case, that the superior +should deal considerately with any earnest proposal from his +subordinate, rather than dashing cold water in his face, just because +he has not thought his proposition through. One of the +best-loved editors of the United States, Grove Patterson, of +Toledo, Ohio, was remembered by every young journalist who +ever came under him because of the care with which he supported +every man's pride. A youngster would go in to him, filled +with enthusiasm for some idea, which he himself had not bothered +to view in the round. Patterson would listen carefully, and +would then say: "That's a corking idea. Take it and work it out +carefully, going over every aspect of it. Then bring it back to +me." On second thought, the youngster would begin having his +own doubts, and would shortly begin hoping that the chief +would forget all about the subject, which he invariably did. +Many celebrated commanders in our military services have won +the lasting affection of their subordinates by employing exactly +this method.</p> + +<p>Men like the direct glance. They feel flattered by it, particularly +when they are talking, and in conversation they like to be +heard through, not interrupted in mid-passage. That is true +whatever their station. Nobody likes to be bored, but fully half +of boredom comes from lack of the habit of careful listening. +The man who will not listen never develops wits enough to distinguish +between a bore and a sage and therefore cannot pick +the best company. The vacant stare, the drifting of eyes from the +speaker to a window, or a picture or a passing blonde, though +greatly tempting in the midst of long discourse, are taken only +as signs of inattention. Many a young officer called to the carpet +for some trivial business has managed to square himself with his +commander just by looking straight and talking straight in the +few moments that decided his future.</p> + +<p>Elsewhere in the book, a great deal has been said about the +importance of the voice and of developing one's powers of conversation. +Not a great deal more needs to be added here. But +there is no excuse for the officer who talks so that others must +strain to hear what he is saying—unless he is suffering from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> +laryngitis. It is simple enough to keep the chin up and let the +words roll out. Many persons have the bad habit of letting the +voice drop at the end of a sentence; the effect on the other +party is like watching a man run away from a fight. For clear +understanding, and to create a good impression, there should be +a cheerful lift upward at the end of a sentence.</p> + +<p>Also, officers who look at lecturing simply as part of the routine +tend to fall into either the singsong rhythm which one frequently +hears in college professors and certain radio announcers, +or go all out for the sonorous intonations which are beloved by +many of the clergy. Many young officers get into these same +cadences whenever they talk to men, and before they know it, +they are trying the same thing in the family circle. They sound +like alarm clocks running down, but instead of arousing the +house, they are an invitation to slumber. Either on the lecture +platform, or in man-to-man conversation, there is no valid reason +why it is ever necessary to take the tone which suggests that +the talk is one-sided. Words can be crisply uttered and still be +personally directed, but not if the speaker is looking at the floor, +the moon or the rafters. To discuss a question amicably is the +best way to gain clear insight into it; when a man argues violently, +his purpose usually is not to serve wisdom but to prevail +despite his lack of it, thus stultifying both himself and his adversary.</p> + +<p>Clothes are important. They have to be. One can't go very +far without them, north of the Equator. But a fresh press counts +more than a new suit by a Fifth Avenue tailor left unpressed, +and neatness beats lavishness any day in the week.</p> + +<p>Carefulness in the little things counts much. Men develop an +aversion to the individual who cannot remember their names, +their titles or their stations, but they will warm to the person who +remembers, and they will overlook most of his other shortcomings. +Likewise, they are won by any words of appreciation or +of interest in what they are doing. Get a man talking about his +business, his golf game or his family, and you are on the inside +track toward his friendship. As for senior commanders, when the +hours comes for them to bat the ball back and forth in friendly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span> +conversation, there is nothing they enjoy more than reminiscing +about experiences on the battlefield. Other than inveterate surgical +patients, no one can outdo them in talking about their +operations.</p> + +<p>It isn't lengthy advice which is needed on this subject, since +a man commissioned is considered to have graduated from at +least the kindergarten of good manners. What counts is simply +caring about it, not to be ingratiating to other people, but for +the sake of one's own dignity and self-respect.</p> + +<p>None of the oracles on winning friends and influencing people +have said it in those few words, and if they had, there would +have been no books to sell.</p> + + + +<div class="section_break"></div> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span></p> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_NINE" id="CHAPTER_NINE"></a><span class="chapter_number">CHAPTER NINE</span><br /><br /> + +LEADERS AND LEADERSHIP</h3> + + +<p>In that gallery of Great Americans whose names are conspicuously +identified with the prospering of the national arms in +peace and war, there are almost as many types as there are men.</p> + +<p>There were a certain few qualities that they had to possess in +common or their names would never have become known beyond +the county line.</p> + +<p>But these were inner qualities, often deep buried, rather than +outward marks of greatness which men recognized immediately +upon beholding them.</p> + +<p>Some almost missed the roll call, either because in early life +their weaknesses were more apparent than their strengths, or because +of an outward seeming of insignificance which at first +fooled their contemporaries.</p> + +<p>In the minority are the few who seemed marked for greatness +almost from the cradle, and were acclaimed for leadership while +still of tender years.</p> + +<p>Winfield Scott, a Brigadier in the War of 1812 when Brigadiers +were few, and Chief of Staff when the Civil War began, is +a unique figure in the national history.</p> + +<p>George Washington, Adjutant of the State of Virginia at 21, is +one other military infant prodigy who never later belied his early +fame.</p> + +<p>The majority in the gallery are not like these. No two of them +are strikingly alike in mien and manner. Their personalities are +as different, for most part, as their names. Their characters also +ran the range of the spectrum, or nearly, if we are talking of +moral habit, rather than of conscientious performance of military +duty. Some drank their whiskey neat and frequently; others +loathed it and took a harsh line with any subordinate who used +it.</p> + +<p>One of the greatest generals in American history, celebrated +for his fighting hardly more than for his tippling, would walk<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span> +from the room if any man tried to tell an off-color story in his +presence.</p> + +<p>One of the most celebrated and successful of our Admirals +endeared himself to millions of men in all ranks and services by +his trick of gathering his chief subordinates together just prior +to battle, issuing his orders sternly and surely, and then relaxing +long enough to tell them his latest parlor story, knowing that +finally it would trickle down through the whole command.</p> + +<p>Among the warriors in this gallery are men who would bet a +month's pay on a horse race. There are duellists and brawlers, +athletes and aesthetes, men who lived almost sainted lives and +scholars who lived more for learning than for fame.</p> + +<p>Some tended to be so over-reclusive that they almost missed +recognition; others were hail-fellow-well-met in any company.</p> + +<p>Their methods of work reflected these extreme variations in +personal type, as did the means they used to draw other men to +them, thereby setting a foundation for real success.</p> + +<p>Part of their number commanded mainly through the sheer +force of ideas; others owed their fortune more to the magnetism +of dynamic personality.</p> + +<p>In a few there was the spark of genius. All things seemed to +come right with them at all times. Fate was kind, the openings +occurred, and they were prepared to take advantage of them.</p> + +<p>But the greater number moved up the hill one slow step at a +time, not always sure of their footing, buffeted by mischance, +owning no exalted opinion of their own merits, reacting to discouragement +much as other men would do, but finally accumulating +power as they learned how to organize the work of other +men.</p> + +<p>While a young lieutenant, Admiral Sims became so incensed, +when the United States would not take his word on a voucher, +that he offered to resign.</p> + +<p>General Grant signally failed to organize his life as an individual +prior to the time when a turn of the wheel gave him his +chance to organize the military power of the United States in +war.</p> + +<p>General Sherman, who commanded the Army for almost 15<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> +years, was considered by many of his close friends to be a fit +subject for confinement as a mental case just prior to the Civil +War.</p> + +<p>General Meade, one of the sweetest and most serene of men in +his family relationships, lacked confidence in his own merits and +was very abusive of his associates during battle.</p> + +<p>Admiral Farragut, whose tenderness as an individual are +marked by the 16 years in which he personally nursed an invalid +wife, was so independent in his professional thought and +action that both in and out of the Navy he was disqualified as a +"climber." He got into wretched quarrels with his superiors +mainly because he felt his assignments afforded him no distinction. +The Civil War gave him his opportunity.</p> + +<p>Admiral John Paul Jones, though an unusually modest man, +was as redoubtable in the boudoir as at sea, and it would be hard +to say which type of engagement most caught his fancy.</p> + +<p>General Winfield Scott, as firm a commander as ever drew on +a glove, plagued the service with his petty bickering over rank, +seniority, and precedent.</p> + +<p>They were all mortal. Being human, they had their points of +personal weakness, just as any newly appointed ensign or second +lieutenant also has weak spots in his armor, and sometimes +views them in such false proportion that he doubts his own +potential for high responsibility.</p> + +<p>There is not one perfect life in the gallery of the great. All +were moulded by the human influences which surrounded them. +They reacted in their own feelings, and toward other men, according +as their personal fortunes rose and fell. They sought help +where it could be found. When disappointed, they chilled like +anyone else. But along with their professional talents, they +possessed, in common, a desire for substantial recognition, accompanied +by the will to earn it fairly, or else the nation would +never have heard their names.</p> + +<p>All in all it is a multifarious gallery. If we were to pass it in +review, and then inspect it carefully, it would still be impossible +to say: "This is the composite of character. This is the proto<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span>type +of military success. Model upon it and you have the pinnacle +within reach."</p> + +<p>The same thing would no doubt hold true of a majority of the +better men who commanded ships, squadrons, regiments, and +companies under these commanders, and at their own level were +as superior in leadership as the relatively few who rose to +national stature because of the achievements of the general body.</p> + +<p>The same rule will apply tomorrow. Those who come forward +to fill these same places, and to command them with equal or +greater authority and competence, will not be plaster saints, +laden with all human virtue, spotless in character and fit to be +anointed with a superman legend by some future Parson Weems. +They will be men with a human quality, and a strong belief in +the United States and the goodness of a free society. They will +have some of the average man's faults, and maybe a few of his +vices. But certainly they will possess the qualities of courage, +creative intelligence and physical fitness in more than average +measure.</p> + +<p>What we know of our great leaders in the current age should +disparage the idea that only a superman may scale the heights. +Trained observers have noted in their personalities and careers +many of the plain characteristics which each man feels in himself +and mistakenly believes is a bar to preferment.</p> + +<p>Drew Middleton, the British correspondent, wrote of Gen. +Carl "Tooey" Spaatz: "This man, who may be a heroic figure +to our grandchildren, is essentially an unheroic figure to his contemporaries. +He is in fact such a friendly, human person that +observers tend to minimize his stature as a war leader. He is not +temperamental. He makes no rousing speeches, writes no inspirational +orders. Spaatz, in issuing orders for a major operation +involving 1,500 airplanes, is about as inspiring as a groceryman +ordering another five cases of canned peas."</p> + +<p>In the files of the Navy Department there is a picture of +Admiral Marc A. Mitscher, the famed commander of Task +Force 58, coming on board a flagship to take command of a +force of carriers. Officers and men are lined up at spick-and-span +attention. The Admiral himself appears as a little man in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span> +a rumpled khaki uniform, tieless and wearing an informal garrison +cap. Under his arm is a book, and in the photograph the +title can be read as "Send Another Coffin." Mitscher liked detective +stories; he didn't like ceremonial pomp.</p> + +<p>An interviewer who called on Gen. Ira C. Eaker when he was +leading 8th Air Force against Germany found "a strikingly soft-spoken, +sober, compact man who has the mild manner of a conservative +minister and the judicial outlook of a member of the +Supreme Court. But he is always about two steps ahead of +everybody on the score, and there is a quiet, inexorable logic +about everything he does." Of his own choice, Eaker would have +separated from military service after World War I. He wanted to +be a lawyer and he also toyed with the idea of running a country +newspaper. In his off hours, he wrote books on aviation for +junior readers. On the side, he studied civil law and found it +"valuable mental training."</p> + +<p>On the eve of the Guadalcanal landing, Gen. A. A. Vandegrift's +final order to his command ended with the stirring and +now celebrated phrase: "God favors the bold and strong of +heart." Yet in the afterglow of later years, the Nation read a +character sketch of him which included this: "He is so polite +and so soft spoken that he is continually disappointing the people +whom he meets. They find him lacking in the fire-eating +traits they like to expect of all marines, and they find it difficult +to believe that such a mild-mannered man could really have led +and won the bloody fight." When another officer spoke warmly +of Vandegrift's coolness under fire, his "grace under pressure," +to quote Hemingway's phrase, he replied: "I shouldn't be given +any credit. I'm built that way."</p> + +<p>The point is beautifully taken. Too often the man with great +inner strength holds in contempt those less well endowed by +nature than himself.</p> + +<p>While there are no perfect men, there are those who become +relatively perfect leaders of men because something in their +makeup brings out in strength the highest virtues of all who +follow them. That is the way of human nature. Minor shortcomings +do not impair the working loyalty, or growth, of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span> +follower who has found someone whose strengths he deems +worth emulating. On the other hand, to recognize merit, you +must yourself have it. <em>The act of recognizing the worthwhile +traits in another person is both the test and the making of +character.</em> The man who scorns all others, and thinks no one else +worth following, parades his own inferiority before the world. +He puts his own character into bankruptcy just as surely as does +that other sad camp follower of whom Thomas Carlyle wrote: +"To recognize false merit, and crown it as true, because a long +tail runs after it, is the saddest operation under the sun."</p> + +<p>Sherman, Logan, Rawlins and the many others hitched their +wagons to Grant's star because they saw in him a man who had +a way with other men, and who commanded them not less by +personal courage than by patient work in their interest. Had +Grant spent time brooding over his civilian failures, he would +have been stuck with a disorderly camp and would never have +gotten out of Illinois.</p> + +<p>The nobility of the private life and influence of Gen. Robert +E. Lee and the grandeur of his military character are known to +every American school boy. His peerless gifts as a battle leader +have won the tribute of celebrated soldiers and historians +throughout the English-speaking world. Likewise, the deep religiosity +of his great lieutenant, Stonewall Jackson, the latter's +fiery zeal and the almost evangelical power with which he lifted +the hearts of all men who followed him, are hallmarks of character +that are vividly remembered in whatever context his name +happens to be mentioned.</p> + +<p>If we turn for a somewhat closer look at Grant it is because he, +more than any other American soldier, left us a full, clear +narrative of his own growth, and of the inner thoughts and +doubts pertaining to himself which attended his life experience. +There was a great deal of the average man in Grant. He was +beset by human failings. He could not look impressive. He had +no sense of destiny. In his great hours, it was sweat, rather than +inspiration, dogged perseverance, rather than the aura of power, +which made the hour great.</p> + +<p>Average though he was in many things, there was nothing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span> +average about the strong way in which he took hold, applying +massive common sense to the complex problems of the field. +That is why he is worth close regard. His virtues as a military +leader were of the simpler sort which plain men may understand +and hope to emulate. He was direct in manner. He never +intrigued. His speech was homely. He was approachable. His +mind never deviated from the object. Though a stubborn man, +he was always willing to listen to his subordinates. He never +adhered to a plan obstinately, but nothing could induce him to +forsake the idea behind the plan.</p> + +<p>History has left us a clear view of how he attained to greatness +in leadership by holding steadfastly to a few main principles.</p> + +<p>At Belmont, his first small action, he showed nothing to indicate +that he was competent as a tactician and strategist. But the +closing scene reveals him as the last man to leave the field of +action, risking his life to see that none of his men had been left +behind.</p> + +<p>At Fort Donelson, where he had initiated an amphibious +campaign of highly original daring, he was not on the battlefield +when his army was suddenly attacked. He arrived to find +his right wing crushed and his whole force on the verge of defeat. +He blamed no one. Without more than a passing second's +hesitation, he said quietly to his chief subordinates: "Gentlemen, +the position on the right must be retaken." Then he +mounted his horse, and galloped along the line shouting to his +men: "Fill your cartridge cases quick; the enemy is trying to +escape and he must not be permitted to do so." Control and +order were immediately reestablished by his presence.</p> + +<p>At Shiloh, the same thing happened, only this time it was +worse; the whole Union Army was on the verge of rout. Grant, +hobbling on crutches from a recent leg injury, met the mob of +panic-stricken stragglers as he left the boat at Pittsburgh Landing. +Calling on them to turn back, he mounted and rode toward +the battle, shouting encouragement and giving orders to all he +met. Confidence flowed from him back into an already beaten +Army and in this way a field near lost was soon regained.</p> + +<p>The last and best picture of Grant is on the evening after he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span> +had taken his first beating from General Lee in the campaign +against Richmond. He was newly with the Army of the Potomac. +His predecessors, after being whipped by Lee, had invariably retreated +to safe distance. But this time as the defeated army took +the road of retreat out of the Wilderness, its columns got only as +far as the Chancellorsville House crossroad. There the soldiers +saw a squat, bearded man, sitting horseback, and drawing on a +cigar. As the head of each regiment came abreast him, he silently +motioned it to take the right-hand fork—back toward Lee's +flank and deeper than ever into the Wilderness. That night for +the first time the Army sensed an electric change in the air over +Virginia. It had a man.</p> + +<p>"I intend to fight it out on this line" is more revealing of the +one supreme quality which put the seal on all other of U. S. +Grant's great gifts for military leading than everything else that +the historians have written of him. He was the epitome of that +spirit which moderns call "seeing the show through." He was +sensitive to a fault in his early years, and carried to his tomb a +dislike for military uniform, caused by his being made the butt of +ridicule the first time he ever donned a soldier suit. As a junior +lieutenant in the Mexican War, he sensed no particular aptitude +in himself. But he had participated in every engagement possible +to a member of his regiment, and had executed every small duty +to the hilt, with particular attention to conserving the lives of +his men. This was the school and the course which later enabled +him to march to Richmond, when men's lives had to be +spent for the good of the Nation. In more recent times, one of the +great statesmen and soldiers of the United States, Henry L. +Stimson, has added his witness to the value of this force in all +enterprise: "I know the withering effect of limited commitments +and I know the regenerative effect of full action." Though he +was speaking particularly of the larger affairs of war and nation +policy, his words apply with full weight to the personal life. +The truth seen only halfway is missed wholly; the thing done +only halfway had best not be attempted at all. Men can be +fooled but they can't be fooled on this score. They will know +every time when the bolt falls short for lack of a worthwhile<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span> +effort. And when that happens, confidence in the leader is corroded, +even among those who themselves were unwilling to try.</p> + +<p>There have been great and distinguished leaders in our military +services at all levels, who had no particular gifts for administration, +and little for organizing the detail of decisive action +either within battle or without. They excelled because of a +superior ability to utilize the brains and command the loyalty +of well-chosen subordinates. Their particular function was to +judge the mark according to their resources and audacity, and +then to hold the team steady until the mark was gained. So +doing, they complemented the power of the faithful lieutenants +who might have put them in the shade in any I. Q. test. Wrote +Grant: "I never knew what to do with a paper except put it in +a side pocket or pass it to a clerk who understood it better than I +did." There was nothing unfair or irregular about this; it was as +it should be. All military achievement develops out of unity of +action. The laurel goes to the man whose powers can most surely +be directed toward the end purposes of organization. <em>The winning +of battles is the product of the winning of men.</em> That aptitude +is not an endowment of formal education, though the man +who has led a football team, a class, a fraternity or a debating +society is the stronger for the experience which he has gained. +It is not uncustomary in those who have excelled in scholarship +to despise those who have excelled merely in sympathetic understanding +of the human race. But in the military services, though +there are niches for the pedant, character is at all times at least +as vital as intellect, and the main rewards go to him who can +make other men feel toughened as well as elevated.</p> + + +<ul> +<li><em>Quiet resolution.</em></li> + +<li><em>The hardihood to take risks.</em></li> + +<li><em>The will to take full responsibility for decision.</em></li> + +<li><em>The readiness to share its rewards with subordinates.</em></li> + +<li><em>An equal readiness to take the blame when things go adversely.</em></li> + +<li><em>The nerve to survive storm and disappointment and to +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span> +face toward each new day with the scoresheet wiped +clean, neither dwelling on one's successes nor accepting +discouragement from one's failures.</em></li> +</ul> + +<p>In these things lie a great part of the essence of leadership, for +they are the constituents of that kind of moral courage which +has enabled one man to draw many others to him in any age.</p> + +<p>It is good, also, to look the part, not only because of its effect +on others, but because from out of the effort made to <em>look it</em>, +one may in time come <em>to be it</em>. One of the kindliest and most +penetrating philosophers of our age, Abbé Ernest Dimnet, has +assured us that this is true. He says that by trying to look and +act like a socially distinguished person, one may in fact attain +to the inner disposition of a gentleman. That, almost needless +to say, is the <em>real</em> mark of the officer who takes great pains about +the manner of his dress and address, for as Walt Whitman has +said: "All changes of appearances without a change in that +which underlies appearance, are without avail." All depends +upon the spirit in which one makes the effort. By his own account, +U. S. Grant, as a West Point cadet, was more stirred by +the commanding appearance of General Winfield Scott than by +any man he had ever seen, including the President. He wrote +that at that moment there flashed across his mind the thought +that some day he would stand in Scott's place. Grant was unkempt +of dress. His physical endowments were such that he +could never achieve the commanding air of Scott, but he left us +his witness that Scott's military bearing helped kindle his own +desire for command, even though he knew that he could not be +like Scott.</p> + +<p>Much is said in favor of modesty as an asset in leadership. It +is remarked that the man who wishes to hold the respect of +others will mention himself not more frequently than a born +aristocrat mentions his ancestor. However, the point can be +labored too hard. Some of the ablest of the Nation's battlefield +commanders have been anything but shrinking violets; we have +had now and then a hero who could boast with such gusto that +this very characteristic somehow endeared him to his men. But +that would be a dangerous tack for all save the most exceptional +individual. Instead of speaking of modesty as a charm that will<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span> +win all hearts, thereby risking that through excessive modesty a +man will become tiresome to others and rated as too timid for +high responsibility, it would be better to dwell upon the importance +of being natural, which means neither concealing nor +making a vulgar display of one's ideals and motives, but acting +directly according to their dictations.</p> + +<p>This leads to another point. In several of the most celebrated +commentaries written by higher commanders on the nature of +generalship, the statement is made rather carelessly that to be +capable of great military leadership a man must be something of +an actor. If that were unqualifiedly true, then it would be a +desirable technique likewise in any junior officer that he too +should learn how to wear a false face, and play a part which +cloaks his real self. The hollowness of the idea is proved by the +lives of such men as Robert E. Lee, W. T. Sherman, George C. +Marshall, Omar N. Bradley, Carl A. Spaatz, William H. Simpson, +Chester A. Nimitz, and W. S. Sims. As commanders, they +were all as natural as children, though some had great natural +reserve, and others were warmer and more outgiving. They expressed +themselves straightforwardly rather than by artful striving +for effect. There was no studied attempt to appear only in a +certain light. To use the common word for it, their people did +not regard them as "characters." This naturalness had much to +do with their hold on other men.</p> + +<p>Such a result will always come. He who concentrates on the +object at hand has little need to worry about the impression he +is making on others. Even though they detect the chinks in the +armor, they will know that the armor will hold.</p> + +<p>On the other hand, a sense of the dramatic values, coupled +with the intelligence to play upon them skillfully, is an invaluable +quality in any military leader. Though there was nothing of +the "actor" in Grant, he understood the value of pointing things +up. <em>To put a bold or inspiring emphasis where it belongs is not +stagecraft, but an integral part of the military fine art of communications.</em> +System which is only system is injurious to the +mind and spirit of any normal person. One can play a superior +part well, and maintain prestige and dignity, without being<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span> +under the compulsion to think, speak and act in a monotone. In +fact, when any military commander becomes over-inhibited +along these lines because of the illusion that this is the way to +build a reputation for strength, he but doubles the necessity that +his subordinates will act at all times like human beings rather +than robots.</p> + +<p>Coupled with self-control, recollection and thoughtfulness +will carry a man far. Men will warm toward a leader when they +come to believe that all the energy he stores up by living somewhat +within himself is at their service. But when they feel that +this is not the case, and that his reserve is simply the outward +sign of a spiritual miserliness and concentration on purely personal +goals, no amount of restraint will ever win their favor. +This is as true of him who commands a whole service as of the +leader of a picket squad.</p> + +<p>To speak of the importance of a sense of humor would be +unavailing if it were not that what cramps so many men isn't +that they are by nature humorless but that they are hesitant to +exercise what humor they possess. Within the military profession, +it is as unwise as to let the muscles go soft and to spare the +mind the strain of original thinking. Great humor has always +been in the military tradition. The need of it is nowhere more +delicately expressed than in Kipling's lines:</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">My son was killed while laughing at some jest,<br /></span> +<span class="i10">I would I knew<br /></span> +<span class="i0">What it was, and it might serve me in a time<br /></span> +<span class="i10">When jests are few.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>Marcus Aurelius, Rome's soldier philosopher, spoke of his love +for the man who "could be humorous in an agreeable way." No +reader of Grant's <em>Memoirs</em> (one of the few truly great autobiographies +ever written by a soldier) could fail to be impressed +by his light touch. A delicate sense of the incongruous seems to +have pervaded him; he is at his whimsical best when he sees +himself in a ridiculous light. Lord Kitchener, one of the grimmest +warriors ever to serve the British Empire, warmed to the +man who made him the butt of a practical joke. There is the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> +unforgettable picture of Admiral Beatty at Jutland. The <em>Indefatigable</em> +has disappeared beneath the waves. The <em>Queen Mary</em> +had exploded. The <em>Lion</em> was in flames. Then word came that +the <em>Princess Royal</em> was blown up. Said Beatty to his Flag Captain +"Chatfield, there seems to be something wrong with our ... ships +today. Turn two points nearer the enemy." Admiral +Nimitz, surveying the terrible landscape of the Kwajalein battlefield +for the first time, said gravely to his Staff: "It's the worst +devastation I've ever seen except for that last Texas picnic in +Honolulu." There is a characteristic anecdote of General Patton. +He had just been worsted by higher headquarters in an argument +over strategy. So he sat talking to his own Staff about it, +his dog curled up beside him. Suddenly he said to the animal: +"The trouble with you, too, Willy, is that you don't understand +the big picture." General Eisenhower, probably more than any +other American commander, had the art of winning with his +humor. He would have qualified under Sydney Smith's definition: +"The meaning of an extraordinary man is that he is eight +men in one man; that he has as much wit as if he had no sense, +and as much sense as if he had no wit; that his conduct is as +judicious as if he were the dullest of human beings, and his +imagination as brilliant as if he were irretrievably ruined."</p> + +<p>There is hardly a soldier, marine, or bluejacket who has been +long in battle but can tell some tale of an experience under fire +when the pressure became almost unbearable, and then was +suddenly relieved because somebody made a wisecrack or pulled +something that was good for a laugh. At Bastogne the American +headquarters was being shelled out of its position in the +Belgian Barracks. The Commanding General called in his Chief +Signal Officer and asked when it would be convenient to move. +Said Lt. Col. Sid Davis, "Right now, while I've got one line +left and you can still give the order." When the garrison was surrounded, +and higher headquarters requested a description of the +situation, the young G-3 of the operation, Col. H. W. O. Kinnard, +radioed: "Think of a doughnut: we're the hole."</p> + +<p>Who hasn't heard of the top kick who got his men forward by +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span>yelling: "Come on you ——! Do you want to live forever?" +Both the Army and the Marine Corps claim him for their own, +and it is possible that he was twins.</p> + +<p>If the American fighting man did not have an instinctive feeling +for the moral value of that kind of thing, the story would be +long since buried, for it is as ancient as the other tale which +ends: "That was no lady; that was my wife."</p> + + + +<div class="section_break"></div> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span></p> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_TEN" id="CHAPTER_TEN"></a><span class="chapter_number">CHAPTER TEN</span><br /><br /> + +MAINSPRINGS OF LEADERSHIP</h3> + + +<p>To what has been said, just a few things should be added so +that the problem of generating greater powers of leadership +within the officer corps may be seen in its true light.</p> + +<p>The counselor says: "Be forthright! Be articulate! Be confident! +Be positive! Possess a commanding appearance!" The +young man replies: "All very good, so far as it goes. I will, if I +can. But tell me, how do I get that way?" He sees rightly +enough the main point, that these things are but derivatives of +other inner qualities which must be possessed, if the leader is to +travel the decisive mile between wavering capacity and resolute +performance.</p> + +<p>So the need is to get down to a few governing principles. +Finding them, we may be able to resolve finally any argument +as to whether leadership is a God-given power, or may be bestowed +through earnest military teaching.</p> + +<p>Two great American commanders have spoken their thoughts +on this subject. The weight of their comment is enhanced by +the conspicuous success of both men in the field of moral +leading.</p> + +<p>Said Admiral Forrest P. Sherman, Chief of Naval Operations: +"I concur that we <em>can</em> take average good men and, by +proper training, develop in them the essential initiative, confidence, +and magnetism which are necessary in leadership. I believe +that these qualities are present in the average man to a +degree that he can be made a good leader if his native qualities +are properly developed; whether or not he becomes a <em>great</em> +leader depends upon whether or not he possesses that <em>extra</em> initiative, +magnetism, moral courage, and force which makes the +difference between the average man and the above-average +man."</p> + +<p>Said Gen. C. B. Cates, Commandant of the Marine Corps: +"Leadership is intangible, hard to measure and difficult to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span> +describe. Its qualities would seem to stem from many factors. +But certainly they must include a measure of inherent ability +to control and direct, <em>self-confidence based on expert knowledge</em>, +initiative, loyalty, pride, <em>and a sense of responsibility</em>. +Inherent ability obviously cannot be instilled, but that which is +latent or dormant can be developed. Other ingredients can be +acquired. They are not easily taught or easily learned. <em>But +leaders can be and are made.</em> The average good man in our +service is and must be considered a potential leader."</p> + +<p>There are common denominators in these two quotations +which clearly point in one main direction. When we accent the +importance of extra initiative, expert knowledge and a sense of +responsibility, we are saying in other words that out of unusual +application to duty comes the power to lead others in the doing +of it.</p> + +<p>The matter is as simple and as profound as that, and if we +will consider for but a moment, we will see why it could hardly +be otherwise.</p> + +<p>No normal young man is likely to recognize in himself the +qualities which will persuade others to follow him. On the other +hand, any man who can carry out orders in a cheerful spirit, +complete this work step by step, use imagination in improving it, +and then when the job is done, can face toward his next duty +with anticipation, need have no reason to doubt his own +capacity for leadership.</p> + +<p>The psychologists assure us that there is a sound scientific +basis for what enlightened military trainers have long held to be +true—that the first-class follower and the leader are one and +the same. They say that this is literally true, and that their +tests prove it so.</p> + +<p>But it does not follow that every man can be taught to lead. +In the majority of men, success or failure is caused more by +mental attitude than by mental capacity. Many are unwilling to +face the ordeal of thinking for themselves and of accepting +responsibility for others. But the man determined to excel at his +own work has already climbed the first rung of the ladder; in +that process he perforce learns to think for himself while set<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span>ting +an example to those who are around him. Out of application +to work comes capacity for original and creative progress. +The personality characteristics, emotional balance, etc., which +give him excellence in those things which he does with his own +brain and hand will enable him to command the respect, and in +turn, the service of other men.</p> + +<p>To this extent, certainly leadership can be learned! It is a +matter of mastering simple techniques which will give more +effective expression to the character and natural talents of the +individual.</p> + +<p>Said one of this Nation's great political leaders: "There is no +more valuable subordinate than the man to whom you can give +a piece of work and then forget it, in the confident expectation +that the next time it is brought to your attention it will come +in the form of a report that the thing has been done. When this +self-reliant quality is joined to executive power, loyalty and +common sense, the result is a man whom you can trust."</p> + +<p>Yes, indeed, and that is as it should be. For while no man can +be sure of the possibilities of his influence over other men, every +man knows by his own conscience when he is putting forth his +best effort, and when he is slacking.</p> + +<p>It is therefore not an arbitrary standard for measuring leadership +capacity in men which puts the ability to excel in assigned +work above everything else. The willingness and ability to strive, +and to do, are best judged by what we see of men in action. If +they are indifferent to assigned responsibilities, they are bad +risks for larger ones, no matter how charming their personalities +or what the record says about their prior experience and educational +advantages. Either that proposition is both reasonable +and sound, or Arnold Bennett was singing off key when he +said: "I think fine this necessity for the tense bracing of the +will before anything worth doing can be done. It is the chief +thing that distinguishes me from the cat by the fire."</p> + +<p>Love of work is the sheet-anchor of the man who truly aspires +to command responsibilities; that means love of it, not +for the reward, or for the skill exercised, but for the final and +successful accomplishment of the work itself. For out of interest<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> +in the job comes thoroughness, and it is this quality above all +which distinguishes the willing spirit. The willingness to learn, +to study and to try harder are requisite to individual progress +and the improvement of opportunity—the process that Thomas +Carlyle described as the "unfolding of one's self." Thus it can +be taken as an axiom that any man can lead who is determined +to become master of that knowledge which an increased responsibility +would require of him; and by the same token, that to +achieve maximum efficiency at one's own working level, it is +necessary to see it as if from the perspective of the next level up. +To excel in the management of a squad, the leader must be +knowledgeable of all that bears upon the command of a platoon. +Otherwise the mechanism lacks something of unity.</p> + +<p>Mark Twain said at one point that we should be thankful for +the indolent, since but for them the rest of us could not get +ahead. That's on the target, and it emphasizes that how fast +and far each of us travels is largely a matter of free choice.</p> + +<p>Personal advancement, within any worthwhile system, requires +some sacrifice of leisure, and more careful attention to the +better organization of one's working routine. But that does not +entail heroic self-sacrifice or the forfeiting of any of life's truly +enduring rewards. It means putting the completion of work +ahead of golf and bridge. It means rejecting the convenient +excuse for postponing solution of the problem until the next +time. It means cultivating the mind during hours that would +otherwise be spent in idleness. It means concentrating for longer +periods on the work at hand without getting up from one's +chair. But after all, these things do not require an extraordinary +faculty. The ability of the normal man to concentrate his +thought and effort are mainly the product of a personal conviction +that concentration is necessary and desirable. Abbé Dimnet +said: "Concentration is supposed to be exceptional only because +people do not try and, in this, as in so many things, starve +within an inch of plenty." And as to the mien and manner +which will develop from firm commitments, another wise +Frenchman, Honore Balzac, added this: "Conviction brings a +silent, indefinable beauty into faces made of the commonest<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span> +human clay." Here is a great part of the secret. It is in the +exercise of the will that the men are separated from the boys, +and that the officer who is merely anxious for advancement is +put apart from the one who is truly ambitious to succeed in his +life calling. Even a lazy-minded superior, in judging of his +subordinates, will rarely mistake the one condition for the other.</p> + +<p>When within the services we hear the highest praise reserved +for the man "with character," that is what the term means—application +to duty and thoroughness in all undertakings, +along with that maturity of spirit and judgment which comes by +precept, by kindness, by study, by watching, and above all, by +example. The numerous American commanders from all services +who have been accorded special honor because they rose +from the ranks have invariably made their careers by the extra +work, self-denial and rigor which the truly good man does not +hesitate to endure. The question facing every young officer is +whether he, too, is willing to walk that road for the rewards, +material and spiritual, which will surely attend it.</p> + +<p>There is of course that commonest of excuses for rejecting +the difficult and taking life easy. "I haven't time!" But for the +man who keeps his mind on the object, there is always time. +Figure it out! About us in the services daily we see busy men +who somehow manage to find time for whatever is worth doing, +while at the adjoining desks are others with abundant leisure +who can't find time for anything. When something important +requires doing, it is usually the busy man who gets the call.</p> + +<p>Of the many personal decisions which life puts upon a service +officer, the main one is whether he chooses to swim upstream. +If he says yes to that, and means it, all things then begin to fit +into place. Then will develop gradually but surely that well-placed +inner confidence which is the foundation of military +character. From the knowing of <em>what to do</em> comes the knowing +of <em>how to do</em>, which is likewise important. Much is conveyed in +few words in Army Field Forces' "Brief on Practical Concepts +of Leadership." It is stressed therein that the preeminent quality +which all great commanders have owned in common is a +<em>positiveness</em> of manner and of viewpoint, the power to concen<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span>trate +on means to a given end to the exclusion of exaggerated +fears of the obstacles which lie athwart the course. Every word +of that should be underscored, and above all, what it says +about the need for affirmative thinking, and concentrating on +how the thing can be done. The service is no place for those +who hang back and view through a glass darkly. The man who +falls into the vice of thinking negatively must perforce in time +become fearful of all action; he lacks the power of decision, +because it has been destroyed by his habit of thought, and even +when circumstances compel him to say yes he remains uncommitted +in spirit.</p> + +<p>But the shadow should not be mistaken for the substance. +Positiveness of manner, and redoubtable inner conviction stem +only from the mastery of superior knowledge, and this last is the +fruit of application, preparation, thoroughness and the willingness +to struggle to gain the desired end.</p> + + + +<div class="section_break"></div> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span></p> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_ELEVEN" id="CHAPTER_ELEVEN"></a><span class="chapter_number">CHAPTER ELEVEN</span><br /><br /> + +HUMAN NATURE</h3> + + +<p>In the history of American arms, the most revealing chapter +as to the nature of the human animal does not come from any +story of the battlefield but from the record of 23 white men and +two Eskimos who, on August 26, 1881, set up in isolation a +camp on the edge of Lady Franklin Bay to attempt a Farthest +North record for the United States.</p> + +<p>The Expedition under command of First Lt. A. W. Greeley, +USA, expected to be picked up by a relief ship after 1 year, or +2 years at most. Its supply could be stretched to cover the +maximum period. But the winters were so unduly harsh that the +rescue mission could not break through the ice to keep the +rendezvous. During the first year, two members of the party had +set a new Far North mark. The party as a whole—3 officers, +19 enlisted men, 1 civilian surgeon and the 2 natives—had +survived a winter closer to the Pole than civilized men had ever +lived before. So doing, they had remained in reasonably good +personal adjustment to each other, despite the Arctic monotony. +The discipline of the camp had been strict. Rules of subordination, +sanitation, work-sharing and religious observance had been +maintained, without major friction occurring in the life of the +group. Lectures were given regularly, and schools were organized. +Though it is recorded that the men became melancholy, +sleepless, and irritable because of the long Arctic night, temper +was still in so good a state that an honor system within the +camp meted out extra duty to any man using an oath.</p> + +<p>The comradely feeling remained alive within the party +throughout the first winter, though morale had its first blow +when Greeley issued an unwise order forbidding enlisted men to +go more than 500 yards from the base without permission. The +strain was beginning to tell, but there was no fatal rift in the +working harmony of the group while supply and hope remained +reasonably full.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span>But June of the second year came and passed, and no relief +ship arrived. In August, Greeley decided on a retreat, intending +to fall back on bases which were supposed to hold food stores. +Thereafter disaster was piled upon disaster, most of it having to +do with the lack of food, and the varying animal and spiritual +reactions of men to a situation of utmost desperation. When the +Greeley Expedition was at last rescued at Cape Sabine on June +22, 1884, by the third expedition—the <em>Revenue Cutter Bear</em> +and the <em>Thetis</em> under Commander Winfield S. Schley, USN—only +seven men remained alive. Even in these, the spark of life +was so feeble that their tent was down over them and they had +resigned themselves to death. Two died soon after the rescue, +leaving five. Most of the other 20 had perished of slow starvation, +but not all. Some had been shot. Others had met death +with utmost bravery trying to save their failing comrades.</p> + +<p>All that happened to Greeley's party during the months of its +terrible ordeal is known because of a diary which records the +main things—the fight of discipline against the primal instincts +in men, the reversion of the so-called civilized man to +his real type when he knows that death is at his elbow, the +strength of unity which comes of comradeship, and also the +weakness in some individuals which makes it impossible for +them to measure up to honor's requirements.</p> + +<p>Men are of all kinds. Some remain base, though given every +opportunity to develop compassion. Others who may appear +plodding and dull, and have been denied opportunity, still have +in them an immortal spark of love for humanity which gives +them an unbreakable bond with their fellows in the hours of +crisis.