Company Administration.
Company administration is a very broad subject and can be really learned only by experience. However, this chapter will attempt to point out a few suggestions and practices that may prove of some assistance, particularly to the new officer. We shall treat briefly of the first organization of the company; then we shall try to reproduce in some slight measure the actual work of a day in camp (more particularly of a training camp such as Plattsburg); then finally we shall treat of the orderly room and some of the problems that come up in army paper work.
Notes on Organization.
(By Major W.H. Waldron Twenty-Ninth Infantry.)
1. Prepare In Advance To Receive Men Assigned To Company.
(a) Detail one of the Lieutenants in charge of the company mess.
Duties.—Secure the necessary kitchen and dining room equipment and prepare everything to start the mess; make up a bill-of-fare for a week based on the ration components and supplies available; secure the rations and issue them to the cooks daily. Train a mess Sergeant in the duties that fall to him. In fine, this Lieutenant will have complete charge of the company mess, the cooking, and serving of the meals, training of cooks and men detailed for duty in connection with the mess.
(b) Detail the other Lieutenant in charge of property.
Duties.—Procure all the articles of individual and company equipment from the Regimental Supply Officer. Get into the company storeroom and prepare it for issue. Train the Company Supply Sergeant in the duties that will fall to him.
(c) This leaves the Company Commander free to organize the orderly room and make the necessary preparations to receive the men as they report.
If In Cantonment.—Lay out the quarters into platoon sections and subdivide these into squads, allowing space for platoon leaders and guides. Starting at the end of the quarters plainly mark each squad section, 8 beds, four on each side of the aisle with the number of the squad—first squad, second squad, etc.
If In Tents.—Number the tents, one for each squad, leaving two tents in the center for platoon leaders, guides, etc. Prepare a sheet having a space for each squad, large enough to enter eight names in it. Prepare a measuring post where the men can be measured for height as they report.
2. Men Reporting:
(a) When the men arrive they will be sent to Regimental Headquarters direct. There they will receive their assignment to a company. When so assigned they will be directed to join the company.
(b) A table on which is spread the squad assignment sheet is located at the head of the company street. Nearby is located the measuring post. When a man reports, look him over, receive him in the company, make him feel at home. Make him feel that he is welcome. This little act will pay you large dividends in contentment and company esprit de corps later on. Turn him over to the man in charge of the measuring post to get his height. Assign him to a squad corresponding to his height. Enter his name in the squad space to which he is assigned and send him to the section of the cantonment designated for that particular squad. Detail a few of the first men who report for duty to assist in this work.
Say you have 16 squads. They will run in height about as follows:
1st squad, over 6 feet; 2nd, 6 feet; 3rd, 6 feet; 4th, 5 feet 11 inches; 5th, 5 feet 11 inches; 6th, 5 feet 10 inches; 7th, 5 feet 10 inches; 8th, 5 feet 9 inches; 9th, 5 feet 9 inches; 10th, 5 feet 8 inches; 11th, 5 feet 8 inches; 12th, 5 feet 7 inches; 13th, 5 feet 7 inches; 14th, 5 feet 6 inches; 15th, 5 feet 6 inches; 16th, 5 feet 5 inches. If there are more squads put them in the 5 feet 7 to 5 feet 9 inches class.
(c) As soon as practicable place one member of the squad in charge for the ensuing 24 hours, change this detail every day until every man of the squad has had an opportunity to demonstrate his ability. This will assist you greatly in the selection of your non-commissioned officers.
(d) Should the entire company be assigned in a body, line them up in a row according to height and assign them to squads. Place the most likely looking man in each squad in charge for the time being.
3. Issue Of Equipment:
(a) The articles of camp equipment, bedding and poncho should be issued as soon as practicable. These are necessary for the immediate comfort of the men.
(b) Hold the articles of personal equipment for issue later on. Do not dump the entire equipment on a man all at once. There is nine-tenths of it that he knows nothing about. He does not know what it is for. As the training progresses you can issue it to him, an article or two at a time until he has finally gotten all of it. Before issuing an article, explain at a company formation, what it is for, the purpose it serves and where it is carried.
(c) Uniforms and clothing should be procured as soon as practicable. The commanding officer will indicate whether or not the clothing will be requisitioned for in bulk or on individual clothing slips. The supply officer will provide a quartermaster publication which shows the sizes of clothing by the numbers. Seek out a couple of tailors in the company, have them measure the men and make a record of the sizes of clothing that they require. Shoes will have to be fitted to each man. Make them large enough. The average recruit will want to wear a shoe at least one size too small for him. When he gets the pack on and drags it around all day his feet will swell and fill his small shoes to the bursting point. Do not let the men decide what size shoes they will wear; you decide it for them and make them plenty big. This work of measuring the men can be started right out the first day. The captain that gets in his requisition first, properly made out, will be the first to get his clothing.
