July-August - Air Defense Artillery School

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ncation cards (WD. AGO Forms 65-1) tor all officers and
warrant officers will be properly filled out. Current censorship
regulations will be studied and unit censorship set
up in proper accordance while the unit is in the staging
area. All possible steps must be taken to impress on the
men the importance of keeping their movement secret. How
well this goal will be reached depends largely on the instruction
the unit has had during its l\I.T.P. in the important
subject of security.
Lastlv, let us brie/h' turn our attention on the most important'requisite
for ~ny successful o\'ersea movement, i.e.
morale. To place troops with low morale in the combat zone
is to invite disaster. Fortunatelv the l\l.T.P. has been built
along such lines that any u~it commander who follows
its provisions carefully should find his battalion has reached
the alert period in a good state of morale. To maintain this
condition at a high level then becomes the chief duty of the
leader. In the field or in combat, interest is high among the
troops. Each man is anxious to do his part in the work of
the battalion. But in the staging area or amidst the monotony
of the voyage, this individual enthusiasm is apt to disappear
and real leadership is required to maintain morale
under such conditions.
I
"Personnel must be held at the height of physical condition."
As has already been pointed out, if the men are kept b
while in the staging area they will have little time to br
o\'er temporary inaction. Here in addition to giving pIe
of physical work to the troops, is an opportune time to
tinue their orientation courses. The fact that the avera '
American soldier has a high degree of intelligence makes
possible to acquaint him with the details of the task
fronting him. By careful instruction in the reason, as \\
as the proper procedure in such subjects as secrecy, cen
ship and safeguarding military information, the men a
anxious to cooperate in the necessary security measures.
same approach can well be followed in preparing them ~
the rigid discipline which must prevail on shipboard.
On the transport a number of men must be cramped in
a small space. \ Vithout the luxury and conveniences of lar
passenger vessels, such crowded conditions are hard to endure.
Little space in which to exercise and considerable i
time on their hands make many men restless. Add to thes(
facts a normal amount of seasickness and the result is
marked drop in morale. Like one rotten apple in a bask
one disgruntled soldier can affect a number of his fellOl
To prevent this situation requires careful planning on till
part of the officers. As at the staging area, keeping the m~