</p> + +<p>What the case history of the Greeley Expedition proves is that +<em>in the determining number of men, the potential is sound</em>. +Given a wise, understanding leadership, they will stand together, +and they will either persuade the others to go along, or they +will help break them if they resist. If that were not the truth of +the matter, no military commander in our time would be able +to make his forces keep going into battle.</p> + +<p>Until the end, discipline was kept in Greeley's force. But this<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span> +was not primarily due to Lieutenant Greeley, the aloof, strict +disciplinarian who commanded by giving orders, instead of by +trying to command the spirits and loyalties of men. That any +survived was due to the personal force and example of Sgt. (later +Brig. Gen.) David L. Brainard, who believed in discipline as +did Greeley, and supported his chief steadfastly, but also supplied +the human warmth and helping hand which rallied other +men, where Greeley's strictures only made them want to fight +back. Brainard was not physically the strongest man in the Expedition, +nor necessarily the most self-sacrificing and courageous. +But he had what counted most—mental and moral +balance.</p> + +<p>Among the most fractious and self-centered of the individuals +was the camp surgeon, highly trained and educated, and chosen +because he seemed to have a way among men. Greeley was +several times at the point of having him shot; the surgeon's +death by starvation saved Greeley that necessity.</p> + +<p>Among the most decent, trustworthy, and helpful was Jens, +the simple Eskimo, who died trying to carry out a rescue mission. +He had never been to school a day in his life.</p> + +<p>There were soldiers in the party whom no threat of punishment, +or sense of pity, could deter from taking advantage of +their comrades, rifling stores, cheating on duty and even stealing +arms in the hope of doing away with other survivors. +When repeated offense showed that they were unreformable, +they were shot.</p> + +<p>But in the greater number, the sense of pride and of honor +was stronger even than the instinct for self-preservation, though +these were <em>average</em> enlisted men, not especially chosen because +their records proved they had unusual fortitude.</p> + +<p>Private Schneider, a youngster who loved dogs and played the +violin, succumbed to starvation after penning one of the most +revealing deathbed statements ever written: "Although I stand +accused of doing dishonest things here lately, I herewith, as a +dying man, can say that the only dishonest thing I ever did +was to eat my own sealskin boots and the part of my pants."</p> + +<p>Private Fredericks, accused in the early and less-trying period<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span> +of meanness and injustice to his comrades, became a rock of +strength in the weeks when all of the others were in physical +collapse or coma, and was made a sergeant because of the +nobility of his conduct. Yet this man's ambition was to be a +saloonkeeper in Minneapolis.</p> + +<p>There is still an official report on file in the Department of +the Army which describes Sergeant Rice as the "bravest and +noblest" of the Expedition. He is identified with most of its +greatest heroisms. The man was apparently absolutely indomitable +and incorruptible. He died from freezing on a last forlorn +mission into the Arctic storm to retrieve a cache of seal meat +for his friends. Fredericks, who had accompanied him, was so +grief-stricken at the tragedy that he contemplated dying at his +side, then reacted in a way which signifies much in a few +words, "Out of the sense of duty I owed my dead comrade, I +stooped and kissed the remains and left them there for the +wild winds of the Arctic to sweep over."</p> + +<p>Such briefly were the extremes and the middle ground in this +body of human material. At one end were the amoral characters +whose excesses became steadily worse as the situation blackened. +At the other were Brainard and Rice—good all the way +through, absolute in integrity and adjusted perfectly to other +men. In between these wholly contrasting elements was the +group majority, trying to do duty, with varying degrees of success. +That would include Greeley, strong in self-discipline but +likewise brittle. It would include Lieutenant Lockwood, a lion +among men for most of the distance, but totally downcast and +beaten in the last dreadful stretch, Israel, the youngest of the +party who won the love of other men by his frankness and +generosity, Sergeant Gardiner who was always ready to share his +scraps of food with whoever he thought needed them more, +Private Whisler who died begging his comrades to forgive him +for having stolen a few slices of bacon, and Private Bender who +alternated between feats of heroism and acts of miscreancy.</p> + +<p>Other than their common experience, there was probably +nothing unusual about this group of men. They were an average +slice of American manpower as found in the services of that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span> +day, and in the fundamentals, men have changed but little since. +Those who had the chance to study American men under the +terrible rigor of Japanese imprisonment during World War II +give an analysis not unlike the chronicles of the Greeley party. +In certain of the prisoners, character, and sanity with it, held +fast against every circumstance. In others, some of whom had +been well educated and came from gentle homes, the brute instinct +was as uppermost as in an East African cannibal.</p> + +<p>From such crucibles as these, even more than from the remittent +stresses of combat in war, comes the clearest light on +the inner nature of man, insofar as it needs to be understood by +the officer who may some day lead a force into battle.</p> + +<p>Snap judgment on the data might lead to the conclusion +that every individual is exactly according to his own mould, +that influence from without can not catalyze character, and +that hence training has little to do with winning loyalty and instilling +dutifulness. That would be as radically false as to believe +that training, when properly conducted, can make all men +alike and can infuse all ranks with the desire for a high standard. +The vanity of that hope can be read out of what happened +to the force at Cape Sabine. But the positive lesson glows even +more strongly. The good Sergeant, Brainard, wrote of his Lieutenant, +Lockwood, that he "loved him more than a brother." +It was the service which taught him the worth of that attachment; +Brainard's superb courage developed initially out of his +unbounded admiration for Lockwood's dauntlessness, and in +time the copyist outdistanced the model. Emotionally, Greeley +and Brainard were quite unlike. One was a New England Puritan, +the other a hard-boiled sergeant. But they became as one +in the interests of the force; service training had made that +possible.</p> + +<p>Psychologists tell us that every sense impression leaves a trace +or imprint of itself on the mind, or in other words, what we +are, and what we may become, is influenced in some measure by +everything touching the circumference of our daily lives. The +imprints become memories and ideas, and in their turn build up +the consciousness, the reason and finally the will, which trans<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span>lates +into physical action the psychological purpose. In the process, +moral character may be shaped and strengthened; but it +will not be transformed if it is dross in the first place. That is +something which every combat leader has learned in his tour +under fire; the man of whom nobody speaks good, who is regarded +as a social misfit, unliked and unliking, of his comrades, +will usually desert them under pressure. There are others +who have the right look but will be just as quick to quit, and +look to themselves, in a crisis; underneath, they are made of the +same shoddy stuff as the derelict, but have learned a little more +of the modern art of getting by. Leadership, be it ever so inspired, +can not make a silk purse from a sow's ear. But as shines +forth in the record of Greeley and his men, it can reckon with +the fact that the majority is more good than mean, and that +from this may be developed the strength of the whole. In the +clutch, the men at Cape Sabine who believed in the word "duty," +and who understood spiritually that its first meaning was mutual +responsibility, remained joined in an insoluble union. That +was the inevitable outcome, leadership doing its part. The +minority had no basis for organic solidarity, as each of its number +was motivated only by self-interest. Goodwill and weakness +may be combined in one man; bad will and strength in another. +High moral leading can lift the first man to excel himself; it +will not reform the other. But there is no other sensible rule +than that all men will be approached with trust, and treated as +trustworthy until proved otherwise beyond reasonable doubt.</p> + +<p>To transfer this thought to even the largest element in war, +it will be seen that <em>it is not primarily a cause which makes men +loyal to each other, but the loyalty of men to each other which +makes a cause</em>. The unity which develops from man's recognition +of his dependence upon his fellows is the mainspring of +every movement by which society, or any autonomy within it, +moves forward.</p> + +<p>It is a common practice to say "Men are thus-and-so." +Nothing is more attractive than to make some glittering generalization +about the human race, and from it draw a moral for +the instruction of those who work with human material. But<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span> +from all that we have learned from the experience of men +under inordinate pressure, either in war or wherever else military +forces have been sorely tested, it would be false to say +either that the desire for economic security or the instinct for +self-preservation is the driving force in every man's action. To +those who possess the strength of the strong, honor is the main +shaft; and they can carry a sufficient number of the company +along with them to stamp their mark upon whatever is done +by the group. No matter what their personal strength, however, +they too are dependent on the others. There is no possibility of +growth for any man except through the force, and by the works +of those about him, though the manner of his growth is partly +a matter of free choice. To most men, the setting of the good +example is a challenge to pride and a stimulus to action. To +nearly every member of the race, confidence and inspiration +come mainly from the influence which living associates have +upon them. That training is most perfect which takes greatest +advantage of this truth, employing it in balance toward the development +of a spirit of comradeship and the doing of work +with a manifestly military purpose. Peace training is war training +and nothing less. There is no other basis for the efficient +operation of military forces even when the skies are clear. <em>But +no commander or instructor can convince men of the decisive +importance of the object if he himself regards it as only an +intellectual exercise.</em></p> + +<p>The Army's "Brief on Practical Concepts of Leaderships," +published 1 January 1950, well points out the desirability of +leaders realizing it is vain to expect that training can bring men +forward uniformly. The better men advance rapidly; the men of +average attainments remain average; the below-average lose additional +ground to the competition. In consequence, the chance +for balance in the organizational structure depends upon the +leader progressing in such close knowledge of his men that +those who are strong in various aspects of the team's general +requirements compensate for the weaknesses of others, irrespective +of MOS numbers. It is not less essential that the followers +know each other and prepare themselves to complement each<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span> +other. Obviously, this cannot be done when personnel changes +are so frequent that those concerned have no chance to see +deeper than the surface.</p> + +<p>Even when to do any labor meant sapping the small store of +energy deriving from a few ounces of food each day, Greeley's +men kept alive the spark of morale and mutual support by +maintaining a work schedule, until the day came when there +was no longer a man who could stand. To fight off despondency, +they held to a nightly schedule of lectures and discussions +in their rude shelters, until speech became an agony because of +throats poisoned by eating of caterpillars, lichens and saxifrage +blossoms. In their worst extremity, Private Fredericks, unlettered +but a man of great common sense and moral power, became +the doctor, cook and forager for the party.</p> + +<p>Men do not achieve a great solidarity, or preserve it, simply +by <em>being</em> together. Their mutual bonds are forged only by <em>doing</em> +together that which they have been made convinced is constructive. +Their view of its importance is usually contingent +upon what others tell them, and upon a continuing emphasis +thereof. <em>Unity is all at one time a consequence of, and a cause +and condition for great accomplishment.</em> Toward that end, it +is neither vital nor desirable that all members of the group coincide +in their motives, ideas and methods of expression. What is +important is that each man should know, and to a reasonable +extent incorporate into his own life the thoughts, desires and +interests of the others. Such sentiments, fixed by repetition, remain +as a habit during the life of the group, and provide the +base for disciplined action. But when men are not thus drawn +together and the cord of sympathy remains unstrung, there is no +basis for control, nor any element of contact by which the +group may identify itself with some larger entity and profit by +transfusion of its moral strength.</p> + +<p><em>The absence of a common purpose is the chief source of unhappiness +in any collection of individuals.</em> Lacking it, and the +common standard of justice which is one of its chief agents, +men become more and more separate units, each fighting for +his own rights. Yet paradoxically, if an organic unity is to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span> +develop within any body of free men, drawn from a free society +to serve its military institutions, and if the fairest use is to be +made of their possibilities, the processes of the institution must +embody respect for the dignity of the individual, for his rights, +and not less, for his desire for worthwhile recognition. The +profile of every man depends upon the space which others leave +him. "Of himself," said Napoleon, "a man is nothing." But +every man also contributes with his every act to the level of what +his group may attain. One of the foremost leaders in the United +States Navy in World War II said this about the integrity of +personality: "Every person is unique. Human talents were never +before assembled in exactly the same way that they have been +put together in yourself. Nothing like you ever happened before. +No one can predict with accuracy how you will grow in +your particular combination of skills if allowed complete freedom +of movement." If there is one word out of place in that +statement, it is "complete;" no one has complete freedom but a +buccaneer, and it is for the exercise of it that organized society +swings him from a gibbet. It is only when personal freedom of +action operates within an area limited by the rights and welfare +of others that subordination, in its best sense, takes place. To +direct a body of men toward the acceptance of this principle, +so that thereby they may attain social coherence as a group and +greater strength of personal character, is the most solid contribution +that an officer can make to the arms of his country.</p> + +<p>He can succeed in this without being godlike in wisdom or +pluperfect in temper. But it is necessary at least that he be interesting, +and that he know how to get out of his own tracks, +lest he be over-run by his own organization. Whatever his +rank, <em>it is impossible for any man to lead if he is himself running +behind</em>. This bespeaks the need of constant study, the constant +use of one's personal powers and the exercise of the +imagination. As men advance, that which was good soon ceases +to be good simply because something better is possible. Once +men begin to acquire a sense of organization, they also come to +take the measure of those who are over them. They will then +move instinctively toward the one man who possesses the great<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span>est +measure of social energy. The accolade of leadership is not +inherent in the individual but is conferred on him by the +group. It does not always follow that a man can develop an +influence with others which is proportionate to his talents and +capacity for work. Leadership in work is a main requirement, +but if the group does not warm toward the appointed leader, +if its members can not feel any enthusiasm about him, they will +be hypercritical of whatever he does.</p> + +<p>History confirms, and a study of the workings of the human +mind supports one proposition which many of the great captains +of war have accepted as a truism. "There are no bad troops: +there are only bad leaders." Taking on percentage what we already +know of our average American raw material, as it had +proved itself in every war, and as it has been studied in such a +laboratory as the camp at Cape Sabine, no exception can be +taken to that statement. On the other hand, we know equally +well that leadership can be taught and it can be acquired. +Much of our best material lies fallow, awaiting a hand on the +shoulder, and the touch of other men's confidence, before it +can step forward. This is not because men with a sound potential +for leading must necessarily have an outward air of modesty +among their major virtues, but because a man—particularly +a young man—cannot gain a sense of his power among his +fellows except as they give him their confidence, and vivify his +natural desire to be something better than the average. There +is no indication that at any stage of his career Gen. George S. +Patton was an outwardly modest man. But in reviewing the +milestones in his own making, he underscored the occasion +when General Pershing, then commanding the Punitive Expedition +into Mexico, supported Lieutenant Patton's judgment +against that of a major. These are his words: "My act took +high moral courage and built up my self-confidence." It would +seem altogether clear, however, that Pershing had more than a +little to do with it. Col. W. T. Sherman had to be kindled by +the warm touch of Mr. Lincoln and steeled by the example and +strong faith of Gen. U. S. Grant before he could believe in his +own capacity for generalship. We all live by information and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span> +not by sight. We exist by faith in others, which is the source +toward knowing greater faith in ourselves.</p> + +<p>About the elements of human nature, it is good that an +officer should know enough that he will be able to win friends +and influence people. But it is folly to believe that he should +pursue his studies in this subject until he habitually looks at +men as would a scientist putting some specimen under a powerful +microscope.</p> + +<p>Self-consciousness is by no means a serious fault in anyone +confronted by a new set of responsibilities, and working among +new companions. There is scarcely an officer who has not felt +it, particularly in the beginning, before he is assured in his own +presence. But if the greater part of the officer corps were ever to +become absorbed in the business of taking men apart to see what +makes them tick, thereby superinducing self-consciousness all +down the line, an irremediable blight would come upon the +services. There is no need to look that deeply. What matters +mainly is that an officer will know how men are won to accept +authority, how they can be made to unify their own strength, +how they can be helped to find satisfaction and success in their +employment, how the stronger men can be chosen for preferment +from among them, and finally, how they can be conditioned +to face the realities of combat.</p> + +<p>The chronicles of effective military leadership date back to +Gideon and his Band. Therefore any notion that it is impossible +for an officer to make the best use of his men unless he is armed +with all available research data and can talk the language of the +philosopher and modern social scientist is little more than a +twentieth century conceit. To seek and use all pertinent information +is commendable, but truth comes of seeing all things in +their natural proportion. To know more than is necessary blunts +one's own weapons. The application of common sense to the +problem is more vital than the possession of an inexhaustible +store of data which has no practical bearing upon the matter at +hand. As was said by a philosopher three centuries ago: "It is +remarkable in some that they could be so much better if they +could but be better in some thing."</p> + + + +<div class="section_break"></div> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span></p> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_TWELVE" id="CHAPTER_TWELVE"></a><span class="chapter_number">CHAPTER TWELVE</span><br /><br /> + +GROUP NATURE</h3> + + +<p>In the same way that knowledge of individual nature becomes +the key to building strength within the group, an understanding +of crowd nature is essential to the preservation of the unique +power within the group, particularly under conditions of extreme +pressure.</p> + +<p>Whereas the central object of a training discipline is to raise +a safeguard against any military body reverting to crowd form +under trial by fire, history shows that paralysis both of leadership +and of the ranks, obliviousness to orders, forgetfulness of +means of communication, disintegration and even panic are the +not uncommon reactions of military forces when first entering +into battle.</p> + +<p>From Bunker Hill and Brandywine down to Pearl Harbor and +the fight at Kasserine Pass, the American battle record shows +that our own troops are by no means immune to these ill effects, +and that our peace time training needs, therefore, always to be +reappraised with a critical eye to the main issue.</p> + +<p>Any of these unsteadying reactions can be prevented, or at +least minimized, by training which anticipates the inevitable +disorders of battle—including those who are of material sort +as well as the disorders of the mind—and acclimates men to +the realities of the field in war. All may be averted if leadership +is braced to the shock and prepared to exercise strong control. +Indeed, it is a truth worthy of the closest regard that the greater +number of the disarrangements which take place during +combat are due to leadership feeling a tightening of the throat, +and a sticking of the palate, and failing to do that which the +intellect says should be done.</p> + +<p>To take any action, when even to think of action is itself +difficult, is the essential step toward recovery and the surmounting +of all difficulty. It is not because of a babel of mixed voices +and commands that military bodies not infrequently relapse<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span> +into helplessness and stagnation in the face of the enemy. +From that cause there may occur an occasional minor dislocation. +Their total effect is trivial compared to the failures which +come of leadership, at varying levels, failing promptly to exercise +authority when nothing else can resolve the situation. +Among the commonest of experiences in war is to witness troops +doing nothing, or worse, doing the wrong thing, without one +commanding voice being raised to give them direction. In such +circumstance, any man who has the nerve and presence to step +forward and give them an intelligent order in a manner indicating +that he expects to be obeyed, will be accepted as a +leader and will be given their support.</p> + +<p>For this reason, under the conditions of modern battle, the +coherence of any military body comes not only of men being +articulate all down the line but of building up the dynamic +power in each individual. It is a thoroughly sound exercise in +any unit to give every man a chance to take charge, and give +orders in drill, or other limited exercises, once he had learned +what the orders mean. By the same token, it is good practice +for the junior leader to displace a file in a training exercise, and +become commanded for a time, to sharpen his own perspective.</p> + +<p>Progress comes of making the most of our strengths rather +than looking for ways to repair weaknesses. This is true in +things both large and small. The platoon leader who permits +himself to be bedeviled by the file who won't or can't keep step +cannot do justice to the ambitions of the 10 strongest men +beneath him, upon whom the life of the formation would depend, +come an emergency. To nourish and encourage the top +rather than to concentrate effort and exhaust nerves in trying to +correct the few least likely prospects is the healthy way of +growth within military organization.</p> + +<p>Not all men are fitted by nature for the precisions of life in a +barracks. They may accept its discipline while not being able +to adjust to its rhythm. The normal temptation to despair of +them needs to be resisted if only for the reason experience has +proved they sometimes make the best men in combat. There +are many types which fit into this category—the foreigner<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span> +but recently arrived in America, the miner who has spent most +of his years underground, the boy from the sticks who has known +only the plough and furrow, the woodsman, the reservation +Indian, and the men of all races who have had hard taskmasters +or other misfortune in their civilian sphere, and expect +to be hurt again. It is not unusual for this kind of material to +show badly in training because of an ingrained fear of other +men. At the same time, they can face mortal danger. <em>To +harass the man who is trying, but can't quite do it, therefore +cuts double against the strength of organization. It may ruin +the man; it may also give his comrades the feeling that he isn't +getting a decent break.</em></p> + +<p>The military crowd requires, above all, maturity of judgment +in its leaders. It cannot be patronized safely. Nor can it be +treated in the classroom manner, as if wisdom were being dispensed +to schoolboys. When it has been remiss, it expects to +catch unshirted hell for its failings, and though it may smart +under a just bawling out, it will feel let down if the commander +quibbles. But any officer puts himself on a skid, and impairs +the strength of his unit, if he takes to task all hands +because of the wilful failings of a minority. Strength comes to +men when they feel that they are grown up and as a body are +in control and under control, since it amounts to the same +thing; it is only when men unite toward a common purpose +that control becomes possible. In this respect, the servant is in +fact the master of the situation, fully realizes it, and is not +unprepared to accept proportionate responsibility.</p> + +<p>It is a sign of a good level of discipline in a command when +orders are given and faithfully carried out. But it is a sign of a +vastly superior condition when men are prepared to demand +those orders which they know the situation requires, if it is to +be helped. No competent subordinate sits around waiting for +someone else to give impulse to movement if his senses tell him +that things are going to pot. He either suggests a course of +action to his superior, or asks authority to execute it on his own, +or in the more desperate circumstances of the battlefield, gives +orders on his own initiative. To counsel any lesser theory of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span> +individual responsibility than this would leave every chain of +command at the complete mercy of its weakest link, and +throughout the general establishment, would choke the fount +of inspiration which comes of the upward thrust of energy and +of ideas.</p> + +<p>This latter characteristic in the masses of men composing any +organization is the final statement of moral responsibility for +success. Within military forces, an element of command is owned +by every man who is doing his duty with intelligence and +imagination. That puts him on the side of the angels, and the +pressure which he exerts is felt not only by his subordinates but +by those topside who are doing less. Many a lazy skipper has +snapped out of it and at last begun to level with his organization +because he felt the hot breath of a few earnest subordinates +on his neck. Many a battle unit has held to ground which it +had been ready to forsake because of the example of an aid man +who stayed at his work and refused to forsake the wounded. +Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower was thinking on these things when +he said during World War II: "There is among the mass of +individuals who carry rifles in war a great amount of ingenuity +and efficiency. If men can talk naturally to their officers, the +product of their resourcefulness becomes available to all." But +the art of open communication requires both receiving and sending, +and the besetting problem is to get officers to talk naturally +to men.</p> + +<p>In the seventeenth century Marshal Maurice de Saxe rediscovered +cadenced marching which, along with the hard-surfaced +roads of France, had remained buried since the time of the +Romans. He reinstituted precision marching and drill within +military bodies, and by that action changed European armies +from straggling mobs into disciplined troops. The effects of that +reform have been felt right down to the present. Baron von +Steuben, the great reorganizer of the forces in George Washington's +Army, simply built upon the principles which de Saxe had +set forth one century earlier. These two great architects of military +organization founded their separate systems upon one controlling +idea—that <em>if men can be trained to think about mov<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span>ing +together, they can then be led to move toward thinking together</em>. +De Saxe wanted keen men, not automatons; in that, he +was singular among the captains of his day. He started the numbering +of regiments so that they would have a continuing history +and thereby benefit from <em>esprit de corps</em>. He was the first to see +the great importance of battle colors and to standardize their +use. Of his own military opinions he wrote: "Experts should not +be offended by the assurance with which I deliver my opinions. +They should correct them; that is the fruit I expect from my +work."</p> + +<p>Now to take a look at von Steuben. He was the drillmaster of +the American Revolution, but he was also its greatest student of +the human mind and heart. He wrote the drill regulations of the +Army, and as he wrote, committed them to memory. Of his labors +he said: "I dictated my dispositions in the night; in the +day I had them performed." But he learned the nature of the +human material for which he thought these exercises were suited +by visiting the huts of the half-clad soldiers of Valley Forge, +personally inspecting their neglected weapons and hearing from +their own lips of their sufferings. His main technic in installing +his system was to depend upon the appeal of a powerful +example; to allay all doubt of exactly what was wanted, he +formed a model company and drilled it himself. He was a +natural man; troops warmed to him because of an unabashed +use of broken English and his violently explosive use, under +stress, of "gottam!" which was his only quasi-English oath. In +countenance he was strikingly like Gen. George S. Patton and +there were other points of resemblance. A private soldier at +Valley Forge was impressed with "the trappings of his pistols, +the enormous holsters of his pistols, his large size, his strikingly +martial aspect." But while he liked to dine with great men at +his table, he chose to complete his list with officers of inferior +rank. Once at Valley Forge he permitted his aides to give a +dinner for junior officers on condition that none should be admitted +that had on a whole pair of breeches. This was making +the most of adversity. While wearing two stars and serving as +Inspector General of the Army, he would still devote his whole<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span> +day to the drilling of a squad of 10 or 12 men to get his system +going. To a former Prussian associate he wrote this of Americans: +"You say to your soldier, 'Do this!' and he doeth it; but +I am obliged to say, 'This is the reason that you ought to do +that,' and then he does it."</p> + +<p>This was the key to the phenomenal success of his system. +Within 6 weeks after he began work at Valley Forge, the Continental +Army was on a new footing of self-confidence. His +personal diligence in inquiring into the conduct of all officers +toward their men, and his zeal in checking the accoutrement +and carriage of every soldier established within the Army its +first standard of inspection. Officers began to divide their scant +rations with their men so that they would look better. But +though he drilled the men of Valley Forge in marching and +maneuver, Steuben paid no attention to the manual of arms, +and let that wait until after he had gone into battle with these +same forces. He explained why in these words: "Every colonel +had introduced a system of his own and those who had taken +the greatest pains were naturally the most attached to their +work. Had I destroyed their productions, they would have detested +me. I therefore preferred to pay no special attention to +this subject until I had won their confidence." To take hold at +the essential point and postpone action on the relatively unimportant, +to respect a worthy pride and natural dignity in other +men, and finally, to demonstrate that there is a better way in +order to win men's loyalty and to use loyalty as the portal to +more constructive collective thought—all of these morals shine +in this one object lesson. The most revealing light upon the +character of Steuben comes of the episode in which he had one +Lieutenant Gibbons arrested for an offense, which he later +learned another had committed. He then went before the Regiment. +It was raining hard, but he bared his head and asked +Gibbons to come forward. "Sir," he said, "the fault which was +committed might, in the presence of an enemy, have been fatal. +Your Colonel tells me you are blameless. I ask your pardon. +Return to your command."</p> + +<p>Mistakes will occur. Tempers will go off half-cocked even<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span> +among men of good habit. Action will be taken on impulse +rather than full information, despite every warning as to its +danger. But no officer who has ever done serious injustice to a +subordinate can do less than Steuben did, if he wants to keep +respect. Admiral Halsey wrote about how he had once relieved +one of his Captains in battle, found months later that he had +misjudged him, and then tried by every means within his power +to make redress.</p> + +<p>The main connecting link between the perfecting of group +action in training and the end product of unity and economy +of operations in battle has never been better than imperfectly +expressed even by such masters as de Saxe and von Steuben, +who felt it by profound instinct. The time-honored explanation +is that when men accustom themselves to obeying orders, the +time ultimately arrives when they will obey by habit, and that +the habit will carry over into any set of circumstances requiring +response to orders. This has the quality of relative truth; it +is true so far as it goes, but it undersells the major values.</p> + +<p>The heterogeneous crowd is swayed by the voices of instinct. +Properly trained, any military unit, being a homogeneous body, +should be swayed by the voice of training. Out of uniformity of +environment comes uniformity of character and spirit. From +moving and acting together men grow to depend upon, and to +support, each other, and to subordinate their individual wills +to the will of the leader. And if that were all that training +profited them, they would rarely win a battle or a skirmish +under modern conditions!</p> + +<p>Today the supreme value of any training at arms which fixes +habit is that, under conditions of absolute pressure, it enables +men to take the primary steps essential to basic security without +too great taxing of their mental faculties and moral powers; this +leaves their senses relatively free to cope with the unexpected. +The unforeseen contingency invariably happens in battle, and +its incidence supplies the supreme test of the efficacy of any +training method. Surprise has no regard for the importance of +rank; in combat any unit's fortune may pivot on the judgment +and initiative of the file who has last joined it. Therefore the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span> +moral object in training is stated without any qualification in +words once used by a wise Frenchman, Dr. Maurice Campeaux: +"<em>It should be the subordination of the individual's will to the +leader's, and not its surrender or destruction.</em>" All training at +all levels has a dual object—to develop us all as leaders of +men and followers of leaders. Its technics are most perfect when +they serve evenly these parallel purposes. In consequence, when +any officer thinks only on: "What is policy?" rather than: +"What should policy be for the good of the service?" he has +trained his sights too low.</p> + +<p>Even in modern warfare, however, there are exceptional circumstances +in which success is altogether dependent upon the +will and judgment of the leader, and undeviating response to +his orders. The commander of a buttoned-up tank is the master +of its fortunes, and what happens for better or worse is according +to the strength of his personal control. Within a submerged +submarine during action, the situation is still more remarkable. +Only one man, the commander of the ship, can see what is +occurring, and he only with one eye; the resolving of every +situation depends on his judgment as to what should be done. +Yet those who have the surest knowledge of this service have +said that the main problem in submarine warfare is to find a +sufficient body of officers who will rise superior to the intricacies +of their complicated machines, and will make their own +opportunities and take advantage of them. That is hardly +unique. The same quality is the hallmark of greatness in any +individual serving with a combat arm. The military crowd will +double its effort for a leader when success rides on his coattails; +but he needs first to capture their loyalty by keeping his contracts +with them, sweetening the ties of organization, and convincing +them that he is a man to be followed. His luck (which +despite all platitudes to the contrary is an element in success) +begins when his men start to believe that he was born under a +lucky star. But they are not apt to be so persuaded unless he can +make his outfit shine in comparison with all others. The best +argument for establishing a low VD score and a high disciplinary +and deportment record within any unit is that it convinces<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span> +higher authority that the unit is well run and is trying, and is +therefore entitled to any extra consideration that may be requested. +All who have been closely identified with the inner +working of any higher headquarters in the American establishment +know that it works this way. On the other hand, the +fundamental idea is almost as old as the hills. Turning back +to Cicero, we will find these words: "Neither the physician nor +the general can ever, however praiseworthy he may be in the +theory of his art, perform anything highly worthwhile without +experience in the rules laid down for the observation of all +small duties." The Old Roman added that between men nothing +is so binding as a similarity of good dispositions.</p> + +<p>Within the military crowd, and granting to each the same +quality of human material, the problem of achieving organic +unity in the face of the enemy is one thing on a ship, and quite +another among land-fighting forces. Loyalty to the ship itself +provides an extra and incisive bond among naval forces. Given +steadiness in the command, men will fight the ship to the limit, +if only for the reason that if they fail to do so, there is no place +to go but down. The physical setting of duty is defined by +material objects close at hand. The individual has only to fit +himself into an already predetermined frame. He knows when +he is derelict, and he knows further that his dereliction can +hardly escape the eye of his comrades. The words: "Now Hear +This!" have the particular significance that they bespeak the +collected nature of naval forces, and the essential unifying force +of complete communications.</p> + +<p>If the situation were as concrete, and the integrating influences +as pervading among field forces as in the Navy, land +warfare would be relieved of a great part of its frictions. Except +among troops defending a major fortress with all-around protection, +there is no such possibility. Field movement is always +diffusing. As fire builds up against the line, its members have +less and less a sense of each other, and a feeling that as individuals +they are getting support. Each man is at the mercy of +the contact with some other file, and when the contact breaks, +he sees only blackness in the enveloping situation. Men then<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span> +have to turn physically back toward each other to regain the +feeling of strength which comes of organization. That, in brief, +is the mathematical and psychological reason why salients into +an enemy line invariably take the form of a wedge; it comes of +the movements of unnerved and aimless men huddling toward +each other like sheep awaiting the voice of the shepherd. The +natural instincts intervene ever in the absence of strong leadership. +Said the French General de Maud'huy: "However perfectly +trained a company may be it always tends to become once +again the crowd when suddenly shocked."</p> + +<p>But the priceless advantage which may be instilled in the +military crowd by a proper training is that it also possesses the +means of recovery. That possibility—the resolution of order out +of chaos—reposes within every file who has gained within the +service a confidence that he has some measure of influence +among his fellows. The welfare of the unit machinery depends +upon having the greatest possible number of human shock absorbers—men +who in the worst hour are capable of stepping +forward and saying: "This calls for something extra and that +means me." The restoration of control upon the battlefield, and +the process of checking fright and paralysis and turning men +back to essential tactical duties, does not come simply of constituted +authority again finding its voice and articulating its +strength to the extremities of the unit boundary. Control is a +man-to-man force under fire. No matter how lowly his rank, any +man who controls himself contributes to the control of others. A +private can steady a general as surely as a cat can look at a +king. There is no better ramrod for the back of a senior, who is +beginning to buckle, than the sight of a junior who has kept +his nerve. Land battles, as to the fighting part, are won by the +intrepidity of men in grade from private to captains mainly. +Fear is contagious but courage is not less so. The courage of any +one man reflects in some degree the courage of all those who are +within his vision. To the man who is in terror and bordering on +panic, no influence can be more steadying than that of seeing +some other man near him who is retaining self-control and +doing his duty.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span>The paralysis which comes of fear can be lifted only through +the resumption of action which will again give individuals the +feeling of organization. This does not mean ordering a bayonet +charge, or the firing of a volley at such-and-such o'clock. It +may mean only patting one man on the back, "talking it up" +to a couple of others, sending someone out to find a flank, or +turning one's self to dig-in, while passing the word to others to +do likewise. This is action in the realest sense of the term. <em>Out +of reinvigorating men toward the taking of many small actions +develops the possibility of large and decisive action.</em> The unit +must first find itself before doing an effective job of finding the +enemy. Out of those acts which are incidental to the establishing +of order, a leader reaffirms his own power of decision.</p> + +<p>Such things are elementary, and of the very nature of the +fire fight. While there is much more to be said about the play of +moral forces in the trial and success of the group under combat +conditions, most of it is to be learned from other sources, and +it is the duty of every officer to study all that he can of this +subject, and apply it to what he does in his daily rounds.</p> + +<p><em>There is no rule pertaining to the moral unifying of military +forces under the pressures of the battlefield which is not equally +good in the training which conditions troops for this eventuality.</em> +For the group to feel a great spiritual solidarity, and for its +members to be bound together by mutual confidence and the +satisfactions of a rewarding comradeship, is the foundation of +great enterprise. But it is not more than that. Unaccompanied +by a strengthening of the military virtues and a rise in the +martial spirit, a friendly unity will not of itself point men directly +toward the main object in training, nor enable them to dispose +themselves efficiently toward each other on entering battle.</p> + +<p>It does not make the military man less an agent of peace and +more a militarist that he relishes his membership within a fighting +establishment and thinks those thoughts which would best +put his arms to efficient use. The military establishment neither +declares nor makes war; these are acts by the nation. But it is +the duty of the military establishment primarily to succor the +nation from any great jeopardy.</p> + + + +<div class="section_break"></div> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span></p> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_THIRTEEN" id="CHAPTER_THIRTEEN"></a><span class="chapter_number">CHAPTER THIRTEEN</span><br /><br /> + +ENVIRONMENT</h3> + + +<p>The saying of the Old Sergeant that, "It takes a war to knock +the hell out of the Regular Army," applies as broadly to war's +effects upon the general peacetime establishment.</p> + +<p>In the rapid expansion of the armed service which comes of a +national emergency, nothing seems to remain the same. Old +units fill up, and change their character. By the time they have +sent out three or four cadres of commissioned and enlisted +leaders to form the base for entirely new organizations, little +remains of the moral foundation of the parent unit except an +honored name.</p> + +<p>Promotion is rapid and moves are frequent among the higher +commanders. No sooner does a man feel fairly settled under a +new commander, and confident that he will get along, than he +looks up to see someone else filling the space.</p> + +<p>Installations grow like mushrooms. Schools multiply at a +phenomenal rate. The best qualified men are taken away so that +they will become better qualified, either by taking an officers' +course or through specialist training. Their places are taken by +men who may have an equal native ability, but haven't yet +mastered the tricks of the trade. This piles high the load of +work on those who command.</p> + +<p>The intake and the pipelines in all services fill with men of +a quite different fiber and outlook than those which commonly +pass through the peacetime training establishment.</p> + +<p>Particularly in the drafts which flow to the army there is a +curious mixture of the good with the bad. The illiterates, the +low IQs and the men who are physically a few notches below +par are passed for service, though under normal conditions the +recruiting standards shut them out. At the other end of the +scale are the highly educated men from the colleges, and the +robust individuals from the factory and farm. In natural quality +they are as well suited to the service as any who seek it out in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span> +peacetime, but in disposition they are likely to be a little less +tractable. On the whole, however, there is no radical difference +between them, if we look at both groups simply as training +problems for the study of the officer.</p> + +<p>In the midst of war, when all else is in flux, at least one thing +stands fast. The methods, the self-discipline, and the personality +which will best enable the officer to command efficiently during +peace are identical with the requirements which fit him to +shape new material most perfectly under the conditions of war.</p> + +<p>This is only another way of saying that for his own success, in +addition to the solid qualities which win him the respect of +other men, when war comes, he needs a vast adaptability and a +confidence which will carry over from one situation to another, +or he will have no peace of mind.</p> + +<p>It is only to the man who is burdened with unnecessary and +exaggerated fears, and who mistakes for a fancied security the +privilege of sitting quietly in one place, that the uprooting +which comes with war is demoralizing. The natural officer sees +it as an hour of opportunity, and though he may not like +anything else about war, he at least relishes the strong feeling +of personal contention which always develops when there are +many openings inviting many men. As one World War II +commander expressed it: "During war the ball is always kicking +around loose in the middle of the field and any man who has +the will may pick it up and run with it."</p> + +<p>Promotion, however, and the invitation to try one's hand at +some greater venture, do not come automatically to an officer +because of the onset of war. The man who had marked time on +his job becomes relatively worse off, not only because the competition +is keener, but because in lieu of anything which marks +him for preferment, there is no good reason why he should get +it. Years of service are not to a man's credit short of some +positive proof that the years have been well used. The following +are among the reasons why certain officers are marked for +high places and find the door wide open, come an emergency:</p> + + +<ul> +<li>A consistently superior showing in the efficiency reports.</li> + +<li><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span> +A record showing that they have done well in service schools.</li> + +<li>The ability to attract the eye of some high-placed superior by +exceptional performance on maneuvers, in committee work or +any other testing problem.