4. Organization:
(a) As soon as practicable get the company organized into permanent squads. Try out squad leaders for a few days. You will soon be able to select the men that you will want for non-commissioned officers. Be careful in their selection so that you will not have to make many changes. Don't be in too much of a hurry about making sergeants; try them out as corporals first. Try to get a good man and start him in as mess sergeant. A man with hotel experience, especially the kitchen and dining room end of the business, give him a trial. Your lieutenant in charge of the mess can tell in a day or two how he stacks up. Make it plain that the men detailed from day to day are merely acting non-commissioned officers and that you are merely placing them in charge to give them an opportunity to demonstrate their ability. It's better to work this proposition out in a systematic manner than it is to jump in and make a lot of non-commissioned officers that you will have to break later on to make way for better men.
Give your acting non-commissioned officers all the responsibility you can. Assign tasks with their squads and see how they get away with it.
(b) At one of the first formations explain the rules of camp sanitation and personal cleanliness and the necessity for their strict observance.
(c) Start right out with a system of rigid inspections so that the men will acquire habits of cleanliness and tidiness of their surroundings. Once this is acquired it is easily maintained. The reverse of this statement is equally true. Let a company get started in a slovenly, untidy manner and it is difficult to get it back on the right track again.
(d) As soon as uniforms are issued have every man dispose of his civilian clothing, dress suit cases, trunks, etc. There is no place for them in the cantonments or tents. Strip right down to uniforms and allow no civilian clothing around.
(e) Before issuing rifles provide places for their safe keeping in cantonments. If wooden trunks are used, a wire staple driven into the upright of the bed at the height of the slacking swivel forms an excellent support; simply hook the slacking swivel into the staple.
(f) Get every man interested in the company. Be personally interested in every man yourself. Do not permit any swearing at the men or around the barracks. Explain the idea of military courtesy and the salute and insist on its being carried out at all times. By doing all of these things and systematizing your work of training and instruction right from the start you lay the foundation for a "good company." Fifteen good companies make a "good regiment" and so on up to the division, and that's what we want "good divisions"—the basis of which lies in the "good company" which you are going to command.
Day's Routine.—The day's routine will soon develop and cannot be a stereotyped thing. It will be determined to a large extent by local conditions. But in all training camps some such model as the following will no doubt be followed:
Reveille:
First call, 5.30 a.m.
March, 5.40 a.m.
Assembly, 5.45 a.m.
At first call the non-commissioned officer in charge of quarters, or some other charged with that duty, will go through the barracks and awaken the men. After a short time this may be dispensed with.
Mess:
First call (followed by mess call), 5.55 a.m.
Assembly, 6.00 a.m.
Allow the men approximately 20 minutes for breakfast and the privilege of returning individually—this for purposes of attending to the calls of nature.
Sick Call, 6.30 a.m.—Have the non-commissioned officer in charge of quarters put through this call; the sick will report to the orderly room, be entered on the sick report and marched to the hospital by the same non-commissioned officer. All men answering sick call should be questioned as to the nature of their trouble and its cause; men who are trying to dodge work should be caught up with. Care should be exercised in making out the sick report; be careful what you put on it and where you put it. The sick report will be treated further under "Paper Work."
Morning Instruction:
First call, 6.50 a.m.
Assembly, 7.00 a.m.
Recall, 12.00 m.
Utilize this time according to the schedule laid down by higher authorities. It will no doubt be insisted that the schedule be closely adhered to; but this can be done without completely destroying individual initiative.
Mess:
First call (followed by mess call), 12.10 p.m.
Assembly, 12.15 p.m.
Allow 30 minutes for noon mess. The men may not consume it all; but judgment must be used in this matter. After mess have the company formed and marched back to barracks. This plan should be followed for a time, at least, particularly with "green" men purely for disciplinary purposes.
Afternoon Instruction:
First call, 1.20 p.m.
Assembly, 1.30 p.m.
Recall, 4,30 p.m.
Same general procedure as for morning work.
Sick Call, 4.45 p.m.—When the sick report is sent to the hospital in the afternoon, it is customary to make a new entry for all men who are in the hospital. In this way a running account is kept and quickly referred to without running all through the book.
The time from recall to retreat at 5.30 or thereabouts can usually be used to advantage in cleaning up and getting ready for this ceremony.
Retreat.—(Formal—on the parade grounds).
First call, 5.30 p.m.
Assembly, 5.35 p.m.
