All duty should be performed cheerfully and willingly. Soldiers are sometimes required to perform duties that are not pleasant—for instance, doing guard duty on a cold, rainy night, when tired and sleepy; digging ditches or cleaning up dirt and filth that have accumulated around the barracks, kitchens, quarters, etc., scrubbing floors, polishing stoves, cleaning knives, forks, pots, etc. However, by doing everything required of him in a cheerful manner, a soldier will soon earn the respect of his comrades and the commendation of his officers.
[1525]. Respect and Obedience to Noncommissioned Officers. In the orders and directions that they give, company noncommissioned officers represent the company commander, and they must be obeyed and respected at all times and under all circumstances.
Orders and regulations require that men respect and obey their noncommissioned officers, and discipline makes it imperative that they do so.
It is not for a private to question in any way the fairness, justice, propriety or wisdom of an order received from a noncommissioned officer. When ordered by a noncommissioned officer to do a thing, whatever it may be, do it promptly and thoroughly, and then if you feel that you have been injured in any way, report the matter to your company commander, who will see that you receive justice. If the noncommissioned officer made a mistake, exceeded his authority, or treated you unfairly, he will be punished by the company commander. The company commander, and not the privates of the company, is to judge the conduct of his noncommissioned officers, who are directly responsible to him for every act of theirs.
If every subordinate were to question the fairness, justice, propriety or wisdom of orders received from noncommissioned officers or other superiors, there would be no discipline, and the Army would soon degenerate into a mob.
Remember, a soldier is supposed to obey first, and, if aggrieved, complain afterward.
And remember, too, that the authority of noncommissioned officers is not confined to the drill ground, the barracks and the post or camp. Whether you are on pass, in a theatre, in a streetcar, on a train on the street or anywhere else, if you receive an order from a noncommissioned officer you are to obey it just the same as if it were given you at drill or in barracks.
[1526]. Forms of Speech. In speaking to an officer it is not proper for a soldier to say, "You, etc.," but the third person should always be used, as, for example, "Does the captain want his horse this morning?"—do not say, "Do you want your horse this morning?" "The lieutenant is wanted on the 'phone,"—not "You are wanted on the 'phone."
In beginning a conversation with an officer, a soldier should use the third person in referring to himself instead of the pronouns "I" and "me." However, after the conversation has commenced, it is perfectly proper, and usual, for the soldier to use the pronouns "I" and "me," but an officer is always addressed in the third person and never as "you."
In speaking to an officer, an enlisted man should refer to another enlisted man by proper title, as, "Sergeant Richards," "Corporal Smith," "Private Wilson."