July-August - Air Defense Artillery School

18
so vital to victory in combat. It will come to haunt every
young officer in'the training of replacements. The onl).
certaintv in Armv life is uncertain tv. The lieutenant must
rotate his crews. tryout replacements. assign responsibilities
to new men, practice operating without key pe~nnel. If
he does not. he will wake up at the port of embarkation
and discover that his outfit has turned over completely
within the brief training period. In fact. the chances are
about even that the lieutenant will turn over with it. He
cannot forget that the outfit which fires the first burst at
an enemy plane will be vastly different from the one which
knocked down the sleeve at the service practice.
III
f\IORALE
Good will has been defined as the "sum of an infinite
number of favorable impressions." The problem. then,
for the young officer. is how to build up the "favorable impressions"
in the minds of the men of the command. f\lanv
approaches to the problem have been suggested. '
The British, for example, uroe vouno officers to remem-
0, 0
her the following eight commandments:
(I) Give the men a seme of unitv: all for one. one for
all. .
(2) Put the men's interests first at all times.
(3) Explain things to the men.
(4) Do things with them. (British officers always take
part in athletics with the enlisted men. One of the
guiding principles of their leadership is the development
of the spirit of the team.)
(5) Be the champion of the men: fight for them: defend
them always,
(6) Know the men's names.
(7) ?\ lake the salute a greeting between comrades and
practice it religiously.
(8) Be friendly with the mcn without being familiar.
Young officers find it most difr~cult in improving the
morale of an organization to remember the paternalistic
attitude which they must adopt; the same position as a
stern father with his children. In this role they must be
the father confessor of enlisted men. It is all~important
that they be urged to come to their officers with important
personal problems, knowing they will he guaranteed a
sympathetic reception.
In the same respect, enlisted men must be instructed
not to be afraid of bringing other complaints freely to
their officers. Naturallv, noncommissioned officers should
weed out the complain'ts which are not important. But it
is vital to the morale of anv unit that the enlisted men
know that they have a mea~s of redress in matters of importance
if they feel that they have been dealt with
unjustly.
Orientation has come to be regarded as highly important
in the maintenance of morale in the American Army,
stemming from the natural questioning in the mind of a
democratic citizen to know the reason "why" for everything
he does. Frequent talks about "why" the fighting takes
place, war aims, plans for a post-war world, are "musts"
in any organization with a high morale.
In garrison and in the field, officers must fight continually
THE CO_-\ST ARTILLERY JOllR:'\AL
DrSCIPLINE
Jllh-AII
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to secure prompt deliverance of mail. :'\0 other factor
soldier's existence is so important as the prompt receipt
news from home. Officers often order home town pa
when a substantial number of men come from a pani
community. In the field. it is a great help if officers
tact friends and relatives of men who are not receivino
and request them to write. b
After hours. the chaplain and special services office~
should ?e utilized. An occasional party. social OCcasl..
where feminine companionship is provided. infonna
organized musical entertainment are morale builders.
discovery of an enlisted man who can play a musical
strument or is possessed of theatrical talent is a gold mi
to a young officer.
Athletic teams are always aids to the preservation
morale. Americans are the most sports-minded people
the earth. This quality is a godsend to officers confront (
with a morale problem. The equipment for softball
foothall is inexpensive and can be improvised if necessa
One over-zeaIOl~s special services of,ficer suggested the ja\
bone of an ass for a baseball bat, if things got too tight. r
Insistence by young officers that enlisted men presen
a good appearance at all times is also a definite mo~1
booster. They should require that the men look like
diers, with brass polished, hair cut, shoes shined; to \\'
on postures. It is no idle phrase that a good posture adl
immeasurably to self-respect.
It is important that each officer guard the health of
enlisted men. Particularly stringent inspections must
made when the unit is in the field. Officers must
pennit the enlisted men to go "to seed" once an outfit h
moved into active position Neatness. haircuts, daily sha
ing, regular bathing, must be insisted upon, if at all
sible. Any detractions to self-respect will inevitably res
in a lowering of morale.
Religious preferences of enlisted men will also be I~
ored and facilities provided for their worship when
sible. Officers must get to know and use the chaplain.
Like the sad clown, Pagliacci, it is always "smile, da",l;
you, smile" for a junior officer. No matter how tough Ill(
going, or how hopeless the position, junior officers ~
exude nothing but cheerfulness and optimism under a
circumstances. It remains for their spirit to "carry" I
outfit along when the night is the darkest and the ml
truck is stuck in the-mud ten miles to the rear. )
IV ,
Discipline is the life blood of an Army. The degree
success in battle is directly proportionate to the Slale
discipline of the troops involved. Just as the test of a
officer is his ability to get results, so his ability to pradu
results is dependent entirely on the discipline of his m
Successful battle discipline stems from self-discipli
pride in organization, instant obedience to orders, ,'ig
ous health, all Row from self-discipline, and are found
on the individual soldier's self-respect. Thus, the goal
all officers-to create this self-respect.
Of vital importance to a young officer, however. i~ I
aspect of discipline and its relationship to his dealing \\1
the enlisted men. Success in this regard is more than