New Britain herald. [microfilm reel] (New Britain, Conn.) 1890-1976, 1917-08-28
LESSON NO. IA.
THE TEAM LEADERS.

THE TEAM LEADERS
preceding Lessons: 1. Your Post of !
Honor. 2. Making Good as a Sol |
der 8. Nine Qualities Of Soldier. |
4. Getting Ready for Camp. 5. First |
Day in Camp. 6. Cleanliness in !
Camp. T. Your Health. 8. March |
ing and Care Of Feet. 9. Your |
Equipment and Arms. 10. Recrea- !
ton in Camp. IL. Playing the Game. |
IL. Teamwork in the Army. 10. |
Grouping Men into Teams) |
Most of the men in the Army are
private soldiers. Their work is of the !
greatest Importance and deserves all
the respect and praise which it re-
ceives. A great. many men in the Ma !
tional Army. however will be ambi-
tious to rise to higher ranks They
will find plenty Of encouragement and
of opportunities for promotion.
If you are one of these men, don't
allow yourself to forget the fact that
you can win promotion by proving
your fitness in each duty entrusted to
you. 1t is a rare case when man is
Jumped" several ranks ahead. AS a
rule, he climbs from one rank to the
next higher rank after having demon
strated in each position his intelli-
gence, honor. and reliability.
vancement to the grade known as
first class privates. About one-fourth
of the privates in each company may
be given the rating first class which
means in substance that they are re-
garded as skilled and trustworthy SOL
diers
Non ComnissiOned Officers.
From the first-class privates are
usually chosen the corporals. These
are the squad leaders. They are ap-
pointed by the commanding officer of
| the regiment on the recomme ndation
| of the commanding officer of the COM
pany. In addition to the regularly ap-
! pointed corporals each company may
have one lance corporal. This Is
| temporary appointment made by the
| company commander for the purpose
Of testing the ability of some private
| whom he Is thinking of recommend
| ing for permanent appointment. In
case the lance corporal does not make
| a good showing, or for any other rea-
| son, he may be returned to the ranks
| when the commander of the company
| sees fit.
Next above the corporal in rank
| comes the sergeant. There are usually
8 to II sergeants in a company. I'm
| less a sergeant has some other duty
! assigned to him. he is normally the
leader of the platoon. There are, how
ever, many special duties constantly
assigned to sergeants. The first SER
geant (In Army slang the top SER
geant,") for example, keeps certain
company records, forms the company
in ranks, transmits orders from the
company commander, and performs
many other tasks. The supply SER
geant sees to bringing up supplies of
all kinds to the company. The mess
sergeant looks after food. The stable
sergeant is responsible for the proper
care Of horses and mules The color
sergeant carries the national or regi-
mental colors. There are many 9TH
| er grades within the rank of sergeant
which can not be described here. You
| will gradually become familiar with
them during your army experience.
Commissioned Officers.
Sergeants and corporals are known
as non-com missioned officers, because
they are appointed by their regimental
commanding officer Officers of high
! err ranks are known as commissioned,
| since they hold their rank by virtue of
! a commission issued to them under au-
| thority of the President Of the United
| States. The commissioned officers is
thus on quite a. different footing from
| the "non-com' (non- missioned Of
ficer) He obtains his rank and au-
thority from a higher source. He is
! treated with respect which is of diff
ferent character from that extended to
a non commissioned officer. This is
| one of the fundamental things in Ar
! my organization.
| Lowest in rank among the commits
stoned officers Is the secosd lieutenant,
Above him comes the first lieutenant.
and above him the captain These are
| the three company officers The
captain is ordinarily the commanding
officer of a company while the lieu
| tenants might be described as assistant
! captains. In the absence or disabili-
| ty of the captain, however, the first
| lieutenant takes his place and has full
command, and in the absence or disa-
bility Of both the second lieutenant
takes the command.
Next above the captain is the major,
whose proper command is battalion.
! A step higher is the lieutenant colonel
| and above him the colonel the COM
handing officer of a regiment. The
| lieutenant colonel ordinarily assists
| the colonel and in his absence takes
| the command. IN case both the lieu
! tenant colonel and the colonel are dis
abled or absent, the senior major takes
| the command.
The General Officers.
Above the colonel is the brigader
general whose proper command is a
! brigade. Above the brigadier general
| is the major general, the highest rank
! at present held by any officer of the
! American Army.
One general. however, serves as
Chief of Staff Of the Army AS such
he supervises all troops and depart
ITO IN