</li> + +<li>In addition to general dutifulness, the development to a conspicuous +degree of the special talents such as writing, instructing, +lecturing and staff administration.</li> + +<li>Fluency in other languages.</li> + +<li>Wide and resourceful study in the fields of military history, +military geography, national military policy and logistics.</li> + +<li>The advancement of an original idea which has led to a +general improvement in any one service.</li> +</ul> + +<p>Any and all of these are extra strings to one's bow. They are +the means to greater satisfaction during peacetime employment +and the source of great personal advantage during the shooting +season. But they should not be mistaken for the main thing. <em>To +excell in command, and to be recognized as deserving of it, is +the rightful ambition of every service officer and his main hold +on the probabilities of getting wider recognition.</em></p> + +<p>This holds true of the man who is so patently a specialist +that it would be wrong to waste him in a command responsibility. +If he understands the art of command, and his personality +and moral fortitude fit him for the leading of men, he will +be in better adjustment with his circumstances anywhere in the +services, and will be given greater respect by his superiors. +This rule is so absolute in its workings as to warrant saying that +<em>every man who wears the insignia of an officer in the armed +forces of the United States should aspire to the same bearing +and the same inner confidence as to his power to meet other +men and move them in the direction he desires that is to be +marked in a superior company commander</em>.</p> + +<p>The natural leader is the real specialist of the armed services. +He is as prodigious, and as much a man apart, as the wizard +who has mastered supersonic speeds. Here we speak not alone +of the ability of an officer fully to control and develop his element +under training conditions, but to take the same element +into battle and conserve the total of its powers with complete +efficiency. The man who resolves to develop within himself the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span> +prerequisite qualities which serve such an object is moved by +the worthiest of all ambitions, for he has submitted himself to +the most complex task within human reach.</p> + +<p>The self-assurance that one has promise in the field of command +is in part a derivative of growth and in part a matter of +instinct. But to the normal young officer, it comes as something +of a delightful surprise to learn that when he speaks other men +will listen, when he reasons they will become convinced, and +when he gives an order his authority is accepted. Far from +being a bad quality, this ingenuousness is wholesome because it +reflects warm appreciation of what has been given him. It does +not lessen confidence if a commander feels this way about those +who are within his charge throughout his service. The best results +flow when the working loyalty of other men is accepted +like manna from heaven, with gratitude rather than with gratification. +<em>Simply to feel that it is one's rightful portion is the +best proof that it is not, and leads to cockiness, windiness, and +self-adulation, with attendant loss of the sympathy of other men.</em> +The consequence to the individual whose dream of success is +only that he will take on more and more authority is that he will +suffer from a more and more one-sided development. The great +philosopher, Albert Schweitzer, holds up to other self-reliant +men the example of Defoe's hero, Robinson Crusoe, because he +is continually reflecting on the subject of human conduct and +he feels himself so responsible for this duty that when he gets +in a fight he thinks about how he can win it with the smallest +loss of human life. <em>The conservation of men's powers, not the +spending thereof, is the object of main concern to the truly +qualified military commander.</em></p> + +<p>At the same time, there should be no mistake about the +manner in which command is exercised. To command is not +simply to compel or to convince but a subtle mixture of both. +Moral suasion and material compulsion are linked in its every +act. <em>It involves not only saying that this is the best thing to do +but inferring that the thing had best be done.</em> Force and reason +are inseparably linked in its nature, and the force of reason is +not more important than the reason of force, if the matter is to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span> +be brought to a successful issue. <em>The very touchstone of loyalty +is that just demands will be put upon it.</em> It cannot endure and +strengthen except through finding material means of expression. +When men are given absolute freedom, with no compulsion upon +them but to eat and sleep, as with a group of South Sea savages, +there can be no strong, uniting bond between them. As for absolute +security, outside of the walls of a penitentiary it is virtually +nonexistent, though one would scarcely look inside the walls expecting +to find loyalty. In brief, being an active force in the +lives of humankind, <em>loyalty is developed through the unifying +of action</em>. <em>The more decisive the action becomes, the greater becomes +the vitality of the bond.</em> Service men look back with an +esteem, amounting almost to the love that a son feels for his +father, toward the captains who led them well on the battlefield. +But the best skipper they ever had on a training detail gets +hardly more than a kind word.</p> + +<p>It has already been said that the man with a preeminent +ability to organize and direct the action of the military group +has an outstanding and greatly prized talent. The assumption +that the holder of a commission in an armed service of the +United States is possessed of this quality to a degree goes with +the commission; lacking it, the warrant would have been withheld. +But all men vary in their capacities to respond confidently +to any particular situation. Some, no matter how hard they try, +lack the keen edge.</p> + +<p>To the officer who discovers that he is especially suited, by +temperament and liking, to the leading of combat forces, it +comes, therefore, almost as a personal charge that he will let +nothing dissuade him from the conviction that his post of duty +is with the line. Though he may seek other temporary duty to +advance his own knowledge and interests, he should remain +mentally wedded to that which he does best, and which most +other men find difficult.</p> + +<p>If it is a good rule for him, it applies just as well to all others +within his charge. This means close attention to the careers of +all junior leaders from the enlisted ranks, toward the end that +the fighting strength of the establishment will be conserved. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span> +personnel people will sometimes scuttle a fine natural leader of +a tactical platoon, simply because they have discovered that in +civilian life he ran a garage and there is a vacancy for a motor +pool operator, or switch a gunner who is zealous for his new +work back to a place in the rear, because the record book says +that he is an erstwhile, though reluctant, keeper of books. +From their point of view, this makes sense. But they are not +always aware of how difficult and essential it is to find men who +can lead at fighting. It is a point which all officers need ponder, +for in our modern enthusiasm over the marvels that can be +worked by a classification system, we tend to overlook that +fighting power is the main thing, and that the best hands are +not to be found behind every bush.</p> + +<p>When war comes, there are vast changes in the tempo and +pressure of life within the armed establishment. Faced with +new and unmeasured responsibility, almost every man would +be depressed by the feeling that he is out far beyond his depth, +if he were not buoyed by the knowledge that every other man +is in like case, and that all things are relative. Once these points +are recognized, the experience becomes exalting. A relatively +junior officer finds himself able confidently to administer a policy +applying to an entire service; a bureau, which might have been +laboring to save money in the purchase of carpet tacks and +pins, becomes suddenly confronted with the task of spending +billions, and of getting action whatever the cost.</p> + +<p>But despite the radical change in the scale of operations, the +lines laid down for the conduct of business remain the same. +The regulations under which the armed services proceed are +written for peace and war, and cover all contingencies in either +situation. The course of conduct which is set forth for an officer +under training conditions is the standard he is expected to follow +when war comes. Administration is carried out according to +the same rules, though it is probably true that there is less +"paper doll cutting"—meaning that the tide of paper work, +though larger in volume, is more to the point. To the young +officer, it must oftentime seem that, under peacetime training +conditions, he is being called on constantly to read reports<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span> +which should never have been written in the first place and is +required to write memoranda which no one should be forced +to read in the second place. For that matter, the same thought +occurs not infrequently to many of his seniors. But there is this +main point in rebuttal—it is all a part of the practice and +conditioning for a game which is in deadly earnest when war +comes. If the armed services in peace were to limit correspondence +up and down the line to those things which were either +routine or altogether vital, few men would develop a facility +at staff procedures.</p> + +<p>In one sense, the same generalization applies to the workings +of the security system. There is the common criticism that the +services always tend to over-classify papers, and make work for +themselves by their careful safeguarding of "secrets" in which +no one is interested. The idea is not without warrant; part of +the trouble stems from the fact that the line between what can +safely be made of public knowledge and what can not is impossible +of clear definition. Hence the only safe rule-of-thumb is, +"When in doubt, classify." There is, however, the other point +that it is only through officers learning how to safeguard security, +handle papers according to the regulations, and keep a +tightly buttoned lip on all things which are essentially the +business of the service during peacetime that they acquire the +disciplined habit of which matures not only their personal success +but the national safety when war comes.</p> + +<p>Oftentimes the rules seem superfluous. A man scans a paper +and sees that the contents are innocuous, and ignoring the +stamp, he leaves the document on his desk, because he is too +lazy to unlock the file. <em>But the rules mean exactly what they +say, and because their purpose is of final importance to the +nation, they will be enforced.</em> There is no surer way for an +officer to blight an otherwise promising career than to become +careless about security matters. The superior who looks lightly +on such an offense is but seeking trouble for himself.</p> + +<p>Even so, it is to be observed that regulations are a general +guide to conduct, and though they mean what they say they are +not utterly inflexible. One must not be like the half-wit de<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span>scribed +by Col. George F. Baltzell to his trainees during World +War I. Joe had attached himself to the Confederate command +of the Colonel's father, whose last chore before turning in was +to post the boy. One night in a Virginia Tidewater operation, +Joe was told to stay by a stump until morning. At dawn the unit +was moving out in a fog when the elder Baltzell bethought +himself of Joe. Down by the riverside his cries finally brought a +faint answer through the mist, "Here I is." "What are you doing +there, boy?" barked the officer, "I told you not to move." "I +hain't moved, sir," replied the invisible Joe, up to his neck in +water, "the river done riz." An occasional unforeseen circumstance +arises in which it is nonsensical, or even impossible, to +adhere to the letter of regulations, as of orders. It is then essential +that an officer use plain common sense, acting according to +the spirit of the regulation, so that it is clearly manifest he did +the best possible thing within the determining set of conditions. +For example, in the European Theater, the Historian had +charge of 32 tons of documents, all classified "Confidential," +"Secret" or "Top Secret." There were not enough safes or +secured files in the whole of France to hold this material, which +meant that established procedures could not be followed. A +permanent guard and watch was put on the archive. Wooden +cases were made from scrap lumber. Ample fire-fighting equipment +was brought in. Personnel was drilled in evacuating the +material in its order of importance, should fire occur. The setup +was inspected twice daily by the commander or his executive. +Though these arrangements still fell short of the letter of regulations, +they perforce had to satisfy any inspector because there +was no sounder alternative.</p> + +<p>When circumstances require any officer to take a course +which, while appearing in his view to be in the best interests of +the service, runs counter to the lines of action laid down by +constituted authority, he has the protection that he may always +ask for a court to pass judgment on what he had done. We are +all prone to associate the court martial process only with the +fact of punishment, but it is also a shield covering official integrity. +The privilege of appealing to the judgment and sense<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span> +of fair play in a group of one's fellow officers is a very comforting +thing in any emergency situation, requiring a desperate decision, +and engaging conflicting interests. It gives one a feeling +of backing even when circumstances are such that one is making +a lonely decision. Almost needless to say, cases of this sort +are far more likely to occur in war than during peace.</p> + +<p>Inspection takes on a somewhat different hue during war. It +becomes more frequent but, on the whole, less zealous with +respect to spit-and-polish and less captious about the many +little things which promote good order and appearance throughout +the general establishment. This condition is accentuated as +organizations move closer to the zone of fire. Higher authority +becomes more engrossed in the larger affairs of operation. +At all levels more and more time is taken in dealing with the +next level above, which means that less and less can be given +to looking at the structure down below.</p> + +<p>What then is the key to over-all soundness in the services in +any hour of great national peril? This, that in all services, at +all times and at all levels, each officer is vigilant to see that his +own unit, section or office is inspection-proof by every test +which higher authority might apply.</p> + +<p>It should not require the visit of an inspector to any installation +to apprise those who are in charge as to what is being +badly done.</p> + +<p>The standards are neither complex nor arbitrary. They can +be easily learned. Thereafter, all that is needed are the eyes to +see and the will to insist firmly that correction be made.</p> + +<p>In officership, there is simply no substitute for personal +reconnaissance, nor any other technique that in the long run +will have half its value. Gen. Carl A. Spaatz, the first leader of +our independent Air Force, was so renowned for this disciplined +habit of getting everywhere and seeing everything that, +even when he was a relatively young major, a story about his +ubiquitousness gained service-wide fame. An ailing recruit was +being examined by a doctor at March Field. "Do you see spots +before your eyes?" the doctor asked. "Heavens," groaned the +recruit. "Do I have to see him in here, too?"</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span>Once formed, the habit of getting down to the roots of organization, +of seeing with one's own eyes what is taking place, +of measuring it against one's own scale of values, of ordering +such changes as are needed, and of following-through to make +certain that the changes are made, becomes the mainspring of +all efficient command action.</p> + +<p>In battle, there is no other way to be sure. In training, there +is no better way to move toward self-assurance.</p> + + + +<div class="section_break"></div> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span></p> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_FOURTEEN" id="CHAPTER_FOURTEEN"></a><span class="chapter_number">CHAPTER FOURTEEN</span><br /><br /> + +THE MISSION</h3> + + +<p>There is a main reason why the word "mission" has an +especial appropriateness to the military services and implies +something beyond the call of duty. The arms of the United +States do not advance simply through the process of correct +orders being given and then executed with promptness, vigor, +and intelligence.</p> + +<p>That is the greater part of the task, but it is by no means all. +Military systems reflect the limitations and imperfections of +their human material. Whatever his station, and experience, no +man is wise enough and all-seeing enough that he can encompass +every factor in a given problem, take correct judgment on +every area of weakness, foresee all of that which has not yet +happened, and then write the perfect analysis and solution for +the guidance of his subordinates.</p> + +<p>The perfecting of operations, and the elimination of grit +from the machinery, therefore become the concern of <em>all</em>, directing +their thought and purpose to the doing of whatever needs to +be done to further the harmony and efficiency of the establishment, +taking personal action where it is within their province, +or calling the matter to the attention of higher authority when +it is not. In this direct sense, every ensign and second lieutenant +has a personal responsibility for the general well-being of the +security structure of the United States. This is fact, and not +theory. In World War II, many of the practical ideas which +were made of universal application in the services were initiated +by men of very junior rank. But the extent to which any man's +influence may be felt beyond his immediate circle depends first +of all upon the thoroughness with which he executes his assigned +duties, since nothing else will give his superiors confidence in his +judgments. It is only when he is exacting in small things, and is +careful to "close the circuit" on every minor assignment, that he +qualifies himself to think and act constructively in larger mat<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span>ters, +through book study and imaginative observation of the +situation which surrounds him. At this stage, an officer is well +on the road to the accomplishment of his general mission.</p> + +<p>When an order is given, what are the responsibilities of the +man who receives it? In sequence, these:</p> + + +<ul> +<li>To be certain that he understands what is required.</li> + +<li>To examine and organize his resources as promptly as +possible.</li> + +<li>Fully to inform his subordinates on these points.</li> + +<li>To execute the order without waste of time or means.</li> + +<li>To call for support if events prove that his means are inadequate.</li> + +<li>To fill up the spaces in the orders if there are developments +which had not been anticipated.</li> + +<li>When the detail is complete, to prepare to go on to something +else.</li> +</ul> + +<p>Lt. Gen. Sir Frederick Morgan, who planned the invasion of +Normandy, put the matter this way: "When setting out on any +enterprise, it is as well to ask oneself three questions. To whom +is one responsible? For precisely what is one responsible? What +are the means at one's disposal for discharging this responsibility?"</p> + +<p>Nothing so warms the heart of a superior as that, on giving an +order, he sees his subordinate salute, say "Yes sir," then about +face and proceed to carry it out to the hilt, without faltering or +looking back. This is the kind of man that a commander will +choose to have with him every time, and that he will recommend +first for advancement.</p> + +<p>On the other hand, clarification of the object is not only a +right but a duty, and it cuts both ways. Orders are not always +clear, and no superior is on firm ground when he is impatient +of questions which are to the point, or resentful of the man who +asks them. But it is natural that he will be doubtful of the man +whose words show either that he hasn't heard or is concerned +mainly with irrelevencies. The cultivation of the habit of careful, +concentrated listening, and of collected thought in reading +into any problem, is a principal portal to successful officership.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span>To say that promptness and positiveness in the execution of a +mission are at all times major virtues does not imply that the +good man, like an old fire horse, moves out instantly at the clang +of a bell. Soundness of action involves a sense of timing. Thoroughness +is the way of duty, rather than a speed which goes off +half-cocked. There is frequently a time for waiting; there is always +time for acute reflection. The brain which works "like a +steel trap" exists only in fiction. Even such men as General +Eisenhower, or Admiral Nimitz, or for that matter, Gen. U. S. +Grant, have at times deferred decision temporarily while waiting +for a change in tide or circumstance to help them make up +their minds. This is normal in the rational individual; it is not +a sign of weakness. Rather than to cultivate a belief in one's +own infallibility, the mature outlook for the military man is best +expressed in the injunction of the Apostle Paul: "<em>Let all things +be done decently and in order.</em>" Grant, wrote of the early stage +of his advance on Richmond: "At this time I was not entirely +decided as to how I should move my Army." From the pen of +General Eisenhower come these words: "The commander's success +will be measured more by his ability to lead than by his +adherence to fixed notions." Thus, in the conduct of operations +not less than in the execution of orders, it is necessary that the +mind remain plastic and impressionable.</p> + +<p>Within military organization, to refuse an order is unthinkable, +though to muster a case showing why some other order +would serve in its place is not undutiful in an individual +subordinate, any more than in a staff. By the same rule, insistence +that an order be carried out undeviatingly, simply because +it has been given, does not of itself win respect for the +authority uttering it. Its modification, however, should never +be in consequence of untempered pressure from below. To +change or rescind is justified only when reestimate of all of the +available facts indicates that some other order will serve the +general purpose more efficiently.</p> + +<p>Taking counsel of subordinates in any enterprise or situation +is therefore a matter of giving them full advantage of one's own +information and reasoning, weighing with the intellect whatever<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span> +thought or argument they may contribute to the sum of considerations, +and then making, without compromise, a clean decision +as to the line of greatest advantage. To know how to +command obedience is a very different thing from making men +obey. Obedience is not the product of fear, but of understanding, +and understanding is based on knowledge.</p> + +<p>On D-day in Normandy, Lt. Turner B. Turnbull undertook +to do with his platoon of 42 men a task which had been intended +for a battalion; he was to block the main road to enemy +forces pressing south from the Cherbourg area against the +American right flank. In early morning he engaged a counterattacking +enemy battalion, supported by mortars and a self-propelled +gun at the village of Neuville au Plain. The platoon +held its ground throughout the day. By dusk the enemy had +closed wide around both its flanks and was about to cut the +escape route. Turnbull had 23 men left. He said to the others, +"There's one thing left to do; we can charge them." Pfc. Joseph +Sebastian, who had just returned from reconnoitering to the +rear, said, "I think there's a chance we can still get out; that's +what we ought to do." Turnbull asked of his men, "What's +your judgment?" They supported Sebastian as having the +sounder idea. In a twinkling Turnbull made his decision. He +told the others to get set for the run; he was losing men even +while he talked; he ordered that the 12 wounded were to be +left behind. Corp. James Kelly, first aid man, said he would +stay with the wounded. Pfc Sebastian, who had argued Turnbull +into a withdrawal, volunteered to stand his ground and +cover the others with a BAR. Corp. Raymond Smitson said he +would stay by Sebastian and support him with hand grenades. +Sgt. Robert Niland started for one of the machine guns, to +help Smitson and Sebastian in covering the withdrawal, but was +shot dead by a German closing in with a machine pistol before +he could reach it. The 16 remaining survivors took off like so +many shots fired from a pistol, at full speed but at intervals, to +minimize the target. All got back to their Battalion, though +Turnbull was killed in action a few days later. Their 1-day +fight had preserved the flank of an Army. For economy of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span> +effort, and power of decision, there is not a brighter example in +the whole book of war.</p> + +<p>To encourage subordinates to present their views, and to +weigh them in the light of reason, is at the same time the surest +way to win their confidence and to refine one's own information +and judgments. However, to leave final decision to them in +matters which are clearly in the area of one's own responsibility, +is fatal to the character of self and to the integrity of the force.</p> + +<p>Any officer is one among many. Behind the smallest unit is the +total power of the combined services. In the main, effectiveness +develops out of unity of effort. To commit one's force to desperate, +unhelped enterprises, when there is support at hand +which may be had for the asking, may be one road to glory, +but it is certainly not the path to success in War. The Charge of +the Light Brigade at Balaklava was made immortal by Tennyson's +poem, but it was as foolhardy as asking a troop of Boy +Scouts to capture Gibraltar. In battle, a main obligation of those +who lead is to make constant resurvey of the full horizon of their +resources and means of possible support. This entails in time of +peace the acquisition of a great body of knowledge seemingly +unrelated to the administration of one's immediate affairs. It +entails, also, facing forthrightly toward every task, or assignment, +giving it a full try, sweating out every obstacle, but not +being ashamed to ask for help or counsel if it proves to be +beyond one's powers. <em>To give it everything, though not quite +making the grade personally, is merely an exercise in character +building. But to have the mission fail because of false pride is +inexcusable.</em></p> + +<p>The prayer that Sir Francis Drake wrote down for his men as +he led them forth to a great adventure might well be repeated +by any leader in the hour when he begins to despair because in +spite of his striving he has not gained all he sought: "O Lord +God, when Thou givest to thy servants to endeavour any great +matter, grant us also to know that it is not the beginning, but the +continuing of the same until it is thoroughly finished, which +yieldeth the true glory."</p> + +<p>The courage to start will carry a man far. Under the condi<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span>tions +of either war or peace, it is astonishing how many times +all things come in balance for the man who is less fearful of +rebuff than of being counted a cypher. One of Britain's great +armored leaders, Lt. Gen. Sir Giffard Martel, digested the +lesson of his whole life experience into this sentence: "If you +take a chance, it usually succeeds, presupposing good judgment." +Finally, it comes to that, for the willingness to accept +calculated risks is of the essence of effective personal performance +within the military profession. There must be careful collection +of data. There must be weighty consideration of all +known and knowable factors in the given situation. But beyond +these things, what?</p> + +<p>To convey the idea that an officer must by ingrained habit +dispose himself to take action only after he has arrived at an +exact formula, pointing exclusively in one direction, would mean +only that under the conditions of war he could never get off +his trousers-seat. For such fullness of information and confidence +of situation are not given to combat commanders once in +a lifetime.</p> + +<p>It is customary to treat "estimate of situation" as if it were +pure mathematical process, pointing almost infallibly to a definite +result. But this is contrary to nature. The mind of man does +not work that way, nor is it consistent with operational realities. +Senior commanders are as prone as even the newest junior +lieutenant to labor in perplexity between two opposing courses +of action during times of crisis, and then make their decisions +almost with the abruptness of an explosion. <em>It is post-decision +steadiness more than pre-decision certitude which carries the +day.</em> A large part of decision is intuitive; it is the byproduct of +the subconscious. In war, much of what is most pertinent lies +behind a drawn curtain. The officer is therefore badly advised +who would believe that a hunch is without value, or that there +is something unmilitary about the simple decision to take some +positive action, even though he is working in the dark.</p> + +<p>The youthful Col. Julian Ewell of the 501st Parachute Infantry +Regiment, reaching Bastogne, Belgium, on the night of +December 18, 1944, with only his lead battalion at hand, in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span>sisted +that he be given orders, even though higher headquarters +could tell him almost nothing about the friendly or enemy +situations. He got his orders, and with the one battalion moved +out through the dark to counter-attack. So doing, he stopped +cold the German XXXXVII Panzer Corps, and compelled +Hitler to alter his Ardennes plan.</p> + +<p>To grasp the spirit of orders is not less important than to +accept them cheerfully and keep faith with the contract. But +the letter of an instruction does not relieve him who receives it +from the obligation to exercise common sense. In the Carolina +maneuvers of 1941, a soldier stood at a road intersection for 3 +days and nights directing civilian traffic, simply because the man +who put him there had forgotten all about it. Though he was +praised at the time, he was hardly a shining example to hold +up to troops. Diligence and dullness are mutually exclusive +traits. The model who is well worth pondering by all services +is Chief Boatswain L. M. Jahnsen who on the morning of +Pearl Harbor was in command of the yard garbage scow YG-17. +She was collecting refuse from the fleet when the first Japanese +planes came over. As the West Virginia began to burn, Jahnsen +headed his scow into the heat and smoke and ordered his men +to man their single fire hose. The old assignment forgotten, +with overheated ammunition exploding all around him, he stood +there directing his men in all that could be done to lessen the +ruin of the fleet.</p> + +<p>Within the services, a special glory attends those whose +heroism or service is "above and beyond the call of duty." But +they owe their fundamental character to the millions of men +who have followed the path of duty above and beyond the call +of orders.</p> + +<p>Whatever the nature of an officer's assignment, there are compensations. +The conventional attitude is to speak disparagingly +of staff duty, sniff at service with a higher administrative headquarters +as if it were somehow lacking in true masculine appeal, +and express a preference for duty "at sea," "with troops" or +"in the field." Although most of this is flapdoodle, it probably +does no more harm than Admiral William F. Halsey's grimace<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span> +over the fact that he once "commanded an LSD—Large Steel +Desk." He is a poor stick of a military man who has no natural +desire to try his hand at the direct management of men, if for +no better reason than to test his own mettle. Even the avowed +specialist is better equipped for his own groove if he has proved +himself at the other game.</p> + +<p>Staff work, however, has its own peculiar rewards. Chief +among them are the broadening of perspective, a more intimate +contact with the views, working methods and personality characteristics +of higher commanders and the chance to become acquainted +with administrative responsibility from the viewpoint +of policy. Although it sounds mysterious and even forbidding, +until one has done it, the procedures are not more complex nor +less instructive than in any other type of assignment.</p> + +<p>There are no inside secrets about what goes here that is different, +or will not work equally well elsewhere. The staff is simply +the servant of the general force; it exists but to further the +welfare of the fighting establishment. Those within it are remiss +if they fail to keep this rule uppermost. Consequently, no special +attitude is called for, other than an acute receptiveness. The +same military bearing, the same naturalness of manner which +enable an officer to win the confidence and working loyalty of +his men will serve just as well when he is dealing with higher +authority.</p> + + + +<div class="section_break"></div> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span></p> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_FIFTEEN" id="CHAPTER_FIFTEEN"></a><span class="chapter_number">CHAPTER FIFTEEN</span><br /><br /> + +DISCIPLINE</h3> + + +<p>Though many of the aspects of discipline can be discussed +more appropriately in other sections of this book, an officer +must understand its particular nature within American military +forces if he is to win from his men obedience coupled with +activity at will.</p> + +<p>It frequently happens that the root meaning of a word more +nearly explains the whole context of ideas with which it is +legitimately associated than the public's mistaken use of the +same word. Coming from the Latin, "to discipline" means "to +teach." Insofar as the military establishment of the United +States is concerned, nothing need be added to that definition. +Its discipline is that standard of personal deportment, work +requirement, courtesy, appearance and ethical conduct which, +inculcated in men, will enable them singly or collectively to +perform their mission with an optimum efficiency.</p> + +<p>Military discipline, in this respect, is no different than the +discipline of the university, a baseball league or a labor union. +It makes specific requirements of the individual; so do they. It +has a system of punishments; so do they. These things are but +incidental to the end result. Their main object is to preserve +the interests and further the opportunity of the cooperative +majority. But the essential difference between discipline in the +military establishment and in any other free institution is this, +that if the man objects, he still does not have the privilege of +quitting tomorrow, and if he resists or becomes indifferent and +is not corrected, his bad example will be felt to the far end of +the line.</p> + +<p>Though the failure to stop looting by our forces during +World War II, and the redeployment riots which followed it, +are both unpleasant memories, they underscored a lesson already +affirmed by every American experience at arms. The most +contagious of all moral diseases is insubordination, and it has no<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span> +more respect for rank than the plague. When higher authority +winks at its existence among the rank and file, it will contaminate +upward as well as down. Once a man condones remissness, +his own belief in discipline begins to wither. The +officer who tolerates slackness in the dress of his men soon +ceases to tend his own appearance, and if he is not called to +account, his sloppy habits will shortly begin to infect his +superior. There is only one correct way to wear the uniform. +When any deviations in dress are condoned within the services, +the way is open to the destruction of all uniformity and unity. +This continuing problem of stimulating all ranks to toe-up to +that straight line of bearing and deportment which will build +inner confidence and win public respect is the main reason why, +as George Washington put it: "To bring men to a proper degree +of subordination is not the work of a day, a month, or a year." +It calls not simply for a high-minded attitude toward the profession +of arms but for infinitely patient attention to a great +variety of detail. An officer has a disciplined hold upon his own +job only when, like the air pilot preparing to take off, he +makes personal check of every point where the machinery might +fail. The stronger his example of diligence, the more earnestly +will it be followed by the ablest of his subordinates, and they +in turn will carry other men along. No leader ever fails his men—nor +will they fail him—who leads them in respect for the +disciplined life. Between these two things—discipline in itself +and a personal faith in the military value of discipline—lies +all the difference between military maturity and mediocrity. A +salute from an unwilling man is as meaningless as the moving +of a leaf on a tree; it is a sign only that the subject has been +caught by a gust of wind. But a salute from the man who takes +pride in the gesture because he feels privileged to wear the +uniform of the United States, having found the service good, is +the epitome of military virtue. Of those units which were most +effective, and were capable of the greatest measure of self-help +during World War II combat, it was invariably remarked +that they observed the salute and the other rules of courtesy +better than the others, even when engaged.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span>The level of discipline is in large part what the officers in any +unit choose to make it. The general aim of regulations is to +set an over-all standard of conduct and work requirement for all +concerned. Training schedules, operational directives and other +work programs serve the same end. <em>But there is still a broad +area in which the influence of every officer is brought to bear. +To state what is required is only the beginning; to require +what has been stated is the positive end.</em> The rule of courtesy +may be laid down by the book; it remains for the officer to rule +by work rather than working by rules, and by setting the good +example for his men, stimulate their acceptance of orderly military +habits. A training schedule may stipulate that certain tasks +be carried out but only the officer in charge can assure that the +work will be accomplished with fidelity.</p> + +<p>The level of discipline should at all times be according to +what is needed to get the best results from the majority of dutiful +individuals. There is no practical reason for any sterner +requirement than that. There is no moral justification for countenancing +anything less. <em>Discipline destroys the spirit and +working loyalty of the general force when it is pitched to the +minority of malcontented, undutiful men within the organization, +whether to punish or to appease them.</em> When this common +sense precept is ignored, the results invariably are unhappy.</p> + +<p>However, it is not here inferred that what has to be done to +build strong discipline in forces will at all times be welcomed +by the first-class men within a unit, or that their reaction will +always be approval. Rather, it is to say that they will accept +what is ordered, even though they may gripe about it, and that +ultimately their own reason will convince them of the value of +what is being done.</p> + +<p>Until men are severely tried, there is no conclusive test of +their discipline, nor proof that their training at arms is satisfying +a legitimate military end. The old game of follow-the-leader +has no point if the leader himself, like the little girl in a +Thomas Hardy novel, is balked by insuperable obstacles one-quarter +inch high. <em>All military forces remain relatively undisciplined +until physically toughened and mentally conditioned to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span> +unusual exertion.</em> Consider the road march! No body of men +could possibly enjoy the dust, the heat, the blistered foot and the +aching back. But hard road marching is necessary if a sound +foundation is to be built under the discipline of fighting forces, +particularly those whose labors are in the field. And the gain +comes quickly. The rise in spirits within any organization +which is always to be observed after they rebound from a hard +march does not come essentially from the feeling of relief +that the strain is past, but rather from satisfaction that a goal +has been crossed. <em>Every normal man needs to have some sense +of a contest, some feeling of resistance overcome, before he can +make the best use of his faculties. Whatever experience serves +to give him confidence that he can compete with other men +helps to increase his solidarity with other men.</em></p> + +<p>It must be accepted that discipline does not break down +under the strain of placing a testing demand upon the individual. +It is sloth and not activity that destroys discipline. +Troops can endure hard going when it serves an understandable +end. This is what they will boast about mainly when the +fatigue is ended. A large part of training is necessarily directed +toward conditioning them for unusual hardship and privation. +They can take this in stride. But no power on earth can reconcile +them to what common sense tells them is unnecessary hardship +which might have been avoided by greater intelligence in +their superiors. When they are overloaded, they know it. When +they are required to form for a parade two hours ahead of +time because their commander got over-anxious, or didn't know +how to write an order, again they know it! <em>And they are perfectly +right if they go sour because this kind of thing happens +a little too often within the command.</em></p> + +<p>Within our system, that discipline is nearest perfect which +assures to the individual the greatest freedom of thought and +action while at all times promoting his feeling of responsibility +toward the group. <em>These twin ends are convergent and +interdependent for the exact converse of the reason that it is +impossible for any man to feel happy and successful if he is in +the middle of a failing institution.</em> War, and all training oper<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span>ations +in preparation for it, have become more than ever a +problem of creating diversity of action out of unity of thought. +Its modern technological aspects not only require a much keener +intelligence in the average file but a higher degree of initiative +and courageous confidence in his own judgments. If the man is +cramped by monotonous routine, or made to feel that he cannot +move unless an order is barked, he cannot develop these +qualities, and he will never come forward as a junior leader. +<em>On the other hand, the increased utilization of the machine in +military operations, far from lessening the need of mutual support +and unified action, has increased it.</em> One of the hazards of +high velocity warfare is that reverse and disaster can occur +much more swiftly than under former systems. Thus the need +for greater spiritual integration within forces, and increased +emphasis upon the values of more perfect communication in all +forms, at the same time that each individual is trained to +initiate action for the common good. Only so can the new +discipline promote a higher efficiency based on a more steadfast +loyalty of man to man. In the words of Du Picq, who saw so +deeply into the hearts of fighting men: "If one does not wish +bonds broken, one should make them elastic and thereby +strengthen them."</p> + +<p>The separate nature of military service is the key to the +character of the discipline of its several forces. In the United +States, we have fallen into the sloppy habit of saying that a +soldier, bluejacket, airman, coast guardsman or marine is only +an American civilian in uniform. The corollary of this quaint +notion is that all military organization is best run according to +the principles of business management. The truth of either of +these ideas is to be disputed on two grounds: both are contrary +to truth and contrary to human nature. An officer is not only +an administrator but a magistrate, and it is this dual role which +makes his function so radically different than anything encountered +in civil life—to say nothing of the singleness of purpose +by which the service moves forward. Moreover, the armed service +officer deals with the most plastic human material within +the society—men who, in the majority, the moment they step<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span> +into uniform, are ready to seek his guidance toward a new +way of life.</p> + +<p>However, these fancies are but tangential aspects of a much +larger illusion—that the Armed Services of the United States, +since they serve a democracy, can better perfect themselves +according to the measure that they become more and more +democratic. Authority is questioned in democratic countries +today, not only in government, but in industry, the school, +the church and the home. But to the extent that military +men lose their faith in its virtue and become amenable to +ill-considered reforms simply to appease the public, they relinquish +the power to protect and nurture that growth of free +men, free thought and free institutions which began among a +handful of soldiers in Cromwell's Army and was carried by +them after the Restoration to the North American mainland. +The relation of the military establishment to American democracy +is as a shield covering the body. But no wit of man can +make it a wholly "democratic" institution as to its own processes +without vitiating its strength, since it progresses through the +exercise of unquestioned authority at various levels.</p> + +<p>One of these levels is the plane on which an ensign or second +lieutenant conducts his daily dealings with his men. George +Washington left behind these words, which are as good today +as when he uttered them from his command post: "Whilst men +treat an officer as an equal, regard him no more than a broomstick, +being mixed together as one common herd, no order nor +discipline can prevail." Out of his experience in the handling +of deck divisions during World War II, Edmund A. Gibson, +Boatswain's Mate, First Class, also said something which, put +alongside Washington's words, brings the whole subject of +officer-man relationships into clear focus: "Speaking for Navy +men, I am certain that they are entirely without any feeling of +inferiority, social or otherwise, to their officers. If superiority +or inferiority of any kind enters into their contemplation at all, +it is in the shape of a conviction, doubtless a wrong one, that +every serviceman, as a professional warrior, is above the narrow +interests which obsess the civilian."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span>Those who have served both as officer and under-officer well +understand the appropriateness of these two ideas, each to the +other, that the superior position of the officer must be preserved +for the good of the service, but that this engages recognition +of the individual equality of the enlisted man. They know, if +they have observed well and truly during their service in the +ranks, that the highest type enlisted man wants his officer to act +the part, maintain dignity and support the ideals which are +consonant with the authority vested in him by the Nation. But +this same man at the same time expects his officers to concede +him his right to a separate position and to respect his privacy. +It is a pitiable eminence that is not well founded upon sure +feeling for the value of its own prestige and the importance +of this factor at all levels.</p> + +<p>In the military service of the United States, there is always +room for firm and forthright friendship between officer and +man. There is room for a close, uniting comradeship. There is +room for frank intellectual discussion and the exchange of +warm humor; no man goes far if he is all salt and no savor. +There is room for that kind of intimacy which enables each to +see the other as a human being, know something of the other's +emotions and help clear the atmosphere for honest counsel on +personal and organizational problems.</p> + +<p>But there is no room for familiarity, since as in any other +sphere, it breeds contempt. When it occurs, respect flies out the +window, the officer loses part of his command authority and +discipline breaks down. Familiarity cannot obtain between the +superior and the subordinate without the vice of favoritism +entering into the conduct of organizational matters, even though +the former is guilty only of an over-zealous goodwill and the +latter is otherwise sensible to the interests of the unit. The +chief damage comes from the effect upon all others. It is when +all the bars are let down that men communicate those inner +failings which a greater reserve would keep under cover. Familiarity +toward a superior is a positive danger; toward a subordinate, +it is unbecoming and does not increase his trust. In excess,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span> +it can have no other effect than a breach of confidence on +both sides.</p> + +<p>Changes in the environmental situation do not alter the +natural proprieties of this relationship between any two men, the +one having higher authority and the other having the obligation +of obedience. Under the conditions of modern war, the +two not infrequently may be required to work together as a unit, +almost apart from the influence of organizational discipline. +Hardship and necessity may compel them to extend the limit of +personal accommodation to each other. They may go into battle +together. They may sleep in the same bed or foxhole. They +may drink from a common bottle and draw upon each other +for the means to keep going. But in adapting one's course according +to the rigors of any unconventional situation, authority +is maintained only through the exercise of a higher sense of +responsibility. However, the rule is applied according to the +circumstance, the rule itself remains inflexible.