Από την Κρήτη εθελοντής στον Αμερικανικό Στρατό., item 41

• November 1, 2018 06:24:59 Anastasia Ioannou

  a puzzle to his untrained mind. Once he compre-

  hends what it is all about he becomes an admirer

  of the system.

      There is a real necessity for the line which is

  drawn between officers and enlisted men. Some

  critics of the Army and Navy have criticized offi-

  cials for what they chose to call “snobbery" This

  could have only sprung from ignorance on the part

  of the critic. The very fact that an officer insists

  upon the niceties of life to this extent is proof

  positive that he is not the snob, and never was one.

  In order to obtain absolute discipline from his men

  he must insist that their lives be separate. Too-

  frequent association might dispel that idea.

     I have often watched recruits during their first

  few days in uniform and have been amused at the

  attitude with which they saluted their officers. Many

  of them understood immediately and executed the

  salute with all the precision possible—others did it

  half-heartedly and looked disgruntled. They gazed

  upon the retreating form of the officer as though

  they were saying to themselves: “Well, he certainly

  thinks he’s the only thing on earth.”

  There is no reason for such an attitude of mind.

  The enlisted man should remember that lie is not

  saluting the man, but the authority lie holds. He

  is paying his respects to the command under which

  he is placed. The particular officer in that uniform

  may be a man just like himself, but for the collec

  -tive and efficient purposes of discipline they have

  been placed apart. The centuries have proven that

  such a policy is the only practical one. Some must

  lead. The enlisted man should never allow his per-

  sonality to become confused with his uniform. His

  country expects him to have a mind of his own and

  to use it when there is a need for it. And the

  greatest need of a recruit’s mind is the understand-

  ing of obedience.

      When one remembers that modern warfare is a

  matter of years' duration in which the fortitude of

  
  

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