The Oklahoma City times. [volume] (Oklahoma City, Okla.) 1908-1984, 1917-08-27
Issued by the War Department. All rights reserved }
THE smallest unit or team" IN the

TIVE smallest unit or team" IN, the
army is the squad A squad usu-
ally consists OF eight men, one OF
whom is the leader; he is called the
corporal You will he assigned to
a squad almost at once on entering the
army. AT first, you Nnay be shifted
about considerably from one squad 10
another, but within a short time YOU
and seven Other men will be brought
together, and sleep in the same ten, or
IN the same section OF the barracks.
You will come to know the other men
IN the squad through and through and
they will become equally well acquaint-
ed with YOU Some OF them will prob
ably grow TO be YOU close and life
long friends. On the other hand. there
may be one or two men whom you
dislike or do not respect,
The Squad Unit.
In any case remember this The
eight men in a squad form a team in
the same sense that a baseball nine or
a football eleven is team. Your
squad is competing with all the other
squads IN your company. Whenever 1t
shows itself especially well drilled.
quick TO learn new duties br careful
IN respect TO cleanliness and general
bearing, YOU pile up a few points in
your favor, The umpires arc the off
GERS OF your company and YOU may
be certain they arc watching your squad
every minute OF the day-not watching
Tor chances to criticize but watching
hopefully for Signs ot soldlerly spirit
and intelligence.
II Is your first duty to help your W
squad make a good showing. Also it
is to your Qyn interest To- do SC. There
IS no more pleasure or reward for YOU
III belonging to a poor squad than there
IS Tor a ball player in belonging to a
losing team Take pride in vour squad
and its good work II YOU lind YOU
have one man among you who is lazy
or childish, W. TO get himll into a differ
cnt atutudcl Every squad has at leaS,
one weak link The hest way to handle
him is to talk to him until YOU &c,
him as much interested as you in max.
ing your squad rank as the best in
the company,
incidentally, your captain j., not like
~ TO overlook the best squad when Il
comes to picking men Tor promotion
The Platoon and the Company.
Two, three, or four squads %lusuall,
three may be Joined in the next highe,
unit, which is called a platoon" Tn,
platoon, however. is not so pctmancn
as a squad hut is formed whcncyc.
there is need for IT IN drilling or 81
the firing line,
Next comes the company, which i
made up az full strength oi $50 men
this is about eighteen squads OF 81
p%latoonS. This number is war strength
in our old tables of organization, IN
first division now in France has "
men per company 1t is probable IN
strength may he go per infantry com
pany. However. these tisureS for IN
number Of squads and Of platoonS ar
never definitely fixed A company n
the field is very seldom AT full strength
and IT may be convenient at any tim
10 change the numbers OF squads an
p%lstoonS.
The company is a permanent team
IN the sense in which we have bee
using that word, Its members Away
live together. cat together, drill IA
gether, and fight together All the Of
ticers and soldiers IN a company I've
come well acquainted Each man
points OF strength and of weakness ar
known Outside Of your " compau
YOU will probably know very ftN mel
only those with whom YOU come int
touch by accident OF while YOU AZ
serving on some special duty This
something worth thinking about. Yo
are probably gong 90 live. eat, drill
and fight with the other men in YOU
company so long as YOU remain in N
army The sensible thing 10 do is I
conduct yourself IN sueh a way as ,