European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 13, 1945, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Fugh Fht through at by Walter Bernstein yank staff writer Camp infantry training has changed since the Days when people still thought they were getting out in a its better taught and More it has to when trainees finish their Cycle they dont go out on they go right overseas and into the this policy was started when the decision was made not to form any More new that was Long before everything is done now on the replacement this system will continue during the War against Japan according to army ground the training Cycle will also remain Basi Cally the same a it was before Germany was emphasis will be placed on new says and there will be some variation in the use of old As their use conforms to lessons Learned in the but otherwise the same fundamental methods of killing an enemy will be retained and the main changes will be those normally made in keeping the Cycle constantly up to Back in when Camp Wheeler was set up As the first infantry replacement training its Basic training Cycle was 13 after Basic the trainees were shipped to where they Learned to work As a Wheeler is still turning out but the Cycle has been upped to 15 weeks for quite a while it was 17 and the men go out As individual this plan is based on simple a cer Tain number of men Are continually needed Over seas and the we figures a constant 15week Page 16 Fenci to m a f w a it training program of replacements will take care of the this whole business of replacements has caused a lot of particularly by combat men most seem to be caused by the incurable fact that men cant be sent into combat knowing already what combat is but there have been More specific complaints men trained Only As riflemen being sent to heavy weapons companies or sent into the line without a Chance to know the men they Are fighting or left to grow Mold in a repple dapple until they forget everything they or just sent up front without knowing what the hell is going these complaints appear to have some justify but the faults dont lie primarily with the the Irtys have no control Over replace ments once Treyve the Only Job of a Center like Camp Wheeler is to make infantrymen out of civilians in a very Short period the basis of a curriculum handed Down by army ground forces through the replacement and school they do this Job Well according to most of the a combat men who Are now cadre men and instructors Here at Many of the cadre men with whom i talked think the course could be improved one Way or but on the whole they feel this particular iroc uses the m 15 weeks about As Well As could be this is actually saying a Good since 15 weeks is not All the time in the there have been Many changes in the curriculum As the army has grown and the nearly everybody is being improved All the for the tactical emphasis used to be entirely on company tactics now it is on squad and platoon there used to be Little live firing now there Are 14 More firing problems than there were a year trainees used to spend Only three Days in the Field now they spend two weeks in with 16 hours of night work each there used to be six hours of military Courtesy and much Clos order Drill this has been Cut although Many cadre men think it could be Cut even under the present system the first six weeks Are Given Over to Branch immaterial train this includes military sex mines and Booby malaria map marksmanship and other the next nine weeks Are Wheeler is set up to train 18 battalions each Cycle including one heavy weapons and one specialist Bat the remaining 16 Are All Rifle the specialist battalion includes two companies of one company of message Center eur personnel and one company of Pioneer during the specialized trainees in the Rifle battalions get 79 hours in tactical training of the individual which takes in scouting and cover and Hasty fortifications and not Hasty the men get 16 hours on the 103 hours on the eight on the 48 on the 62 on the Light machine 60 on the 60mm 74 on tactics and eight on close combat and infiltration All the infantry weapons Are Fiel fired and live ammunition is used in the infiltration most of the formal instruction is handled by officers and it is done strictly by the if it int in the pm it int even if it worked for you from Bougainville to but the important thing is that the fms Are constantly revised according to lessons Learned in reports from overseas Are received and studied All the their recommendations Are incorporated into the the system May be rigid in the sense that no deviation from the pm is but the manual itself is definitely and the instruction is always up to because a program As big As this one must be enlisted cadre men do not in although they implement lectures by advice in the Field and coaching on the this has pod some of the former combat who claim that they Are not allowed to pass on what Treyve Learned by but it seems pretty Clear that you cant have men 15 Irtys full of specialized combat knowledge familiar Only to a particular the we says that a trainee would Only become confused if he were taught in the same Cycle by men who had come from Heaters bringing with them a conflicting variety of some of the cadre men claim that this makes for a situation in which a Young officer without any experience tries to Tell trainees what to when men with combat experience