The Opelousas courier., 1898-12-03
BACKBONE OF ARMY
DUTIES AND POSITION orTHE NON
COMMISSIONED OFFICER.

OOtlES AMI FO0f4tOM SE=#i HE NUN
COMMISSIONED OFFICER.
His Best Chance Is to shoot His Way
Into the Corridors of Oblivion-Giory
Seldom Comes to the ;"Non-Com"-
The Go-Between for Officers and Men.
. The backbone of the army is the non-
commissioned n.-Rudyard Kip
ling. .4 .t:s ~t'
Lowest down is the lance corporal /;
highest up are the regfmental quarter
master sergeants, sergeant majors,
ordinance sergeants, and most pictur-
esque is the first sergeant The Shack
bone" referred to by Mr.. Kipling con-
sists of the company "non-coms," be-
ginning with the corporal and ending
in the first sergeant. They are ssfhe
unglorifed sinews Of Wharf.-The ;brnwn
and muscle; the officer is the much
heralded hrainy director. =
The recruit to. the army no seoner
swears that he "wilL obey the COM
mands of all officers placed above him"
than he falls into the hands of o. corr;
poral. Tbs soldier, with the two
clean white t'hevrons on his sleeves,
looks him oven guides him to a bath
ing place, and 1egins 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 Oh him the necessity of
quick doing, and cautions that the
officers are there to think. Then the
recruit is snutied OH to o sergeant,
who places him in q set of tours and
teaches him how to find his place, and
what to do when he finds it. He
finally 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 'snon-com." is the teacher. His
unlimited ability to work and his I'M
dying patience st%raighten up round
shoulders, liven up the shutting steps
and make a sturdy soldier of the raw
recruit. He works always and for
ever, and executes the orders Of his
superiors quickly and accurately. He
serves as a model to be copied after
by the private-he is the backbone of
the army. =.
Glory seldom comes to the "non-
CON-" A long time ago a certain Ser
geant Jasper won.a permanent place
in history, and more recently Sergeant
Hamilton Fish died bravely at the
front. The s'non-con." works UNI
noticed, like the line player in the
football team, because he doesn't run
with the ball, but he is the backbone
that holds the ribs together. When
the battle is hot and sweat .mingles
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 ''non-eom." speaks the
quiet 'tSteady, boys!" and walks into
the jaws of death shooting his way
into the corridors of oblivion. The
captain knows he will be famous if he
survives-famous if he dies sEhe
sergeant. OF ihe corporal fkassYs
his wife md children SWill weep over
their loss, hs4cdnraads that sarviye
hin will bury him in a soldiers grave
wrapped in his blanket. He Is too
numerous forthe historian temention
he was simply doing lis duty. Yet if
the victory is WON'T is because he is
in his place and doing this same duty.
Under the newstactics i n use by the
United States army, companies 'Io
longer fight with men shoulder to
shoulder. under the direct command
of the capsAam,, Mncchs stress isssAaid
on the skir mislh drill, fnwhich sets of
fours under corporals and squads
under sergeants fight in, open order.
firing at viii after the captain has
ordered commence firing" The
corporal is responsible for his set Of
tours and the sergeant for his squad.
The first sergeant Is in a 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
s'non-com." to- show himself. II
remains to be seen whether or not he
will break into fame. / f~sAt:at.
It is not in battle, however, that the
non-commissioned officer earns the
title of ''backbone,"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,
gruf, stern, severe, kind, man of all
work and all intelligence, father OF his
company and mother, too, in. camp, lis
in charge of his men. He looks after
the company quarters, tents, bedding,
| clothing, knows all about the kitchen
sand sees to the equipments. He calls
/ the roll, details the guard, knows the
ability aud willingness Of Ner soldier
of his eelnmand
rian and mouthpieeesof bis conpAny.
He iii aas gb sstweeenls MFa:ii and
| officers, aalBtasauarr.saHs ssaa dfssen1ag
ates adgies: Tbs seomnsasx IalsslaIs
| though not intricate, are tedious, anS
are kept by him, and he reports Tho
| deadEso his captain. He seems TO by
in every place at.the same time. :. 81
| is the model soldier. : ~? 81, {. -. - - =
The literature Of the present war II
yet unwrftten. Glofiaus Haetorse'
| haveibeen won and Adn,iraa ma gen
eraIsShave been launched into ever
lasting FAM. to ba hn1Aadl HheI
the war correspondents get back tt
the quiet of their desks, they will no
have been blinded blythe glare OF up