4. Promotion, and extra duty details which carry extra pay.
5. Meritorious conduct of importance should be noted in the soldier's military record and also on his discharge.
6. At the weekly company inspection, each chief of squad picks out the neatest and cleanest man in his squad—the captain then inspects the men so selected, the neatest and cleanest one being excused from one or two tours of kitchen police, or some other disagreeable duty; or given a two days' pass.
Note: Some officers do not think that good conduct should be especially rewarded, but that if all soldiers be held strictly accountable for their actions by a system of strict discipline, good conduct attains its own reward in the immunities it enjoys.
[882]. Company punishment. It is neither necessary nor desirable to bring every dereliction of duty before a court-martial for trial. In fact, the invariable preferring of charges for minor[9] offenses will, as a rule, injure rather than help the discipline of a command. The 104th Article of War states, "The commanding officer of any detachment, company, or higher command may, for minor offenses not denied by the accused, impose disciplinary punishments upon persons of his command without the intervention of a court-martial, unless the accused demands trial by court-martial." The disciplinary punishments authorized may include admonition, reprimand, withholding of privileges, extra fatigue, and restriction to certain specified limits, but shall not include forfeiture of pay or confinement under guard. (Par. 333, Manual for Courts-Martial.)
Some Efficacious Forms of Company Punishment
[883]. 1. Extra fatigue under the Company Supply Sergeant or the noncommissioned officer in charge of quarters, cleaning up around and in the company quarters, scrubbing pots, scouring tin pans, polishing stoves, cutting wood, policing the rears, cutting grass, pulling weeds, polishing the brass and nickel parts in the water closets and bath rooms, washing and greasing leather, cleaning guns, boiling greasy haversacks, and in camp, digging drains and working around slop holes.
If the work be done well the offender may be let off sooner—if the work be not done well, he may be tried for it.
2. Men may not be allowed to leave the immediate vicinity of the barracks for periods ranging from one to ten days, during which time they are subject to all kinds of disagreeable fatigue, and required to report to the N. C. O. in charge of quarters at stated hours.
3. Breaking rocks for a given number of days. For every man so punished, a private of the same company is detailed as a sentinel and for every four men a corporal is detailed in addition—the idea being to cause every man in each organization to take an interest in preventing his own comrades from violating rules and regulations.