Retreat, 5.50 p.m.
Mess:
First call, followed by mess call, 6.00 p.m.
Assembly, 6.05 p.m.
School Call (except Saturdays), 7.00 p.m.
Tattoo, 9.00 p.m.
Call To Quarters, 9.30 p.m.
Taps, 9.45 p.m.
At taps lights should be out and absolute quiet should prevail. This rule should be insisted upon from the very beginning of the training period. A check roll call is often taken at taps and the company reported to the Officer of the Day. Likewise, the company is reported to the Officer of the Day at reveille, retreat and mess formations; however, these things are determined entirely by local conditions.
Sundays And Holidays.—Calls are ½ hour later, except retreat, tattoo, call to quarters and taps. In case an entertainment is given on the post, taps usually follow its close by a half hour.
Details for any day should be published at retreat formation the day previous; bulletins and notices should also be published to the company at this formation.
Paper Work.—Paper work in the Army is generally viewed askance. A certain amount of it is absolutely necessary, but the amount can be reduced by careful attention to the way in which the work is done. A good first sergeant and a good company clerk will take a load of trouble off the shoulders of the company commander in this respect; but usually these men must be trained. Instructions on the blank forms should be carefully read the first time a certain paper is made out. Attend to all paper work promptly and make a note of anything that cannot be handled immediately. Do not let anything get into the company files until it has been O.K'd. by the company commander or initialed by the officers. Have a basket for the company commander and one for the other officers where they may expect to find matters that are of interest to them. Get reports, requisitions and other papers in on time. Do not wait until they are called for. Establish a daily, as well as a monthly, system of doing things in the orderly room and then stick to it as nearly as possible. Have a file for:
- General orders, post and W.D.
- Special orders.
- Memorandums, bulletins and notices may be included under this head.
- Company orders.
- Document file (copies of letters, etc.).
The needs for files will be determined largely by local conditions. The point is to have things where they can be found readily under an appropriate heading; and to have them accessible to others besides the company clerk. Keep a copy of everything, as nearly as possible, but do not clutter up your company files with unimportant items. Keep your orderly room looking as neat as possible.
Military Correspondence.—A very important feature of Army Paper Work. Neatness, brevity and clarity are to be sought—ceremonial forms are avoided.
References to Army Regulations: Paragraphs 225, 512, 776, 778, 779, 780, 786, 789, 790, 822 (g.o. 23 w.d.).
A letter consists of three parts; heading, body and signature. The heading consists of designation of the command, place and date, all placed in the upper right-hand corner. At the left, and with a margin of about an inch, should be:
From:
To:
Subject:
A double space should be left between these lines.
The body should be divided into numbered paragraphs, each paragraph treating of but one topic. The lines should be single-spaced, but a double space should be left between the paragraphs. The signature should be made without any unnecessary forms.
Any good treatise on this subject will show the proper forms for a military letter.
Indorsements follow the signature in succession on the same page or on added pages. They are very brief, follow a prescribed form and, if necessary, are paragraphed in the same way as the letter. Letters should be made in three, four, five or six copies, according to destination. They should always be handled through military channels; time will be lost if you try to dodge it.
Morning Report.—This is a complete record of daily events and should be kept with great care. It is submitted daily to the proper authority, checked and returned. Any standard work on this subject will show the proper method of making entries. Be sure to make entry of all events affecting your company, its numbers or condition. If there is no change, say so.
Ration Return.—This form is made out in duplicate for periods of from 10 days to a month. In case men join the company after the ration return has been submitted for a given period, one ration for each man for each day from date of joining to date of submitting next return, may be drawn on the next return. The same plan is followed in making deductions for men in the hospital or absent from the company. For ration allowances see a.r. 1202-1252.
Sick Report.—A commissioned officer of the company and the medical officer sign on one line following the last entry for the occasion. Neither may encroach on the territory of the other and both enter their opinions as to whether the sickness is in line of duty. No erasures are allowed.
Duty Roster.—For any roster the key word should be "equality of all duties." It means the difference between contentment and dissatisfaction among your men. Keep an exact list of men available for every duty and detail them in exact rotation; adjust to complete satisfaction any little differences that arise. Let the men know that you want to give them a square deal and they will respond. The longest man off duty is the first man to be called. In the regular service the roster covers guard duty and other duties, notably kitchen, police and other fatigue work.
Monthly Return.—The form is self explanatory. Read the instructions on the blanks before filling them in. By keeping in the company a record of events you can easily fill out the return properly when the time comes.
Service Record.—References in Army Regulations: Paragraphs 115, 118, 124, 135, 138, 938, 1337, 1361, 1451, 1535. Article 16.