</p> + +<p>Officers and men working together as a compact team, in any +type of military operation where success, and coordinated action +in the face of danger, depend mainly upon the moral resources +within one small group, develop a closer camaraderie and become +less formal than is normal elsewhere throughout the +services. The close confinement in which tank forces, airplane +crews and submarine crews must operate would stifle morale +and torture nerves otherwise. Whatever the patience of men +under such conditions, sooner or later they get on each other's +nerves. Therefore that system of relationships is best which is +least artificial and most relaxing to the spirit of the natural +man. But to construe this as a deviation from the standards of +discipline is to mistake the shadow for the substance.</p> + + + +<div class="section_break"></div> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span></p> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_SIXTEEN" id="CHAPTER_SIXTEEN"></a><span class="chapter_number">CHAPTER SIXTEEN</span><br /><br /> + +MORALE</h3> + + +<p>To grow in knowledge of how to win a loyal and willing +response from military forces, there must first be understanding +of the springs of human action, what they are, and how they +may be directed toward constructive ends. This done, the course +which makes for the perfecting of forces during peacetime +training need only be extended to harden them for the risk and +stress of war.</p> + +<p>The mainspring is morale. The meaning of the word is +already known in a general way to every man who has qualified +for officership, so it is hardly necessary to redefine it. A World +War II bluejacket said it this way: "Morale is when your hands +and feet keep working when your head says it can't be done." +That says it just as well as anything written by du Picq or +Baron von Steuben. Nothing new need be added.</p> + +<p>The handiest beginning is to consider morale in conjunction +with discipline, since in military service they are opposite sides +of the same coin. When one is present, the other will be also. +But the instilling of these things in military forces depends upon +leadership understanding the nature of the relationship.</p> + +<p>As to discipline, until recent years, military forces tended to +stress the pattern rather than the ideal. The elder Moltke, one +of the great masters of the military art, taught his troops that it +was of supreme importance that they form accurately in training, +since the perfection of their formations would determine +their efficiency in battle. Yet in the Franco-Prussian War, these +formations proved utterly unsuited to the heavily wooded terrain +of the theater, and new ones had to be devised on the +spur of the moment.</p> + +<p>This is the familiar story. It was repeated by United States +forces in World War II during the Normandy hedgerow fighting +and the invasions of the Central Pacific atolls. Troops had +to learn the hard way how to hit, and how to survive, in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span> +moving through jungle or across the mountains and desert. +When that happened, the only disciplinary residue which mattered +was obedience to orders. The movements they had learned +by rote were of less value than the spiritual bond between one +man and another. The most valuable lesson was that of mutual +support. And unless this lesson was supported by confidence in +the judgment of those in authority, it is to be doubted that +they were helped at all.</p> + +<p>Finally, that confidence is the <em>sine qua non</em> of all useful +military power. The moral strength of an organic unity comes +from the faith in ranks that they are being wisely directed and +from faith up top that orders will be obeyed. When forces are +tempered by this spirit, there is no limit to their enterprise. +They become invincible. Lacking it, however, any military body, +even though it has been compelled to toe the mark in training, +will deteriorate into a rabble under conditions of extraordinary +stress in the field, as McDowell's Army did at Bull Run in the +American Civil War, and as Hitler's Armies did in 1945 after +the Rhine had been crossed at Remagen.</p> + +<p>In its essentials, discipline is not measured according to how +a man keeps step in a drill yard, or whether he salutes at just +the right angle. The test is how well and willingly he responds +to his superiors in all <em>vital</em> matters, and finally, whether he +stands or runs when his life is at stake. History makes this +clear. There are countless examples of successful military forces +which had almost no discipline when measured by the usual +yardsticks, yet had a high battle morale productive of the kind +of discipline which beats the enemy in battle. The French at +Valmy, the Boers in the South African War, and even the +men of Capt. John Parker, responding to his order on the +Lexington Common, "Don't fire unless fired upon, but if they +mean to have a war, let it begin here," instance that men who +lack training and have not been regimented still may express +themselves as a cohesive force on the field of fire, provided +that they are well led.</p> + +<p>If we will accept the basic premise that discipline, even within +the military establishment of the United States, is not a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span> +ritual or a form, but is simply that course of conduct which is +most likely to lead to the efficient performance of an assigned +responsibility, it will be seen that morale does not come of discipline, +but discipline of morale.</p> + +<p>True enough, our recruits are given a discipline almost from +the moment that they take the oath. Their first lesson is the +necessity for obedience. They are required immediately to conform +to a new pattern of conduct. They respond to disciplinary +treatment even before they learn to think as a group and before +the attitude of the group has any influence upon them. Discipline +bears down before morale can lift up. Momentarily, they +become timid before they have felt any pain. These first reactions +help condition the man to his new environment. They are +in part demoralizing, but on the upswing he begins to realize +that half the fun in life comes of seeing what one can do in a +new situation. The foundation of his morale is laid when he +begins to think of himself as a member of the fighting establishment, +rather than as a civilian. Thereafter all that is done +to nourish his military spirit and to arouse his thirst for professional +knowledge helps to build his moral power.</p> + +<p>But follow the man a little longer. The time quickly comes +when he knows his way around in the service. His earlier fears +and hesitations are largely gone. He acquires strength and wisdom +from the group. He becomes able to judge his own situation +against an attainable standard within the service. He is +critically conscious of the merits of his superiors from what he +has himself experienced and what others tell him. He knows +what is boondoggling and what is not.</p> + +<p>From that point on, discipline has little part in alerting the +man or in furthering the building of his moral power. That +which moves him mainly is the knowledge that he is a personal +success, and that he belongs to an efficient unit which is in +capable hands. Certain of the outer signs of discipline, such as +the cadence of the march or snap in the execution of the +manual, he may subconsciously reenforce his impression of these +things. But if he feels either that he is an outsider or that the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span> +club isn't worth joining, no amount of spit and polish will alter +his opinion.</p> + +<p>He is able to recognize a right and reasonable discipline as +such, even though it causes him personal inconvenience, because +he has acquired a sense of military values. But if it is +either unduly harsh or unnecessarily lax, he likewise knows it +and wears it as a hairshirt, to the undoing of his morale. +Though the man, like the group, can be hurt by being pushed +beyond sensible limits, his spirit will suffer even more sorely if +no real test is put upon his abilities and moral powers. The +greater his intelligence, the stronger will be his resentment. +That is a law of nature. The enlightened mind has always the +greatest measure of self-discipline but it also has a higher sense +of what constitutes justice, fairplay and a reasonable requirement +in the performance of duty. If denied these things, he +will come to hold his chief, his job, and himself in contempt. +The greater part of man's satisfactions comes of activity and +only a very small remnant comes of passive enjoyment. Forgetting +this rather obvious fact in human nature, social reformers +aim at securing more leisure, rather than at making work +itself more satisfactory. But it need not be forgotten in the +military service.</p> + +<p>Even to those who best understand the reasons for the regimenting +of military forces, a discipline wrongfully applied is +seen only as indiscipline. Invariably it will be countered in its +own terms. No average rank-and-file will become insubordinate +as quickly, or react as violently, as a group of senior noncommissioned +officers, brought together in a body, and then +mishandled by officers who are ignorant of the customs of the +service and the limits of their own authority. Not only are they +conscious of their rights, but they have greater respect for the +state of decency and order which is the mark of a proper military +establishment than for the insignia of rank. It is this firm +feeling of the fitness of things, and his unbounded allegiance +to an authority when it is based on character which makes the +NCO and the petty officer the backbone of discipline within +the United States fighting establishment. Sergeant Evans of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span> +"Command Decision" was an archtype of the best ball carriers +among them. In a sense, they remain independent workmen, +rather than a tool of authority, until the hour comes when they +fall in completely with someone their own nature tells them is +good. In the past, we have not always made the wisest use of +this latent strength. The normal desire of the veteran who has +won his stripes by hard service is to support his officers and +reduce the friction down below. Whatever is done to lessen his +dignity and prestige damages morale and creates new stresses in +the relations between the officer corps and the ranks. When he +is rebuffed, either because those above him are indifferent to +his pride or are unaware that he is their chief advocate among +the men, the military machinery loses its cushion and becomes +subject to increasing shock. Said a newly arrived lieutenant to +an old sergeant of the 12th Cavalry: "You've been here a long +time, haven't you?" "Yes sir," replied the sergeant. "The troop +commanders, they come and they go, but it don't hurt the +troop."</p> + +<p>To comment on these things, however, is to emphasize once +again the supreme importance of the judgment of the officer in +dealing with all of his military associates in such way that he +will support that native pride, without which a man cannot +remain whole, and at the same time direct it toward the betterment +of the organization. To lecture troops about the importance +of morale and discipline serves no earthly purpose, +if the words are at odds with the general conditions which have +been imposed on the command. They impose their values only +as reflection of the leader's entire thought concerning his men. +At the same time, there is this to be remembered, that even +when things are going wrong at every other level, men will +remain loyal and dutiful if they see in the one junior officer who +is nearest them the embodiment of the ideals which they believe +should apply throughout the service. That is the main object +lesson in that remarkable novel written around a World War II +Navy auxiliary, "Mister Roberts." But it holds just as true in +our ground and air forces as for those afloat.</p> + +<p>Morale comes of the mind and of the spirit. The question is<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span> +how it is to be developed. Admiral Ben Moreell has stated a +formula in understanding terms by his explanation of what +made the Seabees notable for competence and devotion to duty +during World War II. This is what he said: "We used artisans +to do the work for which they had been trained in civil life. +They were well led by officers who 'spoke their language.' +We made them feel that they were playing an important +part in the great adventure. And thus they achieved a high +standard of morale." The elements underscored by Admiral +Moreell deserve special note.</p> + + +<ul> +<li>Satisfaction in a work program.</li> + +<li>Mutual confidence between leaders and ranks.</li> + +<li>Conviction that all together were striving for something +more important than themselves.</li> +</ul> + +<p>True, that was wartime, and the challenge was apparent to +all concerned. But the principles hold good under any and all +conditions, and can be applied to any organization by the officer +who approaches his task with enthusiasm and imagination. +The mission of keeping the world at peace, through a moral +strengthening of the security structure of the United States, is a +more difficult objective than that which confronted fighting +forces after Pearl Harbor. In his book, "World War: Its Cause +and Cure," Lionel Curtis stated our problem in its broadest +and most challenging terms: "Civilization began with a war +between freedom and despotism: we are now fighting its latest +campaign, and our task is to make it the last."</p> + +<p>Under training conditions or in combat, the mental ills and +the resulting moral and physical deterioration which sometimes +beset military forces cannot be cured simply by the intensification +of disciplinary methods. It is true that the signs of a recovery +will sometimes attend the installation of a more rigid, +or less rigid, discipline. This onset is in fact usually due to the +collateral influence of an increased confidence in the command, +whereby men are made to feel that their own fortunes are on +the mend. Then discipline and morale are together revitalized +almost as if by the throwing of an electric switch.</p> + +<p>In Army history, there is no better example of the working of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span> +this principle than the work of Brig. Gen. Paul B. Malone of +St. Aignan-sur-Cher, France, in 1919. He took over a command +where slackness and indiscipline were general. The men were +suffering terrible privation and too many of their officers were +indifferent to their needs. Many of the men had been battle +casualties. Some had been discharged from hospitals before their +wounds were healed. The mess was abominable. The camp was +short of firewood and other supply. In freezing weather, men +were sleeping on the ground with only a pair of blankets +apiece. The death toll from influenza, pneumonia, and the aggravation +of battle wounds rose daily. Despair and resentment +over these conditions began to express itself in semiviolent +form. Every fresh breach of discipline was countered with harassing +punishments until an air of wretched stagnation hung +over the whole camp. General Pershing visited the base. The +men refused to form for him. When he tried to address them +at a mass meeting, they wouldn't hear him out. Instead of taking +any action against the men, he sent for General Malone.</p> + +<p>The new commander arrived without any instructions except +to determine what was wrong and correct it. With soldierly instinct, +he recognized that the indiscipline of the camp was an +effect and not a cause. But even as he gave orders for relieving +the physical distress of the men, he demanded that they return +to orderly habits.</p> + +<p>He walked around the areas. Already, on his order, duck-boards +were being laid through the mud, and the whole physical +setup was in process of reorganization. The men, grown +listless from weeks of mistreatment, paid no heed. "Get on +your feet! I'm your general. I respect you but I want your +respect," were his words. They restored the situation. The first +impact of this one man on that camp was never forgotten by +anyone who saw it. It is a point to remember: <em>A firm hold at +the beginning pays tenfold the dividend of a timid approach, +followed by a show of firmness later on.</em> Within 48 hours the +physical condition of the camp was showing improvement and +60,000 men were again doing their duty and bearing themselves<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span> +in a military manner. The lessons from this one incident stand +out like beams from a searchlight battery.</p> + +<p><em>One man is able to accomplish a miracle by an act of will +accompanied by good works.</em></p> + +<p><em>The morale of the force flows from the self-discipline of the +commander, and in turn, the discipline of the force is reestablished +by the upsurge of its moral power.</em></p> + +<p><em>The inculcation of military habits and thoughts is the only +means by which these forces may be made to work together +toward more perfect ends, so that control can be exercised +promptly.</em></p> + +<p>When the redeployment period which followed World War II +threatened a complete collapse to the morale of the general +military establishment, the remedy attempted by some unit leaders +was to relax discipline and the work requirement all around. +Other officers met this crisis by improving the conditions of +work, setting an example which proved to the men that they +believed in its importance and paying sedulous attention to the +personal problems of those within the unit. They found that +they could still get superior performance in the midst of chaos. +Organic strength materializes in the same way on the field of +war. <em>However adverse the general situation, men will stick to +the one man who knows what he wants to do and welcomes +them to a full share in the enterprise.</em></p> + +<p>The rule applies in matters great and small. No man who +leads a squad or a squadron, a group of men or a group of +armies, can develop within his force a well-placed confidence +in its own powers, if he is uncertain of himself or doubtful of his +object. The moral level of his men is mainly according to the +manner in which he expresses his personal force working with, +and for, them. If he is timid or aloof, uncommunicative and +unenthusiastic, prone to stand on his dignity and devoid of +interest in the human stuff of those who are within his charge, +they will not respond to him, and he will have raised a main +barrier to his own success. If, given a course or taking one of +his own choice, he worries so greatly about the obstacles in his +way that he cannot make penetrating search for the clear chan<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span>nel, +he will waste the powers of his men even though he may +have won their sympathy.</p> + +<p>It would be futile to make these comments on the nature of +moral leading if it were not fully within the power of the +average young officer to cut his cloth according to the suggested +pattern. The commonplace that human nature cannot +be changed is untrue. The characters of each of us, and of +all of our acquaintances, are greatly affected by circumstances. +No man's impulses are fixed from the beginning by his native +disposition; they remain plastic until the hour of his death, and +whatever touches his circumference, influences them for better +or worse. <em>The power of decision develops only out of practice. +There is nothing mystic about it. It comes of a clear-eyed willingness +to accept life's risks, recognizing that only the enfeebled +are comforted by thoughts of an existence devoid of struggle.</em></p> + +<p>Nothing more radical is being suggested here than that the +officer who would make certain that the morale of his men will +prove equal to every change cannot do better than concentrate +his best efforts upon his primary military obligation—his duty +to them. They dupe only themselves who believe that there is a +brand of military efficiency which consists in moving smartly, +expediting papers and achieving perfection in formations, while +at the same time slighting or ignoring the human nature of +those whom they command. The art of leadership, the art of +command, whether the forces be large or small, is the art of +dealing with humanity. Only the officer who dedicates his +thought and energy to his men can convert into coherent military +force their desire to be of service to the country. Such +were the fundamental values which Napoleon had in mind +when he said that those who would learn the art of war should +study the Great Captains. He was not speaking of tactics and +strategy. He was pointing to the success of Alexander, Caesar, +and Hannibal in moulding raw human nature, and to their +understanding of the thinking of their men and of how to direct +it toward military advantage. These are the grand objects.</p> + +<p>Diligence in the care of men, administration of all organizational +affairs according to a standard of resolute justice, mili<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span>tary +bearing in one's self, and finally, an understanding of the +simple facts that men in a fighting establishment wish to think +of themselves in that light and that all military information is +nourishing to their spirits and their lives, are the four fundamentals +by which the commander builds an all-sufficing morale +in those within his charge.</p> + +<p>There are other motor forces and mechanisms, most of which +come under the heading of management principles, and are +therefore discussed in other portions of this volume. The exception +is the greatest force of all—patriotism. It may be +deemed beyond argument that belief in the social order and +political doctrine of their country is the foundation of a loyal, +willing spirit in military forces. Yet this alone cannot assure +efficiency in training or a battle <em>elan</em> which is the result of +proper training methods. There is nothing more soulless than a +religion without good works unless it be a patriotism which +does not concern itself with the welfare and dignity of the individual. +This is a simple idea though wise men in all ages have +recognized it as one of the most profound truths. From Aristotle +on down the philosophers have said that the main force in +shaping the characters of men is not teaching and preaching, +though these too are important, but the social framework in +which a man lives. In an age when there is widespread presumption +that practical problems can be solved by phrases, the +military body needs more than ever to hold steadfastly to first +principles. It does no good for an officer to talk patriotism to +his men unless he stands four-square with them, and they see in +him a symbol of what is right with the country. Under those +circumstances, he can always talk to them about the cause, and +what he says will be a tonic to morale.</p> + +<p>In the Normandy invasion, a young commander of paratroops, +Lt. Col. Edward C. Krause, was given the task of capturing +a main enemy communications center. Three hours before the +take-off he assembled his Battalion, held a small American flag +in front of them and said these words; "This is the first flag +raised over the city of Naples. You put it there. I want it to be +the first flag raised over a liberated town in France. The mis<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span>sion +is that we will put it up in Ste. Mere Eglise before dawn. +You have only one order—to come and fight with me wherever +you land. When you get to Ste. Mere Eglise, I will be +there."</p> + +<p>The assignment was kept. Next morning, Krause and his +men raised the flag together, even before they had completed +capture of the town. As Americans go, they were extremely +rugged individualists. But they were proud of every line of that +story.</p> + + + +<div class="section_break"></div> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span></p> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_SEVENTEEN" id="CHAPTER_SEVENTEEN"></a><span class="chapter_number">CHAPTER SEVENTEEN</span><br /><br /> + +ESPRIT</h3> + + +<p>To proceed toward a better understanding of <em>esprit</em> and its +part in the building of military forces, it is necessary to look +beyond the organization and consider the man.</p> + +<p>The life of any socially upright individual is organized +around only a few basic loyalties and the degree of satisfaction +which he derives from existence can usually be measured +in terms of his service to them. He is loyal first to himself, for +failing that, he fails in loyalty to all else. If he cannot acquit +himself ably for his own sake, he cannot do honor to anything +less personal. Along with loyalty to self come loyalty to our +beliefs, loyalty to family, loyalty to country, loyalty to friends, +and loyalty to humanity in general.</p> + +<p>Stated as a factual and not as an ideal matter, the interesting +and important thing that happens to a man when he enters +military service is that, the moment he takes the oath, loyalty to +the arms he bears ranks first on the list, above all other loyalties. +To get ahead, to serve himself well, he must persevere in +ways that are most useful to the organization. If the circumstances +of his family are reduced because of this new loyalty, +his means of compensating them is to strive for such honor as +may come to him through service to the United States. In his +life, service to country is no longer a beautiful abstraction; it +is the sternly concrete and unremitting obligation of service to +the regiment, the group or the ship's company. He parts with +old friends and finds new ones.</p> + +<p>In this radical reorientation of the individual life and the +arbitrary imposition of a commanding loyalty is to be found +the key to the esprit of any military organization. Too long +esprit has been regarded as something bequeathed to the unit +by the dead hand of tradition. There is nothing moribund +about it. It is a dynamic and vital substance conducted to the +living by the living. We can banish from our minds the idea<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span> +that esprit is what the regiment, the ship or the company gives +the man because of some spark which its past deeds and the +legends thereof have lighted in him. Esprit, at all times, is what +the unit gives the man, in terms of spiritual force translated +into constructive good. Considering what the unit has taken +from him initially, its obligation is great indeed.</p> + +<p>To see this clearly, we need to look once again at what +happens to the individual when he puts on the uniform. The +basis of his life changes in broad and fundamental ways. His +legal status is changed; the extent and intensity of his obligations +are magnified. He puts aside the banner of individualism +for that of obedience. Yet in the words of Chester Barnard: +"Scarcely a man, I think, who has felt the annihilation of his +personality in some organized system, has not also felt that the +same system belonged to him because of his own free will he +chose to make it so."</p> + +<p>To that must be added the further thought that while the +military service is antecedent to the individual who enters it, +that individual is also in a sense antecedent to the service. He +becomes a factor in the equation which expresses the achievement +or the failure of the service in its particular mission. The +thoughtful commander will give careful regard to that relationship. +One man cannot make or break an Army or a Navy, but +he can help break it, since each service at all times derives its +nature from the quality and wills of its men. General Harbord, +in <em>The American Army in France</em>, expressed it this way: "Discipline +and morale influence the inarticulate vote that is constantly +taken by masses of men when the order comes to move +forward—a variant of the crowd psychology that inclines it to +follow a leader. But the Army does not move forward until the +motion has carried. 'Unanimous consent' only follows cooperation +between the individual men in ranks."</p> + +<p>But we can go one step beyond General Harbord's suggestion +that the multiplied individual acceptance of a command alone +gives that command authority. It is not less true that the multiplied +rejection of a command nullifies it. In other words, +authority is the creature rather than the creator of discipline<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span> +and obedience. In the more recent experiences of our arms, +under the stresses of battle, there are many instances of troops +being given orders, and refusing to obey. In every case, the +root cause was lack of confidence in the wisdom and ability of +those who led. When a determining number of men in ranks +have lost the will to obey, their erstwhile leader has <em>ipso facto</em> +lost the capacity to command. <em>In the final analysis, authority +is contingent upon respect far more truly than respect is founded +upon authority.</em> In the words of Col. G. F. R. Henderson: +"It is the leader who reckons with the human nature of his +troops, and of the enemy, rather than with their mere physical +attributes, numbers, armament and the like, who can hope to +follow in Napoleon's footsteps."</p> + +<p><em>Esprit</em> then is the product of a thriving mutual confidence +between the leader and the led, founded on the faith that together +they possess a superior quality and capability. The failure +of the spirit of any military organization is less frequently due +to what men have forgotten than to what they can't forget. +No "imperishable record" of past greatness can make men serve +with any greater vigor if they are being served badly. Nor can +it sustain the fighting will of the organization so much as one +mil beyond the radius within which living associations enable +men to think great thoughts and act with nobility toward their +fellows. Unless the organization's past conveys to its officers a +sense of having been especially chosen, and unless they respond +to this trust by developing a complete sense of duty toward +their men, the old battle records might as well be poured down +the drain, since they will not rally a single man in the hour of +danger. Said Col. LeRoy P. Hunt in a mimeographed notice to +his troops just prior to the Guadalcanal landing: "We are +meeting a tough and wily opponent but he is not sufficiently +tough and wily to overcome us because We Are Marines." +(The capitals are Hunt's.)</p> + +<p>Personality plays a part in the ability to command, both +under training conditions and under fire. But though a man +be a veritable John Paul Jones or Mad Anthony Wayne in the +time of action, his hardihood will never wholly undo any prior<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span> +neglect of his men. While men may be rallied for a short +space by someone setting an example of great courage, they can +be kept in line under conditions of increasing stress and mounting +hardship only when loyalty is based upon a respect which +the commander has won by consistently thoughtful regard for +the welfare and rights of his men, and a correct measuring of +his responsibility to them.</p> + +<p>There are a few governing principles, and before considering +their application in detail we should think first about the file. +He is a Man; he expects to be treated as an adult, not as a +schoolboy. He has rights; they must be made known to him and +thereafter respected. He has ambition; it must be stirred. He +has a belief in fair play; it must be honored. He has the need +of comradeship; it must be supplied. He has imagination; it +must be stimulated. He has a sense of personal dignity; it must +not be broken down. He has pride; it can be satisfied and made +the bedrock of his character once he gains assurance that he is +playing a useful and respected part in a superior and successful +organization. To give men working as a group the feeling of +great accomplishment together is the acme of inspired leadership.</p> + +<p>In the degree that the disciplinary method and the training +procedure of the military service, and the common sense of his +superiors, combine to nourish these satisfactions in the individual, +<em>esprit de corps</em> comes into being and furthers his advance +in the practice of arms and his potential usefulness as a +fighting man. He becomes loyal because loyalty has been given +to him. He learns to serve an ideal because an ideal has served +him. For it is to be remembered that it is always the Army, the +Navy or the nation that disengages the man from his old moorings, +but it is the regiment or the ship's company which gives +him a fresh anchor and enables him to feel secure again. The +service cancels out the man's old life; the unit gives him a +fresh start in a new environment, which may prove salutary or +utterly damnable, as the man and the unit together make it. +Where there is enlightened leading, neither can fail the other. +<em>The majority of men, so long as they are treated fairly and feel<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span> +that good use is being made of their powers, will rejoice in a +new sense of unity with new companions even more than they +will mind the increased separation from their old associations.</em> +The ability to adjust is itself a landmark of success in the life +of a normal individual.</p> + +<p>This is the primary gift of the organization to the man and +the primary advantage of its relationship to him. Once it has +given the file a sense of belonging, it restores his balance. It is +this feeling of possession which is the beginning of true esprit. +Without it, the man becomes a derelict. Indeed, we may go so +far as to say that the man who lacks it, and does not aspire +to it, will almost invariably be unsuited for combat or any military +responsibility of consequence, not because he is disrespectful +of tradition, but because he is a social outcast with no +sense of duty to his fellows.</p> + +<p>Referring once again to the list of satisfactions due the man, +it will be noted that they differ little, if at all, from the demands +of his spirit before he has put on the uniform. But +there should be marked also the vital difference that whereas +a complex of social and economic forces and of totally disconnected +influences contribute to his outlook so long as he is a +civilian, the measure of his satisfactions is almost wholly in the +hands of the organization once he has raised his right hand and +taken the oath of military service to country. The condition of +his health, the amount of his pay, the organization of his leisure +time, his diet, his sleeping habits, his sex problems, even +the manner in which he shaves and wears his hair, are matters +of organizational concern. Within the new company, he may +either attain greatly, or miserably fail. It should speak to him +with the voice of Stentor, the bronze voice of 10,000 men—meaning +the thousand or so who are still with the ship, the +group or the regiment, and the thousands who are in the +shadows but who once served it well, thereby inspiring those +who follow to give an extra portion of service to their fellows. +Unless tradition has that effect upon the living, it will not +produce esprit, but military "mossbackism."</p> + +<p>What does this imply in terms of practical application? Simply<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span> +that the custodianship of esprit must ever be in the hands of +the officer corps. When the heart of the organization is sound, +officership is able to see its own reflection in the eyes of the +enlisted man. For this simple reason: insofar as his ability to +mould the character of troops is concerned, the qualifying test +of the leader is the judgment placed upon his military abilities +by those who serve under him. If they do not deem him fit to +command, he cannot train them to obey. But if they see in one +man directly over them a steady example, the strongest of +their number will model after him, instead of sagging because of +weakness elsewhere in the command structure.</p> + +<p>This point is irreducible. Though an officer have absolute +confidence in himself, and though he have an instinct amounting +to genius for the material things of war, these otherwise +considerable gifts will avail him little or nothing if his <em>manner</em> +is such that his troops remain unconvinced of his capacity and +doubtful of his power to maintain command in periods of extreme +trial. He will fail because he has not sufficiently regarded +the <span class="law_of_personality">LAW OF PERSONALITY—LOOKS, ACTIONS, WORDS</span>.</p> + +<p>Among military men, there has been much mistaken praise +for the virtue of "mechanical obedience." There is no such +thing. Men think in their smallest actions; if this were not so, +it would not be possible to lead them. What has been blindly +termed "mechanical response" requires perhaps a higher concentration +of will than any other type of action, and hence +of thought itself, since the two are inseparable. The forces in +which this characteristic was outstanding have been those which +were led with the highest degree of intelligence and of understanding +of human nature. For unity of spirit and of action, +which is the essence of <em>esprit de corps</em>, is of all military miracles +the most difficult to achieve.</p> + +<p>Yet its abiding principle is simple. It comes of integrity and +clarification of purpose. The able officer is not a Saul waiting +for the light to strike him on the Damascus road, but a Paul +having a clear understanding that unless the trumpet give forth +a certain sound at all times, none shall prepare himself for the +battle.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span>Given such officers, the organization comes to possess a sense +of unity and of fraternity in its routine existence which expresses +itself as the force of cohesion in the hour when all +ranks are confronted by a common danger. It is not because of +mutual enthusiasm for an honored name but because of mutual +confidence in one another that the ranks of old regiments or +the bluejackets serving a ship with a great tradition are able to +convert their esprit into battle discipline. Under stress they +move and act together because they have imbibed the great +lesson, and experience has made its application almost instinctive, +that only in unity is there safety. They believe that they +can trust their comrades and commanders as they would trust +their next of kin. They have learned the necessity of mutual +support and a common danger serves but to bind the ranks +closer.</p> + +<p>But the race is not always to the swift nor the battle to the +strong. The newest unit—one born only yesterday—is as +susceptible to a vaulting esprit as any which traces its founding +to the beginnings of the Republic. Led by those who themselves +are capable of great endeavour, who are quick to encourage +and slow to disparage, and are ever ready to make due acknowledgment +of worthy effort and to let men know wherein +they are forging ahead, any military organization serving our +flag will come to count this among its strengths.</p> + +<p>There are no tricks to the building of esprit. Its techniques +are those which come naturally in the course of stimulating the +interest of ranks in all of the great fundamentals of the military +profession, rather than selling short their intelligence, and +taking it for granted that they want nothing beyond the routine +of work, liberty, mess call, and payday.</p> + +<p>But there is one pitfall. Toward the growth of esprit, the +attitude, "My organization first, and the rest nowhere," never +pays off. It begins with the idea, "<em>The service first, and my unit +the best in the service.</em>" In all human enterprise, the whole is +greater than the sum of the parts. The citizen who thinks most +deeply about his country will be the first to share the burdens +of his community and neighborhood. The man who feels the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span> +greatest affection for the service in which he bears arms will +work most loyally to make his own unit know a rightful pride +in its own worth. Among all of the military services from out +of the present and past, none has been more faithful to this +principle than the United States Marine Corps. Among its +members, being a Marine is the thing that counts mainly; after +that comes service to the Regiment or Battalion. Even the other +services marvel at the result. Though they take due pride in +their own virtues and accomplishments, they still regard the +esprit of the Marine with admiration, and more than a little +envy. What is the secret? Perhaps it is this, that the Corps +emphasizes the rugged outlet for men's energies, and never permits +its members to forget that the example of courage is their +most precious heritage.</p> + +<p>Six years after his defeat at Wake Island, the things that +remained uppermost in the mind of Col. James P. S. Devereux, +as he put together the story of the most tragic hours of his life, +were the heroisms of the individuals who had been trained in +a tradition to which he had fully committed his own purpose. +One incident of that day, typical of many, is best related in +Devereux's own words.</p> + +<p>"Master Sergeant J. Paszkiewicz, a Marine for 20 years, was +caught in the first blast at the airfield. Bombs shattered his +right leg. He started crawling off, dragging his smashed leg +limply behind him. The second wave of bombers came in. +Paszkiewicz reached a little pile of wreckage and found what he +wanted, a piece of wood. With a little fixing it could serve as +a crutch. The bombs were dropping again. Paszkiewicz started +hobbling off. He seemed to be going the wrong way. Somebody +tried to help him, but he wasn't having any. Lieutenant +David D. Kliewer saw him stumbling along on his makeshift +crutch, giving first aid to the wounded or trying to make a +dying man a little easier."</p> + +<p>Could a man give that much, and could his superior, Devereux, +have remembered it so vividly from amid his own personal +trials, unless both had been inspired by the traditions of +the Corps?</p> + + + +<div class="section_break"></div> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span></p> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_EIGHTEEN" id="CHAPTER_EIGHTEEN"></a><span class="chapter_number">CHAPTER EIGHTEEN</span><br /><br /> + +KNOWING YOUR JOB</h3> + + +<p>In one of his little-known passages, Robert Louis Stevenson +did the perfect portrait of the man who finally failed at everything, +because he just never learned how to take hold of his +work.</p> + +<p>It goes like this: "His career was one of unbroken shame. He +did not drink. He was exactly honest. He was never rude to his +employers. Yet he was everywhere discharged. Bringing no interest +to his duties, he brought no attention. His day was a +tissue of things neglected and things done amiss. And from +place to place and from town to town he carried the character +of one thoroughly incompetent."</p> + +<p>No one would say that the picture is overdrawn or that the +poor devil got other than his just deserts. In the summing up, +the final judgment that is put on a man by other men depends +on his value as a working hand. If he has other serious personality +faults, they will be overlooked as somewhat beside the +point, provided that he levels with his job. But if he embodies +all of the surface virtues, and is shiftless, any superior with sense +will mark him for the discard, and his coworkers will breathe +a sigh of relief when he has gone on his way.</p> + +<p>Within the armed services, the tone of grudging admiration +is never missing from such altogether familiar comments as:</p> + +<p>"He's a queer duck but he has what it takes."</p> + +<p>"We can't get along with him but we can't get along without +him."</p> + +<p>By such words, we unconsciously yield the palm to the man +who, whatever his other shortcomings, excels us in application +to duty. One of the worst rascals ever raised in Britain said that +while he wouldn't give a farthing for virtue, he would pay +10,000 pounds for character, because, possessing it, he would be +able to sell it for much more.</p> + +<p>Is it possible then that men of thoroughly good intentions<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span> +will neglect the one value which a knave says is worth prizing? +Not only is it possible; it happens every day! We see officers +of the armed establishment who, thinking themselves employed +all day, would still, if they had to make an honest reckoning +of the score after tattoo sounded, be compelled to say that they +had done exactly nothing. Lacking some compelling duty, they +may have read several hours mechanically, neither studying +what was said, making notes, nor reflecting on the value and +accuracy of it. Such papers as they signed, they had glanced +over perfunctorily. If any subordinate approached them with +some small matter, they reacted by trying to get rid of him as +quickly as possible. When they entered the company of their +fellow officers, they partook of it as little as they could, not +bothering to enter vigorous conversation, failing to make any +note of the character and manner of their associates, and learning +not at all from the words that were said.</p> + +<p>It is all good enough, and yet strangely it is neither good nor +is it enough. That idea of what life in the officer corps is meant +to be simply cannot stand up under the pressures of modern +operations. True enough, assignments do not all have the same +level of work requirement, and one is sometimes handed a wide +open opportunity to goldbrick. But taking advantage of it is +like the dope habit; the more that it is sniffed, the greater becomes +the craving of the nervous system. It is harder to throw +off sloth than to keep it from climbing onto one's back in the +first place. And finally, the truth of the matter is this, that there +is never any assignment given an armed service officer which +entitles him to waste any of the working hours of his day. +Though he be marking time in a casual depot or replacement +center, there still awaits his attention the entire range of military +studies, through which he can advance his own abilities. +And if he is not of a mind for tactics, map-reading, military +law, and training doctrine, it still follows that the study of +applied psychology, English composition, economic geography +and foreign languages will further his career. Just as a rough +approximation, any officer's work week should comprise about +50 percent execution and the other half study, if he is to make<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span> +the best use of his force. The woods are loaded with go-getters +who claim they are men of action and therefore have no need +of books; that they are "the flat-bottoms who can ride over +the dew." Though they are a little breezier, they are of the +same bone and marrow as the drone who is always counseling +halfspeed. "Don't sweat; just get by; extra work means short +life; you're better off if they don't notice you." This chant can +be heard by anyone who cares to listen; it's the old American invitation +to mediocrity. But while mediocre, as commonly used, +means "indifferent, ordinary," it also has in old English the odd +meaning "a young monk who was excused from performing part +of a monk's duties." And that, too, fits. It is always worthwhile +to ask a few very senior officers what they think of these jokers +who refuse to study. They will say that the higher up you go, +the more study you have to make up, because of what you +missed somewhere along the line. They will say also that when +they got to flag or star rank, things didn't ease off a bit.</p> + +<p>But not all wisdom is to be found in books, and at no time is +this more true than when one is breaking in. What is expected +of the novice in any field is that he will ask questions, <em>smart ones +if possible</em>, but if not, then questions of all kinds until he learns +that there is no such item as reveille oil and that skirmish line +doesn't come on spools. For on one point there should be no +mistake: the newly appointed officer is a novice. Though many +things go with the commission, the assumption that he is all +wise to all ways of the service, and will automatically fit into +his element as neatly as a loaded ship settles down to its +Plimsoll's mark, just isn't among them. Within the services, +seniors are rarely, if ever, either patronizing or intolerant of the +greenness of a new officer; they just stand ready to help him. +And if he doesn't permit them to have that chance, because he +would rather pretend that he knows it all, they will gradually +become bored with him because of the manifest proof that he +knows so very little.</p> + +<p><em>Wisdom begins at the point of understanding that there is +nothing shameful about ignorance; it is shameful only when a +man would rather remain in that state than cultivate other<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span> +men's knowledge.</em> There is never any reason why he should hesitate, +for it is better to be embarrassed from seeking counsel +than to be found short for not having sought it.</p> + +<p>In one of the toughest trades in the world of affairs—that +of the foreign correspondent—initial dependence upon one's +professional colleagues is the only certain stepping stone to +success. A man arrives in strange country feeling very much +alone. His credentials lack the weight they had at home. The +prestige of his newspaper counts for almost nothing. Even the +name of his home city stirs little respect. The people, their ways, +their approaches and their taboos are foreign to him. This +sweeping environmental change is crushing to the spirit; it +would impose an almost insuperable moral handicap if the newcomer +could not go to other Americans who have already +worked the ground, ask them how the thing is done, seek +their advice about dealing with the main personalities, learn +from them about the facilities for processing copy, and soak up +everything they have to say about private and professional procedures. +Then as the ropes grow gradually familiar in the +grasp, confidence and nervous energy come flooding back.</p> + +<p>Surely there is a close parallel between this experience and +that of the journeyman moving from the familiar soil of civilianism +to the <em>terra incognita</em> of military life. But there is also +the marked difference that everyone he meets can tell him +something that he needs to know. More particularly, if he has +the ambition to excel as a commander of men, rather than as a +technician, then the study of human nature and of individual +characteristics within the military crowd become a major part +of his training. That is the prime reason why the life of any +tactical leader becomes so very interesting, provided he possesses +some imagination. Everything is grist for his mill. Moreover, +despite the wholesale transformation in the scientific and industrial +aspects of war, there has been no revolution in the one +thing that counts most. Ardant du Picq's words, "The heart of +man does not change," are as good now as when he said them +in an earlier period of war. Whatever one learns for certain<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span> +about the nature of man as a fighting animal can be filed for +ready reference; the hour will come when it will be useful.