East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1917-08-15
LESSON so. 5


The three basic qualities, Loyalty,
Obedience and Physical Fitness. were
treated in the preceding lesson. There
is another group of three soldierlN
qualities that are especially needed
during the periods of training, march
ing and waiting between combats'
They are;
Intelligence,
Cleanliness,
N Cheerfulness.
Although these qualities are asso-
ciated chiefly with camp life, they are
Of course, scarcely less helpful in all
other phases of military service.
Intelligence
Intelligence does not necessarily
mean education, but rather quick op-
servation and willingness to learn
There is plenty of need for intelligencs
lin modern warfare. The National
Army will be forced TO absorb within
q few months a training which would
ordinarily extend over period of two
or three years. Those who intend to
tit themselves for promotion should
study thoroughly the manuals and the
drill regulations which affect their
! duties. In time they should learn
.
man reading. the construction of field
entertainments, training and care of
horses. signalling. the handling of
complex pieces of machinery and
many other subjects.
! ANY practical knowledge that YOU
may now possess will surely be useful
and helpful to you in the army, Capt
/ Ian Hay Beth, of the English Army,
POINTS out that in the first British
forces of the present war the previous
trade or training of every soldier was
sooner or later utilized.
Cleanliness
! Cleanliness is important everywhere
but most of all in the army where
large bodies of men are brought to-
gether. In it's true sense. it includes
| not only keeping your body clean,
but also your mind and your actions
Fortunately, it is virtue in which
| Americans generally rank high. There
should be little difficulty in setting
satisfactory standard in the new
army This is subject more fully
treated later in this course,
Cheerfulness
/ Cheerfulness is always prominent
trait of good soldiers. Here again
Americans may be counted upon TO
make a splendid showing, even in the
face of any unexpected hardships or
difficulties that may be ahead OF us.
There are numerous episodes in AmP
erican military history to JUSTIFY TINS
confidence.
| In January. 1863, the Union Army
| Law in camp at Falmouth. Va. About
a month before had occurred the dis
/ lnfa nf d.
ericksburg. In the North it was the
darkest hour of the war. Everywhere
outside the army there was depression
and fear. On January 21, the COM
manding general ordered the troops
| TO break camp and move forward. At
the same time "a cold drizzling rain
set in; the ground speedily became
| like a sea of glue: everything upon
wheels sunk into the bottomless mud;
| il took twenty horses to start single
caisson; hundreds of them died in har-
ness; but still the general persisted.
| But the rain persisted also, and it
soon became a simple impossibility to
| go forward After two days of effort
/ il was necessary to have the men
struggle and founder through the
wilderness of mud back to their
camp"
| Picture the situation: Recent defeat
with heavy losses; retreat; cherries
mid-winter camp; rain; cold mud;
discouragement at home; a long march
under the most trying conditions end
| ing in a return to the same camping
ground from which the troops had
started. a little grumbling might rea-
| sonably have been expected. But the
men of 1868 were too good soldiers to
draw long faces. The historian goes
on: THE march was made in high
good humor, the soldiers laughing and
/ joking at their ill-luck with that comic
brightness characteristic of Americans
| in difficult circumstances.
Three Qualities of Battle
! Finally there are the three battle
qualities of the good soldier:
Spirit,
Tenacity.
| Self-reliance
Unless a man has these three quail
| ities-even though he possesses all
the other six in good measure-he is
after all only a campfire soldier.
Spirit
Spirit-fighting Spirits far from
being mere hatred of the enemy or
blind fury. on the one hand; nor is
il mere passive obedience to orders
on the other. II means cool, self
contro'led courage-the kind of cour- |
age which enables a man to shoot as |
straight on the battlefield as he does
in target practice. However. it even
goes "A step beyond that point. Deci- |
sive victories cannot be won by mere |
" repulsing the enemy. "Only the
offensive wins" Gnfantry Drill |
REGULATIONS paragraph 511)
Like all the other qualities of
soldier. spirit can be cultivated. An |
unframed army seldom possesses ii.
But It can be developed. You can and
will develop IL until u becomes as
much a part Of yourself as any OF
your easy-going civilian habits are
now. -..-.--s-.,
Tenacity
Spirit carries a body of soldiers
forward Tenac'ty IL the quality that
makes them stick" " The thorough
fgvfa