The Department Commander desires me to express to you his gratification at your success, and his special commendation for the zeal and ability displayed by you.
The good conduct and faithful services of the enlisted men composing the detachment, and Mr. Rhodes, citizen guide, is deemed a proper subject for a letter of commendation to the Post Commander.
I am Sir, very respectfully, your ob't servant,
(Signed) H. CLAY WOOD,
Assistant Adjutant Gen
Military Experience and Common Sense vs. Military Education and
"Intensive Training"
If a man is not endowed with good common sense, or it is not an inherent trait—no amount of training he might receive at West Point or any other Military institution for the purpose of educating that sense into him, or cultivating what little sense he possesses—especially the military or fighting sense—or, any effort to convert him into a practical soldier, could make him one, and the time and effort will have been worse than wasted— It is simply impossible to supply in him by mere education what he is lacking through nature's gift—and this truth—absolutely axiomatic—applies to all walks of life— Good sense, combined with a liberal education well directed along right lines, makes for success in all pursuits, whether as President, lawyer, doctor, minister, the business man or the professional soldier— But all the education in the wide universe, unaccompanied by good sense, spells defeat for any class—and would not rescue a man from common mediocrity— The world's trail is strewn with such senseless wrecks— They are mere human derelicts on the ocean of life—and the more a man of that type is educated or over educated the worse it is; and the more accentuated does his failure become—the more apparent his lack of common sense, and the more liability there is to wreckage— In no other profession does this become so painfully apparent or more pronounced than in that of the professional soldier, when some desperate effort is being made to create—manufacture, or transform a little man in uniform, a parvenue or a man of mediocre caliber—into a great commander of men—one whose horse sense is particularly lacking—or which cannot by any amount of education or training be developed—and worse still when he himself through an over supply of egotism or conceit is not, nor can he be made aware of his failing, but bungles along until disaster overtakes him and his command, and every thing connected with him and them—
The writer claims that there has not been, nor is there now sufficient care taken in the selection of candidates for entrance to the Military Academy. Little or no heed is taken of their aptitude or fitness for a Military career—and that there are in the service to-day many officers who, from this lack of fitness and deficiency in common sense, are an incubus to the Army—and should be "canned"— Competitive examinations in Congressional Districts develop a class of bright students—some honor men ranking high in their class studies and highly specialized along certain lines, but who, from lack of inherent qualities, fail in the essentials that go to make up an alert, well-balanced, clear-headed, resourceful, decisive, "cracker-jack"—rough and tumble soldier in the field— It is not in them— Those who have had campaign and battle-field experience—have all seen this— Entrance to West Point on certificates or diplomas from High Schools do not altogether fill the bill either—for they are apt to be guided by political favoritism or Congressional pull rather than a selection on general merit and fitness for a military life[A]—based generally upon good health—a sound body and a clear, receptive mind—"Mens sana in corpore sano" but, above all things the one dominating desire to adopt the Army as a life career alone—combined with plenty of good, sound—horse sense—West Point will do the rest in the way of preparation and training— Many of the College and School systems are not uniform or in any way co-ordinated with the class instructions at West Point—and much that these students have gone over in Freshmen—Sophomore—Junior or even Senior courses have to be undone—gone over again—or entirely reversed— The writer has seen a College junior utterly fail or "fall down" at his preliminary examination for lack of thoroughness and drill in the three "R's"— All this is a waste of time— If then, the student's bent is not inclined to an Army life—and his heart is not in it—but to the law, medicine or the ministry—there is more waste and loss of time—in trying to convert a good minister, lawyer, doctor or grocer into a mighty poor soldier— All of these qualifications, and predilections—the individual tastes and preferences of the young candidates should be considered, looked into and carefully weighed in selecting, educating and launching men into a career where they, by rapid promotion, are bound to become the future ranking officers and commanders of our Armies— Many a slip and disaster have occurred in an Army by misplaced judgment—slowness of decision and lack of common sense in trying to fit a "square peg into a round hole" or by educating a man for the service and permitting him to attain high rank and high command before it shall have been discovered that he not only does not possess the necessary qualifications for the same but is absolutely deficient in good sense—good judgment, decisive action, or even the ordinary military instincts to maintain the high standard of efficiency and success pertaining thereto—and upon which all depends— In a garrison of 10 troops of Cavalry and three Companies of Infantry—Mackenzie had not only carefully gone over the entire roster from which to select two officers upon whose experience and good judgment he could absolutely depend for the performance of a duty in which he not only wanted but expected and demanded decisive results, but he had revolved all the possibilities and probabilities of dismal failure had he selected any other than Lawton and myself.
