Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1898-11-24
BACKBONE OF THE ARMY
DUTIES AND POSITION OF THE NON
COMMISSIONED OFFICER.

Seldom Comes to tho "Non-Com"-
The Go-Between for Officers and Men.
The back bone Of the army Is the non
commissioned man. .-Rudyard Kip
ling.
Lowest down is tho lance corporal
highest up are the regimental quarter
master sergeants, sergeant majors,
ordinance sergeants, and most pictur-
esque is the first sergeant The bach
bone referred to by Mr.. Kipling CON
sists of the company ''Don-coms, be-
ginning with the corporal and ending
in the first sergeant They are the
unglorified sinews of war, the Drawn
and muscle; the officer is the much
heralded brainy director.
The recruit to the army no sooner
swears that he will obey the com.
mands of all officers placed above him"
than he falls into the hands of cor
poral. This soldier, with the two
clean white chevrons on his sleeves,
looks him over, guides him to bath
ing place, and begins to lick him into
shape. He begins by teaching him
how to stand, how to turn around,
where to keep his eyes, and all the
small details Of the soldier business.
He impresses on him the necessity Of
quick doing, and cautions that the
officers are there to think. Then the
recruit is shuffled on to q sergeant,
who places him in set of fours and
teaches him how to find his place, and
what to do when he fndo 1t. He
hnally falls into the hands of the first
sergeant in company drill. He may
get an occasional sight of his captain.
but he learns to know and emulate his
sergeant.
The "non-com is the teacher. His
unlimited ability to work and his un-
dying patience straighten up round
shoulders, liven up the shutting steps
and make sturdy soldier Of the raw
recruit. lie works always and for
ever, and executes tLo orders OF his
superiors quickly and 3raieIv He
serves as model to oe d3pied after
by the private--he is .ae backbone Of
the army
Glory seldom comes to the "non-
CON-" A long time ago d certain Ser
geant Jasper won permanent place
in history, aud more recently Sergeant
Hamilton Fish died bravely at the
front. The "non-com. works un-
noticed. like the line player in the
football tenn, because he doesn't run
with the ball, but he Is the backbone
that holds the ribs together. When
the bqttle Is hot and sweat miugles
with blood on the sodden field, when
bullets whizz and shells stream, when
comrades sink to the ground and turn
on their faces, the officer lifts his
sword on high and steps forward into
glory. The "hon-com. " speaks tie
quiet Steady, boSsr md walks iHto
the jaws of death shooting at sy
into the corridors Of oblivion Tue
.;s;s.iisst..-.in ;;.is snevTs ~ vi De tan1o',e q Dr.
suryives--famous if be dies Iha
sergeant or the corporal knows
his wife and children VIII weep ever
their loss, his comrades thet survive
him will bury him in soldiers grave
wrapped in his blanket. He is too
numerous for the historian to mention
he was simply doing his duty. Yet if
the victory is won it is because he is
in his place and doing this same duty.
Under the new tactics in use by the
United States army, companies no
longer fight with men shoulder to
shoulder under the direct command
of the captain. Much stress is laid
on the skirmish drill, in which sets Of
fours under corporals and squads
under sergeants fight in open order,
firing at will after the captain has
ordered Commence firing" The
corporal is responsible for his set of
fours and the sergeant for his squad.
The first sergeant is in manner re-
sponsible for the entire company and
is ready to assume command when his
officers are shot down. The new
arrangement gives opportunity to the
''non-com. to show himself. 1t
remains to be seen whether or not he
will break into fame.
1t is not in battle, however, that the
non-commissioned officer earns the
title of ckbone," for in the fight
the sweating private is a necessary
person. In the camp the white-chev-
roned soldier makes his presence
known and felt. The first sergeant,
gruif, stern, severe, kind, man of all
work and all Intelligence, father of his
company and mother, too, in camp, is
in charge of his men. He looks after
the company quarters, tents, bedding,
clothing, knows all about the kitchen
aud sees to the equipments. He calls
the roll, details the guard, knows the
ability and willingness of every soldier
of his command and is the discipline
rian and mouthpiece of.his company.
He is the go-between for privates and
officers, adjusts quarreis and dissemin-
ates advice. The company books,
though not intricate, are tedious, and
are kept by him, and he reports tho
dead to his captain. He seems to be
in every place at the same time. He
is the model soldier.
The literature OF the present war Is
vet unwritten. Glorious victories
have been won and admirals and gem
erals have been launched into ever
lasting fame. TITS to be hoped, when