Norwich bulletin., 1917-07-20
RANK OF OFFICERS
 IN MILITARY SERVICE
Insignia Devices Used in The United
 States Army.

Tn these days when the United States soldiers are wearing the olive drab," which is the service uniform, taking the place of the blue, it Is almost inn possible at the first glance to dis | tinguish between the officers. which is | intended to be the case when the ar my is on the firing line, and to pre- vent sharpshooters picking off the officers. which little custom Is one of the desirable acts in war, and has | been since the days when the officers showed themselves conspicuously and were dressed in elaborate and dis 1 tinctive uniforms.
 | The loss of officers became so great I on this account that the efficiency of l the commands was seriously affected, and in spite of the custom which un- British service of officers exposing | themselves, with a disregard of the i bullets, in order to inspire their men with greater courage, it has been deemed better strategy to keep the officers under cover much as pos | sible; that being in advantageous po- l stions they might the more effec lively handle their men and direct their fire.
 To further render the officers less conspicuous their uniforms have been
 made more simple and like those worn 1 by their men; even the insignia of | inent. All this is to conserve tse val uable and carefully roined officers. that they should last longer and be in creasing in efficiency.
 1 Officers have had various sentiments | toward the uniform While desiring
 to honor it, they have felt that it was not necessary for them to pose be- | fore the enemy in their elaborate clothing. General Grant much of the l time wore the same kind of a blouse as the enlisted men, the only differ | enre being his shoulder The l officers on the plains during the In- | dian wars adopted garments best suit ' ed to their service and since the Boer war the progress toward less elabor- ate uniforms and less conspicuous in | signia has been steady and rapid. l The situation has still another | phase: the enlisted man has not en- | joyed being dressed plainly and | different from the officers, and now | his uniform is so similar in general arrangement, and even in the details, | that the average layman when he sees 1 a man in uniform on the streets is
 unable to tell at first glance, whether | he is looking at a coionel or a cor poral. Indeed. it Is often difficult for I even the more skilled in such mat | ters to distinguish quickly, and it is ! only by certain inconspicuous marks 1 that this is possible.
 i The "service" uniform of the United 1 States army today is cap with brown falling visor; coat and
 brooches of olive drab cloth. the same l shade as the cap; leSgings of either i leather or canvas. of some shade of i brown harmonizine with the clothing.
 So far the uniforms of officers and
 men are very similar.
 Cap Devices Vary.
 | The first difference is to be seen on i the front of the cap, where the officer | wears the escutcheon of the United | States, and the enlisted man the in | signia of the branch of the service i crossed rifles for infantry, crossed can non for artillery, crossed sabres for
 cavalry, etc. In all cases this orna-
 ment is of a dark bronze, but the office, | always can be distinguished by the | spread eagle.
 Looking further, on the collar of l the coat are more signs and insignia. i All officers of the United States army l wear the bronze letters U. S., but the officer has also a device Of the crossed | arms of the branch of the service in
 which he is, while the enlisted men ] have round disk about one inch in i diameter, bearing the weapons and | the letter and number of the unit The | men also have the U. s. on another
 disk on the other end of the collar. To further distinguish the officer and l his rank, he wears on the end of each
 strap which extends from the sleeve seam to the collar on each shoulder | the peculiar insignia of his rank. He also has a plain band of brown braid 1 half an inch wide, three inches from
 the bottom of the sleeve. This is va l ried in the case of the general staff
 corps. the braid being black instead i of brown.
 the same for officers and man. ! While the garments of the officers are
 generally made of finer fabric than ! those of the men. it is not uncommon 1 that they are of the same grade of l wool goods.
 | Only officers wear boots of brown 1 leather, but many wear the leather put ] tees, and recently the issue of leather puttee has been made to enlisted men; ! but generally the latter wear some i form Of brown canvas puttee. By Cord and Collar. The field uniform consists of the ! campaign hat and cord the o. d. shirt, | and the remainder the same as the 1 service. The hat is the same for off cers and men, but officers below the | grade of general wear a hat cord of i black and gold, while the enlisted men | wear a wool cord of the service-blue | for infantry, red for artillery. yellow | for cavalry, orange for signal corps, | vice.
 1 When wearing the shirt the officers | rank is indicated by the insignia of the l rank on the corner of the collar and | rh device of the branch of the service l on the other corner.
 | As a second lieutenant has no mark | or insignia of rank. he is dependent on his hat cord to sustain his position, | for, as a captain once said, referring 1 to his second lieutenant, MT. Blank has lost his hat cord, and a second lieu 1 tenant without hat cord does not l rank very high, especially at night" When wearing the O.. d. oyercoat still l another way of distinguishing the diff 1 ference of rank is provided. The cut | of the coat of the enlisted man varies 1 in certain details from the officers: it l has a. deep cuff on each sleeve: it also | is fastened with bronze buttons where I the officers coat is fastened with brown l horn buttons. The principal means of l identification is by the insignia mark on the sleeve. which consists for gen. eral officers of band of lustrous black mohair braid one and a quarter inches wide nlaced with it's lower edge two