Norwich bulletin., 1917-11-02
WILL SOON COMPLETE
 PLATTSBURoH TRAINING
Serst. w. H. Simpson Writes of His Experiences at Reserve Officers Camp.

ter H. Simpson who left here for Fort Terry, Plum Island, N. Y, last July,
 with the old Fifth Company, now the
 34th Company, will have completed his
 three months training at the Reserve
 Officers Training camp. at Platts- burgh, N. Y. Sergeant Simpson ex-
 poets to return to Norwich about No vember 18th for a short visit. Writ ing to a Norwich friend of his expert- son says:
 We figure on 16 hours work here day with hours sleep. Here is
 one Of our daily duties: At 5.20 a. m. reveIlie. 5.45 assembly. or roll call, $ a. m. mess, at o'clock we are out on the parade grounds drilling in eith-
 CT cf~se or extended order until g o'clock We then march back to the
 company street, fall out and get the
 books on the subject of the week. and study room, generally in one of the
 brick barracks. where we have a conference until 10.30. From 10.3o to Ii 00, we have physical exercise and II short period to drill with the rifle. but if you see how we feat" that stuff you wouldn't wonder, as the bayonet drill eats up a fellows energy pretty fast. providing he puts in all the sumption he has From 11.30 to 12.15 we read over our mail, and make up our beds. as the bed clothing Is put out on 8 line to air each morning.
 (This being one of the blue 1aws.)
 We are all there. on bomb throwing practice, and signal work. so at 1.15 we go out on the rifle range until o'clock. I might say our range Is one of the best in the world, having 72 butts. and all practically. new: From 3 to 4so we sometimes take a hike. If we don't get a hike the time is taken up in several other drills. Hiking Is a. big factor in the game and a soldier who can carry "heavy pack" on his shoulder with his Springfield for 10 or 12 miles without showing any signs of fatigue is what we call getting in to shape"
 There is a very marked difference in marching in the infantry than in the Coast Artillery. I remember at route step in the Artillery, singing by the soldiers was not advocated. but
 here t1ey approve of it. and for three days last week, we spent an hour each day learning songs. Our teacher was a master in voice culture by the name of Lloyd, who is employed by the War Department to do nothing else but travel around to the different canton ments and teach tho officers to get the art of using their voices, which helps an officer immensely in giving commands If a body of men are al- lowed to sing different songs while on the march it tends to ease their minds and the men naturally fall into a step corresponding to the rhymn of the song.
 In the trench game there has been about 10 miles dug, and overheard an officer say they were supposed to be the longest line of trenches dug for practice purposes in the world. They are about feet deep. with a firing step made out of small birches tied together, which raakes the elevation 2 feet higher. The trench is started feet in width, tapering at the bottom to 1-2 feet. Owing to the soil. which is very sandy here. this has to be done A berrn is made out of the sand thrown out. where a man rests his arms while in the firing po- sition, this being foot high. From the top of the bern, the remaining sand is thrown back evenly, forming a parapet The, sand in the rear of the trench is built up foot. forming a parados. After all this. turf is dug, and small trees arc stuck around in different places-in order the new soil won't be so easily detected by an ob- serving aeroplane. This is what we call canson, haging, or nature faking. Of course in this kind of soil the trenches are rivetted throughout by hurdles made out of small trees, or 
 Dugouts, and machine gun emplace-