Field classes provide experience
for junior Army ROTC students
(Author'd preface: East Thurs
day the Army BOTC depart
ment allowed me to iernm
o-tnv t he junior class on their
field problem so that I could
record my Impressions for The
Pane raid. For their co-operation
In allowing me to fa* The Em
erald’s first “compat corre
spondent” I uni very fateful.)
Ily TED MAH A It
Emerald New* Editor
The platoon leader stood up
nnd shouted "Attack! Attack!"
Forty m»n staggered to their feet
lioin tlie gl ass in which they had
Iain in readiness and ran shoul
' Tng toward the enemy rifles.
When the two opposing forces
closed, the o lemy ran out to greet
the attacking plntoon. After a
few minutes of joking and horse
play, the platoon leader issued a
few iidnunisir.itive orders and
everyone sat around waiting the
cadre officer to deliver the;
critique of the exercises.
The platoon Involved In the
attac k w a * comprised of the
juniors taking advanced ROTO1
at the University. The enemy
were a f~w seniors who fired j
blank ammunition as a part of
the ficl1 problem.
THE ROTC department con
ducts these praetic s tactics
classes to prepare juniors for;
their six weeks in summer camp
at Fart Lewis. Another, and more
important, reason is that through
the Thursday afternoon practice
maneuvers the officers-to-be can
get a general idea of the prob
lems in leading and controlling
troops in combat situations.
In order to do this, «.* many
realistic details as possible are
Incorporated. The students wear
combat fatigue clothes, carry
rifles and machine-guns and are
organized into the regulation
chain-of-cotpmand units. The ter
rain, south of Eugene, is wooded
and in many parts no buildings
are visible except for an ocra
il ona* bam.
OF OOl’KSK it is Impossible
to simulate HCtual combat, and
the military department does not
hoj>e for this end. Only a limited
amount of equipment is available.
For example, it is impossible to
bring down a "simulated” mortar
barrage; real mortars kill and the
only alternative is to pretend.
Even blank ammunition must be
carefully supervised, for it is
lethal at a range of 20 feet. And
probaMy most important of all,
It is Impossible to simulate fear.
Hut the purpose of the field
training sessions is. as one of the
cadre officers put It, "only to give
you an Idea of how hard it can be
to try to control a platoon.” The
field exercises provide the best
opportunity outside of actual
combat for practicing the theories
learned in the classroom. Con
cepts thut seem elementary and
ridiculously simple in class some
how become bt Hin-torturing prob
lems of Inextricable intricacy in
the field.
IN ADDITION to seeing the
difficulties of controlling a pla- j
toon, cadets can learn a number i
of other situations that face a
soldier in combat.
For one thing, hardly anyone
sees his enemy. Thursday after
noon the platoon was fired upon
by a sniper as it advanced toward
the objective. Because the pla
toon was widely dispersed, many
only heard the gunfire without
ever seeing the sniper. When fi
nally the sniper was silenced, this
correspondent was surprised to
see that the enemy was only a
little over 100 feet from where l
lay. Later, when the assault was
launched against the objective,
the seniors could not be seen until
the platoon had ulmoat overrun
their position.
ANOTHER LESSON taught on
Thursday afternoons is that na
I I !
Jt MT BEFOBE THE \TT\C K begins, the platoon leader holds a
conference with his squad leaders and issues final instructions.
ture is not always inclined to co
operate with soldiers. The grass
in front of the objective was high
enough to slow men down as they
approached the objective. It was
also high enough to conceal
branches and holes In the ground
as well as sloppy little puddles
that made walking upright some
what challenging. And when it
was necessary to hit the dirt, one
discovered that the only things
in view were several hundred
blades of grass and the visor of
his helmet. For variety there
were sometimes bugs and ■water
dog*. but not everyone was for
tunate enough to run into these
natural diversions.
ON THIS particular day (and
by coincidence, on every other
particulai day) everything was
wet, especially the cadets. One of
them observed that “you don't
even bother trying to keep dry.
You just feel lucky when you
accidentally go through a spot
where the water isn't over your
boot soles.”
Another phenomena that be
comes quite apparent even to the
most hopelessly obtuse is that
M-l's gain weight proportionate
to the distance they are carried.
And men grow tired. There are
times when the decision to walk
another hundred feet seems only
an optimistic wish. Despite this,
the foot soldier has been called
the most mobile weapon on the
battlefield. He needs no spare
parts, only a minimum of main
tenance. and can somehow al
ways summon the strength to go
a few more yards.
BI T PROBABLY the strongest
impression of all is the confusion
that oozes over a battlefield like
molasses. The simplest orders can
be misunderstood and the most
obvious solution to a problem can
be overlooked. In the critique
held immediately after the exer
| cise one of the cadre officers said
that “everyone's a college man
and thinks his idea’s a little
better.” Consequently orders get
different interpretations as they
pass down the chain-of-command.
And though initiative in a soldier
is desirable, there is such a thing
as too much initiative. Thursday j
afternoon theoretical Pfc's ended
up giving orders not only to other
Pfc’s in their squad, but to Pfc's ,
in other squads as well.
EVERYTHING in general went
wrone. The platoon leader sadly
mentioned that he had been!
lulled seven ot ttght times. The i
cadre sergeants, who acted as
referees, noted that the platoon
had been wiped out about three
times.
