July-August - Air Defense Artillery School

iPders to withstand shipment by transports. Practically all
'ning centers offer courses in packing and early in their
'ning units should take advantage of these schools.
If the preparation of personnel and their equipment for
(ll'erseasmovement presents a huge task, that of preparing
the necessary administrative records is by no means less dif-
It. Even with efficient staffs the amount of administrative
k necessitated by such a change will be considerably insed,
but in the case of some units, the additional labor
volved in such a situation becomes overwhelming beuseof
failure to prepare in advance for such a change.
In the case of the men and officers of the unit, certain
ific records must be prepared after the battalion has
alerted. This means extra work for the personnel sec-
1IDI1. How much work will depend on the degree to which
unit has early impressed on its men the importance of
ding personal affairs such as insurance, allotments, wills,
care of dependents. "Vith proper foresight and guidce
many of these individual matters could have been
kencare of early in the training period, with better results
both the men and the unit. The personnel section which
s allowed its records to get behind will find itself overwhelmedwith
the effort of catching up, along with the
itional reports, rosters, current locator cards, emergency
dressee cards and similar forms necessary to the moveent.
In like manner, the staff which has been trained through
seriesof field problems and exercises to carryon the work
their several sections, outside a well equipped office, will
counter little difficulty in adjusting itself to the move-
nt ahead. The battalion supply section which is thorghly
trained in its work, and which has kept its records
d property in order, will approach its added responsibililIeS
in an intelligent manner. This will also apply in the
~
caseof the administrative records of the battery as well as
thatof the battalion. Here, as well as in larger units, adneedplanning
will pay large dividends.
We have already considered brieRy the general problem
preparing the personnel and their equipment for the
vement. Let us now enumerate some of the specific steps
must take in planning for the journey itself. In the case
most units going overseas, this movement will be made
plnly by rail or truck to the Point of Embarkation and by
nsport to the Point of Debarkation. In the former case,
nnite plans for !oading men or materiel on cars must be
rked out. Those units, which have early in their traingdeveloped
an S.O.P. of loading, will be well off. By careful
packing and marking of equipment for the rail movelllent,many
last minute changes at the Point of Embarkan
may be avoided. In like manner, if the trip is of suf-
~ent length, the men will profit by the experience of beg
separated from their barrack bags for several days, as
h will be the case later on the transport.
This initial movement will likely terminate in a staging
~ near the Point of Embarkation. Here the battalion may
delayed for several weeks, depending on its state of
eparation for overseas service. Final inspections of personlei,
equipment and records will be made by the Com-
!lander of the Port. "\There the list of "last minute short-
Iges" is long, or records are incomplete or inaccurate, the
it may be detained for a longer period. The latter con-
r\IUVt.l\It.i\: 1 OVERSEAS 7
dition is an unpleasant one to consider because during this
time of inactivity, the personnel must be maintained at
the height of physical condition, and training must be most
intensive, all without any impairment of morale.
\Vhile these two aims are closeh' related. one cannot always
confine all training to physi~al conditioning. Under
certain conditions new equipment may reach the unit at
the Point of Embarkation. Where possible it is desirable to
familiarize all concerned with its usage. Some of the training
in the staging area certainly should be devoted to preparation
for the embarking and disembarking of the unit itself.
Personnel must be rehearsed in "sailing list" formation
several times. They must become accustomed to moving
from the dock up the gangway to their berths with barrack
bags, riRes, and full field equipment, rapidly. Likewise,
encumbered by arms and packs, they can well afford to
practice moving down cargo nets into boats. \\There this has
been part of their training at the home station, such formations
can be directed toward attaining speed in loading.
Another type of loading, equally important to the unit,
will be the act of getting their organizational property, large
weapons, and fire-control equipment on board the transport
in the sequence necessary for its use during the voyage.
Where it is desired to have machine guns so placed on
shipboard as to increase the original armament of the transport,
care must be exercised in their disposition and that of
the necessary ammunition. To effect this requires close attention
of "liaison personnel" of the battalion on the loading
of its cargo nets. Staff officers must devote long hours to the
preparation of sailing lists and assignme!1t of quarters. Time
must be given to the preparation of schedules for motor
convoys bringing unit p.ersonnel to the dock from the staging
area. Every effort must be made to arrange motor con.
voy schedules so as to prevent idle gangways between arrivals
of successive motor convoys.
It is hardly necessary to stress here the importance of
making the physical training of the troops in the staging
area as rugged as possible. \i\Thile on board the transport the
opportunity for activity will be considerably reduced due to
lack of space, so their physical condition must be of the
highest, if the troops are to arrive in good shape overseas. A
full training program in the concentration area will also
serve to keep the minds of the men occupied during their
final days in the "continental limits." This is important
since the young soldier, restricted to the area, is apt to develop
a low state of morale and this may lead to a number
of A.W.O.L. cases.
As the far-Sighted unit commander prepares for the alert
period, he must not lose sight in his planning of the security
of his command during this important phase. Here, many
,of his problems will be readily solved if he has a well developed
S-2 section. Too much emphasis cannot be placed
on the development of this important staff function while
the battalion is at its home station. As soon as the troops are
alerted, security measures must be placed in effect, which
will insure the secrecy of movement for the unit from the
training camp to the overseas theatre. All identifications
must be removed from individual and organizational equipment.
Only authorized markings will be placed on motor
vehicles. National colors and unit guidons will be turned
in to the Battalion Supply officer for safe keeping. H'nti