East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1918-03-16
upper Right-A Riae Squad At sighting Praetiee.

a A4 rs
Summing up the complete four year the-
oretical course Of the Princeton military
STUDENT, there seems TO be nothing lack
ing in which the young man who aspires
10 become an. officer coFld <possloiy Wisn
for in the way of Instruction. The stu
dents, Of course, take up. she practical
course which is required Of III members Of
the r. o. I. C. in conjunction with the
theoretical course. Oneis incompl lete with
out the aid of the other.
Before going into detail concerning the
practical courses it may be well to state
that the regiment Of the Princeton Re
serve Officers Trimming Corps consists
of two battalions of three companies
each and one supply company. Theirs
are seventy-five men in each company.
except the supply company. When tne
r. o. T. C. was established at PrincetoH
the War Department Immediately senI
down go rifles. Some Of these are
springfields, but for the most part the
Krag-Jorgensen is used by the students
Major Sargent is in dire need Of 100 moro
rifles for the drills, but shortage makes
If impossible for him to be supplied e
present.
All the outdoor work by the students
is done at Brokaw Field, which Offers
splendid opportunities for all drills. This
field, however, is used only when weather
permits. In justice to the courage Of the
boys it may be said that low temperature
il not accompanied by sRow or Ice, qoe
not deter them from their drills. keeent
ly it has been impossible for them g =
outside and the practical work has bees
done in the Tower Room, the Tropnl
Room, Dickinson Hall and, with the I'M
mense gymnasium at their disposal, thr
captains of the companies often put ths
boys through their drills in the hayons
there.
In the practical military course tht
First Battalion is allotted Mondays anc
Wednesdays for its work; the Second
Battalion goes through its work on Tues
DAYS and Thursdays. Ceremonies by the
entire regiment take place after drill en
Wednesdays. In the physicist trAiHing
prescribed under General Orders No. AZ,
the students go through setting-up ex-
ercises, wall scaling, throwing hand gfeR-
AIDES and bombs, boxing and sueh other
physical exercises as will develop them
into good soldiers. ~.
The instruction in small arms comes
under Colonel Lihbey. Not only does he
instruct them in thorough knowledge e
the rifle, but trains them to use the rifle
as a member of team in action. They
are taught to dismount and asseMbie tns
holt; next comes the use Of the sling ana
the firing in various positions in the use
of the gun.
Fire from Any Position.
After finishing this course the Princetsu
student should be able to fire with equai
accuracy either prone. standing, kneeliAx
or sitting. Next come the aiming ard !
sighting drills. The rifle instruction e
finished by making each man turn OUT /
triangle on a paper target, whose sides
are less than onk=eighth of aP inch. with
the sight of his gun. This last Is good
test of the students eyes.
The test is made by two students, ons
sighting and the other as assistant. The
student making the triangle sits at the
end Of a wooden table about fifteen feet
from paper target. The assistant With
a narrow strip of card on which a round
black circle is painted centres this ON the
target, according to the correctness af the
other students vision. Each time the
student says "Fire" the assistant makes
a small dot with the end of pencil IN
the centre of the cardboard strip which
he holds against the target, subject to the
other students orders. In many cases
after three tests the dots were found 10
be one on top of the other. No better
test has yet been devised by which the
accuracy of the rifleman can be proved.
The indoor rifle practice takes place on
a range under the armory composed of
eight targets. The length of the range i
fifty feet and each student must shoot on
this range until q qualifying score has
been attained. Work on the range will
keep the boys busy until spring. After
this training some lectures on the effect
of wind. light and distance are given.
Aside from these indoor targets there are
four targets available at 200 yards aAd
800 yards four targets at 800 and 600
yards and one at 500 yards.
With the students of the Reserve Off,
GERS Training Corps making a special
study of the rifle both in theory and
practice. it is hoped that after finishing
the prescribed course they viii be able to
qualify IS instructors In the training
camps Of the National Army.