But the mistakes everyne made
were more helpful as lessons than
the successes. In the critique, one
of the officers said he was "glad
things happened the way they:
did, because one thing that is
always true is that something is
always bound to go wrong. If
' everyone had done everything
right, no one would have learned '
anything.”
THE LESSONS learned Thurs- j
day were not great revelations tc
anyone; it is doubtful that any
one was surprised by anything,
except possibly by the fact that
no one broke his ankle in the pot
holes. The important thing was
that the cadets were made aware
by personal experience of some
of the things that could possibly
happen to them when they must
lead real soldiers in a real com
bat situation. Certainly they are
not crack troops after three
hour's practice every Thursday
-
IF YOU
WERE . . .
Sitting in the stands during the bottom of
the ninth inning, with the score tied, two
on and Willie Mays coming to bat, what
would you do? You should get right up |
and proceed immediately to Taco Time
because any time is Taco Time.
TACO TIME
13th & HIGH
Sigma Delta Chi initiates studertf;
Sigma Delta Chi, men's pro- later.
fessional journalism fraternity,
initiated six new members into
the Oregon chapter Thursday. ;
They were James Boyd, Keman j
Turner, Tong Suhr, Jonathan
Marshall, John Simpson and Keith
Powell.
ONE CANDIDATE for admis
sion, Gary Sala, was unable to be
present, ard will be initiated
afternoon; but, should they ever
be involved in a war, they will
never live to be even adequate
troops without the kind of train
ing provided on Thursday after
noons.
Sigma Delta Chi is a profes
sional organisation for men in the
news-editorial field of journalism.
The group holds bi-monthly
luncheon meetings where guest
speakers from the professional
world of journalism are speakers.
THE XKXT meeting will be
held Tuesday at noon when War
ren Price, acting dean of the
School of Journalism, will taik
on his Washington, D.C. trip
'’■'be e he was n \aided the Sigma
Delta Chi award for journalism
.e-seirrh.
Frofcrsor John Hulteng is the
•hapter mVisor.
POn Campus
A&lWmanj
r (Author of “I Was a Teen-age Dwarf,” “The Mont/
Loves of Dobie GiUisetc.)
EUROPE MADE SIMPLE: NO. 2
I-ast week we discussed England, the first stop on the tour of
Europe that every American college student is going to make
this summer. Today we will discuss your next stop, France—or
the Pearl of the Pacific, as it is generally called.
To get from England to France, one greases one’s body and
swims the English Channel. Similarly? to get from I’ranee to
Spain, one greases one’s body and slides down the Pyrenees.
As you can see, the most important single item to take to Europe
is a valise full of grease.
No, I ain wrong. The most important single item to take to
Europe is a valise full of Marlboro Cigarettes. Oh, what a piece
of work is Marlboro! If you think flavor went out when filters
came in, treat yourself to a Marlboro. The filter works perfectly,
and yet you get the full, zestful, edifying taste of the clioice
tobaccos that precede the filter. This remarkable feat of cigarette
engineering was achieved by Marllxiro’s research team—Fred
Softjrack and Walter Fliptop—and I, for one, am grateful.
But I digress. We were speaking of France—or the Serpent of
the Nile, as it is jxrpularly termed.
First let u* briefly sum up the history of France. The nation
was discovered in 1492 by Madame (Guillotine. There followed
a series of costly wars with Schleswig-Holstein, tlie Cleveland
Indians, and Cajrtain Dreyfus. Stability finally came to this
troubled land with the coronation of Marshal Foch, who
married Lorraine Alsace and had tliree children: Flopsy, Mojisy,
and Cliarlernagne. This later ljecame known as the Petit Trianon.
fefWww ikb titab&t&fa.
Marshal Foch—or the Boy Orator of the Platte, as he was
affectionately called—was succeeded by Napoleon who intro
duced shortness to France. Until Napoleon, the French were the
tallest nation in Europe. After Napoleon, most Frenchmen were .
able to walk comfortably under card tables. This later became
known as the Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Napoleon was finally exiled to Elba where he made the
famous statement, “Able was I ere I saw Elba,” which reads
the same whether you spell it forwards or backwards. You can
also spell Marlboro backwards—Oroblram. Do not, however,
try to smoke Marlboro tiaekwards because that undoes all the
efficacy of the great Marlboro filter.
After Napoleon’s death the French people fell into a great
depression, known as the Louisiana Purchase. F'or over a cen
tury even-body sat around moping and refusing his food. This
torpor was uot lifted until Eiffel built his famous tower, which
made everybody giggle so hard that today France is the gayest
country in all Europe.
Each night the colorful natives gather at sidewalk cafes and
shout “Oo-la-la” as Maurice Chevalier promenades down the
Chamjjs Elysees swinging his Malacca cane. Then, tired hut
happy, everyone goes to the louvre for bowls of onion soup.
The principal industry of France is cashing travelers clieeks.
Well sir, I guess that's all you new! to know about France.
Next week we'll visit the Land of the Midnight Sun— Spain.
{£>11)60 Max Sbuluiaa
* * *
Next iteek, this week, every week, the best of the filter
cigarettes is Marlboro, the best of the non-filters is Philip
Morris; both available in soft pack or tlip-top box.