</p> + +<p>We have emphasized the value of becoming curious, and of +asking questions about what one doesn't know, and have said +that even when the questions are a little on the dumb side, +it does no harm. But the ice gets very thin at one point. The +same question asked over and again, like the same error made +more than once, will grate the nerves of any superior. It is the +mark of inattention, and the beginning of that "tissue of things +neglected and things done amiss" which put Stevenson's oddball +character in the ditch. When an officer lets words go in one +ear and out the other like water off a duck's back, to quote the +Dutch janitor, he is chasing rainbows by rubbing fur in the +wrong direction.</p> + +<p>Ideally, an officer should be able to do the work of any man +serving under him. There are even some command situations in +which the ideal becomes altogether attainable, and a wholly +practicable objective. For it may be said without qualification, +that if he not only has this capability, but demonstrates it, so +that his men begin to understand that he is thoroughly versed +in the work problems which concern them, <em>he can command +them in any situation</em>. This is the real bedrock of command +capacity, and nothing else so well serves to give an officer an +absolutely firm position with all who serve under him. As said +elsewhere in this book, within the armed establishment, administration +is not of itself a separate art, or a dependable prop +to authority. When administrators talk airily of things that they +clearly do not understand, they are simply using the whip on +the team without having control of the reins.</p> + +<p>However, the greater part of military operation in present +days is noteworthy for the extreme diversity and complexity of +its parts, and instead of becoming more simplified, the trend is +toward greater elaboration. It is obviously absurd to expect that +any officer could know more about radio repair than his repairman, +more about mapping than his cartographical section, +more about moving parts than a gunsmith, more about radar +than a specialist in electronics and more about cypher than a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span> +cryptographer. If the services were to set any such unreasonable +standard for the commissioned body, all would shortly move +over into the lunatic fringe. Science has worked a few wonders +for the military establishment but it hasn't told us how to +produce that kind of man.</p> + +<p>Plainly, there must be a somewhat different approach to the +question of what kind of knowledge an officer is expected to +possess, or the requirement would be unreasonable and unworkable.</p> + +<p><em>The distinction lies in the difference between the power to +do a thing well and that of being able to judge when it is +well done.</em> A man can say that a book is bad, though not +knowing how to write one himself, provided he is a student +of literature. Though he has never laid an egg, he can pass +fair judgment on an omelette, if he knows a little about cookery, +and has sampled many good eggs, and detected a few that +were overripe.</p> + +<p>"He who lives in a house," said Aristotle, "is a better judge +of it being good or bad than the builder of it. He can say not +only these things, but wherein its defects consist. Yet he might +be quite unable to cure the chimney, or to draw out a plan for +his rooms which would suit him better. Sometimes he can +even see where the fault is which caused the mischief, and yet +he may not know practically how to remedy it."</p> + +<p>Adjustment to a job, and finally, mastery of it, by a service +officer, comes of persistent pursuit of this principle. The main +technique is study and constant reexamination of criteria. To +take the correct measure of standards of performance, as to the +value of the work itself, and as to the abilities of personnel, +one must become immersed in knowledge of the nature, <em>and +purpose</em>, of all operations. There is no shortcut to this grasp +of affairs. The sack is filled bean by bean. Patient application +to one thing at one time is the first rule of success; getting on +one's horse and riding off in all directions is the prelude to +failure. All specialists like to talk about their work; the interest +of any other man is flattering; all men grow in knowledge +chiefly by picking other men's brains. Book study of the subject,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span> +specialized courses in the service schools, the instructive comments +of one's superiors, the informed criticism of hands further +down the line and the weighing of human experience, at every +source and by every recourse, are the means of an informed +judgment. It was the scientist, Thomas Huxley who reminded +us that science is only "organized common sense."</p> + +<p>Other things being equal, the prospect for any man's progress +is largely determined by his attitude. It is the receptive mind, +rather than the oracle, which inspires confidence. General Eisenhower +said at one point that, after 40 years, he still thought of +himself as a student on all military questions, and that he consciously +mistrusted any man who believed he had the full and +final answer to problems which by their nature were ever-changing.</p> + +<p>But priggishness about knowledge is not more hurtful than is +the arbitrary use of it to limit action. <em>To rule by work rather +than to work by rules</em> must be the abiding principle in military +operations, for finally, when war comes, nothing else will +suffice. In peacetime, absolute accountability is required, because +dollar economy in operations is a main object. This entails +adherence to rigid forms, time-consuming, but still necessary. +In many of war's exigencies, these forms frequently have to be +swept aside, to bring victory as quickly as possible and to save +human life. In the book, "General Kenney Reports," that great +air commander spoke at one point of a difficulty in one of his +combat groups. "It was a lot of hard-working earnest kids, +officers and enlisted men, who were doing the best they could +under poor living and eating conditions. But their hands were +tied by the colonel in command whose passion for paper work +effectually stopped the issuing of supplies and the functioning +of the place as an air depot should. He told me that he thought +'it was about time these combat units learned how to do their +paper work properly.' I decided that it would be a waste of time +to fool with him so I told him to pack up to go home on the +next plane."</p> + +<p>Though this is a tragic example of wrong-headedness, it is by +no means unique. The profession moves ahead, and national<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span> +security advances with it, because of men who have the confidence +and courage to toss the rule book out the window when +it doesn't fit the situation, and who dare to trust their own +decisions and improvise swiftly.</p> + +<p>But in all walks of life, this willingness to take hold of the +reins firmly is by no means common among men in relatively +subordinate positions who can play it safe by falling back on +"SOP."</p> + +<p>But there is also a far wider vista than that which is to be +viewed only within the services themselves, and its horizons are +almost infinite. The American way in warfare utilizes everything +within the national system which may be applied to a +military purpose toward the increase of training and fighting +efficiency. Much of our potential strength lies in our industrial +structure, our progress in science, our inventiveness and our +educational resources. Toward the end that all of these assets +will be given maximum use, and every good idea which can be +converted to a military purpose will be in readiness to serve +the nation when war comes, there must be a continuing meeting +of minds between military leadership and the leaders and +experts in these various fields during peace.</p> + +<p>That union cannot be perfected, however, unless there is a +sufficient number of men on both sides of the table who can +think halfway into the field of the man opposite. Just as the +civilian expert in electronics, airplane manufacture or motion +picture production needs to know more about the military +establishment's problem and requirements if he is to do his +part, the service officer with whom he is dealing needs to be +informed on industry's resources, possibilities and limitations if +he is to enable the civilian side to do its part well. The same for +science. The same for education, and all other backers of the +fighting force.</p> + +<p>An enlightened Englishman, D. W. Brogan, in a book written +during World War II, "The American Character," gave us this +thought: "The American officer must think in terms of material +resources, existing but not organized in peacetime and taking +much time and thought and experiment by trial and error to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span> +make available in wartime. He finds that his best peacetime plans +are inadequate for one basic reason: that any plan which in +peacetime really tried to draw adequately on American resources +would cause its author to be written off as a madman; and in +wartime, it would prove to have been inadequate, pessimistic, +not allowing enough for the practically limitless resources of +the American people—limitless once the American people get +ready to let them be used. And only war can get them ready for +that. The American officer can draw then, but not before, on +an experience in economic improvization and in technical adaptation +which no other country can equal."</p> + +<p>This is true to the last syllable, and it means in essence that +unless the American officer can think of the whole nation as his +workshop, and along with his other duties, will apply himself as +a student, seeking to understand more and more about the +richness and the adaptability of our tremendous resources, neither +he nor the country will be relatively ready when war comes.</p> + +<p>There is a last point to be made on the matter of attitude. +The most resolute opposition to changes in any system usually +comes from those who control them. That is universally true, +and not peculiar to military systems; but the services are foremost +in recognizing that, as a consequence, the encouragement +of original thought at the lower levels is essential to over-all +progress.</p> + +<p>All depends upon the manner. We can ponder the words of +William Hazlitt, "A man who shrinks from a collision with his +equals or superiors will soon sink below himself; we improve +by trying our strength with others, not by showing it off." They +are good so far as they go, but something new should be added. +There is a vast difference between contending firmly for ideas +that seem progressive when one is reasonably sure of one's data, +and the habit of throwing one's weight around through a mistaken +belief that this of itself manifests an independence of +spirit which inspires respect.</p> + +<p>Truculence can never win the day. Restraint, tolerance, a +sense of humor and of proportion and the force of logic are the +marks of the man qualified for intellectual leading. Within the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span> +services, even though he has no great rank, there is practically +nothing he cannot carry through, if his proposals have the color +of reason and propriety, and if he will keep his head, keep his +temper, and keep his word.</p> + + + +<div class="section_break"></div> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span></p> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_NINETEEN" id="CHAPTER_NINETEEN"></a><span class="chapter_number">CHAPTER NINETEEN</span><br /><br /> + +KNOWLEDGE OF YOUR MEN</h3> + + +<p>An admiring contemporary spoke of Paul G. Hoffman, the +director of the European Recovery Program, as "the kind of +man who if tossed through the air would always pick out the +right trapeze."</p> + +<p>Within any military organization, there is always a number of +such men, enlisted and commissioned. They know how and +where to take hold, even in the face of a totally unexpected and +unnerving situation, and they have what amounts to an instinct +for doing the right thing in a decisive moment.</p> + +<p>If it were not so, no captain of the line would ever be able to +manage a company in battle, and no submarine commander +would be able to cope with an otherwise overwhelming danger. +These men are the foundation of unit integrity. The successful +life of organization depends upon husbanding, and helping them +to cultivate, their own powers, which means that their initiative +and vigor must never be chilled by supercilious advice and +thoughtless correction.</p> + +<p>They will go ahead and act responsibly on their own when +given the confidence, and if they want it, the friendship, of their +commander. But they cannot be treated like little children. The +lash will ruin them and the curb will merely subdue that which +needs to be brought forward. As in handling a horse with a +good temper and a good mouth, nothing more is needed than +that gentle touch of the rein which signals that things are +under control.</p> + +<p>From where the executive sits, the main secret of building +strength within organization comes of identifying such men, and +of associating one's authority with theirs, so it is unmistakable +in whose name they are speaking and acting. One of the +acid tests of qualification in officership is the ability properly +to delegate authority, to put it in the best hands, and thereafter +to uphold them. If an officer cannot do that, and if he is mis<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span>trustful +of all power save his own, he cannot command in +peace, and when he goes into battle, his unit strength will +fragment like an exploding bomb, and the parts will not be rewelded +until some stronger character takes hold.</p> + +<p><em>Command is not a prerogative, but rather a responsibility to +be shared with all who are capable of filling up the spaces in +orders and of carrying out that which is not openly expressed +though it may be understood.</em> Admittedly, it is not easy for a +young officer, who by reason of his youth is not infrequently +lacking in self-assurance and in the confidence that he can +command respect, to understand that as a commander he can +grow in strength in the measure that he succeeds in developing +the latent strength of his subordinates. But if he stubbornly +resists this premise as he goes along in the service, his personal resources +will never become equal to the strain which will be imposed +upon him, come a war emergency. The power to command +resides largely in the ability to see when a proper initiative +is being exercised and in giving it moral encouragement. +When an officer feels that way about his job and his men, he +will not be ready to question any action by a junior which +might be narrowly construed as an encroachment upon his own +authority. Of this last evil come the restraints which reduce +men to automatons, giving only that which is asked, or less, +according to the pressing of a button.</p> + +<p>There are other men who have as sound a potential as these +already-made leaders, but lack the initial confidence because +they were not constructively handled in earlier years. They require +somewhat more personal attention, for the simple reason +that more frequent contact with their superiors, words of approval +and advice as needed, will do more than all else to +put bottom under them. They must be encouraged to think for +themselves as well as to obey orders, to organize as well as to +respond, if they are to become part of the solution, rather than +remaining part of the problem, of command. If left wholly to +their own devices, or to the ministrations of less thoughtful +subordinates, they will remain in that majority which moves +only when told. It takes no more work, though it does require<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span> +imagination, to awaken the energies of such men by appealing +to their intelligence and their self-interest, than to nauseate +them with dull theory, and to cramp them by depriving them +of responsibility.</p> + +<p>Careful missionary work among these "sleepers" is as productive +as spading the ground, and sprinkling a garden patch. +When an officer takes hold in a new unit, his main chance of +making it better than it was comes of looking for the overlooked +men. He uses his hand to give them a firm lift upward, +but it will not be available for that purpose if he spends any +of his time tugging at men who are already on their feet and +moving in the right general direction.</p> + +<p>In the words of a distinguished armored commander in our +forces: "To the military leader, men are tools. He is successful +to the extent that he can get the men to work for him. Ordinarily, +and on their own initiative, people run on only 35 percent +capacity. The success of a leader comes of tapping the +other 65 percent." This is a pretty seasoned judgment on men +in the mass, taking them as they come, the mobile men, the +slow starters, the indifferent and the shiftless. Almost every man +wants to do what is expected of him. When he does not do so, +it is usually because his instructions have been so doubtful as +to befog him or give him a reasonable excuse for noncompliance. +This view of things is the only tenable attitude an officer +or enlisted leader can take toward his subordinates. He will +recognize the exceptions, and if he does not then take appropriate +action, it is only because he is himself shiftless and is +compassionate toward others of his own fraternity.</p> + +<p>It is the military habit to "plow deep in broken drums and +shoot crap for old crowns," as the poet, Carl Sandburg, put it. +As much as any other profession, and even possibly a little +more, we take pride in the pat solution, and in proof that long-applied +processes amply meet the test of newly unfolding experience. +But despite all the jests about the Gettysburg Map, +we wouldn't know where we're going if we couldn't be reasonably +sure of where we've been.</p> + +<p>Therefore, it is as well to say now that from all of the careful<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span> +searching made by the armed services as to the fighting characteristics +of Americans during World War II, not a great deal +was learned in addition to what was already well known, or +surmised. The criteria that had been used in the prior system +of selection proved to be substantially correct; at least, if it +had faults, they were innate in the complex problem of weighing +human material, and were beyond correction by any rule of +thumb or judgment. Men were chosen to lead because of +personality, intelligence at their work, response to orders, ability +to lead in fatigues or in the social affairs of organization, and +disciplinary record. In combat these same men carried 95 percent +of the load of responsibility and provided the dynamic for +the attack. But in every unit, there was almost invariably a +small sprinkling of individuals, who having shown no prior +ability when measured by the customary yardsticks of courtesy, +discipline and work, became strong and vital in any situation +calling for heroic action. They could fight, they could lead, +they knew what should be done, they could persuade other men +to rally around, and by these things, they could command instantly +the previously withheld respect of their superiors.</p> + +<p>Neither the scientific nor the military mind has yet been able +to provide the answer as to how men of this type—so indispensable +to the fighting establishment in the thing that matters +most, though lacking in strong surface characteristics—can be +detected beforehand, and conserved, instead of being wasted +possibly in a labor or housekeeping organization.</p> + +<p>All concerned recognize the extreme importance of the problem, +and would like to do something about it. What is as yet +not even vaguely seen is the large possibility that the problem +might be self-liquidating if all junior officers became more concerned +with learning all they could about the private character +and personal nature of their subordinates. This does not mean +invading their privacy; but it implies giving every man a fair +chance to open up and to talk freely, without fear of contempt. +It means studying the background of a man even more +carefully than one would read a map, looking for the key to +command of the terrain. These are usually repressed men; many<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span> +of the foreign-born are to be found among them; they cover up +because of pride, but they are not afraid of physical danger. +Once any man, and particularly a superior, gets through the +outer shell, he may have the effect of a catalyst on what is +happening inside. If such men did not have basic loyalty, they +would never fight. When at last they give their loyalty to an +individual, they are usually his to command and will go through +hell for him.</p> + +<p>There was an Oklahoma miner named Alvin Wimberley in +90th Division during World War I. On the drill field, he could do +nothing correctly. He couldn't step off on the left foot; he would +frequently drop his piece while trying to do right shoulder. Solely +because his case was unfathomable, his platoon leader asked +that he be taken to France with the unit instead of separated +with the culls. At the front, Wimberley immediately took the +lead in every detail of a dangerous sort, such as exploding a +mine field, or hunting for traps and snares. His nerve was inexhaustible; +his judgment sure. There was, after all, a simple +key to the mystery. Wimberley had led a solitary life as a dynamiter, +deep under ground. He was frightened of men, but danger +was his element. When he saw other men recoil at the thing +which bothered him not at all, he realized that he was the big +man, though he only stood 5 feet 3 inches in issue socks.</p> + +<p>To know men, it is not necessary to wet-nurse them, and no +officer can make a sorrier mistake than to take the overly nice, +worrying attitude toward them. This, after all, is simply the rule +of the well-bred man, rather than an item peculiar to the code +of the military officer. But it is a little less becoming in a service +officer than in anyone else, because, when a man puts on +fighting clothes in the name of his country, it is an insult to treat +him as if he were a juvenile.</p> + +<p>In any situation where men need to know one another better, +someone has to break the ice. Where does the main responsibility +lie within a military unit? True enough, the junior has to +salute first, and in some services is supposed to say, "Good +morning!" first, though beating a man to the draw with a greeting +is one way to win him.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span>However, the main point is this: unless an officer has himself +been an enlisted man, it is almost impossible for him to +know how formidable, and even forbidding, rank at first seems +to the eyes of the man down under, even though he would be +loath to say so.</p> + +<p>Many recruits have such a mistaken hearsay impression of +the United States military system, that it is for them a cause for +astonishment that any officer enjoys free discussion with them. +They feel at first that there is a barrier there which only the +officer is entitled to cross; it takes them a little while to learn +better.</p> + +<p>But in the continuing relationship, it is the habit of the +average well-disciplined enlisted man to remain reticent, and +talk only on official matters, unless the officer takes the lead in +such way as to invite general conversation. For that matter, the +burden is the same anywhere in the service in relations between +a senior officer and his subordinates, and the former +must take the lead if he expects to really know his men.</p> + +<p>Many newly joined officers believe, altogether mistakenly, that +there is some strange taboo against talking to men except in line +of duty, and that if caught at it, it will be considered <em>infra dig</em>. +There is always the hope that they will remain around long +enough to learn better.</p> + + + +<div class="section_break"></div> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span></p> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_TWENTY" id="CHAPTER_TWENTY"></a><span class="chapter_number">CHAPTER TWENTY</span><br /><br /> + +WRITING AND SPEAKING</h3> + + +<p>Other things being equal, a superior rating will invariably +be given to the officer who has persevered in his studies of the +art of self-expression, while his colleague, who attaches little +importance to what may be achieved through working with the +language, will be marked for mediocrity.</p> + +<p>A moment's reflection will show why this has to be the case +and why mastery of the written and spoken word is indispensable +to successful officership.</p> + +<p>As the British statesman, Disraeli, put it, "Men govern with +words." Within the military establishment, command is exercised +through what is said which commands attention and +understanding and through what is written which directs, explains, +interprets or informs.</p> + +<p>Battles are won through the ability of men to express concrete +ideas in clear and unmistakable language. All administration is +carried forward along the chain of command by the power of +men to make their thoughts articulate and available to others.</p> + +<p>There is no way under the sun that this basic condition can +be altered. Once the point is granted, any officer should be +ready to accept its corollary—that superior qualification in the +use of the language, both as to the written and the spoken +word, is more essential to military leadership than knowledge +of the whole technique of weapons handling.</p> + +<p>It then becomes strictly a matter of personal decision whether +he will seek to advance himself along the line of main chance or +will take refuge in the excuse offered by the great majority: +"I'm just a simple fighting file with no gift for writing or +speaking."</p> + +<p>How often these or similar words are heard in the armed +services! And the pity of it is that they are usually uttered in a +tone indicating that the speaker believes some special virtue +attaches to his kind of ignorance. There is the unmistakable<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span> +innuendo that the man who pays serious attention to the fundamentals +of the business of communication is somehow less +possessed of sturdy military character than himself. There could +hardly be a more absurd or disadvantageous professional conceit +than this. It is the mark only of an officer who has no +ambition to properly qualify himself, and is seeking to justify +his own laziness.</p> + +<p>Not all American military leaders have been experts at polishing +a phrase or giving clear expression and continuity to the +thoughts which made them useful in command. But of those +who have excelled in the conduct of great operations, at least +four out of five made some mark in the field of letters. A long +list would include such names as U. S. Grant, W. T. Sherman, +Robert E. Lee, John J. Pershing, James G. Harbord, Henry +T. Allen, Dwight D. Eisenhower, George S. Patton, Jr., H. H. +Arnold, Douglas MacArthur, William F. Halsey, W. B. Smith, +Joseph W. Stilwell, Holland M. Smith, and Robert L. Eichelberger +among many others.</p> + +<p>Of them all, it can be said without exception that they +acquired their skill at self-expression by sustained practice which +was part of a self-imposed training in the interests of furthering +their military efficiency. No one of them was a born writer. +There is no such thing. Nor did any one of them owe his +abilities as a writer to any other person. Writers are self-made. +But it is a reasonable speculation that history might never +have heard of the greater number of these men had they not +worked sedulously to become proficient with the pen as well as +with the sword. Granting that they had other sound military +qualities in the beginning, an acquired ability to express themselves +lucidly and with force became a touchstone to preferment. +The same thing holds true of their celebrated military +contemporaries almost without exception. Even those who had +no public reputation for authorship, and would have been ill at +ease if called upon to speak to an average audience, knew how +to use the language in presenting their thoughts to their staffs +and their troops, whether the occasion called for a succinct<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span> +operational order, a doctrinal exposition or an inspirational +message on the eve of battle.</p> + +<p>Wherever one looks, the same precept may be noted. It was +not coincidence merely, but related cause and effect, that +Ferdinand Foch was one of the ablest military writers of the +twentieth century before he won immortality on the field of +war, that the elder von Moltke was as skilled with ink as with +powder, and that we still marvel at the picture of the great +von Steuben dictating drill manuals far into the night so that +there would be greater perfection in his formations on the following +day. The command of language was one of the main +sources of their power over the multitude.</p> + +<p>As it was with these commanders, so it is with leadership at +every level: <em>Men who can command words to serve their +thoughts and feelings are well on their way to commanding men +to serve their purposes.</em></p> + +<p>All senior commanders respect the junior who has a facility +for thinking an idea through and then expressing it comprehensively +in clear, unvarnished phrases. Moreover, even when +they are stilted in their own manner of expression, they will +warm to the man whose style achieves strength through its ease +and naturalness. They will quickly make note of any young +officer who is making progress in this direction and will want to +have him around. He is a rare bird in the services, and for that +reason his opportunities are far above the average. Staff work +could not be carried forward at any of its levels if it were not +for this particular talent, and command would lose a great +part of its magnetism.</p> + +<p>Toward the building of a career, the best break that can come +to any young man is to have three or four places bidding +simultaneously for his services. There are possibly better arguments +than that as to why perfection in writing should be a +main pursuit of the service officer, such as the sense of personal +attainment which comes of it.</p> + +<p>Any man who has the brain to qualify for commission can +make of himself a competent writer. Because of natural limitations, +he may never come to excel in this art. But if he has had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span> +average schooling, knows how to open a dictionary, can find his +way to a library, is willing to commit himself to long study and +practice, particularly in nonduty hours, and will finally free himself +of the superstition that writing is a game only for specialists, +he can acquire all the skill that is necessary to further his advance +within the military profession.</p> + +<p>That is the great difference between writing ability and +specialized knowledge in such fields as electronics and atomic +research.</p> + +<p>But where should work begin? How about a little practical +advice?</p> + +<p>The only way to learn to write is to write. That is it—there +is no other secret than hard, unremitting practice. Most +writers at the start are mentally muscle-bound, and poorly coordinated. +They have thoughts in their heads. They think they +can develop them clearly. But when they try to apply a largely +dormant vocabulary to the expression of these thoughts, the +result is stiff and selfconscious.</p> + +<p>The only cure for this is constant mental exercise, with one's +pen, or over one's typewriter. After a man has written perhaps +a half million relatively useless words there comes, sometimes +almost in a flash, and at other times gradually, a mastery not +only of words, but of phrases, sentences and the composition of +ideas. It is a kind of rhythmic process, like learning to swim, or +to row a boat, or navigate an airplane. When a writer has at +last conquered his element, his personality and his character +can be transmitted to paper. What is said will reflect the force, +adaptability, reason and musing of the writer. In fact, the +discipline through which one learns to write adds substance +to thought, whereby one's ideas are given body and connection. +Such common faults as wordiness, overstatement, faulty sentence +structure and weak use of words are gradually corrected. +With their passing, confidence grows. This does not mean, however, +that the task then becomes easy. Though its rewards will +increase, good writing continues to be a strain even to the man +who does it well. Many celebrated men of letters never get +beyond the "sweating" stage, but have to fight their way<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span> +through a jungle of words, and rewrite almost endlessly, before +finding satisfaction in their product.</p> + +<p>This description makes it all seem more than a little formidable. +But what was promised in the first place was that any +service officer, who will accept the necessary discipline, can +make himself reasonably proficient as a writer, and thereby +further his professional progress. What he writes about during +the conditioning period makes very little difference. It might +be an operational order one night, a treatise on discipline the +next, a lecture to his men on the elements of combat the third. +Fortunately, the list of topics within the services and directly +applicable to their operations, is practically inexhaustible. That +is a main reason why the military establishment is a better +school for writing than perhaps any other place in our society.</p> + +<p>Winston Churchill, whose gift of forceful expression is the +envy of all other writing men, won his literary spurs in his +early twenties as a soldier with the Malakand Field Force. He +saw the essential idea—that to learn English, he had literally +to learn, just as though he had been acquiring Latin or +French. As a writer, his main strength is his employment of +Anglo-Saxon, the words of our common speech.</p> + +<p>But simply to take regular exercise in composition is not +quite enough. Of it would come the shadow but not the substance. +To progress as a writer, one must become a student of +the best things which have been written by men who understand +their craft. A military officer can do that without going +beyond the field of military studies, if that should be his disposition, +such is the richness and variation of available works +in this realm of literature. The purpose at hand is not only to +seek great ideas for their own sake but to make careful note of +the manner in which they are expressed. So doing, one unconsciously +invigorates his own powers and adopts techniques +which the masters have used to great advantage.</p> + +<p>To paraphrase what a distinguished journalist once said on +this subject in a speech to young writers: "For an officer it is +in the first place a shame to be ignorant—ignorant, as not a +few are, of history and geography: and in the second place, it<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span> +is a pity that any officer should lack a vigor in writing which +can be produced through imitation of vigorous writers."</p> + +<p>As to what is best worth seeking, a man can not go wrong by +"falling in love" with the works of a relatively limited number +of authors who kindle him personally. It is all right to widen +the field occasionally, for diversion, for contrast, for sharpening +style, and for balancing of ideas, but strength comes of finding a +main line and holding to it. No man can read a book with +sympathetic understanding without taking from it something +that makes him more complex and more potent.</p> + +<p>The main test is in this: if you read a book and feel stirred +by it, even though alternately you strongly agree with certain of +its passages and warmly contend against others, something +new has been added. The writer is making you see things. Your +own powers of observation are being made more acute. All +good writers are in a sense hitch-hikers. While going along for +the ride, and enjoying the essence of some highly developed +mind, they are not loath to study the technique by which some +other man develops his driving power, and to make note of his +strong words and best phrases for possible future use.</p> + +<p>It is a good habit to underscore passages in books which have +contributed something vital to one's own thought—always +provided that the books have not been borrowed.</p> + +<p>Without mentioning names, we can take a cue from a man +who some years ago entered one of the services while still a +youth. He had had little formal education, but he began an +earnest study of military literature, and the search for knowledge +whetted his thirst to join the company of those who could speak +to the world because they had something to say. He read such +books as were at hand, and clipped pieces from magazines and +newspapers which had particularly appealed to him, for one +reason or another. Whenever he saw a new word, he wrote it +down and sought the meaning in the dictionary, considering +whether it had a shade of meaning which added anything +important to his vocabulary. This done, he wrote sentences, +many sentences, employing his new words in various ways, until +their use became instinctive. On this foundation alone, he built<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span> +his career as a national writer. There was nothing extraordinary +about this start and the ultimate result. Literally thousands of +Americans have qualified themselves for one branch or another +of the writing profession by what they learned to do in military +service. Too, an ability to "organize a good paper" has been a +large element in the success of most of the men who have moved +from the military circle into top posts in the diplomatic service, +in education or in industrial administration. Had they been +capable only of delegating this kind of work, their powers +would never have been recognized.</p> + +<p>As a practical matter, it is better to concentrate on a few +elementary rules-of-thumb, such as are contained in the following +list, than to bog down attempting to heed everything that +the pedants have said about how to become a writer.</p> + +<ul> +<li>The more simply a thing is said the more powerfully it +influences those who read. Plain words make strong writing.</li> + +<li>There is always one best word to convey a thought or a +feeling. To accept a weaker substitute, rather than to +Search for the right word, will deprive any writing of force.</li> + +<li>Economy of words invigorates composition.</li> + +<li>To quote Carl Sandburg: "Think twice before you use +an adjective."</li> + +<li>It is better to use the adverb because an adverb enhances +the verb and is active, whereas the adjective simply +loads down the noun.</li> + +<li>On the other hand, it is the verb that makes language +live. Nine times out of ten the verb is the operative word +giving motion to the sentence. Hence, placing the verb is +of first importance in giving strength to sentence structure.</li> + +<li>In all writing, but in military writing particularly, there +is no excuse for vague terminology or phrases which do not +convey an exact impression of what was done or what is +intended. The military vocabulary is laden with words and +expressions which sound professional but do not have +definite meaning. They vitiate speech and the establishment +would gladly rid itself of them if a way could be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span> +found. Men fall into the habit of saying "performed," +"functioned" or "executed" and forget that "did" is in the +dictionary. A captain along the MLR (main line of resistance) +notifies his battalion commander that he has "advanced +his left flank" when all that has actually occurred +is that six riflemen from the left have crawled forward to +new, and possibly, untenable ground.</li> + +<li>It is better at all times to <em>rein in</em>. The strength of military +writing, like the soundness of military operations, does +not gain through overstatement and artificial coloring. The +bigger the subject, the less it needs embroidery.</li> + +<li>For lucidity and sincerity, the important thing is to say +what you have to say in whatever words most accurately +express your own thoughts. That done, it is pointless to +worry about the effect on the audience.</li> +</ul> + +<p>The list of suggestions could be extended indefinitely. But +enough has already been said to stake out a main line for those +who have already decided that this subject deserves their interest.</p> + +<p>A majority of the world's most gifted writers would in all +probability be struck dumb if put before an audience; though +dealing confidently with ideas, they lack confidence when dealing +with people. The military officer has need of both talents, +and as to where the accent should be placed, it is probably more +important that he should speak well than that his writing prose +should be polished. A unit commander may permit a clerk or +a subordinate to do the greater part of his paper work, either +because his own time is taken with other duties or because he +is awkward at it, but if he permits any other voice to dominate +the councils of the organization, he soon ceases to exercise moral +authority over it.</p> + +<p>Of this there is no question. The judgment men take of their +superior is formed as much by what he says and how he says +it as by his action.</p> + +<p>The matter of nerve is a main element in speaking. When an +officer is ill at ease, fidgety and not to the point, the vote of his +command for the time being is "no confidence," and so long as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span> +he remains that way, they will not change, no matter though +his good will shines forth through other acts.</p> + +<p>On the other hand, the military crowd is an extremely sympathetic +audience. It has to be; it is drawing pay for so being. +But even if that were not true, the ranks have a generous spirit +and are ever disposed to give the newcomer an even break. +If he meets them confidently and calmly, measures his words, +smiles at his own mistakes and breaks it off when he has +covered his subject, they'll pay no attention to his little fumbles, +and they'll approve him. There is no better way to pick up +prestige than through instruction or discourse which commands +attention, for despite all that is said in favor of the "strong, +silent man," troops like an officer who is outgiving, and who +has an intelligence that they can respect because they have seen +it at work.</p> + +<p>As for <em>how</em> an officer should talk to men, his manner and +tone should be no different than if he were addressing his fellow +officers, or for that matter, a group of his intellectual and +political peers from any walk of life. If he is stuffy, he will not +succeed anywhere. If he affects a superior manner, that is a +mark of his inferiority. If he is patronizing, and talks to grown +men as a teacher might talk to a class of adolescents, the rug, +figuratively, will be pulled from under him. His audience will +put him down as a chump.</p> + +<p>It is curiously the case that the junior officer who can't get the +right pitch when he talks to the ranks will also be out of tune +when he talks to his superiors. This failing is a sign mainly that +he needs practice in the school of human nature. By listening a +little more carefully to other men, he may himself in time attain +maturity.</p> + +<p>Concerning subject matter, it is better always to aim high +than to take the risk of shooting too low. It is too often the +practice to spell out everything in words of one syllable so that +the more witless files in the organization will be able to understand +it. When that is done, it insults the intelligence of the +keenest men, and nothing is added to their progress. The target +should be the intellect of the upper 25 or 30 percent. When<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span> +they are stimulated and informed, they will bring the others +along, and even those who do not fully understand all that was +under discussion will have heard something to which to aspire. +<em>The habit of talking down to troops is one of the worst vices +that can afflict an officer.</em></p> + +<p>There are no dull lecture topics; there are only dull lecturers. +A little eager research will enliven any subject under the sun. +Good lecturing causes men's imaginations to be stirred by vivid +images. Real good is accomplished only when they talk to +each other of what they have heard and sharpen their impressions. +Schopenauer somewhere observes that "people in +general have eyes and ears, but not much else—little judgment +and even little memory," which isn't far wrong. Consequently, +competent lecturing entails the employment of every technique +which can be used to hammer a point home. In this way, a +truth or a lesson has a better chance of adhering because it is +identified with some definite image. Simply to illuminate this +point, it is noted that the jests which best stick in the memory +are those which are associated with some incongruous situation. +To relate a pertinent anecdote, to provide an apt quotation +from some well-known authority and to draw upon our own +rich battle history for illustrative materials are but a few of the +means of freshening any discussion and sharpening its purpose. +Men are always ready to listen to the story of other men's experience +provided that it is told with vigor. And insofar as combat +is concerned, such teaching is in point, for what has happened +once will happen again.</p> + +<p>For his way as an instructor of young infantry officers of the +A. E. F. in 1918, Lt. Col. H. M. Hutchinson of the British Army +was awarded our D. S. M. Officers who sat at his feet at +Gondrecourt were unlikely ever to forget the point of such an +anecdote as:</p> + +<p>"There will be no 'Stack arms' in my army. It is a thing one +sees on a brewer's calendar—The Soldier's Dream—showing +a brave private sleeping under a stack of rifles which it will +take him a good half-hour to untangle when the call comes to +stand to. No, a soldier had better carry the rifle with him to his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span> +meals, have it beside him always, lavish his care upon it, and +in short treat it more like a wife than a weapon.</p> + +<p>"I am reminded of the times in South Africa when we would +come to a country inn where a chap could stop for beer. Well, +a soldier would walk into the place, and immediately he would +stand his rifle in a corner—like an umbrella, you know—'We've +arrived!'—and he'd get well into his beer and a song, +say, and suddenly firing would break out on the inn from four +sides.</p> + +<p>"It seemed that a Boer had slipped into the entry and picked +up all the rifles and passed them around to his mates in the +bushes, and—well—there you are!"</p> + +<p>As a cadet and later as an instructor at Sandhurst, Colonel +Hutchinson well knew the usefulness of the anecdote in catching +and holding the attention of the young. Who could forget +the lesson in this, related at Gondrecourt:</p> + +<p>"In my youth I was a dashing ignoramus with clearer ideas +than I now have on the line of demarcation between the officer +and his men. They sent me out to South Africa during the +trouble and I brought a detachment into a country village. It +seemed quite unpromising but I was told of a sort of place 3 +miles in the country that you would call a chateau in France. +So I cantered out and spent the night, turning my men over +to a sergeant-major. After a refreshing breakfast along in the +middle of the morning—the late middle of the morning—I +rode back into town, but try as I might I could not locate a +single one of my men.</p> + +<p>"Now nothing, you know, is as ineffective in a war as an +officer without his men. Well, I spent the day in agony and it +was not until along at dusk that the first of the blighters +straggled in—quite drunk, all of them, and swearing to a man +that they had engaged in five ferocious battles. It seems that +about 2 miles away, in a barn, they had come on a hogshead of +ginger brandy, and had stayed with it to the bitter end. Need +I say that it was a great lesson to me, and that from then on I +was never billeted farther than 15 rods from my men.</p> + +<p>"As a matter of fact, I love ginger brandy."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span>Or this, in which the whole lesson of exactitude in the written +communication is implicit:</p> + +<p>"Now on the subject of messages, it might be well to say +immediately that as far as I know no one ever received a written +message during a battle. They may be written, but that I +think is as far as it goes. However, they are occasionally received +before and after battles, and in this connection let me +say that it is no earthly good writing generalities to signify +times and places.</p> + +<p>"I mean to say, suppose you are writing a message and you +write 'Report after breakfast.' Well, to Sergeant Ramrod it +might mean stand-to at 3 in the morning; while to Captain +Brighteyes it would mean, say, 8 o'clock. But to Colonel Blue-fish +it would signify some time after 11, depending quite a bit +on how the old fellow felt.</p> + +<p>"So it is better to say 7 o'clock in the morning, if that is +what you mean, for after all there is only one 7 o'clock in the +morning. And, by the way, I must warn you chaps against the +champagne on sale in the Cafe de l'Univers down here in the +square. It is made in the basement—of potatoes."</p> + +<p>On as simple and basic a thing as continuing liaison between +small units, the Colonel's listeners never forgot his elementary +parable:</p> + +<p>"One rule is about all a chap can handle in a battle, and as +good a one as any to remember is to keep in some sort of touch +with the chaps to your right and left. If you do this—and I +dare say you Americans will have as much trouble as ourselves +in remembering to—then a great deal of distress to yourselves +and all hands will be obviated.</p> + +<p>"Now here we have a triangular wood. There is to be an +attack, and the objective is this line beyond the wood. So on +this side of the wood at the hour of attack the Welsh Guards +go forward—and on this side, here, the Inniskilling Fusiliers, +and a tremendous battle ensues. Well, after an hour or two, +with not much progress, it is discovered that the Welsh Guards +have been firing into the Inniskilling Fusiliers, and the Fusiliers +have been firing into the Welsh. This is thought a bit thick,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span> +you know, even in the confusion of battle. So eventually it is +stopped."</p> + +<p>Some of the experts warn the lecturer who is only a beginner +against the use of humor, commenting that if a joke is +unlaughed at, it is disconcerting to all concerned. The only +intelligent answer to that is: "Well, what of it?" The speaker +who is going to cringe every time one of his passages falls a little +flat had best not start. This happens at times to every lecturer; +there are good days and bad days, live audiences and sour ones. +If a man takes his work seriously, it is hardly within nature for +him to harden his emotions against an unexpectedly dull reaction. +But he can keep from ever showing that he is upset if as +a speaker he consciously forms the habit of rapidly driving on +from one point to another.