Notes on Army Regulations
1. OBEDIENCE required in the military service--strict and prompt.
2. AUTHORITY EXERCISED with firmness, kindness and justice--prompt and
lawful punishment.
3. ABUSIVE LANGUAGE or conduct by superiors forbidden.
4. RESPECT TO SUPERIORS will be extended upon all occasions, whether
on duty or not.
5. REMARKS BY OFFICERS or soldiers upon others in the military
service, whether praise or censure, public or private, written or
spoken, is prohibited. Any effort to affect legislation for a personal
favor will be entered against a man's military record.
106. FURLOUGHS not granted to men about to be discharged. Not more
than five per cent of a company shall be absent at one time.
109. MEN ON FURLOUGH may not leave the United States.
111. FOR MEN IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES furlough can begin on date of
reaching United States.
113. No PAYMENTS made to men while on furlough. Arms not to be taken
on furlough or while reporting sick.
(N.B.--There will unquestionably be a modification of this ruling,
as the custom abroad is to have every man keep his complete equipment
with him whenever possible.)
116. DESERTION. Property lost or destroyed will be charged against
deserter.
117. ABANDONED CLOTHES turned over to Quartermaster. Personal effects
sold and credited to United States.
121. REWARD OF $50 for apprehension and delivery of deserter or
military prisoner.
127. COSTS OF APPREHENSION will be charged against deserter.
129. NO PAY OR CLOTHES drawn by soldier awaiting trial on charge of
desertion.
131. WILL BE RESTORED to duty only by court martial or authority
competent to order trial.
132. ABSENT WITHOUT LEAVE. Enlisted man forfeits all pay and
allowances while away.
Soldier will not be charged with desertion until commanding officer
has reason to believe he intended to desert. Absence of less than 24
hours will not be noted upon the muster roll.
139. DISCHARGE of enlisted man only
1. By order of President or Secretary of War.
2. By order of General Court Martial.
3. By order of United States court or justice or judge, on writ of
habeas corpus.
4. By command of territorial department.
5. By disability in line of duty.
6. By sentence of civil court.
7. By purchase.
(N.B.--In time of war it is probable that the last two methods would
not be effective for discharge from the service.)
140. FINAL STATEMENTS. The company commander will furnish each
enlisted man a final statement (or duplicate) or a full statement in
writing explaining why such final statement is not furnished. No final
statement will be furnished a soldier who has forfeited all pay and
allowances or who has no deposits due him.
147. CERTIFICATE will give
1. Character certified by company commander.
2. Whether recommended for re-enlistment.
In case of negative opinion, the soldier should be notified at
least 30 days prior to discharge. In that case the company
commander shall convene a board of three officers (if possible) to
determine what kind of discharge shall be given. The soldier will
be given a hearing.
151. LOSS OF DISCHARGE CERTIFICATE. Discharge certificates will not be
made in duplicate. Upon proper proof of loss or destruction without
fault of person entitled to it, the War Department will issue a
certificate of service, showing date of enlistment and discharge from
the army and character given in original certificate.
Discharge certificates should never be forwarded to the War
Department in correspondence unless called for.
159. PHYSICAL DISABILITY CERTIFICATE issued when an enlisted man is
permanently unfitted for service, in line of duty. Certificates of
disability not made in duplicate.
162. DEATH OF SOLDIER.
1. Effects are secured.
2. Nearest relatives notified.
3. Adjutant General of army notified.
In active service the War Department requires the following reports:
1. Report of company commander to Adjutant General, covering death
and disposal of remains.
2. Report of surgeon or company commander embodying
a. Cause of death.
b. Whether in line of duty.
c. Whether due to another soldier's misconduct.
3. Inventory of effects in duplicate.
163. EFFECTS, when not claimed within reasonable time, sold and
credited to United States.
No authority for officers to pay debts of dead soldiers.
Trinkets will not be sold but sent to the Adjutant General's office.
165. EFFECTS will be delivered, if called for, to legal representative
of deceased after arrears are paid.
167. MEDAL OF HONOR. Authorized by Congress to be awarded to officers
and men for extreme acts of gallantry in action, beyond line of duty.
Recommendations will be considered by standard of extraordinary merit,
and must have incontestible proof.
184. CERTIFICATE OF MERIT. Granted by President to any enlisted man in
the service for distinguished acts in line of duty, on recommendation
of company commander, based upon statement of eye witness, preferably
the immediate company commander. $200 permanent additional pay is
allowed.
285. QUARTERS. Name of each soldier on bunk. Arms on rack.
Accoutrements hung up by the belts.
287. SATURDAY INSPECTION preceded by thorough policing. Leaders of
squads will see that everything is clean.
1011. NEGLECT OF ROOMS or furniture by officer or soldier a military
offense. All necessary costs shall be paid by him.
1178. DESTRUCTION OF TABLEWARE or kitchen utensils by soldiers will be
charged against their pay.
