The Apache sentinel., 1945-03-02
Bosic Troining
For Selectees
Gets Tougher
By Camp Newspaper Service

By Camp Newspaper Service
Although the Army reached it's
designated strength a short time ago,
men still are being inducted at the
rate of about 950,O0O a year, Selec-
tive Service officials estimate.
A large percentage large is
an official secrets going into the
Army, where a training program of
considerable proportions still is in
effect, for training as requirements.
OF those who go into the Army, big
majority wind up in Infantry Re
placement Training Centers.
Military life is just beginning for
these men, many of them youngsters
of 18, although we've come a long
way on the road to victory, both in
/ Europe and the Pacific.
What kind of training are they
getting? How does their basic diff
fer from that endured by GIs now in
overseas theaters back in Al, AZ
and '43. And to what extent have
the lessons learned in combat influ-
enced training methods?
In an effort to obtain an authori-
tative answer to these questions,
CNS sent a staff man to interview
L/Col. H. w. Dammer, Assistant
G/3, Army Ground Forces. Col
Dammer has some special qualifica-
tions He served as Executive Officer
with the famed Rangers in Italy and
North Africa.
Viewing the subject from the van
tage point of experience in both COM
bat and training, Col Dammer ar
rived at two main conclusions:
l. Basic is a lot more rugged,
physically, than it was in the days
before he went overseas in AZ.
2. It is also more realistic, bet
ter geared to the practical necessi-
ties of the job at hand
81 get feeling of high power
from the present program that was
absent in the early days." is the way
Col. Dammer puts it.
OF the physical training phase, he
says, "the trend over period of
time toward conditioning through
use of obstacle courses continues.
Such conditioning is designed to
improve man in agility and the
handling of his body rather than
merely his feet and legs. At the same
time, marches and hikes also are
stressed"
The lessons learned in combat find
their way into the training program
in two ways-by being Incorporated
into official training doctrine after
evaluation by G-3 and through per-
sonal contact between new men and
veterans with combat experience.
"Over period of time,' Col. Dam
mer says, personnel in this head
quarters, in IRTCs and even in units
has gradually included people who
have had overseas service"
Some of the changes incorporated
into training doctrine are still not
for publication but here are a few
cited by Col. Dammer:
Use of overhead artillery in small
unit problems: Field artillery pieces
operate as they WOULD in battle in
support of the units during tactical
problems. All IRTCs have a battery
or more of field artillery for this
purpose.
Revision fo Extended Order Drill:
AS revised, the squad is broken down,
under the cable Baker : Chardie"
system, into three groups. The "Able"
group includes the scouts the Baker
group the BAR men and the Char
lie" group the riflemen. The squad
or platoon leader can move the
groups Independently to meet spe-
cific problems.
First Aid: AS result of expert
ences in the field instruction in First
Aid Hygiene and Sanitation is much
more thorough. Malaria prevention
and control is stressed and knowl-
edge gained in Africa Italy and the
South Pacific utilized.
Information and EducatiOn:
Greater efforts are being made to
keep men informed and to give them
feeling of personal responsibility