</p> + +<p>Thus as to the use of humor in public address, it is not only +an asset but almost a necessity. It is better to try with it, and +to fall flat occasionally, thereby sharpening one's own wit +through better understanding of what goes and what does not, +than to attempt to go along humorlessly. Said William Pitt: +"Don't tell me of a man's being able to talk sense. Everyone can +talk sense. Can he talk a little nonsense?" Even more to the +point is the remark of Thomas Hardy that men thin away to +insignificance quite as often by not making the most of good +spirits when they have them as by lacking good spirits when +they are indispensable. Fighting is much too serious a trade to +have a large place for men who are dry as dust.</p> + +<p>One of the spellbinders of ancient Greece, we are told, +orated on the sands with his mouth filled with pebbles. In +World War I, it was the custom of many higher commanders +to take their officers out for voice exercises and have them talk +through 150 feet of thicket; they were not satisfied unless the +words came through distinctly on the far side. If, under average +acoustical conditions, a military officer cannot get across to five +hundred men, he needs to improve his voice placement. It is +remarkable what miracles can be worked by consistent exercise +of the vocal cords.</p> + +<p>The final thought is that it is all a matter of buildup. An<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span> +officer can cut his audience to his own size, and strengthen his +powers and his confidence as he goes along. That is his supreme +advantage. He can start with a short talk to a minor working +detail and move from that to a more formal address before a +slightly larger group. By taking it gradually, and increasing his +store of knowledge in the interim period, he will see the time +come when he can hold any audience in the hollow of his hand. +This is precisely the routine which was followed by most of +the military leaders who have been celebrated for their command +of speech.</p> + + + +<div class="section_break"></div> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span></p> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_TWENTY-ONE" id="CHAPTER_TWENTY-ONE"></a><span class="chapter_number">CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE</span><br /><br /> + +THE ART OF INSTRUCTION</h3> + + + +<ul> +<li><em>Keep it simple.</em></li> + +<li><em>Have but one main object.</em></li> + +<li><em>Stay on the course.</em></li> + +<li><em>Remain cheerful.</em></li> + +<li><em>Be enthusiastic.</em></li> + +<li><em>Put it out as if the ideas were as interesting and novel to you, +as to your audience.</em></li> +</ul> + +<p>By abiding by these few simple rules you will keep cool, +preserve continuity and hold your audience.</p> + +<p>Instruction is just about the begin-all and end-all of every +military officer's job. He spends the greater part of his professional +life either pitching it or catching it, and the game +doesn't stop until he is at last retired. Should he become a +Supreme Commander, even, this is one thing that does not +change; it remains a give-and-take proposition. Part of his +time is taken instructing his staff as to what he wants done +and just as much of it is spent in being instructed by his staff +as to the means available for the doing of it.</p> + +<p>Instruction is the generator of unified action. It is the transmission +belt by which the lessons of experience are passed to +untrained men. Left uninstructed, men may progress only by +trial-and-error and the hard bumps which come of not knowing +the way.</p> + +<p>Need more than that be said to suggest that the officer who +builds a competent skill in this field, so that it becomes a part +of his reputation, has at the same time built the most solid +kind of a foundation under his service career?</p> + +<p>The services do not discard that kind of man when the +economy pinch comes and the establishment has to contract. +The Reservist, who is known as a good instructor, is always on +the preferred list. In any period of emergency, such officers +move rapidly to the top; there are always more good jobs than<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span> +there are good men. Look back over the lineup of distinguished +commanders from World War II! It will be found that the +high percentage of them first attracted notice by <em>being good +school men</em>.</p> + +<p>Within the services, in all functions related to the passing +on of information, the accent is on "knowing your stuff." The +point is substantial, but not conclusive. It is upon the way that +instruction is delivered rather than upon its contents as such +that its moral worth rests. The pay-off is not in what is said, +but in what sinks in. <em>A competent instructor will not only +teach his men but will increase his prestige in the act.</em> There +are many inexpressibly dull bores who know what they're talking +about, but still haven't learned how to say it, because they +are contemptuous of the truth that it is the dynamic flow of +knowledge, rather than the static possession of it, which is the +means to power and influence. As technicians, they have their +place. As instructors, they would be better off if they knew +only half as much about their subject, and twice as much +about people.</p> + +<p>To know where truth lies is not more important than knowing +how to pitch it. Take the average American military audience: +what can be said fairly of its main characteristics? +Perhaps this—that it is moderately reflective; that it is ready +to give the untried speaker a break; that it does not like +windiness, bombast or prolonged moralizing; that it refuses to be +bullied; and that it can usually be won by the light touch and +a little appeal to its sporting instinct. It is the little leavening in +the bread which makes all the difference in its savor and +digestibility.</p> + +<p>In World War I an American major, name now long forgotten, +was given the task of making the rounds of the cantonments, +talking to all combat formations, and convincing +them that the future was bright—no Boy Scout errand. +But wherever he went, morale was lifted by his words. In substance, +what he said was this:</p> + +<p>"None of us cares about living with any individual who +wants every break his own way. But when the odds are even,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span> +the gamble is worth any good man's time. So let's look at the +proposition. You now have one chance in two; you may go +overseas, you may not. Suppose you do. You still have one +chance in two. You may go to the front, or you may not. If +you don't, you'll see a foreign country at Uncle Sam's expense; +if you do, you'll find out about war, which is the toughest +chance of them all. But up there, you still have one chance +in two: you may get hit, or you may not. If you breeze through +it, you'll be a better man for all the rest of your life. And if you +get hit, you still have one chance in two. You may get a +small wound, and become a hero to your family and friends. +Or there is always the last chance that it may take you out +altogether. And while that is a little rugged, it is at least worth +remembering that very few people seem to get out of this life +alive."</p> + +<p>There was as simple an idea as any military instructor ever +unloaded, and yet troops cheered this man wherever he went.</p> + +<p>Lt. Col. H. M. Hutchinson, of the British Army, already described +in this book as an instructor who made a powerful impression +on the American Army in World War I because of his +droll wit, was a master hand at taking the oblique approach to +teach a lesson. Old officers still remember the manner and the +moral of passages such as this one:</p> + +<p>"On the march back from Mons—and I may say that a very +good army sometimes must retreat, though no doubt it wounds +the sensibilities to consider it—we did rather well. But I +noticed often the confusion caused by marching slowly up one +side of a hill and dashing down the other. It is a tendency of +all columns on foot.</p> + +<p>"A captain is sitting out in front on a horse, with a hell of +a great pipe in his mouth and thinking of some girl in a cafe, +and of course he moves slowly up the hill. He comes to the +top and his pace quickens. Well, then, what happens? The +taller men are at the top of the column, and they lengthen their +stride—but what becomes of Nipper and Sandy down in +the twentieth squad? Half the time, you see, they are running +to catch up. So the effect is to jam the troops together on an<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span> +upgrade and to stretch them out going down—you know—like +a concertina."</p> + +<p>Where then is the beginning of efficiency in the art of instruction? +It resides in becoming diligent and disciplined about +self-instruction. No man can develop great power as an instructor, +or learn to talk interestingly and convincingly, until +he has begun to think deeply. And depth of thought does not +come of vigorous research on an assignment immediately at +hand, but from intensive collateral study throughout the course +of a career. We are all somewhat familiar with the type of +commander who, when asked: "What are your officers doing +about special studies, so that they may better their reading +habits and further their powers of self-expression?" will puff +himself up by replying, "They are kept so busily employed that +they have no time for any such exercise." This is one way of +saying that his subordinates are kept too busy to get essential +work done.</p> + +<p>Research, on the spot and at the time, is vital and necessary +so that the presentation of any subject will be factually freshened +and documented. But its nature and object should not be +overrated. The real values can be compared to what happens +to a pitcher when he warms up before a game. This is merely +an act of suppling the muscles; the real conditioning process +has already taken place, and it has been long and arduous.</p> + +<p>Even so is it with immediate research, in its relation to continuing +military study, in the perfecting of instructorship. That +which gives an officer power, and conviction, on the platform, +or before a group, is not the thing which he learned only +yesterday, having been compelled to read it in a manual or +other source, but the whole body of this thought and philosophy, +as it may be directed toward the invigorating of any +presentation of any subject. If he forms the habit of careful +reflection, then almost everything that he reads and hears +other people say that arouses his own interest becomes grist for +his mill.</p> + +<p>Like 10 years in the penitentiary, it's easy to say but hard +to do. So much time, seemingly, has to be wasted in profitless<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span> +study to find a few kernels amid much chaff. Napoleon said at +one point that the trouble with books is that one must read so +many bad ones to find something really good. True enough +but, even so, there are perfectly practical ways to advance +rapidly without undue waste motion. Consider this: Among +one's superiors there are always discriminating men who have +"adopted" a few good books after reading many bad ones. +When they say that a text is worthwhile, it deserves reading +and careful study.</p> + +<p>The junior who starts building a working library for his professional +use cannot do better than to consult those older men +who are scholars as well as leaders, and ask them to name +five or six texts which have most stimulated their thought. It +comes as a surprising discovery that some of the titles which +are recommended with the greatest enthusiasm are not among +the so-called classics on war. The well-read man need not have +more than a dozen books in his home, provided that they all +count with him, and he continues to pore over them and to +ponder the weight of what is said. On the other hand, the ignorant +man is frequently marked by his bookshelf stocked with +titles, not one of which suggests that he has any professional +discernment.</p> + +<p>The notebook habit is invaluable, nay, indispensable, to any +young officer who is ambitious to perfect himself as an instructor. +Most men who are distinguished for their thinking +ability are inveterate keepers of scrapbooks and of reference +files where they have put clippings and notes which jogged their +own thoughts. This is not a cheap device leading to the parroting +of other men; the truth is that the departure line toward +original thinking by any man is established by the mental energy +which he acquires by imaginative observation of other men's +ideas.</p> + +<p>To get back to the notebook, it should be loose-leaf and +well-bound, else it is not likely to be given permanent use. +Whether it is kept at home or the office is immaterial. What +matters is that it be made a receptacle for everything that one +hears, reads or sees which may be of possible future value in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span> +preparation of classroom work. Books can't be clipped; but +short, decisive passages can be copied, and longer ones can be +made the subject of a reference item. Copying is one way of +fixing an idea in the memory. While on the subject of books, +it is all right to quote the classics and to be able to refer to the +great authorities on the science of war. But it is more effective +by far to read deeply into such writers as Clausewitz, Mahan +and Fuller, and to find some of their strongest but least-known +passages for one's self, than to rely on the more popular but +shop-worn quotations which are in general circulation. Such old +chestnuts as, "The moral is to the material as three to one," +do not refresh discourse.</p> + +<p>Even so, the classics are only one small field worth cultivating. +Nearly every major speech by current military leadership +contains a passage or two well worth salting away. The +writings of the philosophers, the publications of the industrial +world, the daily press and the scientific journals are goldmines +containing rich nuggets of information and of choice expression +worth study and preservation.</p> + +<p>In fact, the military instructor has the whole world as his +workshop. His notebook should be as ready to receive some +especially apt saying by a new recruit as the more ponderous +words uttered by the sages. And it should contain, not less, +comments on techniques and methods used by other speakers +and instructors, which were visibly unusually effective.</p> + +<p>Above all, the consistent use of obvious and stereotyped devices +and methods of presentation should be avoided. For the +fact is that <em>no one has yet discovered the one best way</em>. In our +service thinking, we tend to get into a rut, and to use none but +the well-tried way. For example, we overwork the twin principles +of thought-surprise and thought-concentration, and in the +effort to produce dramatic effect, we sometimes achieve only an +anticlimax. Using the techniques of the advertising world, the +military instructor puts his exhibits behind a screen, in order +to buildup anticipation, and at the appropriate moment he +yanks the cover off. This is perfectly effective, in some instances. +But it becomes a <em>reductio ad absurdum</em> when he is<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span> +working with only one chart, or a pair or so of objects. Let's +say that he is talking about one machine gun, and he has one +chart highlighting its characteristics. How much more impressive +it would be if they were in the open at the beginning and he +were to start by saying: "Gentlemen, I am talking about this +one gun and what keeps it going. It is more important that you +see and know this gun from this moment than that you be +persuaded by what I am about to say!"</p> + +<p>It is a very simple but inviolable rule that where there is +an obvious straining to produce an effect by the use of any +training aid, then the effect of the training aid is lost and the +speaker is proportionately enfeebled. A famous World War II +commander said of all operations: "It is the chaps, not the +charts, that get the job done."</p> + +<p>What needs to be kept in mind is the psychological object in +their use. The scientists tell us, and we can partly take their +word for it, that people learn about 75 percent of what they +know through their sight, 13 percent through their hearing, and +12 percent through their other senses. But this is a relative +and qualitative, rather than an absolute, truth. It has to be so. +Otherwise, book study, which employs sight exclusively, would +be the only efficient method of teaching, and oral instruction, +which depends primarily on sound impact, would be a wasteful +process.</p> + +<p>The more fundamental truth is that when oral instruction is +properly done, the mind becomes peculiarly receptive because +it is being bombarded by both sight and sound impressions. +Nor is this small miracle wrought primarily by what we call +training aids. The thoughts and ideas which remain most vivid +in the memory get their adhesive power because some particular +person said them in a graphic way in a pregnant moment. +Our working thoughts are more often the product of an association +with some other individual than not. We remember +words largely because we remember an occasion. We believe +in ideas because first we were impressed by the source whence +they came.</p> + +<p>The total impression of a speaker—his sincerity, his knowl<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span>edge, +his enthusiasm, his mien, and his gestures—is what +carries conviction and puts an indelible imprint on the memory. +Man not only thinks, but he moves, and he is impressed most +of all by animate objects. Vigorous words mean little or nothing +to him when they issue from a lack-luster personality.</p> + +<p>Artificiality is one of the more serious faults, and it is unfortunately +the case that though an instructor may be solid +to the core, he will seem out of his element, unless he is careful +to avoid stilted words and vague or catch-all phrases and connectives. +Strength in discourse comes of simplicity.</p> + +<p>But it has become almost an American disease of late that we +painfully avoid saying it straight. "We made contact, and upon +testing my reaction to him, found it distinctly adverse" is substituted +for "I met him and didn't like him." But what is equally +painful is to hear public remarks interlarded with such phrases +as "It would seem," "As I was saying," "And so, in closing," +"Permit me to call your attention to the fact" and "Let us reflect +briefly"—which is often the prelude to a 2-hour harangue.</p> + +<p>Not less out of place in public address is the apologetic note. +The man who starts by explaining that he's unaccustomed to +public speaking, or badly prepared, is simply asking for the +hook. "To explain what I mean" or "to make myself clear" +makes the audience wonder only why he didn't say it that way +in the first place. But the really low man on this totem pole is +the one who says, "Perhaps you're not getting anything out of +this."</p> + +<p>A man does not have to go off like a gatling gun merely because +he is facing the crowd. Mr. Churchill, one of the great +orators of the century, made good use of deliberate and frequent +pauses. It is a trick worth any young speaker's cultivation, +enabling the collection of thought and the avoiding of +tiresome "and ah-h-h's."</p> + +<p>Likewise, because a man is in military uniform does not require +that his speech be terse, cold, given to the biting of words +and the overemployment of professional jargon. Training instruction +is not drill. Its efficiency does not come of its in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span>cisiveness +but of the bond of sympathy which comes to prevail +between the instructor and his followers.</p> + +<p>Another main point: It is disconcerting to talk about the +ABCs, if the group already knows the alphabet. To devote any +great part of a presentation to matters which the majority +present already well understand is to assure that the main +object will receive very little serious attention. Thus in talking +about the school of the rifle, only a fool would start by explaining +what part of it was the trigger and from which end +the bullet emerged, though it might be profitable to devote a +full hour to the discussion of caliber. Likewise, in such a field +as tactical discussion, the minds of men are more likely to be +won, and their imagination stirred, through giving them the +reasoning behind a technique or method than by telling them +simply how a thing is done.</p> + +<p>In talk, as in tactics, at the beginning the policy of the +limited objective is a boon to confidence. It scares any green +man to think about talking for an hour. But if he starts with a +subject of his own choice and to his liking, and works up to +15-minute talk for a group of platoon size, he will quickly +develop his powers over the short course; the switch from +sprinting to distance running can be made gradually and without +strain. But it's easy that does it, and one step at a time.</p> + +<p>Excessive modesty is unbecoming. No matter how firm his +sources, or complex the subject, any instructor should form the +habit of adding a few thoughts of his own to any presentation. +It is not a mark of precocity but of interest when an instructor +knows his material, and its application to the human element, +sufficiently well to express an occasional personal opinion. Since +he is not a phonograph record, he has a right to say, "I think" +or "I believe." Indeed, if he does not have his subject sufficiently +in hand that it has stirred his own imagination, he is +no better than a machine.</p> + +<p>That leads to a discussion of outlines. They are necessary, if +any subject is to be covered comprehensively. But if they are +overelaborated, the whole performance becomes automatic and +dull. A little spontaneity is always needed. Even when working<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span> +from a manuscript, a speaker should be ever-ready to depart +from his text if a sudden idea pops into his mind. It is better +to try this and to stumble now and then than to permit the +mind to be commanded by words written on paper.</p> + +<p>Likewise, revision of outline between talks is the way of the +alert mind. A man cannot do this work without seeing, in the +midst of discussion, points which need strengthening, and bets +which have been missed. Notes should be revised as soon as +the period is completed.</p> + +<p>There are many methods of instruction, among them being +the seminar, critique, group discussion and conference. They +are not described here for the reason that every young officer +quickly learns about them in the schools, and gets to know +the circumstances under which one form or another can be used +to greatest advantage.</p> + +<p>It suffices to say that their common denominator, insofar as +personal success and ease of participation are concerned, is the +ability to think quickly and accurately on one's feet; the one +best school for the sharpening of this faculty is the lecture +platform. Keenness is a derivative of pressure.</p> + +<p>Use of a wire recorder or a platter, so that one can get a +playback after talking, is an aid to self-criticism. But it is not +enough. A man will often miss his own worst faults, because +they came of ignorance in the first place; too, voice reproduction +proves nothing about the effectiveness of one's presence, +expression and gesture. It is common-sense professional procedure +to ask the views of one or two of the more experienced +members of the audience as to how the show went over, and +what were its weak points.</p> + +<p>There is one hidden danger in becoming too good at this +business. Too frequently, polished speakers fall in love with the +sound of their own voices, and want to be heard to the exclusion +of everyone else. In the military establishment, where +the ideal object is to get 100 percent participation from all +personnel, this is a more serious vice than snoring in a pup tent.</p> + +<p>When an officer feels any temptation to monopolize the discussion, +it is time to pray for a bad case of bronchitis.</p> + + + +<div class="section_break"></div> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span></p> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_TWENTY-TWO" id="CHAPTER_TWENTY-TWO"></a><span class="chapter_number">CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO</span><br /><br /> + +YOUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH YOUR MEN</h3> + + +<p>Inasmuch as most of this book has been directed toward +covering the various approaches to this subject, there is need to +discuss here only a relatively few points which could not conveniently +be treated elsewhere.</p> + +<p>This is the touchstone of success.</p> + +<p>To any officer starting on a life career, it is impossible to +overstate its importance. For the moment, we can forget the +words duty and responsibility. The question is: "How do I get +ahead?" And for a junior there is one main road open—he +will strive to achieve such a communion of spirit with his +subordinates that he will know the personality and character of +every one of his men, will understand what moves and what +stops them, and will be sympathetic to their every impulse.</p> + +<p>This is the main course. The great principles of war have +evolved from centuries of observation on how men react in the +mass. It could not be otherwise than that any officer's growth +in knowledge of when and how these principles apply to varying +situations, strategical and tactical, come primarily of the +acuteness of his powers of observation of individual men, and of +men working together in groups, and responding to their leadership, +under widely different conditions of stress, strain and +emotion.</p> + +<p>The roots of this kind of wisdom are not to be acquired +from book study; books are a help only as they provide an index +to what should be sought. The sage who defined strategy as +"the art of the possible" (the art of politics has been defined in +the same words) wrote better than he knew. The cornerstone +of the science of war is knowledge of the economy of men's +powers, of their physical possibilities and limitations, of their +response to fatigue, hope, fear, success and discouragement, +and of the weight of the moral factor in everything they do. +Man is a beast of burden; he will fail utterly in the crisis<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span> +of battle if there is no respect for his aching back. He is also +one of a great brotherhood whose mighty fellowship can make +the worst misery tolerable, and can provide him with undreamed +strength and courage. These are among the things that +need to be studied and understood; they are the main score. +It is only when an officer can stand and say that he is first of +all a student of human material that all of the technical and +material aspects of war begin to conform toward each other and +to blend into an orderly pattern. And the laboratory is right +outside the office door. Either an officer grows up with, and +into, this kind of knowledge through reflecting on everything +that he can learn of men wherever he fits himself into a new +environment, or because of having neglected to look at trees, +he will also miss the forest.</p> + +<p>By the numbers, it isn't a difficult assignment. The schools +have found by experiment that the average officer can learn +the names of 50 men in between 7 and 10 days. If he is in daily +contact with men, he should know 125 of them by name and +by sight within 1 month. Except under war conditions, he is +not likely to work with larger numbers than that.</p> + +<p>This is the only way to make an intelligent start. So long as a +man is just a number, or a face, to his officer, there can be no +deep trust between them. Any man loves to hear the sound of +his own name, and when his superior doesn't know it, he feels +like a cypher.</p> + +<p>As with any other introduction, an officer meeting an enlisted +man for the first time is not privileged to be inquisitive about +his private affairs. In fact, nosiness and prying are unbecoming +at any time, and in no one more than in a military officer. +On the other hand, any man is flattered if he is asked about +his work or his family, and the average enlisted man will feel +complimented if an officer engages him in small talk of any +kind. Greater frankness, covering a wide variety of subjects, +develops out of longer acquaintance. It should develop as +naturally and as easily as in civilian walks of life; rank is no +barrier to it unless the officer is overimpressed with himself +and bent on keeping the upper hand; the ranks are wiser about<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span> +these things than most young officers; they do not act forward +or presumptuous simply because they see an officer talking and +acting like a human being. But they aren't Quiz Kids. Informal +conversation between officer and man is a two-way street. The +ball has to be batted back and forth across the net or there isn't +any game. An officer has to extend himself, his thoughts, his +experiences and his affairs into the conversation, or after his +first trial or two, there will be nothing coming back.</p> + +<p>It is unfortunately the case that many young officers assume +that getting acquainted with their men is a kind of interrogation +process, like handling an immigrant knocking for admission +to the United States. They want to know everything, but +they stand on what they think is their right to tell a man +nothing. That kind of attitude just doesn't wash. In fact, the +chief value of such conversations is that it permits the junior +to see his superior as a man rather than as a boss.</p> + +<p>An officer should never speak ironically or sarcastically to an +enlisted man, since the latter doesn't have a fair chance to +answer back. The use of profanity and epithets comes under +the same heading. The best argument for a man keeping his +temper is that nobody else wants it; and when he voluntarily +throws it away, he loses a main prop to his own position.</p> + +<p>Meeting one of his own enlisted men in a public place, the +officer who does not greet him personally and warmly, in addition +to observing the formal courtesies between men in service, +has sacrificed a main chance to win the man's abiding esteem. +If the man is with his family, a little extra graciousness will go +a long way, and even if it didn't, it would be the right thing.</p> + +<p>In any informal dealing with a number of one's own men, it +is good judgment to pay a little additional attention to the +youngest or greenest member of the group, instead of permitting +him to be shaded by older and more experienced men. They +will not resent it, and his confidence will be helped.</p> + +<p>It should go without saying that an officer does not drink +with his men, though if he is a guest of honor at an organizational +party where punch or liquor is being served, it would +be a boorish act for him to decline a glass, simply because of this<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span> +proscription. Sometimes in a public cocktail bar an officer will +have the puzzling experience of being approached by a strange +but lonely enlisted man who, being a little high, may have got +it into his head that it is very important to buy an officer a drink. +What one does about that depends upon all of the surrounding +circumstances. It is better to go through with it than create a +scene which will give everyone a low opinion of the service. +Irrespective of rules, there are always situations which are resolved +only by good judgment. And, of course, the problem can +be avoided by staying away from cocktail bars.</p> + +<p>Visiting men in hospital is a duty which no officer should +neglect. Not only does it please the man and his family; it is +one of the few wide open portals to a close friendship with +him. It is strange but true that the man never forgets the officer +who was thoughtful enough to call on him when he was down. +And the effect of it goes far beyond the man himself. Other +men in the unit are told about it. Other patients in the ward +see it and note with satisfaction that the corps takes its responsibilities +to heart. If the man is in such shape that he can't write +a letter, it is a worthy act to serve him in this detail. By the +same token when a man goes on sick call, the officer's responsibility +does not end at the point where the doctor takes over. +His interest is to see that the man is made well, and if he has +reason to think that the treatment he is receiving falls short +of the best possible, it is within his charge to raise the question. +The old saw about giving the man CC pills and iodine and +marking him duty is now considerably outdated. But it is not +assumed that every member of the medical staff serving the +forces will at all times do his duty with the intelligence and +reverence of a saint.</p> + +<p>A birthday is a big day in any man's life. So is his wedding. +So is the birth of a child. By making check of the roster and +records, and by keeping an ear to the ground for news of what +is happening in the unit, an officer can follow these events. +Calling the man in and giving him a handclasp and word of +congratulation, or writing a note to the home, takes very little +time and is worth every moment of it. Likewise, if he has won<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span> +some distinction, such as earning a promotion, a letter of appreciation +to his parents or his wife will compound the value of +telling the man himself that you are proud of what he has done.</p> + +<p>Nothing is more pleasing or ingratiating to any junior than +to be asked by his superior for his opinion on any matter—provided +that it is given a respectful hearing. Any man gets a +little fagged from being <em>told</em> all the time. When he is consulted +and asked for a judgment, it builds him up.</p> + +<p>There is absolutely no point in visiting kitchens or quarters +and asking of the atmosphere if everything is all right. Men +seldom complain, and they are loath to stick their necks out +when there are other enlisted men within hearing. It is the task +of the officer to <em>see</em> that all is right, and to take whatever +trouble is necessary to make certain. If he is doubtful about the +mess, then a mere pecky sampling of it will do no good. Either +he will live with it for a few meals, or he won't find the "bugs" +in it.</p> + +<p>An officer should not ask a man: "Would you like to do such-and-such +a task?" when he has already made up his mind to +assign him to a certain line of duty. Orders, hesitatingly given, +are doubtfully received. But the right way to do it is to instill +the idea of collaboration. There is something irresistably appealing +about such an approach as: "I need your help. Here's what +we have to do."</p> + +<p>An officer is not expected to appear all-wise to those who +serve under him. Bluffing one's way through a question when +ignorant of the answer is foolhardy business. "I'm sorry, but I +don't know," is just as appropriate from an officer's lips as from +any other. And it helps more than a little to be able to add, +"But I'll find out."</p> + +<p>Rank should be used to serve one's subordinates. It should +never be flaunted or used to get the upper hand of a subordinate +in any situation save where he had already discredited himself +in an unusually ugly or unseemly manner.</p> + +<p>When suggestions from any subordinate are adopted, the +credit should be passed on to him publicly.</p> + +<p>When a subordinate has made a mistake, but not from any<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span> +lack of good will, it is common sense to take the rap for him +rather than make him suffer doubly for his error.</p> + +<p>An officer should not issue orders which he cannot enforce.</p> + +<p>He should be as good as his word, at all times and in any +circumstance.</p> + +<p>He should promise nothing which he cannot make stick.</p> + +<p>An officer should not work, looking over his men's shoulder, +checking on every detail of what they are doing, and calling +them to account at every furlong post. This maidenly attitude +corrodes confidence and destroys initiative.</p> + +<p>On the other hand, contact is necessary at all times. Particularly +when men are doing long-term work, or are operating in +detachment at a remote point, they will become discouraged +and will lose their sense of direction unless their superior looks +in on them periodically, asks whether he can be of any help, +and, so doing, gets them to open up and discuss the problem.</p> + +<p>The Navy says, "It isn't courtesy to change the set of the sail +within 30 minutes after relief of the watch." Applied to a +command job, this means that it is a mistake for an officer, on +taking a new post, to order sweeping changes affecting other +men, in the belief that this will give him a reputation for action +and firmness. The studying of the situation is the overture to +the steadying of it. The story is told of Gen. Curtis E. LeMay of +the Air Force. Taking over the 21st Bomber Command in the +Marianas, he faced the worried staff officers of his predecessor +and said quietly, "You're all staying put. I assume you know +your jobs or you wouldn't be here."</p> + +<p>The identity of the officer with the gentleman should persist +in his relations with men of all degree. In the routine of daily +direction and disposition, and even in moments of exhortation, +he had best bring courtesy to firmness. The finest officers that +one has known are not occasional gentlemen, but in every circumstance: +in commissioned company and, more importantly, +in contact with those who have no recourse against arrogance.</p> + +<p>The traditional wisdom of addressing Judy O'Grady with the +same politeness as one would the Colonel's Lady applies equally +in all situations in life where one is at arbitrary advantage in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span> +dealing with another. To press this unnecessarily is to sacrifice +something of one's quality in the eyes of the onlooker. Besides, +there is always the better way.</p> + + + +<div class="section_break"></div> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span></p> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_TWENTY-THREE" id="CHAPTER_TWENTY-THREE"></a><span class="chapter_number">CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE</span><br /><br /> + +YOUR MEN'S MORAL AND PHYSICAL WELFARE</h3> + + +<p>To put it in a nutshell, the moral of this chapter is that +when men are moral, the moral power which binds them together +and fits them for high action is given its main chance +for success.</p> + +<p>There should therefore be no confusion about how the word +is being used. We are speaking both of training in morals for +every day living, and of moral training which will harden the +will of a fighting body. One moment's reflection will show why +they need not be considered separately, and why we can leave +it to Webster to do the hairsplitting.</p> + +<p>It is the doctrine of the armed establishment of the United +States that when American men lead a personal life which is +based on high moral standards, and when their aim is equally +high as to physical fitness and toughness, under training conditions +they will mature those qualities which are most likely +to produce inspired leading and stout following within the +forces.</p> + +<p>There is nothing panty-waist about this doctrine. It was not +pronounced to gratify the clergy or to reassure parents that +their sons would be in good hands, even though these things, +too, are important.</p> + +<p>The doctrine came of the experience of the Nation in war, +and of what the services learned by measuring their own men. +But it happened, also, that the facts were consistent with a +common sense reckoning of the case.</p> + +<p>Let's figure it out. To be temperate in all things, to be +continent, and to refrain from loose living of any sort, are acts +of the will. They require self-denial, and a foregoing of that +which may be more attractive, in favor of the thing which +should be done. Granted that there are a few individuals who +are so thin-blooded that they never feel tempted to digress +morally, men in the majority are not like that. What they re<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span>nounce +in the name of self-discipline, at the cost of a considerable +inner stress, they endeavour to compensate by their gains in +personal character. Making that grade isn't easy; but no one +who is anyone has yet said that it isn't worthwhile. In the armed +services there is an old saying that an officer without character +is more useless than a ship with no bottom.</p> + +<p>In the summing up, the strength of will which enables a +man to lead a clean life is no different than the strength of +purpose which fits him to follow a hard line of duty. There are +exceptions to every rule. Many a lovable rounder has proved +himself to be a first-class fighting man. But even though he had +an unconquerable weakness for drink and women, his resolution +had to become steeled along some other line or he would +have been no good when the pay-off came.</p> + +<p>Putting aside for the moment the question of the vices, and +regarding only the gain to moral power which comes of bodily +exercise and physical conditioning, it should be self-evident that +the process which builds the muscle must also train and alert +the mind. How could it be otherwise? Every physical act must +have as its origin a mental impulse, conscious or unconscious. +Thus in training a man to master his muscles we also help +him to master his brain. He comes out of physical training not +only better conditioned to move but better prepared to think +about how and why he is moving, which is true mobility.</p> + +<p>In military organizations, "setting-up" and other formation +exercises are usually a drag and a bore. Men grumble about +them, and even after they are toughened to them, so that they +feel no physical distress, they rarely relish them. The typical +American male would much rather sit on his pants along the +sidelines and watch someone else engage in contact sports. It's +almost the national habit. Despite our athletic prowess, about 56 +percent of American males grow to manhood without having +ever participated in a group game.</p> + +<p>But no matter how great the inertia against it, there must be +unremitting perseverance in the physical conditioning of military +forces. For finally, it is killing men with kindness to relax +at this point. If life is to be conserved, if men are to be given a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span> +fair chance to play their parts effectively, the physical standards +during training cannot be less than will give them a maximum +fitness for the extraordinary stresses of campaigning in war.</p> + +<p>When troops lack the coordinated response which comes of +long, varied and rigorous exercises, their combat losses will be +excessive, they will lack cohesion in their action against the +enemy, and they will uselessly expend much of their initial +velocity. In the United States service, we are tending to forget, +because of the effect of motorization, that the higher value of +the discipline of the road march in other days wasn't that it +hardened the muscles, but that, short of combat, it was the +best method of separating the men from the boys. This is true +today, despite all of the new conditions imposed by technological +changes. A hard road march is the most satisfactory training +test of the moral strength of the individual man.</p> + +<p>At the same time, to senselessly overload men for road marching +hurts them two ways. It weakens their faith in the sense of +the command, thereby impairing morale, and it breaks down +their muscle and tendon. Enough is known about the average +American male to provide a basic logistical figure. He stands +about 5 feet 8 inches, and weighs about 153 pounds. The +optimum load for a man is about one-third of body weight, +the same as for a mule. That means that for a training march, +approximately 50 pounds over-all, including uniform, blankets +and everything, is the most that a man should be required to +carry. If he gets so that he can handle that load easily, over let +us say a 10-mile road march, then the thing to do, further to +build up his power, is not to increase the weight that he +carries, but to lengthen the march. Military men have known +that this is the underlying principle for better than half a +century. But the principle has not always been observed.</p> + +<p>There is another not infrequent cause of breakdown—the +leader who makes the mistake of thinking that every man's +limit is the same as his own. Some come into the officer corps +fresh from the stadia and cinderpaths of the colleges, in the +pink of condition. They take charge of a group of men, some +not yet seasoned, and others somewhat older and more wind-<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span>broke +than themselves. They shag them all over the lot at +reveille or take them on a cross-country chase like a smart +rabbit trying to outrun hounds. The poor devils ultimately get +back, some with their corks completely pulled, a few feeling too +nauseated to eat their breakfast, and others walking in, feeling +whipped because they couldn't keep up with the group.</p> + +<p>When an officer does this kind of thing thoughtlessly, he +shows himself to be an incompetent observer of men. When he +does it to show off, he deserves to be given 10 days in the +electric chair.</p> + +<p><em>It is the steadiness and the continuity of exercise, not the +working of men to the point of exhaustion and collapse, which +keeps them upgrading until they are conditioned to the strain of +whatever comes.</em> To do it the other way around simply makes +them hospital patients before their time, and fills them with +resentment against the service.</p> + +<p>In the nature of things, the officer who has been an athlete +can fit himself into this part of the program with little difficulty +and with great credit, provided he acts with the moderation that +is here suggested. The armed services put great store by this. +A man with a strong flair for physical training can usually +find a good berth.</p> + +<p>By the same token, the officer who has shunned sports in +school, either because he didn't have the size or the coordination, +or was more interested in something else, will frequently +have an understandable hesitation about trying to play a lead +hand in anything which he thinks will make him look bad. Of +this comes much buck-passing. There is often a singular courtesy +between officers within a unit, and they'll switch details, just +to be friendly. So it frequently happens that the man who has +no great knack at leading in exercise and recreation gets the +mouse's share of it. And thereby the whole point is missed. For +it should be perfectly clear that the man who has had the least +active experience in this field is usually the one in greatest need +of its strengthening effects. His case is no different than that of +the enlisted man. If he has not kept himself in good physical<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span> +shape, his nerves will not be able to stand the strain of combat, +to say nothing of his legs.</p> + +<p>It can be said again and again: <em>The highest form of physical +training that an officer can undergo is the physical conditioning +of his own men.</em> Nothing else can give him more faith in +his own ability to stay the course and nothing else is likely to +give him a firmer feeling of solidarity with his men. Study, and +an active thirst for wider professional knowledge, have their +place in an officer's scheme of things. But there is something +about the experience of bodily competition, of joining with, +and leading men in strenuous physical exercise, which uniquely +invigorates one's spirit with the confidence: "I can do this! I +can lead! I can command!" Military men have recognized this +since long before it was said that Waterloo was won on the +playing fields of Eton. Bringing it down to the present, Gen. +Sir Archibald Wavell said: "The civil comparison to war must +be that of a game, a very rough and dirty game, for which a +robust body and mind are essential." Even more emphatic are +the words of Coach Frank Leahy of Notre Dame, an officer of +the United States Navy in World War II: "The ability to rise +up and grasp an opportunity is something that a boy cannot +learn in lecture rooms or from textbooks. It is on the athletic +field primarily that Americans acquire the winning ways that +play such an important part in the American way of life. The +burning desire to emerge the victor that we see in our contact +sports is the identical spirit that gave the United States Marines +victory at Iwo Jima. If we again know war, the boys who have +received sound training in competitive athletics will again fight +until the enemy has had enough."</p> + +<p>Men like to see their officers competing and "giving it a +good college try" no matter how inept, or clumsy they may +be. But they take a pretty dim view of the leader who perennially +acts as if he were afraid of a sweat or a broken thumb. In +team sports, developing around interorganized rivalry, the +eligibility of an officer to participate among enlisted men is a +matter of local ground rules, or special regulations. There is +nothing in the customs of the services which prohibit it. To<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span> +the contrary, it has been done many times, and is considered +to be altogether within an officer's dignity. Where there is a +flat ruling against it, it is usually on the theory that the officer, +by competing, is robbing some enlisted man of his chance.</p> + +<p>Need it be said that in any event, going along with the team, +and taking an active interest in its ups-and-downs, is not only +a service officer's duty, but a rewarding privilege, if he is a real +leader? In this respect, he has a singular relationship to any +group that represents his unit. He becomes part of their force, +and his presence is important not only to the team but to the +gallery. It is not unusual to hear very senior officers excuse +themselves from an important social function by saying, "I'm +sorry, but my team is playing tonight." That is a reason which +everybody understands and accepts.</p> + +<p>As for the ranks, even among those men who have had no +prior acquaintance with organized sports, there is a marked +willingness to participate, if given just a little encouragement. +This is one of the effects of getting into military uniform. As +someone said about gunpowder, "it makes all men alike tall," +and provides a welcome release from former inhibitions. The +military company is much more tightly closed than any other. +When men are thinking and working together in a binding association, +they will seek an outlet for their excess spirits, and will +join together in play, even under the most adverse circumstance. +During World War I, it was common to see American troops +playing such games as duck-on-the-rock, tag and touch football +with somebody's helmet in close proximity to the front. +Because no other equipment was available, they improvised. +So it is that in any situation, the acme in leadership consists, +not in screaming one's head off about shortages, but in using +a little imagination about what can be done.