| Show I 1111 In the e Infantry You Yon March Fight Do Much More WITH SECOND ARMY ON MANEUVERS MANEUVERS MANEUVERS MA MA- Somewhere in Tennes Tennes- see What What do you do in the infantry infantry infantry in in- fantry I Everything This new army is called an army of specialists and it is But your infantryman specializes specializes special special- izes in everything Hes He's a s Jack of all trades Take the infantry regiment Its It's the smallest self-contained self fighting uni unit 1 It can repair its own arms within limits and its own trucks It carries carries car car- ries its own gas and knows where it can get more It carries its own ammunition and has more supplies located It sets up radio networks and wire nets which can be used for either telephone or telegraph It Itcan Itcan Itcan can call for help from planes by spreading panels on the ground Itcan It Itcan Itcan can signal with flares or colored smokes If the enemy ever uses gas the infantry is fixed to decontaminate 1 its equipment and even the ground over which it moves And if the enemy ever tries to use gas the infantry can soon be ready to send some back at him It can screen its movements with thick smoke It can feel out the enemy's movements movements movements move move- ments with its own equivalent of mechanized cavalry the regimental reconnaissance troops who travel afoot or in agile jeeps carrying machine guns for sting What It Is An infantry regiment is approximately approximately approximately men and two years of time A regiment is hours spent at calisthenics calisthenics calisthenics calis calis- until muscles protest and tongues hang out Its It's countless breathless gallops over obstacle 1 courses until the weary infantryman infantry infantry- man thinks he can go no farther- farther but he can Its It's mornings of tossing tossing toss toss- ing his companions around and being being be be- ing tossed in jiu jitsu classes Its It's endless sessions of tumbling a child child- ish-appearing ish sport that may save his life when bullets are arc flying and hes he's got to hit the dirt quick without without without with with- out injuring himself Its It's physical fitness tests composed of exercises designed to strain every sinew sinew- against time Its It's little mile four-mile forced marches in 50 minutes with the infantryman's full load of 87 pounds It If to tn do Hn things the army W way Its It's po i-po polishing i h g b buttons tt and d shining shoes Its It's being restricted for the week-end week because the soles of the shoes under the bed were dirty Its It's picking out the dirt in the cracks of the barracks floor with a pin phi and polishing the tops of the light shades so an inspecting hand will find no dust Its It's washing his own clothes and shaving every day Its It's polishing his mess kit mirror-bright mirror arid add tooth-brushing tooth the screw-heads screw of his rifle to get the last fleck of dust Its It's mopping floors and KP and fatigue details Brain Work Vork Too An infantry regiment is grinding hours on dull classroom subjects Its It's a constant hammering on map reading and the use of the com com- pass Its It's instruction in military courtesy and discipline Its It's classes in military law to teach him his rights and duties in the army Its It's radio code practice until the ears ring and laying ground air-ground liaison panels until he sweats with the temperature temperature temperature tem tem- at zero Its It's many many days of studying pictures and dia dia- dia- dia grams of enemy tanks and planes and up uniforms and those of his own army and its Allies Its It's drilling in message writing in expressing himself himself himself him him- self so he wont won't be misunderstood Its It's memory training so that oral messages can go through when written written written writ writ- ten ones arent aren't safe Its It's countless lectures and demonstrations on field sanitation and first Its It's dry- dry dust as-dust talks on the care and cleaning cleaning cleaning clean clean- ing of clothing the care and cleaning cleaning clean clean- cleaning ing of equipment the care and cleaning cleaning cleaning clean clean- ing of weapons the maintenance of motor vehicles Its It's constant practice at taking his weapons apart and putting them together again until he can do it in inthe inthe inthe the dark Its It's innumerable talks on tactics and then footsore days spent on practice in them Its It's days of the slow steady work of field emergency mapping Its It's nights spent walking compass courses where an error lands himin himin him himin in the swamps and perfection takes him through briars instead Its It's thelong the thelong thelong long hardening hikes at night when even the relief of a smoke is de de- deI de- I nied Its It's hundreds of slit trenches trenches trenches' and foxholes dug in rocky and rooty ground Its It's hours spent in observation observation observation posts scanning a distant I landscape for a tiny movement that may mean life ille if seen and death I if not Its It's months of close order drill until he falls faIls into his proper spot without coaching and moves like a machine machin Its It's hot afternoons afternoons afternoons after after- of extended order drill jump drill jump jumping ing up rushing forward plunging down rolling over inching forward Supper at 2 A. A MIts MIts M. M Its It's hours spent on the dry line until the perhaps aching bones and muscles drop naturally into the cramped positions from which a rifleman rifleman rifleman rifle rifle- man shoots best Its It's many days on the range lying in clammy mud or stifling dust while the dust devils or the pouring rain make the target target target tar tar- get dance Its It's running the bayonet course until his reactions become au au- au- au Its It's afternoons spent on the grenade court until he can hit the hidden half-hidden corner of a window Its It's the long crawls and creeps that toughen protesting muscles for the time when he must crawl toward the enemy Its It's that long crawl over the infiltration course with machine gun bullets skimming the top of his helmet wire grasping him himI I like ke unfriendly claws and dynamite bursting in his face Its It's gas mask drill to give speed I against the time that may come Its It's scouting and patrolling and observation observation observation ob ob- ob- ob of things that arent aren't just natural to make a woodsman of him Its It's tent pitching and conquering conquering conquering con con- the maze of straps and c canvas can can- vas that make the infantry pack Its It's wv n L J A t. t L L L Q uig ULL 4 IU ins cles Iles Its It's fortifying a position innot in innot innot not enough time and with inadequate inadequate inadequate quate tools Its It's the long hikes when he learns to get by on a canteen of water a aday aday aday day no matter how hot and dry and dusty Its It's maneuvers with no sleep wet blankets muddy and icy ground and dirt and wet clothes Its It's eating eating eating eat eat- ing supper at 2 a. a m. m because the chow truck couldn't get to him sooner sooner soon soon- er and breakfast an hour earlier because the truck must go back before before before be be- fore daylight Its It's hours clambering clamber clamber- ing down landing nets and learning how to get out of a landing boat or barge in a hurry Two years ago he was a civilian with a rifle in his hands Now hes he's a soldier r I |
