The Yale expositor., 1917-08-02
SELFHELPS for the
NEW SOLDIER
By a United States Army Officer
loopynshi. 1917, by the Wheeler Syndicate, Inc)
TURNING THE SQUAD CON-
PLETELY ABOUT.

fLE ELY ABOUT.
We now return to the squad for fur
Their instruction therein. Squad
right" which was explained in the thir-
teenth article of this series, is at once
a movement so difficult and so impor-
tant-important as the basis for chang
ing the front Of platoon or company
that it would be beneficial to go over
1t again In preparation for squad right
about"
In squad right" the right man on
the front rank, at the command
MARCH !" faces to the right In march
ing and marks time. He must cease
absolutely to advance until the move
ment is completed. If he inches for
ward, he then ceases to be a fixed
pivot !" and unless squad right" is per-
formed upon a fixed pivot, the squads
will not fit together properly when
column of squads swings into a COM
pany front. If, however, the pivot man
turns upon the fixed spot and marks
time, as he should, the various squads
in company front will slip into place
like boards with tongues and grooves.
At the command Of execution,
MARCH" the three other front-rank
men obliQue to the right, place them
selves abreast of the pivot man, and
mark time. They do not stumble into
position in loose and sagging circles.
Each of these movements should be
precise and military. Otherwise, the
squad formation will be as slack as
the movement of the slackest man.
In the rear rank, the third man from
the right (No. 3, in the "count off"),
! followed in column by Nos. and /,
moves straight to the front until he
finds himself Immediately to the rear
of his front rank man. Nos. and 1
place themselves behind their front
rank men likewise. Then all face to
the right in marching and mark time.
The other man Of the rear rank-No.
4-moves straight to the front, at the
side of No. for four PAGES and places
himself abreast of the man on his
right. Each man, as he reaches the
new line, glances toward the march
ing flank-that is, those still to come
on to the new line-while he marks
! time, and when the last man arrives
on the line, both ranks proceed with
forward march" without further COM
mand.
For the guidance of the squad
members, the movement has been
worked out in six counts-at the quick
time cadence of 120 steps a minute
from the command MARCH" In
other words, if each man will perform
his appointed task while counting six,
including the marking time, the squad
will be ready to advance In the new
direction upon the sixth count.
Squads left" is, of course. exc
cuted as above with the fourth man
in the front rank as the fixed pivot.
Now, in order completely to reverse
the front of a company and the direc-
ton of march, squads right" Qeft)
about" is executed. At this COM
mand, the pivot man (No. 1, front
rank) executes squad right" twice.
He does not, however, make this a
sloppy merger Of the two, but starts
the second squad right when the
last man in the front rank on the first
squad right" has arrived abreast of
the rank. They execute the movement
in two distinct counts of six.
The front rank moves then, as in
squad right" The movement of the
rear rank, however, Is somewhat differ
ent from the same ranks task in squad
right" and this difference should be
carefully noted. Thus, in the rear rank
the third man from the right-No. g.
followed by No. 2 and No. 1 In col.
umn, moves straight to the front until
on the prolongation of the line (4C
inches in the rear of the front rank)
to be occupied by the rear rank
changes direction to the right; moves
in the new direction until he, and Nos
and / also, are each in rear of his
respective front rank man, when all
face toward the right in marching
mark time, and glance toward the
marching flank.
The fourth man marches on the left
Of the third man to his new posi-
ton, and, as he arrives on the
line, both ranks execute forward
march"-on the second count of six
without further command.