RANGER TRAINING
Buddy System Lieutenant Colonel William O. Darby, Commanding Officer of Rangers, Italy: “In our work we use the ‘Buddy’ system—the men always work in pairs. They live in pairs, eat in pairs, do guard in pairs—even do KP in pairs. Confidence in each other is developed. They can pick their own buddy from within their platoon.
Realism “In our training we never do anything without battle noises and effects. We always use live ammunition. We use mines, barbed wire, and protective bands of machine-gun fire extensively. If the problem is to capture a machine-gun nest, there is always a machine-gun nest there with a machine gun firing in a fixed direction. The men very quickly get accustomed to having live ammunition flying around them.
“Captured Italian and German machine guns and machine pistols are used by the ‘enemy’ in our problems. Our men quickly learn to distinguish between the fire of our own weapons and that of enemy weapons. Also the ‘enemy’ makes constant use of flares.
“We always carry our normal load of ammunition with weapons loaded. If a man knows his weapon is loaded he will be more careful in handling it. Accidental discharge of a weapon automatically means a fine and immediate reduction to the grade of private. In our work, we must take drastic measures to guard against accidental discharge of weapons. We learned our lesson in Tunisia, where the accidental discharge of a rifle queered a raid and caused a 24-hour delay in operations. [See [comment] on this subject following “[Night Attack].”]
Recognition “We use colored flashlights with the light dimmed down for recognition purposes in night work. Different colors are used, and we usually have a certain light signal for recognition; for instance, ‘A’——which would be a dot, dash. It gives a man great comfort and confidence when working at night, especially in towns, to receive a recognition signal when he needs one.
Formations “We use a column formation for approach and assault movement at night. From experience, I believe it is the best formation to use at night. We do not attempt to use prominent terrain features to keep direction. We use pacing, compass bearing, and stars. Usually in advancing to attack at night we halt to check position every 1,000 yards. We start moving again by radio signal over the SCR 536[B] or by runner.
[B] A 5½-pound “Handy-talkie” transmitter-receiver.
“It is necessary to arrange for collecting your men together again after the raid is over. To do this I have men stationed along a line through which men will pass at intervals in their withdrawal. The sentinels on this line stop and collect the men into groups as they withdraw.
Cooking I prefer to have men cook their own meals with their mess kits. We did not have kitchens in Sicily, and we have been here a month without them. Even though the kitchens are available I always have men individually cook at least one meal a day.
Physical Conditioning “One of our best means of physical conditioning is speed marching, finally reaching a point where we march ten miles at a rate of six miles an hour. To keep in condition we use calisthenics and a daily five-mile speed march.
Discipline “Disciplinary drills are all important. We have a retreat formation daily, conditions permitting. At this formation men are inspected and some manual of arms performed, followed by retreat. Every Sunday morning there is a review, followed by inspection in ranks, and then inspection of camp or quarters. We have at least four periods a week of close-order drill and manual of arms, and one period every week is devoted to military courtesy.
“Infractions of discipline, military courtesy, and uniform regulations are dealt with quickly and severely. The officers must bear down on these things. The Army in general has not stressed strict discipline enough. Without it you are lost.”
PHOTOGRAPH BY U. S. SIGNAL CORPS
“Long Tom” in Action