The service record is a complete personal history of the soldier and follows him wherever he goes. It contains: a descriptive list, report of assignment, record of prior service, current enlistment, military record, record of allotments, clothing account and settlement, deposits, indorsements (this latter to give reasons for change of status or station of the soldier).
Discharge.—Discharges are of three kinds: honorable, dishonorable and plain discharge. The first is on a white sheet and entitles the soldier to re-enlist; the second is on a yellow sheet and is given following sentence of a general court-martial; the third is on a blue sheet and is given on account of physical disability—it does not entitle the soldier to re-enlist.
Final Statement, a.r., Art. 21.—The final statement is issued to every enlisted man upon his discharge unless he has forfeited all pay and allowances and has no deposits due him.
The final statement is not to be prepared on the type-writer. Money amounts shall be written in both figures and words. The final statement should show the amount due the soldier for: additional pay; clothing; deposits; pay detained; miscellaneous causes. It also should show the amounts due the United States by the soldier for various reasons. In addition it should also state the period covered by the last pay of the soldier.
Officers signing and certifying to the various entries are responsible.
Muster Roll a.r. Article 42.—The muster roll is made bi-monthly and great care should be taken in its preparation to make it both correct and complete. All officers and enlisted men are taken up on the muster roll from the date of receipt of notice of assignment. The following are entered on the rolls:
- Commissioned officers belonging to the organization, in order of rank.
- Commissioned officers attached to the organization, in order of rank.
- Non-commissioned officers in order of grade.
- All others except musicians and privates, alphabetically arranged in order of grade.
- Musicians.
- Privates.
All names, except those entered by rank, are entered in alphabetical order with the last name first.
The names of enlisted men attached to the company are borne on a detachment roll. This is not true of officers attached to an organization, however.
Remarks should be entered according to the model which can be obtained from the Adjutant General's Office.
All changes should be noted which affect the status of the soldier. An excellent idea for retaining this data is to keep a separate card for each man and to enter thereon anything that affects his status.
Pay Roll. a.r. 1315-1383.—The pay roll is made out monthly in triplicate, one copy being retained and two copies being sent to the Quartermaster. On the pay roll there are four certificates to be signed:
- The commander of the organization examines the roll carefully and certifies that all entries are correct.
- The inspecting and mustering officer signs certifying that all are present or accounted for—or notes exceptions.
- The commanding officer witnesses the payment of each man and certifies to that effect.
- The commanding officer certifies that the duplicate and triplicate are exact copies of the original.
Names.—The last name is entered first; e.g., Smith, John A. But the soldier signs as follows: John A. Smith.
Losses.—The losses should follow immediately on the next line after the last entry. They include those by reason of: Discharge, transfer, retirement, desertion and the fact that the man has been dropped.
Each officer should check his knowledge and be sure that he knows the purpose of, and is familiar with the following papers: (References are to Army Regulations and to Adjutant and Quartermaster forms.)
- Morning Report (a.r. 280).
- Daily Sick Report (a.r. 280), (339 a.g.o.).
- Duty Roster (a.r. 282), (339 a.g.o.).
- Company Fund Book (a.r. 280), (452 q.m.c.).
- Delinquency Record (a.r. 280), (509 q.m.c.).
- Property Responsibility:
Quartermaster (a.r. 280), (501cc q.m.c.).
Ordnance (a.r. 280), (501c q.m.c.). - Descriptive List, Military Record and Clothing Account (a.r. 280), (29 a.g.o.).
- Memorandum Receipts (a.r. 281), (448 a.g.o.).
- Abstract Record of Memorandum Receipts (par. 1, g.o., 6, 1916), (448b a.g.o.).
- Summary Court Records (a.r. 9570), (594 a.g.o.).
- Statement of Clothing charged to Enlisted man (165b q.m.c.).
- Abstract of Clothing (180 q.m.c.).
- Company Target Records (307 a.g.o.).
- Individual Clothing Slips (165 q.m.c.).
- Files of Orders (a.r. 280).
- Correspondence Book with Index (a.r. 280).
- Document File.
- Record of Rifles (p. 14, Ordnance Pamphlet No. 1965).
- Record of Sizes of Clothing (g.o. 48, 1911).
- Company Return (a.r. 811), (30 a.g.o.).
- Muster Roll (a.g. 807).
- Returns (a.g. 811).
- Return of Casualties.
- Pay Roll (366 q.m.c.).
As well as numerous other forms for special occasions which are not here listed.
Except for the morning report, sick report, duty roster, correspondence book and various files, practically all the afore-mentioned records are now kept at regimental headquarters instead of in the company orderly room.