288. CHIEFS OF SQUADS are responsible
1. For cleanliness of men.
2. For their proper equipment for duty.
3. For their proper dress when going "on pass."
374. PREMISES shall be policed daily after breakfast.
290. COMPANY COMMANDER will see that public property held by men is
kept in good order, and missing or spoiled articles paid for.
292. ARMS shall not be taken down without proper supervision and by
order of commissioned officer.
No changing of parts or finish.
Tompions (muzzle plugs) in small arms forbidden.
657. ACCOUNTABILITY AND RESPONSIBILITY--Both devolve upon persons
entrusted with public property.
Responsibility without accountability devolves upon one to whom
property is entrusted, but who does not have to make returns
therefor. Responsibility does not end until property has been given
back to accountable officer and a receipt taken, or he has been
relieved by regulations or by orders.
Accountability without responsibility occurs when an officer holds
proper memorandum receipts for property delivered to others.
EXAMPLE.--The Company Commander is accountable and responsible for the
rifles turned over to his company. He is accountable without
responsibility when each enlisted man has been issued a rifle and has
signed a receipt for it. Each enlisted man is then responsible for his
rifle, without accountability, until he returns it in proper
condition. In general, therefore: Accountability requires evidence of
the disposition that has been made of property. Responsibility implies
possession, and requires return of the property or payment for it.
685. LOSS OF PUBLIC PROPERTY by neglect of any officer or soldier
shall be paid by him, at such rates as a survey of the property may
determine.
Charges will be made only after conclusive proof, and not without a
survey if the soldier demands one.
Signing the payroll will be regarded as an acknowledgment of the
justice of the charge.
1202. RATION is the allowance of food for one person or animal for one
day.
1229. FORFEITURE of ration is made when a soldier overstays furlough.
1339. PAY for continuous service is credited a soldier if he enlists
within three months after honorable discharge.
For privates an increase of $3 per month is allowed up to and
including the third enlistment, beyond this $1 per month increase
given up to and including the seventh enlistment.
For non-commissioned officers the increase of $3 per month continues
to and includes the seventh enlistment.
No increased pay is given after the seventh enlistment to private or
non-commissioned officer.
1347. ALLOTMENTS (revised by Act of Congress, October, 1917).
The new law does away with future pensions. Allotments may be made to:
1. Family.
2. Bank.
For married men or those with dependents, such as children, parents
divorced wives, whose support is required by court order, allotments
are compulsory, and must not be less than $15 a month and not more
than one-half of his pay. The Company Commander is responsible for
finding who comes under this rule. By this arrangement soldiers cannot
shirk the support of dependents.
The government will double the amount allotted by each soldier, to a
limit of $37.50 a month. In cases where the soldier allots half of his
pay the government will add to the allotment according to the
following scale, even though it more than doubles the amount paid by
the soldier:
Class A.
Wife, no child, $15.
Wife, one child, $25.
Wife, two children, $32.50.
For each additional child, $5 more.
No wife living, one child, $5.
Two children, $12.50.
Three children, $20.
Four children, $30.
For each additional child, $5.
Class B.
One parent, $10.
Two parents, $20.
Each grandchild, brother, sister or additional dependent, $5.
Nurses can make allotment.
When both A and B classes are in need of allotment from a soldier's
pay, and he has allotted half of his pay to Class A, he may allot an
additional one-seventh of his pay for the support of Class B
dependents, and the government will pay the sums listed above to the
Class B dependents, to the limit of $20 a month. Payments under this
act were begun November 1, 1917. In case less than one-half of a
soldier's pay is allotted, the Secretary of War may require the
allotment to be increased up to one-half of the pay.
COMPENSATION FOR DEATH OR DISABILITY in line of duty. In all cases
must be applied for. In case of death, monthly compensation shall be
as follows per month:
Widow, $25.
Widow and 1 child, $35.
Widow and 2 children, $47.50.
Each additional child, $5.
One child alone, $20.
Two children, $30.
Three children, $40.
Each additional child, $5.
Widowed mother, $20.
For transportation of body, $100.
No women can receive compensation from two sources. The government
will continue to pay compensation to a dependent wife until her death
or remarriage, and to children until they are 18 years old, unless
they are insane or helpless, in which case it will continue to pay the
compensation during such incapacity.
In case of total disability, compensation will be as follows per
month:
Soldier alone, $30.
With wife, no child, $45.
With wife, one child, $55.
With wife, two children, $65.
Three children or more, $75.
No wife living, one child, $40.
No wife living, each additional child, $10.
Soldier and widowed mother, $40.
In case of total disability where attendance is needed, $20 per month
will be added to the compensation, unless the soldier is blind,
bedridden, or has lost both feet or hands, in which case the
compensation will be $100 per month, with no extra allowance for
attendance. In case of partial disability, compensation will be a
percentage of the amount paid in case of total disability. These
annuities continue only during the life of the person for whom they
are first paid.
ADDITIONAL INSURANCE.--Uniform compensation for all ranks can go only
to blood relations. In case of death or disability in line of duty, it
is paid in monthly instalments for 20 years. Insurance is from $1,000
to $10,000 in multiples of $500. The rate is exceedingly low.