</p> + +<p>The really good thing about the gain in moral force deriving +from all forms of physical training is that it is an unconscious +gain. Will power, determination, mental poise and muscle control +all march hand-in-hand with the general health and well-being +of the man, with results not less decisive under training +conditions than on the field of battle. A man who develops<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span> +correct posture and begins to fill out his body so that he looks +the part of a fighter will take greater pride in the wearing of +the uniform. So doing, he will take greater care so to conduct +himself morally that he will not disgrace it. He will gain confidence +as he acquires a confident and determined bearing. This +same presence, and the physical strength which contributes to +it, will help carry him through the hour of danger. Strength of +will is partly of the mind and partly of the body. In combat, +fatigue will beat men down as quickly as any other condition, +for fatigue inevitably carries fear with it. Tired men are men +afraid. There is no quicker way to lose a battle than to lose it +on the road for lack of preliminary hardening in troops. Such +a condition cannot be redeemed by the resolve of a commander +who insists on driving troops an extra mile beyond their general +level of physical endurance. Extremes of this sort make men +rebellious and hateful of the command, and thus strike at +tactical efficiency from two directions at once. For when men +resent a commander, they will not fight as willingly for him, +and when their bodies are spent, their nerves are gone.</p> + +<p>Looking after the welfare of men, however, does not connote +simply getting them into the open air and giving them a chance +to kick the ball around. The services are pretty well organized +to provide their personnel with adequate sport and recreational +facilities, and to insure an active, balanced program, in any +save the most exceptional circumstance. Too, the provisions +made for the creature comforts of men are ample, experience-tested, +and well-regulated.</p> + +<p>It is not so much that a young officer needs to have book +instruction about the detail of these things. Such is the system +that they can hardly escape his notice, any more than he can +escape knowing where to get his pay check and by which path +he goes to the barbershop.</p> + +<p>What counts mainly is that he should fully understand the +prime importance of a personal caring for his men, so that +they cannot fail of a better life if it is within his power and +wisdom to lead them to it.</p> + +<p>Once the principle is grasped, and accepted without any<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span> +mental reservation, time and experience will educate him in +the countless meetings of situations which require its application.</p> + +<p>There are times and situations which require that all men be +treated identically, for the good of organization. There are also +occasions when nothing else suffices but to give the most help, +the most encouragement, the most relief to those who are most +greatly in need. Grown men understand that, and the officer, +approaching every situation with the question in his mind: +"What does reason say about what constitutes fair play in this +condition?" cannot go far wrong in administering to the welfare +of those who serve under him.</p> + +<p><em>It is moral courage, combined with practice, which builds in +one a delicate sense of the eternal fitness of things.</em></p> + +<p>One example: Under normal training conditions, it would be +fair play, and the acceptable thing, to rotate men and their +junior leaders to such an onerous task as guard duty. But if a +unit was "dead beat" after a hard march, and an officer, pursuing +his line of duty, walked among his men, inspecting their +blistered feet and doing all he could to ease each man's physical +discomfort, he would then be using excessively poor judgment +if he did not pick out the men most physically fit to do whatever +additional duty was required that night.</p> + +<p>But infinite painstaking in attending to the physical welfare +of men is not more important than thoughtful attention to their +spiritual wants, and their moral needs. In fact, if we would give +a little more priority to the latter, the former would be far more +likely to come along all right.</p> + +<p>The average American enlisted man is quite young when he +enters service, and because he is young, he is impressionable. +What his senior tells him becomes a substitute for the influence +and teaching that he shed when he left his home or school. +That need not mean a senior in age! <em>He looks to his officer, +even though the latter may be junior in years, because he believes +that the man with rank is a little wiser, and he has faith +that he will not be steered wrong.</em></p> + +<p>Despite all the publicity given to VD, American kids don't<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span> +know a great deal about its reality, and even though the greater +number of them like to talk about women, what they have to +say rarely reveals them as worldly-wise.</p> + +<p>If an officer talks straight on these subjects, and believes in +what he says sufficiently to set the good example, he can convince +his better men that the game isn't worth the candle, +and can save even some of the more reckless spirits from a +major derail.</p> + + + +<div class="section_break"></div> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span></p> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_TWENTY-FOUR" id="CHAPTER_TWENTY-FOUR"></a><span class="chapter_number">CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR</span><br /><br /> + +KEEPING YOUR MEN INFORMED</h3> + + +<p>Nobody ever told the South Sea savage about the nature of +air in motion. He had never heard of wind and therefore could +not imagine its effects. Thus when he heard strange noises in +the treetops and there was a howling around certain headlands, +while other headlands were silent, he could believe only that +the spirits were at work. He would strain his ear to hear what +they had to say to him, and never being able to understand, +he would become all the more fearful.</p> + +<p>It all sounds pretty silly. And yet civilization is a great deal +like that. We pride ourselves today in saying, particularly within +the western nations, that men and women are better informed +than ever before in the history of the world. What we +really mean by that is that they are overburdened with more +kinds of fragmentary information than any people of the past. +They know just enough about many major questions of the +day that either they are driven to the making of fearful guesses +about the unknown, or they try to close their minds to the +subject, vainly seeking consolation in the half-truth, "What I +don't know can't hurt me."</p> + +<p>Therein lies a great part of the problem. For it is a fair +statement that if all of the mystery could be stripped from such +a complex topic as the nature of atomic power, so that men +everywhere would understand it, universal fear would be displaced +by universal confidence that something could be done, +and society would be well along the road toward its control.</p> + +<p>In World War I, the men who had the least fear of the +effects of gas warfare were the gas officers who understood their +subject right down to the last detail of the decontamination +process and the formula for dichlorethylsulphide (mustard gas). +The man to whom the dangers of submarine warfare seem +least fearsome is the submariner. Of all hands along the battle +line, the first aid man has the greatest calm and confidence in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span> +the face of fire, largely because he has seen the miracles worked +by modern medicine in the restoring of grievously wounded +men. The general or the admiral who is most familiar with the +mettle of his subordinate commands will also have the most relaxed +mind under battle pressure.</p> + +<p>This leads to a point, which it is better to state here than +anywhere else. In all military instruction pertaining to the +weapons and techniques of war, the basis of sound indoctrination +is the teaching that weapons when rightly used will invariably +produce victory, and preventive measures, when +promptly and thoroughly taken, will invariably conserve the +operational integrity of the defense. It is wrong, <em>dead wrong</em>, to +start, or carry along, on the opposite track, and try to persuade +men to do the right thing, by dwelling on the awful consequence +of doing the wrong thing. Confidence, not fear, is the keynote +of a strong and convictive doctrine.</p> + +<p>In war, in the absence of information, man's natural promptings +alternate between unreasoning fears that the worst is likely +to happen, and the wishful thought that all danger is remote. +Either impulse is a barrier to the growth of that condition of +alert confidence which comes to men when they have a realization +of their own strength and a reasonably clear concept of the +general situation.</p> + +<p>Man is a peculiar animal. He is no more prone to think about +himself as the central figure amid general disaster than he is to +dwell morbidly upon thoughts of his own death. Left in the +dark, he will get a certain comfort out of that darkness, at the +same time that it clouds his mind and freezes his action. Disturbed +by bad dreams about what might happen, he nonetheless +will not plan an effective use of his own resources against +that which is very likely to happen. Only when he is given a +clear view of the horizon, and is made animated by the general +purpose in all that moves around him, does he understand the +direction in which he should march, and taking hold, begin to +do the required thing.</p> + +<p>It is almost gratuitous that this even needs to be stated. No +high commander would think of moving deliberately into the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span> +fog of war if he was without knowledge of either the enemy +or friendly situation. Even to imagine such a contingency is +paralyzing. But in their nervous and spiritual substance, admirals +and generals are no different than the green men who +have come most recently to their forces. Such men can not +stand alone any more than can the recruit. They draw their +moral strength and their ability to contend intelligently against +adverse circumstance largely from what is told them by the men +who surround them. That is why they have their staffs. They +could not command even themselves if they were deprived of +all information.</p> + +<p>Toward the assuring of competent, collected action, the first +great step is to remove the mystery. This is a process which +must be mastered in peacetime, if it is to stand the multiplied +strains of war. What mystery? Let it be said that it surrounds +the average file on every hand, even though the average junior +officer does not realize it, while at the same time he himself is +completely mystified by much that transpires above him. For +example, we all like to throw big words about, to air our professional +erudition; and we do not understand that to the man +who does not know their meaning, the effect is a blackout +which makes even the simplest object seem formidable. To illustrate, +we can take the word "bivouac," common enough in +military parlance, but rare in civilian speech. When green men +are told, "We are going into bivouac," and they are not sufficiently +grounded in the service to know that this means simply +going into camp for the night without shelter, their instinctive +first thought is, "This is another complex military process that +will probably catch me short." Similarly if told that they are +detailed "on a reconnaissance mission along the line of communications +with a liaison function," they could not fail to be +"flummoxed." And if then instructed to take a BAR up to the +MLR and follow SOP in covering a simulated SFC party, they +wouldn't be far from justified if they blew their tops, and ran +shrieking from the place.</p> + +<p>These are horrible examples, put forward only to illuminate +a fairly simple point. Exaggerated though they may be, some<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span>thing +of the same sort happens in almost every installation +nearly every day. The difference is only in degree. <em>Every man +in the service has an inalienable right to work and to think +in the clear.</em> He is entitled to the why and the wherefore of +whatever he is expected to do, as well as the what and the +how. His efficiency, his confidence and his enthusiasm will wax +strong in almost the precise measure that his superior imparts +to him everything he knows about a duty which can be of +possible benefit to the man. Furthermore, this is a two-way current. +Any officer who believes in the importance of giving +full information in a straight-forward manner, and continues +to act on that principle, will over the long run get back more +than he gives. But the chump who incontinently brushes off his +subordinates because he thinks his time is too valuable to spend +any great part of it putting them on the right track dooms +himself to work in a vacuum. He is soon spotted for what he is, +and if his superiors can't set him straight, they will shrug him +aside.</p> + +<p>These are pretty much twentieth century concepts of how +force is articulated from top to bottom of a chain of command. +Yet the ideas are as old as the ages. Ecclesiastes is filled with +phrases pointing up that clarification is the way of strength +and of unity. "All go unto one place." "Two are better than +one." "Woe to him that is alone when he falleth." "A threefold +cord is not quickly broken." "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to +do, do it with thy might." "Folly is set in great dignity." "Truly +the light is sweet." Great commanders of the past have reflected +that knowledge is the source of the simplifying and +joining of all action and have pondered how better to resolve +the problem. But it is only in our time that this great principle +in military doctrine has become rooted deep enough to stay, +because the technological complexity of modern war is such as +to permit of no other course.</p> + +<p>It is folly to attempt to oversimplify that which is of its +nature complex. War cannot be made less intricate by conjuring +everyone to return to kindergarten and henceforth use +only one-syllable words. No such counsel is here intended. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span> +one thought worth keeping is that the military system, as we +know it, will prove far more workable, and its members will +each become a stronger link in the chain of force, if all hands +work a little more carefully toward the growth of a common +awareness of all terminology, all process and all purpose.</p> + +<p>Once pronounced, the object also requires to be seen in due +proportion. The principle does not entail that a corporal must +perforce know everything about operation of a company which +concerns his captain, to be happy and efficient in his own job. +But it does set forth that he is entitled to have all information +which relates to his personal situation, his prospects and his +action which it is within his captain's power to give him. A +coxswain is not interchangeable with a fleet admiral. To "bigot" +him (make available complete detail of a total plan) on an +operation would perhaps produce no better or worse effect than +a slight headache. But if he is at sea—in both senses of that +term—with no knowledge of where he is going or of his +chances of pulling through, and having been told of what will +be expected of him personally at the target, still has no picture +of the support which will be grouped around him, he is apt to +be as thoroughly miserable and demoralized as were the sailors +under Columbus, when sailing on and on, they came to fear +that they would override the horizon and go tumbling into +space.</p> + +<p>Lt. Gen. Sir Frederick Morgan wrote of the policy applied at +his COSSAC planning headquarters during World War II: +"Right down to the cook, they were told what had happened, +what was happening, along with their part in it, and what it +was proposed to do next."</p> + +<p>Paraphrasing Montaigne, President Roosevelt told the American +people during a great national crisis that the main thing +they need fear was fear itself. In matters great and small, the +fears of men arise chiefly from those matters they have not been +given to understand. Fear can be checked, whipped and driven +from the field when men are kept informed.</p> + +<p>The dynamics of the information principle lies in this simple +truth. We look at the object through the wrong end of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span> +telescope when in the military service we think of information +only as instruction in the cause of country, the virtues of the +free society and the record of our arms, in the hope that we +will make strong converts. These are among the things that +every American needs to know, but of themselves they will not +turn an average American male into an intelligent, aggressive +fighter. Invigorated action is the product of the free and well-informed +mind. The "will to do" comes of the confidence that +one's knowledge of what requires doing is equal to that of any +other man present.</p> + +<p>This is the controlling idea and all constructive planning +and work in the field of information is shaped around it.</p> + + + +<div class="section_break"></div> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span></p> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_TWENTY-FIVE" id="CHAPTER_TWENTY-FIVE"></a><span class="chapter_number">CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE</span><br /><br /> + +COUNSELING YOUR MEN</h3> + + +<p>Among the ever-pressing problems of the commander, and +equally of the young officer schooling himself to the ways of +the service, is the seeking of means to break down the natural +timidity and reticence of the great majority of men.</p> + +<p>This he can never do unless he is sufficient master of himself +that he can come out of his own shell and give his men a chance +to understand him as a human being rather than as an autocrat +giving orders. Nothing more unfortunate can happen to an +officer than to come to be regarded by his subordinates as unapproachable, +for such a reputation isolates him from the main +problems of command responsibility as well as its chief rewards. +So holding himself, he will never be able to see his forces in +their true light, and will either have to exercise snap judgment +upon the main problems within his own sphere, or take the +word of others as to the factors on which promotions, rewards +and punishments are based within the unit.</p> + +<p>When the block is due to an officer's own reticence, mistaken +ideas about the requirements of his position, or feeling of +strangeness toward his fellows, the only cure for him is to dive +head-first into the cold, clear water, like a boy at the old +swimming hole in the early spring. Thereby he will grow in +self-confidence even as he progresses in knowledge of the character +of his men and of human nature in general.</p> + +<p>If an officer is senior, and is still somewhat on the bashful +side, by watching the manner of his own seniors when he gets +counsel, and thawing toward his immediate juniors, thereby increasing +his receptiveness toward them, there will occur a chain +reaction to the bottom level.</p> + +<p>The block, however, is not always of the mind and heart. No +man can help his own face, but it can sometimes be a barrier to +communication. One commander in European Theater was told +by his Executive that his subordinates were fearful to approach<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span> +him because of his perpetual scowl. He assembled his officers +and he said to them: "I have been told that my looks are forbidding. +The mirror reminds me of that every morning. Years +ago I was in a grenade explosion, and a consequent eye injury +and strain have done to me what you have to see every time we +get together. But if you cannot look beyond the face, and judge +my disposition by all else that you see of me in our work together, +you do not yet have the full perception that is commensurate +with your responsibility."</p> + +<p>The too-formal manner, the overrigid attitude, the disposition +to deal with any human problem by-the-numbers as if it +were only one more act in organizational routine, can have +precisely the same chilling effect upon men as came of this +officer's scowl. Though no man may move wholly out of his +own nature, a cheerfulness of manner in the doing of work is +altogether within any individual's capabilities, and is the highest-test +lubricant of his human relationships.</p> + +<p>As a further safeguard against making himself inaccessible, +the officer needs to make an occasional check on the procedures +which have been established by his immediate subordinates. At +all levels of command it is the pet task of those "nearest the +throne" to think up new ways to keep all hands from "bothering +the old man." However positive an order to the contrary, +they will not infrequently contrive to circumvent it, mistakenly +believing that by this act they save him from himself. Many +a compassionate commander leads an unwontedly lonely life because +of the peculiar solicitude of his staff in this matter and +his own failure to discover what is happening to him. In this +way the best of intentions may be thwarted. There is no sure +cure for the evil but personal reconnaissance.</p> + +<p>It is never a waste of time for the commander, or for any +officer, to talk to his people about their personal problems. +More times than not, the problem will seem small to him, but +so long as it looms large to the man, it cannot be dismissed +with a wave of the hand. Ridicule, sarcasm and the brush-off +are equally inexcusable in any situation where one individual +takes another into his confidence on any matter which does<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span> +not involve bad faith on the part of the petitioner. Even then, +if the man imparts that which shows that his own conduct has +been reprehensible or that he would enlist the support of his +superior in some unworthy act, it is better to hear him through +and then skin him, than to treat what he says in the offhand +manner. An officer will grow in the esteem of his men only as +he treats their affairs with respect. The policy of patience and +goodwill pays off tenfold because what happens to one man is +soon known to the others.</p> + +<p>In this particular there has been a radical change within the +services during the current century, simply because of broader +understanding of human relationships. In the Old Army, the +man could get through to his commander only if he could +satisfy the First Sergeant as to the nature of his business; this +was a roadblock for the man who either was afraid of the +First Sergeant, or was loath to let the latter know about his +affairs. Custom dies hard and this one has not been entirely +uprooted. But the distance we have traveled toward humanizing +all command principles is best reflected by the words of +General Eisenhower in "Command in Europe": "Hundreds of +broken-hearted fathers, mothers, and sweethearts wrote me personal +letters begging for some hope that a loved one might still +be alive, or for additional detail as to the manner of his death. +Every one of these I answered."</p> + +<p>It is not necessary that an officer wet-nurse his men in order +to serve well in the role of counsel. His door should be open, +but he does not play the part either of a father confessor or of +a hotel greeter. Neither great solemnity nor effusiveness are +called for, but mainly serious attention to the problem, and then +straight-forward advice or decision, according to the nature +of the case, <em>and provided that from his own knowledge and +experience he feels qualified to give it</em>. If not, it is wiser to +defer than to offer a half-baked opinion. To consider for a +time, and to seek light from others, whether higher authority +or one's closer associates, is the sound alternative when there is +a great deal at stake for the man and the problem is too complex +for its solution to be readily apparent. The spirit in which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span> +this work should be undertaken is nowhere more clearly indicated +than in the words of Schuyler D. Hoslett who in his +book, "Human Factor in Management," said this: "Counseling +is advising an individual on his problem to the extent that an +attempt is made to help him understand it so he may carry +out a plan for its solution. It is a process which stimulates the +individual's ability for self-direction."</p> + +<p>Family affairs, frictions within the organization, personal entanglements +which prey upon the mind, frustrations and anxieties +of varying kind, the sense of failure and other nameless +fears which are rooted deep in the consciousness of nearly every +individual, are the more general subjects in counseling.</p> + +<p>Whatever impairs the man that he wishes to take up with his +officer becomes ipso facto the officer's rightful business. Equally +so, on the positive side, when his only desire is to bring forward +something that he believes would serve the interests of organization, +he should be heard.</p> + +<p>In either case, the perfecting of counsel develops around two +controlling ideas, stated in the order of their importance: (1) +what is in the best interests of the unit, and (2) what is for the +good of the man. In this particular, the officer as counselor is +rarely in the role of a disinterested party. Unlike the preacher, +the lawyer, the teacher or the best friend, he has to look beyond +what is beneficial simply to the spiritual, mental and moral need +of one individual. There is an abiding necessity to equate the +personal problem to the whole philosophy within which a +command operates. <em>To keep in mind that every individual has +his breaking point is everlastingly important. But to remember +that the unit is also made of brittle stuff is not less so.</em></p> + +<p>When undue personal favors are granted, when precedents +are set without weighing the possible effects upon all concerned, +when men are incontinently urged, or even sympathetically +humored by their superiors toward the taking of a weak personal +course, the ties of the organization are injured, tension +within it mounts and the ranks lose respect for the manhood +of their leaders.</p> + +<p>All things are to be viewed in moderation, and with com<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span>passion, +but with a fine balance toward the central purpose. Let +us take one example. Within a given command, at a particular +time, leaves have been made so restricted, for command reasons, +that there must be a showing of genuine urgency. One +man comes forward and says that he is so sick for the sight of +home that he can no longer take duty. As certainly as his +superior tries to facilitate this man's purpose because of fear +that he will break, the superior will be harassed by other requests +with no better basis, and if they are not granted, there +will be general discontent. On the other hand, suppose another +man comes forward. A wire from home has informed him that +his mother is dying. If the superior will not go to bat on such +a case, he will win the deserved contempt of the same men +who were ready to take advantage of the other opening, but in +this instance would seek nothing for themselves.</p> + +<p>To know the record, the character and the measure of goodwill +of the subject is all-important in counseling. It puts the +matter in much too dim a light to say that after the call comes, +the officer should check up on these points so that he can deal +knowledgeably with the man. That is his first order of business +within the unit—to learn all that he can about the main +characteristics of his men. This general duty precedes the detail +work of counseling. Under normal circumstances, no officer is +likely to have more than 250 men in his immediate charge. +There are exceptions, but this is broadly the rule. It is by no +means an excessive task for one individual to learn the names +and a great part of the history of the men he sees daily, when +not knowing them means that he has neglected the heart of +operations.</p> + +<p>What the man says of himself, in relation to the problem, +deserves always to be judged according to his own record. If he +has proved himself utterly faithful, action can be taken on the +basis of his word. If he is known to be a corner-cutter and a +cheat, his case, though listened-to with interest and sympathy, +needs to be taken with a grain of salt, pending further investigation.</p> + +<p>World War II officers had to abide by this standard in deal<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span>ing +with the general malaise which arose out of redeployment. +When a man came forward and said that he couldn't take it +any more, and the commander knew that he had always been +a highly dutiful individual, it became the commander's job to +attempt to get the man home. But when a second man came +forward with the same story, and the record showed that he had +always shirked his work, the question was whether he should be +given the final chance to shirk it again. To favor the first man +meant furthering discipline; his comrades recognized it as a +fair deal. To turn back the second man was equally constructive +to the same end. In a general situation of unique +pressure, commanders found that these principles worked.</p> + +<p>Many of the problems on which men seek advice of their +officers are of a legal nature; unless an officer is versed in the +law, the inquiry must be channeled to a qualified source. Other +problems are of a kind that use should be made of the home +services of such an organization as the Red Cross. A knowledge +of the limits beyond which the help of a special office or +agency must be sought is therefore as important to the officer-consultant +as an ability to give the man full information about +the whereabouts and use of these facilities.</p> + +<p>The Red Cross is usually an effective agent in checking the +facts of a home situation and returning the data. But at the end +of the line where officer and man sit together, its resources for +helping the individual (when what is needed mainly is advice +on a human equation) are not likely to be any better than what +his military superiors can do for him. In any time of crisis, the +normal human being can draw strength and composure far +more surely from a person he well knows than from a stranger.</p> + +<p>There is this illustration. During World War II, many a man +overseas got word that his home had been broken up. The +counselor could talk the thing out with him, learn whether a +reconciliation was the one most important thing, or whether the +man was groping his way, looking for a friend who could help +him see the matter in proportion, and weigh, among other +things, his duty to himself. The Red Cross could check the +facts of the home situation. But the man's readjustment de<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span>pended +in the main on what was done by those who were +closest to him.</p> + +<p>Sooner or later every commander has to deal with some refraction +of this kind of problem. When it comes, moralizing and +generalizing about the weakness of human nature does no good +whatever. To call the man a fool is as invidious as to waste +indignation upon the cause of his misfortune. Likewise, any +frontal approach to the problem, such as telling the man, +"Here's what you should do," should be shunned, or used most +sparingly. The more effective attitude can be expressed in these +words: "If it had happened to me instead of to you, and I +were in your same situation, here are the things I would consider, +and here are the points to which I would give greatest +weight." To tell any subject to brace up and be a man is a +plain inference that he is not one. To reflect with him on the +things which manhood requires is the gentle way toward stirring +his self-respect. So doing, a counselor renews his own character. +<em>Also worth remembering is that in any man's dark hour, a pat +on the back and an earnest handclasp may work a small miracle.</em></p> + +<p>There is much counseling over the subject of transfer. Herein +lies an exception to a general rule, for in this case the good of +the man takes precedence over the good of organization. No +conscientious officer likes to see a good man depart from his +organization. Nevertheless, the service is not in competition with +itself, and it advances as a whole in the measure that all men +find the niche where they can serve most efficiently, and with +the greatest satisfaction. There are officers who hold to every +able subordinate like grim death, seeing no better way to advance +their personal fortunes. This is a sign of moral weakness, +not of strength, and its inevitable fruit is discontent within the +organization. <em>The sign of superiority in any officer, at whatever +level, is his confidence that he can make another good man to +fill any vacancy.</em> When it is self-evident that a man can better +himself and profit the service through transfer, it is contrary to +all principle to deny him that right. This does not mean that +the unit's exit door should be kept open, but only that it should +be ready to yield upon a showing of competent proof. It is not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span> +unusual that when the pressure mounts and war danger rises, +many a man develops a sudden conviction that he would be +more useful in a noncombat arm. The officer body itself is not +unsusceptible to the same temptation. Unless the great majority +are held to that line of duty which they had accepted in less +dangerous circumstance, the service would soon cease to have +fighting integrity. But it makes no point to keep men in a combat +arm or service who are quite obviously morally and physically +unequipped for its rigor, and it is equally wasteful to +deny some other arm or service the use of a specialist whose +skills fill it particularly. Some of the ablest commanders in our +service have abided by this rule: They never denied the man +who had a legitimate reason for transfer, and they never shuffled +off their lemons and goldbricks under a false label. Though +seemingly idealistic, the rule is also practical. The time wasted +in excessive worry over a discard is sometimes better spent by +concentrating on the value of trumps.</p> + +<p>Men tend to seek officer counsel when they feel discriminated +against by lesser authority. When that happens, it is the duty of +the officer to get at the facts, and act according to them. Complaints +against any junior are always unpleasant to hear because +of their air of intrigue. Tactlessly handled, without due weighing +of the case from both sides, they turn one blunder into two. +But no officer is well-advised if he believes that his duty automatically +is to uphold the arm of a subordinate when the facts +say that the latter is dead wrong. His duty is to reduce friction +wherever it is caused by a misuse of power. This implies dealing +discreetly with the offender instead of directly discountenancing +him.</p> + +<p>There are a few broad, common-sense rules which, when followed, +will enable any officer to play his part more effectively +in the counseling of men.</p> + + +<ul> +<li>Privacy is requisite and the interview should not be held +at an hour when interruptions are likely.</li> + +<li>A listless manner spoils everything, diminishes the force of +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span> +reason and discourages confidence.</li> + +<li>To put the man at ease immediately by some personal +gesture is more important than observing forms.</li> + +<li>Thereafter the situation is best served by relaxation of +bearing rather than by tension.</li> + +<li>All excess of expression is a failing, but above all in the +man to whom another looks for guidance.</li> + +<li>To listen well is the prelude toward pondering carefully +and speaking wisely.</li> + +<li>No counsel is worthy that has any lower aim than one's own +ideals of self-respect.</li> + +<li>Early enough is well; quickly done can be quickly undone.</li> + +<li>To refuse with kindness is more winning than to acquiesce +ungraciously.</li> + +<li>To note another man's mood, and to become congenial to +it, is the surest way to engage his confidence.</li> + +<li>Decisions which are wholly of the heart and not of the +mind will ultimately do hurt to both places.</li> + +<li>No man will talk freely if met by silence, but an intelligent +question encourages frankness above all else.</li> + +<li>When one man loses possession of himself it is the more +reason that the other should tighten his reserve.</li> + +<li>Affectation in one's own manner gives the lie to one's own +credit and destroys it with others.</li> + +<li>To express pity for a man does not serve to restore him +and put him above pity.</li> + +<li>When a man is so burdened by a personal problem that it +shuts out all else, he must be led to something else.</li> + +<li>Imprudent tactics can undo the wisest strategy.</li> +</ul> + +<p>While these dispositions have particular value in relation to +the counseling of one's subordinates, they also have some application +to any situation in which men work and commune together. +Men at any level do not mistake the touch of sincerity, +nor fail to mark as unworthy of trust the man who pays only a +superficial regard to a matter which they deem important.</p> + +<p>For the officer already burdened with other duties, counseling +may seem like a waste of time, and an activity that more properly +belongs to the chaplain. The wise and understanding "padre"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span> +may sometimes counsel men on their material problems and +thereby assist the officer who is over troops. But so doing, he is +committing a trespass unless he acts with the commander's +knowledge and consent. The commander is the foster father of +the men in his organization. When he renounces this role, he +neglects a trust.</p> + +<p>That neglect cuts the fighting efficiency of the unit at its +root. Finally, counseling, like all else in military life, has a +combat purpose. Other things being equal, the tactical unity of +men working together in combat will be in ratio to their knowledge +and sympathetic understanding of each other. Whatever +the cause, aloofness on the part of the officer can only produce +a further withdrawal on the part of the man. Finally, the cost +comes high. In battle, and out of it, the failure to act and to +communicate is more often due to timidity in the individual +than to fear of physical danger.</p> + +<p>Described in cold type, the counseling process probably appears +a little sticky. Actually, it is nothing of the sort. For it has +been going on ever since man became civilized. It is a force in +all organized human relationships, beginning in infanthood +and lasting through old age. Because of the nature of a military +group, and particularly because of the deriving of united +strength from well-being in each of the component parts, there +is much more need to regularize it and to qualify all men in a +knowledge of those things which will enable them to assist a +fellow in need of help. But in the military society, far more +than in civil life, confidence is a two-way street. It would be +almost impossible to express the collective gratitude of tens of +thousands of lieutenants and ensigns who in times past have +learned to rely on the friendly counsel of a veteran sergeant or +petty officer, and have usually gotten it straight from the shoulder, +<em>but with respect</em>. The breaking-in of most young officers, +and the acclimating of them to their role in a command system, +is due, in large measure, to support from this source. Nor are +senior commanders reluctant to receive moral comfort of this +same kind in periods of crisis.</p> + +<p>When the planes of the First Tokyo Raid under Col. James<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span> +H. Doolittle, crashed among the mountains and along the sea-coast +of Eastern China, after one of the most valiant strokes in +our military annals, their commander was among the few who +had the added misfortune of coming to earth within the Japanese +lines. By fate's mercy, he just happened to escape by walking +between the enemy outposts. Farther along, he saw the +wreck of another of his planes. Then he came to a third; it was +smashed beyond hope. But its crew had already heard from +several other parties. They too had lost their B-25's to the fog, +the night and the crags. Doolittle realized then that everything +was gone, lives saved yes, but otherwise the expedition was a +total ruin.</p> + +<p>The Commander sat for a long time in the cockpit of the +wrecked plane, terribly depressed, thinking only of how totally +he had failed.</p> + +<p>At last one of the younger men, Sgt. Paul Leonard walked +up to him and said: "What's the matter, Colonel?"</p> + +<p>Doolittle said: "It couldn't be worse. We've lost everything. +We've let the country down."</p> + +<p>The kid said: "Why, Colonel, you've got this all wrong. You +have no idea how this looks to the United States. Don't you +realize that right now they're getting ready to make you a +general? Why I'll make you a bet they give you the Congressional +Medal."</p> + +<p>Doolittle thanked him. He thought it was a nice thing for +the boy to say. That kind of loyalty was worth having in a bad +hour. The boy started to walk away; he could tell that Doolittle +didn't believe a word of it. Then suddenly he turned and came +on back.</p> + +<p>"Colonel," he said, "I'd like to make a deal with you. Suppose +I'm right about it and you're wrong. So they give you a star +and the Congressional Medal. If that happens, will you agree +to take me with you wherever you go?"</p> + +<p>Doolittle made him a solemn promise. Fresh courage came to +him out of the boy's tremendous earnestness.</p> + +<p>And of course the boy was right, and the contract was kept, +and all things went well until, by a savage irony, Sgt. Leonard<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span> +was killed in the last German raid against Doolittle's headquarters +in Europe shortly before the war ended.</p> + + + +<div class="section_break"></div> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span></p> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_TWENTY-SIX" id="CHAPTER_TWENTY-SIX"></a><span class="chapter_number">CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX</span><br /><br /> + +USING REWARD AND PUNISHMENT</h3> + + +<p>One of the illusions having greatest currency among our +people is that any green member of the fighting establishment +is merely an American civilian in a uniform, and that therefore, +his spirit is nourished to the extent that accommodations and +usages of the service most nearly duplicate what he has known +elsewhere.</p> + +<p>This belief is especially prevalent during wartime when every +mother's son puts on a new suit; it is natural to think that +everything in the service will better suit the boy if it smells +like home. The corollary of this rather quaint idea is that military +organization is therefore most perfect when it operates in +the same way as the civil society.</p> + +<p>Earlier in this book it has been suggested that these ideas +need to be questioned on two broad grounds: Do not both of +them run counter to the facts of encharged responsibility, and +to human nature itself?</p> + +<p>To emphasize it once again, the military officer is not alone +an administrator: <em>he is a magistrate</em>. There are special powers +given him by the President. It is within these powers that he +will sit in judgment on his men and that he may punish them +when they have been grievously derelict. This dual role makes +his function radically different from anything encountered in +civil life—to say nothing of the singleness of purpose which a +fighting service is supposed to move forward.</p> + +<p>Moreover, the military officer is dealing with men who are +submitted to him in a binding relationship which by its nature +is not only more compelling but more intimate than anything +elsewhere in society. As much as the parent in the home, and +far more than the teacher in the school or the executive in business, +he is directed to center his effort primarily on the building +of good character in other individuals.</p> + +<p>One need only compare a few points of advantage and dis<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span>advantage +to see why a better balanced sense of justice and fair +play is required of the military officer than of his brother in +civil life, and why the aim would be far too low if the fighting +services did not shoot for higher standards of personnel direction +than are common in the management of American business. +Here are the points:</p> + + +<ul> +<li>If any subordinate in the civilian vineyard feels that he is getting a bad +deal from his boss, and has become the object of unfair discrimination, +it is his royal American privilege to quit on the spot, be he a policeman, +a government factotum or a hod carrier. He can then maintain himself +by carrying his skill into a new shop. But an enlisted member of the +armed establishment cannot quit summarily, and finally, if his commander +is just wrong-headed and arbitrary, it can be made almost impossible for +him to transfer out. However bad his fortune, he's stuck with it.</li> + +<li>Nepotism is so general in our business and political life that the people +who suffer from its effect accept it more or less as the working of nature; +the results are therefore less destructive of efficiency than they might +be otherwise. It is common to see the boss's nephew or his son get a good +spot in the office and then rise like a rocket, even though he is a third-rater. +And it is not less common to see a straw boss in a factory favor +the man whom he thinks might grease the wheels for him on the outside. +But in the armed establishment, favoritism on any grounds, and +particularly on such treacherous grounds as these, will destroy the foundations +of work and of control.</li> + +<li>The armed establishment has its own body of law. Therein, too, it +differs from any civilian autonomy except the state itself. The code is +intended to enable a uniform standard of treatment to all individuals +in the regulating of all interior affairs. The code is not rigid; its provisions +are not absolute. It specifies the general nature of offenses against +society, and special offenses against the good of the service. But, except +for the more serious offenses, particularly those which by their nature +also violate the civil code, it does not flatly prescribe trial and punishment. +Military law, in this respect, has more latitude, and is more congenial, +than civil law covering minor offenders. Rarely arbitrary in its +workings, it premises the use of corrective good judgment at all times. +It regards force as an instrument only to be used for conserving the general +good of the establishment. The essential power behind the force is something +spiritual—the will and conscience of the great majority, expressing +itself through the action of one or several of their number. Its major +object is not punishment of the wrong-doer but protection of the interests +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span> +of the dutiful. This view of military law is four-square with the basic +principle of all action within the armed services—<em>that in all cases the</em> +<em>best policy is one which depends for its workings on the sense of duty in</em> +<em>men toward each other, and thereby strengthens that sense through its</em> +<em>operations.</em></li> +</ul> + +<p>Put in these terms, the attitude of the service toward the +problem of correction as a means of promoting the welfare of +the general establishment obviously reposes a tremendous burst +in the justice and goodwill of the average officer. It would be +useless to blink the fact. But there is this to be said unalterably +in favor of the military system's way of handling things: If the +organization of the whole human family into an orderly unit is +ever to be made possible, it will be done only because many men, +of all ages and working at many different levels, develop this +faculty for passing critical, impartial judgment on the conduct +and deserts of those whom they lead, instead of regarding it +as a special kind of wisdom, given only to the few anointed. +Nor is that all. Not only the knowledge but the sense of duty in +men is imperfect. In every society are men who will not obey +the law of their own accord. Unless the authority which receives +and interprets the law will also impose it, by force if +necessary, the reign of law soon ceases. Whether an ordered +society is to exist thus depends upon whether there are citizens +enough, fixed with a sense of duty, to obey it and to enforce it.</p> + +<p>At first glance, the responsibility seems extraordinarily heavy +and difficult. But with broadening experience, it becomes almost +second nature to an officer quickly to set a course by +which to judge individual men in relation to the affairs of organization, +provided that he has steered all along in the light +of a few elementary principles.</p> + +<p>Concerning reward, and equally with respect to punishments, +no more pertinent words could be said than those uttered long +ago by Thomas Carlyle: "What a reflection it is that we cannot +bestow on an unworthy man any particle of our benevolence, +our patronage or whatever resource is ours—without withdrawing +it, and all that will grow out of it, from one worthy, to +whom it of right belongs! We cannot, I say; impossible; it is +the eternal law of things."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span>He said a number of important things in this one brief paragraph. +There is first the thought that when any reward, such +as a promotion, a commendation or a particularly choice assignment +is given other than to the man who deserves it on sheer +merit, some other man is robbed and the ties of organization +are weakened.</p> + +<p>Next, there is this proposition: if, in the dispensing of punishment, +undue leniency is extended to an individual who has +already proved that he merits no special consideration, in the +next round a bum rap will be given some lesser offender who is +morally deserving of a real chance. The Italians have an epigram: +"The first time a dog bites a man, it's the dog's fault; +the second time, it's the man's fault."