_The Director_: “While it is not expected that any member of the class
will ever be called upon to command a section of Infantry, it is
nevertheless important for you to know what happens when you issue an
order which requires the action of a section leader.
“Let us visualize this situation. Let us consider ourselves as being
Sergeant K. He is the fellow that all the orders finally get down to and
the one that has to do the real job out here on the line. You hear the
claims of certain staff corps, from time to time, about the necessity
for having high-class men for the key positions in their enlisted
personnel. Can you show me in any branch of the Army where a high-class
man is required any more than he is right here? Here is a doughboy
sergeant face to face with a problem, the proper solution of which means
more to the success of the operations than any so-called “highly
technical” position in the back areas. Upon what he does and how he does
it may depend the success or failure of this whole military operation.
The lives of the men under him are absolutely in his hands. If he
blunders he may lose all of them.
“With these few remarks let us proceed with the problem.”