The St. Charles herald., 1917-10-27
THE TEAM LEADERS.


vate soldiers Their work is OF the
greatest importance and deserves oil
the respect and praise which II re-
ceiyes A great many men In the na-
tional army, however, viii bo amDi-
tious to rise to higher ranks. They
viii find plenty Of encouragement ana
Of opportunities Tor promotion.
II you are one Of these men, dont
allow yourself TO forget the fact that
you can win promotion only BY prov
ing your fitness In each duty intruSteo
to you. Il is q rare case when man
Is 'jumped" several ranks ahead. As
u rule, he climbs from one rank to the
next higher rank otter having demon
strated in each position his inteii-
gence, honor and reliability.
Even as a private. you may win adj
yancemcnt to the grade known as first
class priyates. About one-fourth OF
the privates in each company may be
given the rating OF "frst-CiaSS," which
means in substance that they are re-
gnrded rs skilled and trustworthy sol
diCrs.
From the flrSt-class private5 are uSu-
ally chosen the corpOrala. These ara
the squad leaders. They are appoint
ed by the commanding officer OF the
regiment on the recommendation or
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 recommending
for permanent appointment. In case
the lance corporal does not make
good showing, or for any other reason.
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 q company. Un>
less sergeant has some other duty
assigned to him, he IS normally the
leader Of platoon. There are, how
ever, many special duties constantly
assigned to Sergeants. The first SER
geant lin army slang, the top SER
geant'D, for example, keeps certain
| company records, forms the company
| in ranks. transmits orders from the
company commander. and performs
many other important tasks. The sup
DIV sergeant sees to bringing up sup
plies 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
rcgimental colors.
Sergeants and corporalS are known
as noncommissiOned officers, because
they are appointed by their regimental
commanding officer. Officers Of higher
ranks are known rs commissioned,
since they hold their rank by virtue OF
a commission issued to them under an
thority of the president of the United
| States. The commissioned officer Is
thus on quite different footing from
the "noncom" (noncommissioned Off
| cer). He obtains his rank and author
ity from higher source. He Is treat
ed with respect which Is Of a differ
ent character from that extended to a
noncommissioned officer. This is one
of the fundamental things in army or
ganization.
Lowest in rank among the commis-
stoned officers Is the second 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 company, while the lieu
tenants might be described as assist
ant captains. In the absence or disa-
bility 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 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
manding officer of a regiment. The
| lieutenant cOlOUel OTulHdFliS 1SSisIS
the colonel and In his absence takes
the command.
Above the colonel is the brigadieT
general, whose proper command is q
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 departments
of the military service. He In turn re-
ports to the secretary Of war. The
secretary Of war in his turn acts un'
der the general direction of the presi'
dent Of the United States, who is the
commander In chief.
The chain Of authority reaches In
an unbroken line all the way from the
president to the newest recruit. Il
the president chooses to give an order
which in any way affects the recruit
Il passes through the secretary Of war
chief Of staff, major general, brigadiel
general, colonel. major, captain, ser
geant and possibly corporal until the
recruit is reached and the order