</p> + +<p>According to Carlyle, these things have the strength of a +natural law. Nor is it necessary to take his word for it. Any +wise and experienced military administrator will say approximately +the same thing and will tell of some of the bad examples +he has met along his way.... The commander who was afraid +to punish anybody and by his indecision punished everybody.... +The lieutenant who had such a bad conscience about his +own weak handling of a bad case of indiscipline that he threw +the book at the next offender and thereby spoiled a good man +and gained the ill will of the company.... The old timer who +smarted under excessive punishment for a trivial offense, broke +under it, got into worse trouble, and became a felon.... The +officer who promoted his pets instead of his good men and at +last found that there were no good men left.... The skipper who +condoned a small case of insolence until it swelled into a +mutiny.... The fool who handled every case alike, as if he were +an animal trainer instead of a builder of human character ... +and so on, ad infinitum. It is a long and sorry list, but the +overwhelming majority of dutiful executives in the armed services +avoid these stupid blunders by following a Golden Rule +policy toward their men.</p> + +<p>If lack of obedience is the most frequent cause of service men +being brought on the carpet, then as obedience is a moral +quality, so should punishment be employed as a moral act, its<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span> +prime purpose being to nourish and foster obedience. Before +meting punishment, it is necessary to judge a man, and judgment +means to think over, to compare, to weigh probable effects +on the man and on the command, and to give the offender +the benefit of any reasonable doubt. Before any punishment is +given, the questions must be faced: "What good will it achieve?" +If the answer is none, then punishment is not in order. Punishment +of a vindictive nature is a crime; when it is given uselessly, +or handed out in a strictly routine manner, it is an immoral act.</p> + +<p>But when punishment has to be awarded, the case must be +handled promptly, and its issue must be stated incisively, so that +there is no room for doubt that the officer is certain about his +judgments. Men know when they are in the wrong, and even +when it works to their disadvantage, they will feel increased +respect toward the officer who knows what should be done, and +states it without hemming and hawing. The showing of firmness +is the first requirement in this kind of action. It is as foolish +to go back on a punishment as to threaten it and not follow +through. The officer who is always running around threatening +to court martial his subordinates is merely avowing his own +weakness, and crying that he has lost all of his moral means. +Even the dullest men do not mistake vehemence and abuse +for signs of strength.</p> + +<p>To punish a body of men, for offenses committed by two or +three of their number, even though the offense is obnoxious and +it is impossible to put the finger on the culprits, is the act of +a sadist, and is no more excusable within military organization +than in civilian society. Any officer who resorts to this stupid +practice will forfeit the loyalty of the best men in his command. +There is no reason why it should be otherwise.</p> + +<p>As a general rule, it is a serious error to reprimand a subordinate +in the presence of any other person, because of the unnecessary +hurt to his pride. But circumstances moderate the +rule. If the offense for which he is being reprimanded involves +injury of any sort to some other person, or persons, it may be +wholly proper to apply the treatment in their presence. For example, +the bully or the smart-aleck who wantonly humiliates<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span> +his own subordinates is not entitled to have his own feelings +spared. However, in the presence of his own superior, an officer +is always ill-advised to administer oral punishment to one of +his own juniors, since the effect is to destroy confidence both up +and down the line.</p> + +<p>It is always the duty of an officer to intervene, toward the +protection of his own men against any manifest injustice, whatever +its source. In fact, this trust is so implicit that he should be +ready to risk his professional reputation upon it, when he is +convinced beyond doubt that the man is being unfairly assailed, +or that due process is not being followed. Both higher authority +and civil authority occasionally overreach; an officer stands as +a shield protecting his men against unfair treatment from any +quarter. <em>But it is decidedly not his duty to attempt to cheat +law or thwart justice for the sake of his men simply because +they are his men.</em> His job, as Shakespeare puts it, is "to unmask +falsehood and bring truth to light, to wrong the wronger till +he render right."</p> + +<p>Finally, the best policy on punishments is to eliminate the +frictions which are the cause of most transgressions. When a +ship is happy, men do their duty. Scarcely anything will cross +them up more quickly than to see rewards given with an uneven +hand. Even the stinker who has no ambition but to duck work +can recognize a deserving man, and will burn if that man is +bypassed in favor of a bootlicker or some other lightweight.</p> + +<p>Nothing is more vain than to give a promotion, or any reward, +in the hope, or on the promise, that the character who +receives it will hit the sawdust trail and suddenly reform.</p> + +<p>Duty is the only sure proving ground. Men, like motors, +should be judged on their all-around performance. There is no +other way to generate the steady pull over the long grind.</p> + + + +<div class="section_break"></div> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span></p> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_TWENTY-SEVEN" id="CHAPTER_TWENTY-SEVEN"></a><span class="chapter_number">CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN</span><br /><br /> + +FITTING MEN TO JOBS</h3> + + +<p>In civilian society, what amounts to a cult has developed +around the idea that the average person has a natural bent for +some particular job or profession, which if thwarted will +fill him with those frustrations which are conceded to be the +cause of most of the mental and moral disorders of mankind.</p> + +<p>Therefore if all men could become rightly placed, we would +have Utopia tomorrow.</p> + +<p>This theory of what humanity mainly cries for is perforce +rejected by the military establishment, for several eminently +practical as well as ideal reasons.</p> + +<p>It discounts man, his plastic and impressionable nature, his +response to all that goes on around him and his marked ability +to adjust to any environment. He is not like a bolt fitted into a +hole by a riveter, nor merely clay in the hands of the potter. +What he becomes is mainly of his own making.</p> + +<p>Further, the theory does not meet the needs of the situation, +since in the services, as elsewhere, there are not enough better +holes to go around, and no man is ready to say that he is good +for nothing but life as a file-closer.</p> + +<p>But the last and main reason why the theory is no good is +that it doesn't square with human experience. A narrow classification +system invites the danger of overspecialization and lessens +the team play which is so indispensable to all military +enterprise. It is possible for the machine to break down totally +from lack of interchangeability in its parts.</p> + +<p>We learn much from war, but some of the most obvious lessons +are disregarded. One of the things that it should teach us +is the tremendous adaptability of the average intelligent man, his +ability to take hold of work altogether remote from any prior +experience, master it, and find satisfaction in it, provided he is +given help and encouragement by those who already know.</p> + +<p>This is the great phenomenon of war—greater than the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span> +atomic bomb or supersonic flight. Former bookkeepers emerge +as demolitions men. Divinity students become pharmacist's +mates. School teachers operate tanks. Writing men turn into +navigators. Woodsmen become lecturers. Longshoremen specialize +in tactics. And all goes well.</p> + +<p>Then when it is all over, and everyone gets back in his +well-worn groove, the social scientists explain that these miracles +occurred because under the stimulus of great fear and excitement +which attends a period of national emergency, individuals +will sublimate their main drives, and adjust temporarily to what +would be otherwise an onerous personal difficulty. Sheer poppycock! +Normal men do not feel pressed by fear simply because a +state of war exists; their chief emotions change scarcely at all. +These transformations occur only because the man had the +potential all along, and with someone backing him up <em>and giving +him the feeling of success</em>, his incentives became equal, at +least, to anything he had known in his peacetime occupation.</p> + +<p>That is the long-and-short of it. If our average man couldn't +become a jack of many trades, and a master of several, the +United States would never be able to meet a major war emergency.</p> + +<p>For these reasons, service concepts of how men should be +fitted to jobs do not develop around the simple notion that it +is all a matter of putting a square peg in a square hole—which +is the one best way to deny the peg any room for expansion. +The doctrine is that <em>men are many sided, that they learn their +own powers and likes through experiment, that they are entitled +to find what is best for them, and that having found it, their +satisfactions will still derive mainly from intelligent and interested +treatment by their superiors</em>.</p> + +<p>Every officer arrives sooner or later at the point where he +has a direct hand in the placement of men. By way of preparation +for that responsibility he should do two things mainly—learn +all that he can from his superiors about its technical +aspects, and in his own thinking, concentrate on principles to +the exclusion of detail.</p> + +<p>The fundamental purpose of all training today is to develop<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span> +the natural faculties and stimulate the brain of the individual +rather than to treat him as a cog which has to be fitted into a +great machine.</p> + +<p>The true purpose of <em>all</em> rules covering the conduct of warfare +and all regulations pertaining to the conduct of its individuals +is to bring about order in the fighting machine rather than to +strangle the mind of the man who reads them.</p> + +<p>Thus in the assignment of men to work within any military +organization, no amount of perfection in the analysis of skills +and aptitudes can compensate for carelessness in their subsequent +administration. The uniformed ranks are not mechanics, +storekeepers and clerks primarily, but fighting men. This makes +a difference. The optimum over-all results do not come from +the care exercised in seeing that every man is placed at exactly +the right job but from the concern taken that in whatever job +he fills, he will feel that he is supported and that his efforts are +appreciated. There is scarcely a good man who has served long +within the profession without filling a half-dozen roles requiring +vastly different skills. And looking back, what would the +average one say about it? Not that he was happiest where the +nature of the task best suited his hand, but happiest where his +relations with his superiors gave him the greatest sense of accomplishment.</p> + +<p>That is the human nature of the equation. We can let the +economist argue that what a man puts into a job is largely +dependent on what he takes out of it. And we can let the +philosopher answer him that the fault in his proposition is that +he has turned it the wrong way 'round. Regardless of which +man has put the cart before the horse, there are two basic +truths which outweigh the merits of the argument.</p> + +<p>First. <em>All human progress has come of the willingness of a +man at a particular time to undertake a job which no one had +ever done before.</em></p> + +<p>Second. <em>The main reward of any job is the knowledge that +worthwhile work has been accomplished.</em></p> + +<p>This last may sound like a corny maxim, but it's true. The +reason maxims become corny is because they're true.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span>Despite all of the present-day emphasis on paycheck security +as the mainspring of human action, the far stronger force which +moves man as a social being is his desire for a secure place in the +respect and affections of his associates, including his chief or +his employer. Gary Cooper, playing in "The Cowboy and the +Lady," used the line, "I aims, ma'm, to be high-regarded." +Except for the few wrong-headed people, he was speaking for +the whole human family.</p> + +<p>The man who can get along without wanting or needing +words of approval from other people is fit for a cell by himself, +either padded or barred.</p> + +<p>Loyalty in the masses of men waxes strong in the degree +that they are made to believe that real importance is attached +to their work and to their ability to think about their work. It +weakens at every point where they consider that there is a negative +respect for their intelligence; the dignity in any work is not +inherent in the job itself but in the attitude of others toward +it. Cabinet ministers, college presidents and industrial magnates +will quit their jobs when they feel they no longer have the +confidence of those to whom they are responsible. That experience +is as demoralizing to great men as to the mine-run. +Equally, the feeling of compensation which comes with any +token of recognition is one of those touches of human nature +which make all men akin. If men of genius and good works did +not find Nobel prizes and honorary college degrees highly gratifying, +this custom would have faded long ago. It is as rewarding +to them to be called good at their job as it was to the +New Jersey street sweeper who pushed his broom so diligently +that he swept halfway into the next town before discovering +his mistake.</p> + +<p>The far inferences of these things should be reasonably clear +to every officer of the fighting establishment. It makes little +difference whether a man is digging a ditch or is working up a +loading table for an invasion: what he thinks about his work +will depend in large measure upon the attitude of his superiors. +He will develop no great conviction about what he is doing +except as it is transmitted to him. <em>The fundamental cause of any<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span> +breakdown of morale and discipline within the armed service +usually comes of this, that a commander or his subordinates +transgress by treating men as if they were children or serfs +instead of showing respect for their adulthood.</em></p> + +<p>The requirements of modern war are such that we certainly +do not want to turn out one man exactly like another, or turn +the majority into mechanical men, capable of one set function. +But the rule applies to officers as well as men. The greater +freedom which is needed has nothing to do with social behavior +or privilege. It is the freedom to think boldly and originally for +the common good, for, to quote Kant again: "What one learns +the most fixedly and remembers the best is what one learns +more or less by oneself."</p> + +<p>Thus in the matter of sizing up men, judging of their capacities +and trying to get them rightly placed, the need is not a +formula, since no formula will work. It is only by keeping +principles uppermost in our thoughts that the greatest measure +of common sense will prevail in our actions. That is what is +needed, rather than clairvoyant powers, or a master's degree in +psychology, if the service officer is to handle personnel efficiently. +There are no great wizards in this field: there are only men +who know more about the human nature of the problem than +others because they have had a zest for meeting humanity and +have built a text out of what others have told them.</p> + +<p>The job begins by the search for data on the individual—all +of the data that may be obtained. It goes on from that to +sitting down with the subject, getting him to open up and talk +freely about himself, what he has done, what he would like to +do with his life, and his reasons for so feeling, et cetera. But the +information from all sources has to be balanced against one's +impression of the outer man, not just what he says but how he +talks, the degree of his attentiveness, his bearing, his eye, his +self-control. The decision is made on the basis of all these +reckonings. This is common sense in action, and the only alternatives +to it are to act upon a hunch or purely emotional +grounds; one might, with better reason, determine another man's +fortune by the flip of a coin.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span>Let's see briefly how the method works out in practice.</p> + +<p>If the record shows that a man is a bad speller, careless +about punctuation, not interested in writing, non-experienced +at clerkship, and something of a rough diamond in his nature, +he would be a bad bet for the administrative side, or in supply +work, or in a communications role, though with a little polishing, +and provided that he seems self-assured and is what we +would call a "likeable" man, he might become a capital leader +of a tactical group.</p> + +<p>On the other hand, the man who says he had tried in vain +to develop a manual skill, but has always been clumsy with his +hands, and is supported in what he says by the records of his +service, isn't necessarily excluded from becoming a good weapons +or demolitions man, if he seems strong in body and nerve, +though he would hardly do for a mechanic's berth, or a carpenter's +assistant or as a radio repairman. Weapons and demolitions +require strength, carefulness and good sense rather than +great dexterity.</p> + +<p>Take the man who is uncommunicative, or morose or unusually +shy. From the day that he starts his service, his superiors +should do their best to help him to change his ways; these ingrown +men are roadblocks to group cooperation. But if he does +not pick up and become outgiving, he hasn't the quality of a +junior leader and there is no point in wasting space by sending +him to any school or course out of which it would be expected +that duties as an instructor would devolve upon him.</p> + +<p>However, there is one word of extreme caution on this point. +For as long as 6 months after entering service, some men are +under abnormal constraint because they are in a new element, +and feel a little frightened inside. Whether this is the case is to +be judged best by getting full information on the man. If the +record shows that he had led his class in college, managed an +athletic team, headed a debating team in high school, been the +main wheel in a boy's club or a Scout troop, or led any kind of +group, this is to be taken as a sign that the potential is there +and that he is a sleeper. The most common error made in the +services is that we are prone to underscore that a man was a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span> +lieutenant in a cadet company while taking no note of the file +who had greater prestige in other activities because of his +natural qualities as a leader.</p> + +<p>These are only a few average samples of personnel handling, +and of elementary reasoning. As Mother Goose might say, if the +list had been longer, the case still wouldn't have been stronger. +Far more profitably, we can dig a little deeper into the subject +of principles.</p> + +<p>In two senses, every decision as to the placing of men in the +armed service is a moral decision, and therein it differs from +average civilian responsibility. What is best for the man has +always to be measured against the ultimate security and fighting +objects of the establishment.</p> + +<p>For example, it is dead wrong, even in time of peace, to +commit tactical leadership to the hands of the man whose +moral force clearly falls short of what is required on the field +of war, no matter how congenial he may be. And it is just as +wrong to let a blabbermouth work his way into security channels, +even though the hour is such that he can do no immediate +harm.</p> + +<p>What importance should be attached to a man's estimate of +his own capabilities? It is always pertinent, but it is by no +means decisive. This is so for two reasons, the first being that the +majority of men tend to over-sell themselves on the thing they +like to do, and the second, that very few men know their own +dimensions. Almost consciously, men resist the thing that they +do not know, because of premonitory fears of failure. When the +Armored Force School was first organized in 1941, a private +from a unit stationed in Georgia was arbitrarily assigned to take +the radio course. He protested, saying that he did not like +anything about the field and therefore had no talent for it. But +his commander sent him along. Within 1 week after arriving +at Fort Knox, he was operating at a faster rate than any man +in the history of the Army. Every service could tell stories +of this kind; they are not miracles; they are regular features of +the daily show.</p> + +<p>At the same time, the man who volunteers for a particular<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span> +line of duty—especially if it is a hard duty—already has +one mark in his favor. The fact that he wants to do it is one-half +of success. Before turning him down, there must be a substantially +clear showing that he lacks the main qualifications. +It must be a <em>compelling</em> reason, rather than the overweening +excuse that it is more convenient to keep him where he is. In +any case, he should be thanked for coming forward, and earmarked +as a good prospect for the next likely opening.</p> + +<p>There is a slack saying in the services that "the good man +never volunteers." That is an outright canard. The best men +still do.</p> + +<p>In job placement, mistakes are inevitable. Any authority in +this work will say so. Every experienced man who has had +conspicuous success in picking the right men, and in getting +scores of individuals started up the right ladder, will also shudder +a little as he recalls his particularly atrocious blunders. +Outward appearances are so greatly deceiving! The prior estimates +placed on men are so frequently highly colored or outright +dishonest!</p> + +<p>As to the making of mistakes, it is just not enough to comment +that they have value, provided one has sufficient breadth +to learn from hard experience. What is vastly more important is +that the mistake, once made, will not be needlessly compounded. +That is a normal, human temptation. The attitude, "I don't +care if he is a chump; he's my chump," has nothing in its favor. +Yet it becomes a point of pride in some men that they will +not admit their judgments are fallible. Consequently, having +chosen the wrong man for a given responsibility, they will sustain +him there, come hell or high water, rather than make +public acknowledgement of error.</p> + +<p>With what result? Mainly this, that for the sake of the point, +they win, with it, the contempt of their other subordinates. +For there is something very childish about this form of weakness, +though it is a failing not unknown in many men otherwise +qualified for high responsibility. To put it plainly, <em>no man</em> +has the moral right to suffer this upon any organization he is +professing to serve.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span>The advice of one's subordinates, as to the placement and +promotion of men with whom they are in close contact, is +not to be followed undeviatingly. Men play favorites: they will +sometimes back an individual for no better reason than that +they "like the guy." Too, each small group leader, even the +best one, will work to advance the interests of his own men, +because so doing is part of his own buildup. Unless decisions +are made from a central point of view, the subordinate who +talks the most convincingly will get an extra portion of favor +for his men, and jealousies will wrack the organization.</p> + +<p>There is one last point. No officer can progress in fitting men +to jobs except as he becomes better informed about job requirements. +This is an essential part of his education. There is +no administrative technique which is separate and apart from +knowledge of how basic work is performed in the fields which +have to be administered. A great many officers resist this truth, +but it is nonetheless valid.</p> + +<p>What is eternally surprising in the fighting services is how +the aggressive questing for knowledge continues to pay large +dividends, and leads, in the average case, to a general forgiveness +of one's little sins and vices.</p> + + + +<div class="section_break"></div> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span></p> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_TWENTY-EIGHT" id="CHAPTER_TWENTY-EIGHT"></a><span class="chapter_number">CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT</span><br /><br /> + +AMERICANS IN COMBAT</h3> + + +<p>The command and control of men in combat <em>can</em> be mastered +by the junior leaders of American forces short of actual +experience under enemy fire.</p> + +<p>It is altogether possible for a young officer his first time in +battle to be in total possession of his faculties and moving by +instinct to do the right thing, provided that he has made the +most of his training opportunities.</p> + +<p>Exercise in the maneuvering of men is only an elementary +introduction to this educational process. The basic requirement +is a continuing study, first of the nature of men, second +of the techniques which produce unified action, and last, of the +history of past operations, which are covered by an abundant +literature.</p> + +<p>Provided always that this collateral study is sedulously carried +forward by the individual officer, at least 90 percent of all +that is given him during the training period becomes applicable +to his personal action and his power to lead other men when +under fire.</p> + +<p>Each service has its separate character. The fighting problem +of each differs in some measure from those of all others. In the +nature of things, the task of successfully leading men in battle +is partly conditioned by the unique character and mission of +each service.</p> + +<p>It would therefore be gratuitous, and indeed impossible, to +attempt to outline a doctrine which would be of general application, +stipulating methods, techniques, etc., which would apply +to all Americans in combat, no matter in what element they +engaged.</p> + +<p>There are, however, a few simple and fundamental propositions +to which the Armed Services subscribe in saying to the +officer corps what may be expected of the average man of the +United States under the conditions of battle. Generally speak<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span>ing, +they have held true of Americans in times past from Lexington +to Okinawa. The fighting establishment builds its discipline, +training, code of conduct and public policy around +these ideas, believing that what served yesterday will also be +the one best way tomorrow, and for so long as our traditions +and our system of freedoms survive. These propositions are:</p> + +<p class="proposition">I</p> + +<p>When led with courage and intelligence, an American will +fight as willingly and as efficiently as any fighter in world +history.</p> + +<p class="proposition">II</p> + +<p>His keenness and endurance in war will be in proportion to +the zeal and inspiration of his leadership.</p> + +<p class="proposition">III</p> + +<p>He is resourceful and imaginative, and the best results will +always flow from encouraging him to use his brain along with +his spirit.</p> + +<p class="proposition">IV</p> + +<p>Under combat conditions he will reserve his greatest loyalty +for the officer who is most resourceful in the tactical employment +of his forces and most careful to avoid unnecessary losses.</p> + +<p class="proposition">V</p> + +<p>He is to a certain extent machine-bound because the nature +of our civilization has made him so. In an emergency, he tends +to look around for a motor car, a radio or some other gadget +that will facilitate his purpose, instead of thinking about using +his muscle power toward the given end. In combat, this is a +weakness which thwarts contact and limits communications. +Therefore it needs to be anticipated and guarded against.</p> + +<p class="proposition">VI</p> + +<p>War does not require that the American be brutalized or +bullied in any measure whatever. His need is an alert mind and +a toughened body. Hate and bloodlust are not the attributes of +a sound training under the American system. To develop clearly +a line of duty is sufficient to point Americans toward the +doing of it.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span></p> +<p class="proposition">VII</p> + +<p>Except on a Hollywood lot, there is no such thing as an +American fighter "type." Our best men come in all colors, +shapes, and sizes. They appear from every section of the Nation, +including the territories.</p> + +<p class="proposition">VIII</p> + +<p>Presupposing soundness in their officer leadership, the majority +of Americans in any group or unit can be depended upon +to fight loyally and obediently, and will give a good account of +themselves.</p> + +<p class="proposition">IX</p> + +<p>In battle, Americans do not tend to fluctuate between emotional +extremes, in complete dejection one day and in exultation +the next, according to changes in the situation. They continue, +on the whole, on a fairly even keel, when the going is tough +and when things are breaking their way. Even when heavily +shocked by battle losses, they tend to bound back quickly. +Though their griping is incessant, their natural outlook is on +the optimistic side, and they react unfavorably to the officer +who looks eternally on the dark side.</p> + +<p class="proposition">X</p> + +<p>During battle, American officers are not expected either to +drive their men or to be forever in the van, as if praying to be +shot. So long as they are with their men, taking the same +chances as their men, and showing a firm grasp of the situation +and of the line of action which should be followed, the +men will go forward.</p> + +<p class="proposition">XI</p> + +<p>In any situation of extreme pressure, or moral exhaustion, +where men cannot otherwise be rallied and led forward, officers +are expected to do the actual physical act of leading, such as +performing as first scout, or point, even though this means +taking over what normally would be an enlisted man's function.</p> + +<p class="proposition">XII</p> + +<p>The normal, gregarious American is not at his best when +playing a lone-handed or tactically isolated part in battle. He is +not a kamikaze or a one-man torpedo. Consequently, the best<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span> +tactical results obtain from those dispositions and methods which +link the power of one man to that of another. Men who feel +strange with their unit, having been carelessly received by it, +and indifferently handled, will rarely, if ever, fight strongly and +courageously. But if treated with common decency and respect, +they will perform like men.</p> + +<p class="proposition">XIII</p> + +<p>Within our school of military thought, higher authority does +not consider itself infallible. Either in combat or out, in any +situation where a majority of militarily-trained Americans become +undutiful, that is sufficient reason for higher authority to +resurvey its own judgments, disciplines and line of action.</p> + +<p class="proposition">XIV</p> + +<p>To lie to American troops to cover up a blunder in combat +rarely serves any valid purpose. They have a good sense of combat +and an uncanny instinct for ferreting out the truth when +anything goes wrong tactically. They will excuse mistakes but +they will not forgive being treated like children.</p> + +<p class="proposition">XV</p> + +<p>When spit-and-polish are laid on so heavily that they become +onerous, and the ranks cannot see any legitimate connection +between the requirements and the development of an attitude +which will serve a clear fighting purpose, it is to be questioned +that the exactions serve any good object whatever.</p> + +<p class="proposition">XVI</p> + +<p>On the other hand, because standards of discipline and courtesy +are designed for the express purpose of furthering control +under the extraordinary frictions and pressures of the battlefield, +their maintenance under combat conditions is as necessary +as during training. Smartness and respect are the marks of +military alertness, no matter how trying the circumstances. But +courtesy starts at the top, in the dealing of any officer with his +subordinates, and in his decent regard for their loyalty, intelligence, +and manhood.</p> + +<p class="proposition">XVII</p> + +<p>Though Americans enjoy relatively a bountiful, and even +luxurious standard of living in their home environment, they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span> +do not have to be pampered, spoon-fed and surfeited with +every comfort and convenience to keep them steadfast and +devoted, once war comes. They are by nature rugged men, and +in the field will respond most perfectly when called on to play +a rugged part. Soft handling will soften even the best men. +But even the weak man will develop a new vigor and confidence +in the face of necessary hardship, if moved by a leadership +which is courageously making the best of a bad situation.</p> + +<p class="proposition">XVIII</p> + +<p>Extravagance and wastefulness is somewhat rooted in the +American character, because of our mode of life. When our +men enter military service, there is a strong holdover of their +prodigal civilian habits. Even under fighting conditions, they +tend to be wasteful of drinking water, food, munitionment and +other vital supply. When such things are made <em>too</em> accessible, +they tend to throw them away, rather than to conserve them in +the general interests. This is a distinct weakness during combat, +when conservation of all supply is the touchstone of success. +The regulating of all supply, and the preventing of waste in any +form, is the prime obligation of every officer.</p> + +<p class="proposition">XIX</p> + +<p>Under the conditions of battle, any extra work, exercise, +maneuver or <em>marching which does not serve a clear and direct +operational purpose</em> is unjustifiable. The supreme object is to +keep men as physically fresh and mentally alert as possible. +Tired men take fright and are half-whipped before the battle +opens. Worn-out officers cannot make clear decisions. The conservation +of men's powers, not the exhaustion thereof, is the +way of successful operation.</p> + +<p class="proposition">XX</p> + +<p>When forces are committed to combat, it is vital that not +one unnecessary pound be put on any man's back. Lightness of +foot is the key to speed of movement and the increase of firepower. +In judging of these things, every officer's thought should +be on the optimistic side. It is better to take the chance that +men will manage to get by on a little less than to overload them, +through an over-cautious reckoning of every possible contin<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span>gency, +thereby destroying their power to do anything effectively.</p> + +<p class="proposition">XXI</p> + +<p>Even a thorough training and long practice in weapons handling +will not always insure that a majority of men will use their +weapons freely and consistently when engaging the enemy. This +is particularly true of Americans. In youth they are taught that +the taking of human life is wrong. This feeling is deep-rooted +in their emotions. Many of them cannot shake it off when the +hour comes that their own lives are in danger. They fail to +fire, though they do not know exactly why. In war, firing at an +enemy target can be made a habit. Once required to make the +start, because he is given personal and intelligent direction, any +man will find it easier to fire the second and third time, and +soon thereafter his response will become automatic in any tactical +situation. When engaging the enemy, the most decisive task +of all junior leaders is to make certain that <em>all</em> men along the +line are employing their weapons, even if this means spending +some time with each man and directing his fire. Reconnaissance +and inspection toward this end, particularly in the early stages +of initial engagement, are far more important than the employment +of weapons by junior leaders themselves, since this latter +tends to distract their attention from what the men are doing.</p> + +<p class="proposition">XXII</p> + +<p>Unity of action develops from fullness of information. In +combat, all ranks have to know what is being done, and why +it is being done, if confusion is to be kept to a minimum. This +holds true in all types of operation, whatever the service. +However, a surfeit of information clouds the mind and may +sometimes depress the spirit. We can take one example. A commander +might be confronted by a complex situation, and his +solution may comprise a continuing operation in three distinct +phases. It would be advisable that all hands be told the complete +detail of "phase A." But it might be equally sensible that +only his subordinates who are closest to him be made fully informed +about "phase B," and "phase C." All plans in combat +are subject to modification as circumstances dictate; this be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span>ing +the case, it is better not to muddle men by filling their minds +with a seeming conflict in ideas. More important still, if the +grand object seems too vast and formidable, even the first step +toward it may appear doubly difficult. Fullness of information +does not void the other principle that one thing at a time, +carefully organized all down the line, is the surest way.</p> + +<p class="proposition">XXIII</p> + +<p>There is no excuse for malingering or cowardice during battle. +It is the task of leadership to stop it, by whatever means would +seem to be the surest cure, always making certain that in so +doing it will not make a bad matter worse.</p> + +<p class="proposition">XXIV</p> + +<p>The Armed Services recognize that there are occasional individuals +whose nervous and spiritual makeup may be such that, +though they erode rapidly and may suffer complete breakdown +under combat conditions, they still may be wholly loyal and +conscientious men, capable of doing high duty elsewhere. Men +are not alike. In some, however willing the spirit, the flesh may +still be weak. To punish, degrade or in any way humiliate such +men is not more cruel than ignorant. When the good faith of +any individual has been repeatedly demonstrated in his earlier +service, he deserves the benefit of the doubt from his superior, +pending study of his case by medical authority. But if the man +has been a bad actor consistently, his officer is warranted in +proceeding on the assumption that his combat failure is just +one more grave moral dereliction. To fail to take proper action +against such a man can only work unusual hardship on the +majority trying to do duty.</p> + +<p class="proposition">XXV</p> + +<p>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 hardship on enemy +prisoners or populations is not justified in any circumstance. +Likewise, respect for the reign of law, <em>as that term is under<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span>stood +in the United States</em>, 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 passions 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 constituted 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.</p> + +<p class="proposition">XXVI</p> + +<p>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. <em>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.</em></p> + +<p class="proposition">XXVII</p> + +<p>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.</p> + +<p class="proposition">XXVIII</p> + +<p>In battle crisis, a majority of Americans present will respond<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span> +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.</p> + +<p class="proposition">XXIX</p> + +<p>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.</p> + +<p>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.</p> + + + +<div class="section_break"></div> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span></p> +<h3><a name="APPENDIX_ONE" id="APPENDIX_ONE"></a><span class="chapter_number">APPENDIX ONE</span><br /><br /> + +RECOMMENDED READING</h3> + + +<div id="appendix"> +<p class="author">Army Historical Division—</p> +<p class="book">Okinawa: The Last Battle, 1949.<br /> +Omaha Beachhead, 1946.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">H. H. Arnold—</p> +<p class="book">Global Mission, 1949.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">Basil Bartlett—</p> +<p class="book">My First War, 1941.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">William Liscum Borden—</p> +<p class="book">There Will Be No Time, 1946.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">David L. Brainard—</p> +<p class="book">The Outpost of the Lost, 1929.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">Bernard Brodie—</p> +<p class="book">A Guide to Navy Strategy, 1944.<br /> +The Absolute Weapon, 1946.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">Vannevar Bush—</p> +<p class="book">Modern Arms and Free Men, 1949.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">Winston S. Churchill—</p> +<p class="book">The World Crisis, 1931.<br /> +The Unknown War, 1931.<br /> +The River War, 1933.<br /> +Marlborough: His Life and Times, 1933–35.<br /> +A Roving Commission, 1939.<br /> +The Second World War, 1948—.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">Hugh M. Cole—</p> +<p class="book">The Lorraine Campaign, 1950.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">W. F. Craven and J. L. Cate—</p> +<p class="book">The Army Air Forces in World War II, 1948—.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">Edward S. Creasy—</p> +<p class="book">Decisive Battles of the World, 1862.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">James P. S. Devereux—</p> +<p class="book">The Story of Wake Island, 1947.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">Giulio Douhet—</p> +<p class="book">Command of the Air, 1927.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">Clifford Dowdey—</p> +<p class="book">Experiment in Rebellion, 1946.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">Theodore Draper—</p> +<p class="book">The Six Weeks' War, 1944.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">Dwight D. Eisenhower—</p> +<p class="book">Crusade in Europe, 1948.<br /> +Report by the Supreme Commander, 1946.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">George Fielding Eliot—</p> +<p class="book">The Ramparts We Watch, 1938.<br /> +If Russia Strikes, 1949.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">Charles W. Elliott—</p> +<p class="book">Winfield Scott, 1937.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">Cyril Falls—</p> +<p class="book">The Nature of Modern Warfare, 1941.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span>Ferdinand Foch—</p> +<p class="book">The Principles of Warfare, 1913.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">J. F. C. Fuller—</p> +<p class="book">Decisive Battles, 1940.<br /> +The Generalship of Ulysses S. Grant, 1929.<br /> +Armament and History, 1946.<br /> +The Second World War, 1948.<br /> +Armored Warfare, 1943.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">Douglas F. Freeman—</p> +<p class="book">R. E. Lee, 1934.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">William A. Ganoe—</p> +<p class="book">History of the United States Army, 1942.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">James M. Gavin—</p> +<p class="book">Airborne Warfare, 1947.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">Joseph I. Greene—</p> +<p class="book">The Living Thoughts of Clausewitz, 1943.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">Russell Grenfell—</p> +<p class="book">The Bismarck Episode, 1949.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">U. S. Grant—</p> +<p class="book">Personal Memoirs, 1885.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">Augustin Guillaume—</p> +<p class="book">Soviet Arms and Soviet Power, 1949.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">Francis de Guingand—</p> +<p class="book">Operation Victory, 1947.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">W. F. Halsey—</p> +<p class="book">Admiral Halsey's Story, 1947.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">Gordon A. Harrison—</p> +<p class="book">The Cross-Channel Attack, 1950.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">B. H. Liddell Hart—</p> +<p class="book">Sherman, 1934.<br /> +The Future of Infantry, 1934.<br /> +The German Generals Talk, 1949.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">G. F. R. Henderson—</p> +<p class="book">Stonewall Jackson and the American Civil War, 1898.<br /> +The Science of War, 1905.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">Pendleton Herring—</p> +<p class="book">The Impact of War, 1941.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">R. D. Heinl, Jr.—</p> +<p class="book">The Defense of Wake, 1947.<br /> +Marines at Midway, 1948.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">John Hersey—</p> +<p class="book">Into the Valley, 1943.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">Russell Hill—</p> +<p class="book">Desert War, 1942.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">Max von Hoffmann—</p> +<p class="book">The War of Lost Opportunities, 1925.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">Ralph Ingersoll—</p> +<p class="book">The Battle Is the Pay-Off, 1943.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">Douglas Wilson Johnson—</p> +<p class="book">Topography and Strategy in the War, 1917.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">Melvin M. Johnson and Charles T. Haven—</p> +<p class="book">Automatic Arms, 1941.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">Walter Karig, Russell L. Harris and Frank A. Manson—</p> +<p class="book">Battle Report, 1944–1949.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">George C. Kenney—</p> +<p class="book">General Kenney Reports, 1949.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">Roger Keyes—</p> +<p class="book">Naval Memoirs, 1933.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</a></span>Alexiei Kuropatkin—</p> +<p class="book">The Russian Army and the Japanese War, 1909.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">Lee J. Levert—</p> +<p class="book">Fundamentals of Naval Warfare, 1947.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">Bert Levy—</p> +<p class="book">Guerilla Warfare, 1942.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">Charles B. MacDonald—</p> +<p class="book">Company Commander, 1947.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">A. T. Mahan—</p> +<p class="book">Influence of Seapower Upon History.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">George McMillan—</p> +<p class="book">The Old Breed, 1949.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">George C. Marshall—</p> +<p class="book">General Marshall's Report, 1946.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">S. L. A. Marshall—</p> +<p class="book">Island Victory, 1944.<br /> +Bastogne: The First Eight Days, 1946.<br /> +Men Against Fire, 1948.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">Giffard Martel—</p> +<p class="book">An Outspoken Soldier, 1944.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">Walter Millis—</p> +<p class="book">The Last Phase, 1946.<br /> +This Is Pearl, 1947.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">John Miller, Jr.—</p> +<p class="book">Guadalcanal: The First Offensive, 1949.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">Drew Middleton—</p> +<p class="book">Our Share of Night, 1946.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">Samuel Taylor Moore—</p> +<p class="book">America and the World War, 1937.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">Samuel Eliot Morison—</p> +<p class="book">History of United States Naval Operations in World War II (14 vols.), 1947—.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">W. F. P. Napier—</p> +<p class="book">History of the War in the Peninsula (6 vols.) 1828.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">James R. Newman—</p> +<p class="book">The Tools of War, 1942.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">Frederick Palmer—</p> +<p class="book">America in France, 1921.<br /> +John J. Pershing, 1921.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">George S. Patton, Jr.—</p> +<p class="book">War As I Knew It, 1947.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">Thomas R. Phillips—</p> +<p class="book">Roots of Strategy, 1940.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">Frederick Pile—</p> +<p class="book">Ack-Ack, 1949.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">Fletcher Pratt—</p> +<p class="book">Ordeal by Fire, 1935.<br /> +Road to Empire, 1939.<br /> +The Marine's War, 1948.<br /> +Navy: A History.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">Leonard Rapport and Arthur Northwood—</p> +<p class="book">Rendezvous With Destiny, 1948.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">Roland Ruppenthal—</p> +<p class="book">Utah Beach to Cherbourg, 1947.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">W. T. Sherman—</p> +<p class="book">Memoirs, 1886.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">Robert E. Sherwood—</p> +<p class="book">Roosevelt and Hopkins, 1948.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></span>Milton Shulman—</p> +<p class="book">Defeat in the West, 1948.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">Holland M. Smith—</p> +<p class="book">Coral and Brass, 1949.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">E. L. Spears—</p> +<p class="book">Liaison 1914, 1930.<br /> +Prelude to Victory, 1939.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">Joseph W. Stilwell—</p> +<p class="book">The Stilwell Papers, 1948.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">Alfred Vagts—</p> +<p class="book">The History of Militarism, 1937.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">Yorck von Wartenburg—</p> +<p class="book">Napoleon as a General.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">Archibald Wavell—</p> +<p class="book">Allenby, 1941.<br /> +Generals and Generalship, 1941.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">John W. Wheeler Bennett—</p> +<p class="book">The Forgotten Peace, 1939.<br /> +Munich: Prologue to Tragedy, 1948.</p> + +<p class="break"></p> +<p class="author">Kenneth P. Williams—</p> +<p class="book">Lincoln Finds a General, 1949.</p> +</div> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<hr class="full" /> +<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ARMED FORCES OFFICER***</p> +<p>******* This file should be named 25482-h.txt or 25482-h.zip *******</p> +<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> +<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/5/4/8/25482">http://www.gutenberg.org/2/5/4/8/25482</a></p> +<p>Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed.</p> + +<p>Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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