The National tribune., 1901-03-21
THE REGULARS.
comrade Breen Writes of Discipline Exacted
by Officers

EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: As to the
discipline of the Regulars, criticism was
beyond question. Such was the informa-
ton given us in the dispatches following
the Inaugural parade of President Nc
Kinley on the 4th of March, 1901. Yes,
Mr.. Editor, the Regulars were always
proud of our training and discipline,
whether in camp, march. barracks. or the
battlefield 1t has been our rearing, as
it were, under the best-trained officers of
any army the world over, and we are
proud of it today. To the wcll-trained
and disciplined soldier of the Regular
Army. there is but one requisite, obe-
diencc That word embraces everything
in the disciplined soldier. During the
civil war much had been said by the vol
unteers against the officers of the Regu-
lar Army for their seemingly arbitrary
methods in governing troops, yet, for all.
in September, 1862, when an order was
issued by the War Department, telling
volunteers that they could transfer to the
Regulars and have time in the volunteer
service counted. they came flOcking to us
until the order had TO be resclnded by re-
quest of their officers, lest their regiments
he entirely wired ont by the influx to the
Regulars. Before that the hue and cry
of the volunteers was the studied and ar
bitrary strictness of the Regular officers
over the enlisted men. More than ~
years service in the army, from March,
1853. to January, 1877, enables the
writer to speak from experience. During
all that time he can now, as well as then,
proudly and justly say that the officers,
and they were many, under whom he
served. were men Of first principles, gentle
manly, humane and kind in all their in
tercouTse with enlisted men, whether of
their own commands or otherwise. As q
matter of course, these gentlemen could
not be approached by enlisted men and
spoken TO in the first person singular. as,
say, Cap. Jack, or Jim. Oh, no; the Reg
ular soldier in speaking to his officers will.
in the first place, stand at attention, and
state his case, always putting the officer
in the third person: such as, Eyes, Cap
tain; no. Major; If it is the Coloners
wish, or the Lieutenant has ordered it. I"
That is discipline in all its simplicity.
And what can be expected in the way of
discipline. when officers permit their Ser
geants, Corporals and privates to accost
them by the way of '.Tom, got anything
handy in your tent this morninG?" or,
Come, let us sit down here and talk of
times at our home in Maryland" Disci-
pline can never come out OF such way
as that of addressing q commissioned Of
ficer, and the officer allowing it would
have mighty little conception of military
etiquet, not to speak at all of discipline.
There is no denying the discipline of the
Regulars, from as far back as the days
of 1872 TO the present day. In all their
fortunes or misfortunes their discipline
has always been of that uniform kind nee
essary to the making of the well-trained
soldier: obedience to superiors and strict
attention to duty Such was the Regular
of the past, and such is the Regular of to-
day, whether at home, in Cuba. the Phil
ippines, or China and their officers can
not be excelled in any particular.-PAT-
RICK BREENs late Ordnance Sergeant, U.
S. Army.