Are forbid Den to do about 30 percent of the officers have been overseas the rest May be Over limited service or fresh out of these new second lieutenants Are sent to Irtys mainly for experience in leading and they also learn while the teaching Here is done on the committee similar to that of the infantry each battalion has a mortar my com Mittee and so made up of cadre officers and enlisted men who teach Only that the Only trouble with this according to the major in charge of Battle is that the personnel of the committees is not officers Are always being shipped out and the members of the committee two nights a week cadre officers and men must attend cadre instruction is Dis cussed at these so that All the instructors will know what is expected of practically All the cadre men i saw disliked this claiming that combat men could not open their Mouths without having the manual pulled on opinion is divided among the cadre men As to particulars of the course although most of them think it quite adequate As a a Rifleman who had with the 36th division through Italy said these trainees get a much better idea of combat than we did when we but theres too much of this tent pitch ing and military Courtesy i they got it too they should teach them military Courtesy and but in the Field where the men can see right there Why its bad not to have a Corporal who fought with the 88th division in Italy said the trainees dont get enough might work and they dont get real enough com Bat id Send them out there for a couple of Days with just a Belt and a Rifle and make them eat k they should also have More Speed and forced another thing they teach these men is to stand up and shoot when they get fired instead of hitting the they aint going to live very Long that a platoon sergeant from the 32d division in the Pacific said they get these second lieu tenants instructing and teach them that the pm is that Why second lieutenants get killed so the pm says they should be out in front Jike a Biassed Bird and they always follow the a Corporal who had been with merrills marauders said they throw the stuff at the trainees too fast and they dont let the overseas i its Only a 15week but its More Complete and 1 better taught than it used to be four years Civ 4tj t f trainees go through the infiltration course at Camp Wheeler while machine guns fire Over their Field firing the my in combo patrol the area contains targets which pop up before the men talk to they should have at least one hour a week for a Bull session Between the trainees and the combat from a Rifleman out of the 36th division in France the weapons training is but they dont get enough time on the the full Field inspections Are a waste of the Only thing they should inspect Are from a 45th division Man theres too much but otherwise its a Damn Good they teach these Guys a hell of a when you think they Only have 15 the Only place i think there weak is scouting and they dont get nearly enough of they should also get More map and Compass a platoon sergeant who had been with the 43d division in the Pacific agreed they dont get half enough scouting and practically All we did in the Pacific was that kind of one Good thing there getting is More instruction in first Thall come in a Rifleman from the 4th division said More map and patrol most of the training films Are out of they should use More and better the firing they get on the Battle courses is but they dont get enough of they should also get some amphibious practically All the cadre men agreed that there should be More scouting and patrolling and less an s3 major who had fought in Africa and Italy agreed on the first i dont know what you can do about he we Only have 15 As it we get in More of that work than we Ever did and we would squeeze in More if we the bivouac period is also not rough but you have to remember that 13 weeks ago these men were All that is what you hear All Over Wheeler everything in the course must be because there is no margin for i found Only two major differences of opinion Between enlisted cadre men and officers on How the time is spent at this the cadre men feel that there is too much formal and that this time could be better spent on weapons or tactical combat the officers feel strongly that this disciplinary training is Neces sary to make a then most of the officers to whom i particularly those removed from actual Contact with the Felt that the 22 hours Given to orientation could be and the time allotted to other practically All the cadre men i met thought that the orientation hours were a Good their reasons varied from its Good because it makes the blood to its Good because a Man should know whats going but they All thought that some kind of orientation period was on the this emphasis on slight As it gives a fair indication of How infantry training has the Cycle at Wheeler tries to bring out the individual Initia Tive of each it tries to make him feel that while he is part of a he is also a Man who must look out for himself if Lead i remember that during the first week of my training Back in our platoon of trainees was taken out on the Drill Field and told by our lieutenant that a Good Soldier is supposed Only to take orders and that we were not being paid to in the first week at an iroc a trainee is told the Best Soldier is the Man who the american Soldier is Good because he knows whats going infantry training has All 17