The Monticellonian., 1917-11-09
CORPORAL IS VITAL COG
 IN ARMY'S VAST MACHINE

| or the minute partlcfe or dlrt that col
 lects under the movable slide of the
 sight leaf of the rifle.
 During the hours that are free from
 drills and duties the corporal must
 know where the men in his squad are.
 He Is supposed to see that they bathe
 at least once week and keep their
 clothes and persons neat. The last
 thing at night, as taps Is blowing, he
 reports his squad as present if each
 one Is on his cot, or names such un-
 fortunates as may have misjudged the
 length of time required to return to
 camp or the amount of liquor they
 could consume safely.
 | Such are the routine matters the
 corporal has in charge. The question may arise as to how he enforces his
 authority in these matters. The rules are all so framed for q soldiers bene-
 lit that, however much he may have
 been without standards of order and
 ncatness before enlisting, corporal
 with force and tact can usually carry
 the man along with the rest with little
 necessity for discipline. The means of discipline are not lacking however, and here the details above have real value.
 1 Discipiinine His Men.
 There are many Of these pieces of work which do not call for a complete squad, and there are jobs done under q sergeant's oversight with man from each squad. The corporal can always assign the man who was last out at | drill call or whose rifle was denounced as unelean at inspection to these de- | tails. as well as those of cleaning up the tent each morning.
 Most men learn after they have spent q few of their spare hours chop ping wood or cleaning pans to obey the orders of the corporal. Some there | are. of course, who have to be re- ] ported to the first sergeant for con | finement to the company street, or whose repeated offenses lead to the guardhouse. The corporal who proper ly enforces his authority knows that the whole iron system of discipline of the army is behind him. r In the more purely military matters the corporal Is equally important. We hear much of the recruit and the drill sergeant. If a company has efficient corporals, it Is more often the latter who introduce the recruits to right l dress and port arms and explain the | nice distinction between squads right and right turn.
 Many period of company drill be- | gins with the captains command: |: "Corporals, take your squads for fif- teen minutes In the school of the sol dier and school of the squad"; and it l Is there that individual attention can | be given. Close order drill is of course | in larger units, but even there the proper execution of a company move | ment frequently depends on the cor | poral. and woe be to the one who fails
 to distinguish between "On right Into l linea and "Right front into line" for he will find his squad moving at right
 angles to the rest of the company. In open or deployed order. such as
 would always be used under battle l conditions. the squad becomes the smallest fighting unit and the corporal | becomes the leader whom the squad must obey, follow and stick to- Here
 he Is usually under the supervision of
 a sergeant, but 1t Is to him that the squad looks for orders. and the order which can properly be used only by Il
 the Infantry Drill Regulations. "Fol- low mel" is the one which takes the | squad away from the column in which
 it has been marching, arranges 1t in
 it's proper position on the firing line, advances it by rushes and finally leads | it to the bayonet charge.
 | Guard Duty.
 It is the squad leader who is given l the target designation and range by | the platoon leader. and who is re- l Sponsible for the volume and accuracy ' of the fire. The infantry Drill Regu-
 lations' say that "in battle officers and sergeants endeavor to preserve the | integrity of squads; they designate
 new leaders to replace those disabled organize new squads when necessary 1 and see that every man is placed in squad. Men are taught the necessity
 of remaining with the squad to which ] they belong. and in ease it be broken l up or they become separated there
 from to attach themselves to the near i est squad
 X distinct form of the military duty 1 of Il corporal is the guard duty. This
 ,naY be in the nature of police duty. such as having charge of the men
 'lnown as the military police. detailed | to preserve order in towns near u
 camp. This work frequently requires
 a high degree of ability to size up d
 situation and act promptly.
 More familiar In time of peace as
 we'll as time of war is what Is known as interior guard duty used in camp , or garrison to preserve order. protect property and to. enforce order regnla- l rtcns.H To the duties of the corporal l cf the guard in this work the "Infanry ! Drill Regulations devote five pages. quite the largest amount of space giv- pp to him in this alLimportant book.
 It is summed up in one short para
 graph however: "It is the duty of the
 corporal of the guard to post and re- lieYe sentinels and to instruct the
 members of his relief in their orders
 and duties" For the purposes of explanation. as
 sume camp with fifteen posts. which
 must be patrolled each by sentry,
 The guard would then consist of 4J
 priyates, divided into three reliefs