[A] Theodore Roosevelt in his "Letters to His Children"—pp. 87-89, referring to his son "Ted" entering West Point, says: "It would be a great misfortune for you to start into the Army or Navy as a career and find that you had mistaken your desires and had gone in without fully weighing the matter. You ought not to enter unless you feel genuinely drawn to the life as a life-work. If so, go in, but not otherwise." * * "Mr. Loeb (Secretary to President Roosevelt) says he wished to enter the army because he did not know what to do, could not foresee whether he would succeed or fail in life, and felt that the army would give him a living and a career. Now, if this is at bottom of your feeling I should advise you not to go in. I should say yes to some boys, but not to you." If all fathers had given as good advice to their sons who have been aspirants to that kind of military glory which would give them "a living and a career", we would have been saved the mortification of "canning" some of our graduates of West Point during this world war, who having acquired the "career" were not worth the powder with which to blow them out of their O. D. (Olive Drab) uniforms.
It is hoped that the writer will neither be charged with petty conceit, undue egotism nor personal vanity in making these simple declarations of facts the absolute truth of which never was, nor ever could be gainsayed by any officer of that period in the Fourth Cavalry.
In this entire campaign after these deserters, success was dependent, not upon any study or knowledge of tactics, strategy, or any game of war, but largely upon good, common sense, sound judgment—almost intuition—a ready resourcefulness and quick, decisive action— It was practically outside of a theoretical conception of any war problem—as we understand it, but included within the scope of its practical activities. No book has ever been written, or ever will be, which could begin to lay down any cut and dried plan of action, rules, or any fundamental principles in a case like this, or hundreds of other cases similar to the performance of such special duties, any more than a text book could have been written prior to 1914 on how to deal with the German methods of conducting a war for the subjugation of the world by trench, barbed wire and dug-out systems along the Hindenberg lines, etc. All the study of a life time involving such problems, or military knowledge, would be of no avail to some men,—whether civilians or soldiers—unless they possessed, at the same time, plenty of resourcefulness and horse sense and could readily adjust themselves to the ever changing conditions of those same problems. The factors never remain fixed or constant. It is the same in battle and with the factors controlling it—which accounts for the lack of success of many so called soldiers by their failure to get away from fixed rules. There is one word that seems to involve the main spring of a soldier's action in all such emergencies—and that is—Experience—and the practical application of that experience to all of the problems of life whether great or small, but especially in puzzling situations like this, where the factors are dependent on no fixed rules—are never constant—and therefore events so shape themselves in such rapid succession that without quick, decisive action based upon one's resources and sound judgment gained by experience—the dependence upon study of any books which might bear in any way upon such conditions would, not only prove a most ridiculous farce, but would be offering a premium on commonplace student soldiers—obtuseness and asinine stupidity.
There is such a thing in the development of a soldier along certain lines for practical work, as over education, as well as over training— In the one case he thinks he knows so much that he cannot be taught any more, and is apt, therefore, to eliminate entirely the element of common sense—the one factor for success upon which he must largely depend—and to neglect to apply some of the most simple and practical principles in his earlier education—and, in the other case he may go stale, and lose much of his spirit, enthusiasm and energy while waiting to test out his knowledge in the real field of endeavor and practical experience.