Norwich bulletin., 1913-10-03
NEW SYSTEM FOR
 MILITIA DRILL SEASON
Connections Guardsmen Will Be Kept
 on the Move.

With the opening of the drill season of the Connecticut National Guard Nov. i, a new system and one that is expected to produce excellent results is to be put into operation The nine months of drill are to be divided into two parts. the division point being the dates of inspection of the various com panies of the two regiments of infan- try. the regiment of coast artillery and attached commands The results of the first period of instruction will be by the graded officers, and by them re- duced to percentages, so that the standing of the various companies may be readily compared. The second pe- riod is devoted almost entirely to out of door work in preparation for the annual encampment at Mantle.
 The first period will be used by the officers in instructing the soldiers in military courtesy and soldierly bear ing. care and use of rifle. squad and company formations, fire direction and control, and guard duty. Military courtesy and soldieTly bearing are the first things to be learned by recruit in any military organization, and in National Guard organization some of the older men need to brush up con siderably. To stand erect, without lounging yet with stiffness, 10 be re- spectfully at ease in the presence of gold braided officers. to render neceS- sarY courtesies to officers and com rades and at the same time not to be a plaster paris prig constitute the whole duty of the soldier for the first six months or so in regular organfza- uonS.
 Care of the Rifle.
 The care of the rifle is something that is taught necessarily in National Guard organizations. yet each year many relies are ruined by carelessness on the part of soldiers who earn their living by other things than by caring for fine mechanisms. The men who work at machine shop trades take good care of their guns. but many citizen soldiers have absolutely no sense that rust will destroy rihing and a careless nick or scratch on the muzzle of the gun will impair the accuracy of the shot. In the old Krags there used to be a little pocket in the stock where an oiled rag could be kept and it was second nature with the older men to use the rag every day when in camp. There is no such place in the new Lee Springfield rife. however, and the guns are suffering accordingly Many men will not take the time to hunt their rag and oil out of their squad box two or three times a day to rub over the rife.
 School of the Soldier.
 The school of the soldier is where the new men gain their first know- edge of how to walk, how to turn. how to handle rifles in drill. Generally a sergeant or a lieutenant takes care. of this part of the proceedings. making the recruit repeat the movements un- til they are second nature. The day of the starched sergeant, with the gun rod under his arm and the terribly cutting sarcaSms on his lips, is gone now. but the non-com officers still seem to knock the rockies into shape in short time.
 In the school of the squad the sol dier learns to handle himself in com pany with other men. He is then d a tactical unit rapidly growing in inn portance-of modern warfare In ac- tion his commands come from his squad leader, and in the squad he should be taught to be deaf to all else. Even when in the schools of the com pany, composed of many squads, he is not allowed to forget that he be- longs to his squad then to his com pany. Dire and swift are the anathe- mas which attend any soldier who leaves his squad, even though he Is still with his company Close order, which is used for drills and parades mostly nowadays, and extended or open order, which Is the thin red line of heroes" considerably heightened out. and in which the soldiers of today do their fighting, are to be taught. Lastly fire direction and control, which are in direct charge of the corporals of the squad, who take their orders from their sergeants or section leaders, are taught. Guard duty, branch of the