Insurance must be applied for within 120 days after entering the
service. Premiums are paid monthly, quarterly or yearly from the pay
of the insured man. After the war this insurance must be converted
within five years into a policy either of straight life insurance,
20-year payment or endowment, maturing at the age of 62. In case of
death when there is no blood relationship, the reserve value,
according to the American insurance mortality tables, is paid to the
estate. None of these payments can be attached for debt, nor legal
action started against them except in a United States Court. The
maximum lawyer's fee in any such case is $500.
1361. DEPOSITS of not less than $5 may be made by an enlisted man (not
retired) to any quartermaster. Deposit book, signed by quartermaster
and company commander, given to man who makes the deposit. This book
is not transferable.
1363. A LOST DEPOSIT BOOK is not replaced without an affidavit of the
soldier, testifying that he has not sold nor assigned it.
1364. PAYMENT made only on final statement. The soldier should be
informed of the importance of keeping the deposit book.
1365. WITHDRAWAL OF DEPOSIT when discharged or furloughed to reserve.
1366. INTEREST on sum greater than $5 is 4 per cent.
1368. FORFEITURE due to desertion, but not by sentence of court
martial. Deposits not exempt from liabilities due the United States.
1371. OFFICERS AND MEN lose pay while confined by civil authorities.
1375. FURLOUGHED TO RESERVE or discharged, a soldier is given a final
statement in duplicate. This must be presented to be valid.
1378. TRANSPORTATION and subsistence is allowed to the point of
enlistment, or for the same distance. Not subject to deduction for
debts due the United States.
1380. DISCHARGED SOLDIER under charge of fraudulent enlistment is not
entitled to transportation and subsistence.
1383. TRANSFER OF CLAIMS on the government made by an enlisted man are
only recognized after discharge or furlough to the reserve. They must
be in writing and must be endorsed by a commissioned officer or other
responsible person known to the quartermaster.
1437. No one is allowed to accompany sick or wounded from the battle
line to the rear except those specifically authorized.
1530. Ammunition lost or used without orders or not in line of duty
shall be charged to the soldier using it.
NOTES ON THE LAWS OF WAR.
(From Manual for Commanders of Infantry Platoons, translated from
the French at the Army War College, 1917. War Department
Document No. 626.)
The laws of war were instituted under the generous error that certain
well-organized peoples had entirely emerged from barbarism and that
they considered themselves bound by the placing of their signatures to
international conventions, freely agreed to.
An infinite number of acts minutely and officially investigated have
established that our troops and our Nation should never count on the
observance of these laws and that the atrocities committed prove to be
not only individual violations dishonoring merely the perpetrator, but
violations premeditated and ordered in cold blood by the commanders
with the moral support of the heads of the enemy nation.
These laws are nevertheless repeated here in order that:
1. The knowledge of how the war should have been conducted may develop
in the heart of each man the sentiment of hate (applicable only to
foes such as we actually have), that in no case should a chief of
platoon tolerate any intercourse between his men and the enemy other
than that of the rifle; this duty is explicit and not to be departed
from except in the case of the wounded and prisoners incapable of
doing harm.
2. That every violator of these laws, taken in the act, shall be the
subject of an immediate report with witnesses, then sent to the
division headquarters to be tried as to the facts of the case.
The laws of war resulted from the Geneva convention, from the
declaration of St. Petersburg (Petrograd), and from the different
Hague conventions. All these diplomatic papers were signed by Germany,
Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria.
The following are the principal articles:
Protect the wounded on the field of battle from pillage and from bad
treatment; respect ambulances and evacuation convoys; respect the
personnel exclusively concerned with the transportation, treatment and
guarding of wounded; do not treat this personnel as prisoners of war
if it falls into the hands of the enemy; but return such personnel, as
well as material, when its retention shall be no longer necessary for
the care of the wounded prisoners.
Refrain from employing any projectile which weighs less than 400 grams
that is either explosive or loaded with incendiary or inflammable
material, from all projectiles having for their sole object the
spreading of asphyxiating or harmful gases, all expanding bullets or
those which will easily flatten out inside the human body, such as
jacketed bullets whose jacket does not entirely cover the core or is
nickel.
Forbid the use of poisons or of poisoned arms, killing or wounding an
enemy who has thrown down his arms and surrendered; declarations that
there will be no quarter; refrain from bombarding towns and cities
which are not defended, from firing on churches, historical monuments,
edifices devoted to the arts, to science, to charity, to sick and
wounded and which are marked by a conspicuous signal known to the
enemy.
Prisoners should be treated as to rations, housing and clothing the
same as troops of the country which has captured them. All their
personal belongings, except their arms and military papers, should be
left in their possession.
The following should be inviolate: The emissary--that is to say, an
individual authorized by a belligerent to enter into talks with the
authorities of the other side and coming under a white flag; also his
trumpeter, his standard bearer, and his interpreter. He loses his
inviolability if it is proven that he has profited by his privilege to
provoke or commit treachery.
An undisguised military man can never be treated as a spy.