Macon beacon., 1917-10-05
THE TEAM LEADERS.


greatest Importance and deserves all
the respect and praise which 1t re
ceives. A great many men In the ma.
tional army, however, will be ambi.
tious 10 rise to higher ranks. They
will find plenty Of encouragement and
Of opportunities for promotion.
II you are one Of these men, don't
allow yourself to forget the fact that
you can win promotion only by prov.
Ing your fitness in each duty lntrusted
TO you, 1t is rare case when a 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.
Even MS n private, you may win ad
vancement to the grade known as first
class prlvates, About one-fourth OF
the privates In each company may be
given the rating Of first class" which
means In substance that they are re-
garded as skilled and trustworthy sol-
diers.
From the first-cass privates are usu-
ally chosen the corporals. These are
the squad leaders. They are appoint
ed by the commanding officer of the
regiment on the recommendation 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 recommending
for perNanent appointment. In case
the lance corporal does not make a
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
. to IL sergeants In q company. Tn.
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 Tin army slang, the top SER
geant'O, 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
ply 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
regimental cOlors.
Sergeants and corporals are known
as noncommissioned officers, because
they are appointed by their regimental
commanding officer. officers Of higher
ranks are known as commissioned,
since they hold their rank by virtue Of
q commission issued to them under au-
thority Of the president Of the United
States. The commissioned officer Is
thus on quite different footing from
the "noncom" (nOicommssioned Off
cer). He obtains his rank and author
Hy from higher source. He is treat
ed with respect which is Of differ
ent character from that extended to
nOnc0mmlssiOned officer. This Is one
OF the fundamental things In army or
ganization.
Lowest In rank among the commits
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 q company, while the lieu.
might be described as assist.
mt captains. In the absence or diSa.
Dliity OF the captain however, the first
lieutenant takes his place and has full
and In the absence or dIsa-
)llity of both the second lieutenant
axes command.
Next above the captain Is the major,
whose proper command is a battalion.
1 step higher Is the lieutenant colonel
IND above him the colonel, the COM
officer Of a regiment. The
lieutenant colonel ordinarily assists
ne colonel and in his absence takes
he command.
Above the colonel Is the brigadier
whose proper command isa
rigade. Above the brigadier general
the major general, the highest rank
t present held by any officer of the
american army.
One general, however, serves az
hief OF staff Of the army. AS such he
upervises all troops and departments
the military service. He In turn re-
orts to the secretary of war. The
ecretary Of war In his turn acts un-
er the general direction Of the presi-
ent Of the United States, who is the
In chief.
The chain Of authority reaches in
q unbroken line all the way from the
resident to the newest recruit. II
ae president chooses to give an order
hich In any way effects the recruit.
passes through the secretary of war,
hief Of staff, major general, brigadier
eneral, colonel, major, captain, SER
cant and possibly corporal until the ,
,cruit Is reached and tho ordar