第36章

Tostartwithfivepercenthandicapwasaverygreatadvantage；andifthemanwasreallyagoodman，hecouldnotbeovertaken。ButifthemanthoughtthathehadlearnedallabouttheprofessionofasoldierbecausehehadbeenintheNationalGuardorintheRegularArmyundertheconditionsIhavedescribed，thenhewasactuallyoflessusethanifhehadneverhadanymilitaryexperienceatall。Suchamanwasapttothinkthatnicetyofalignment，precisioninwheeling，andcorrectnessinthemanualofarmsweretheendsoftrainingandtheguaranteesofgoodsoldiership，andthatfromguardmountingtosentrydutyeverythinginwarwastobedoneinaccordancewithwhathehadlearnedinpeace。Asamatteroffact，mostofwhathehadlearnedwasneverusedatall，andsomeofithadtobeunlearned。Theonething，forinstance，thatasentryoughtnevertodoinanactualcampaignistowalkupanddownalinewherehewillbeconspicuous。Hisbusinessistoliedownsomewhereoffaridgecrestwherehecanseeanyoneapproaching，butwhereamanapproachingcannotseehim。Asfortheceremonies，duringthereallyhardpartofacampaignonlythebarestessentialsarekept。

Almostallofthejuniorregularofficers，andmanyoftheseniorregularofficers，werefinemen。But，throughnofaultoftheirown，hadbeenforcedtoleadlivesthatfairlyparalyzedtheirefficiencywhenthestrainofmodernwarcameonthem。Theroutineelderlyregularofficerwhoknewnothingwhateverofmodernwarwasinmostrespectsnearlyasworthlessasarawrecruit。Thepositionsandcommandsprescribedinthetext-booksweremadeintofetishesbysomeofthesemen，andtreatedasiftheyweretheends，insteadofthenotalwaysimportantmeansbywhichtheendsweretobeachieved。IntheCubanfighting，forinstance，itwouldhavebeenfollyformetohavetakenmyplaceintherearoftheregiment，thecanonicaltext-bookposition。MybusinesswastobewhereIcouldkeepmostcommandovertheregiment，and，inarough-and-tumble，scramblingfightinthickjungle，thishadtodependuponthecourseofevents，andusuallymeantthatIhadtobeatthefront。Isawinthatfightingmorethanoneelderlyregimentalcommanderwhounwittinglyrenderedtheonlyservicehecouldrendertohisregimentbytakinguphisproperpositionseveralhundredyardsintherearwhenthefightingbegan；

forthentheregimentdisappearedinthejungle，andforitsgoodfortunethecommandingofficerneversawitagainuntillongafterthefightwasover。

AfteroneCubanfightalieutenant-coloneloftheregulars，incommandofaregiment，whohadmetwithjustsuchanexperienceandhadrejoinedusatthefrontseveralhoursafterthecloseofthefighting，askedmewhatmymenweredoingwhenthefightbegan。I

answeredthattheywerefollowingintraceincolumnoftwos，andthattheinstanttheshootingbeganIdeployedthemasskirmishersonbothsidesofthetrail。Heansweredtriumphantly，“Youcan’tdeploymenasskirmishersfromcolumnformation“；towhichIresponded，“Well，I

did，and，whatismore，ifanycaptainhadmadeanydifficultyaboutit，Iwouldhavesenthimtotherear。”Mycriticwasquitecorrectfromtheparadegroundstandpoint。Theprescribedordersatthattimeweretodeploythecolumnfirstintoalineofsquadsatcorrectintervals，andthentogiveanorderwhich，ifmymemoryservescorrectly，ran：“Asskirmishers，bytherightandleftflanks，atsixyards，takeintervals，march。”TheorderIreallygaveranmorelikethis：“Scatterouttotherightthere，quick，you！scattertotheleft！lookalive，lookalive！”Andtheylookedalive，andtheyscattered，andeachtookadvantageofcover，andforwardwenttheline。

NowIdonotwishwhatIhavesaidtobemisunderstood。Ifeverwehaveagreatwar，thebulkofoursoldierswillnotbemenwhohavehadanyopportunitytotrainsoulandmindandbodysoastomeettheironneedsofanactualcampaign。Longcontinuedandfaithfuldrillwillaloneputthesemeninshapetobegintodotheirduty，andfailuretorecognizethisonthepartoftheaveragemanwillmeanlazinessandfollyandnotthepossessionofefficiency。Moreover，ifmenhavebeentrainedtobelieve，forinstance，thattheycan“arbitratequestionsofvitalinterestandnationalhonor。”iftheyhavebeenbroughtupwithflabbinessofmoralfiberaswellasflabbinessofphysique，thentherewillbeneedoflongandlaboriousandfaithfulworktogivetheneededtonetomindandbody。Butifthemenhaveinthemtherightstuff，itisnotsoverydifficult。

AtSanAntonioweentrainedforTampa。InvarioussociologicalbooksbyauthorsofContinentalEurope，therearejeremiadsastothewayinwhichserviceinthegreatEuropeanarmies，withtheirminuteandmachine-likeefficiencyandregularity，tendstodwarfthecapacityforindividualinitiativeamongtheofficersandmen。Thereisnosuc