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Show FINE SPIRIT AT TAMP KEARNY Development Battalion an Effective Ef-fective Means of Returning to Duty Hundreds of Convalescent Men. CAMP KEARNY, San Diego. Cal., Oct. 29 "Is this assignment permanent perma-nent or temporary, major?" an official asked Major L. I,. Brundred, commander comman-der of the development battalion here, when reporting for duty recently. Because Be-cause it is a "non-combatant service" and those who remain in it have no chance of getting to France and participating par-ticipating actively in tho fight against Germany, assignments to the development develop-ment battalion are unpopular. "It's temporary." was the reply, "but It is my idea that It ought to be treated treat-ed as though it wore permanent." This answer gives the best possible) key to the attitude of thoso in authority author-ity toward the development battalion and to tho spirit of its commander, who is making it an effective means of returning to duty hundreds of convalescent con-valescent or partially disabled men. Not all of them go back to the coveted "A" classification, which marks them for combatant service overseas. But most of them who are enrolled in thp unit are returned to some service where they will be "of use to their country and to themselves," although when they came to the organization they might havo been broken spirited and using crutches as an aid to locomotion. loco-motion. There is no limit to the work the development battalion will undertake on behalf of a man deficient in soriio soldierly reauirement. All classes go to it and soldiers are made of most of its material. The cardinal effeort in the battalion is to build up morale where needed and to maintain morale In men who, because apparently they will not bo permitted to participate In overseas service, arc downhearted and likely to be'eomo slack in performance of their duties. The battalion is some distance away from tho main cantonment; so far off, in fact, that the casual visitor to camp never knows there is such a unit. It has its own methods of dealing with the cases outlined, coaxing, encouraging, encour-aging, disciplining as each caso may require. Even in routine work the plan of specializing training for different classes of men is carried out to the limit. While there are but four companies, com-panies, or goneral classifications, in tlie battalion, each company is divided Into platoons according to tho classes! of men to be treated. One company, I for instance, has. all the' men vhau foot and log conditions unfit thorn for active service. Platoons of this com pany each qomprise the men who ankles re not up to normal, who"' knees aro in like condition, and vhos hips aro not standard. There is a platoon pla-toon of men so nearly flatfooted that ihey barely got into tho army and a platoon of mon with muscular ailment which can bo curod. "All's grist that comes to this man's army nowndays," said ono non-commissioned officer of the bnttalion, "and It's up to us (o grind it. But nobodv has limited the number of kind of mills j u uiuy n.ive io uo mo worK. p Each platoon gels exercises sultd to eradication of the ailment peculiar I to it. Tho flatfooted men receive special spe-cial exercises calculated to re-form tho structure of their pedal extremi-1 extremi-1 ties, while at the same time exercise , generally normal men aro given them, so far as practicable, to keep up thej general condition or develop minor deficiencies de-ficiencies in other parts of their bodies. bod-ies. Similar specializations of work are mapped out and put Into effect for every type of disability evidenced by men coming into the unit. '. As elsewhere in the array, tho adag anent "all work and no play" maklns j "jack a dull boy," is observed faith- fully In the development unit. There ( aro periods allotted to recreation vrort ! and every man able to bo out of bed t is required to attend, and, If possible. participate In some of the games and '( sports provided. Specialization is ? carried out in playtimes as well a working periods: in fact, it oven go farthor in play than in work. f Baseball is a groat favorite at lb f camp and is played there with an ai-rangement ai-rangement believed unique that cl li two men taking the place one usually ;l would fill. If a batsman has a dU- j abled leg, it Is nothing unusual to pro- vide him a running mate from amon? j those with deficient arms or shoulder t who do all the running for him. All f j sorts of games aro played, oven mu At bles, by those unable to participate I' iF tho more strenuous sports J |