USA > West Virginia > Report of the Adjutant General of West Virginia 1914 - 1916 > Part 10
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1. At a meeting of the Charleston Chamber of Commerce, held, February 25, 1915, the following resolution was adopted :
"Whereas, the members of the Chamber of Commerce of the city of Charleston, realize the great importance to the state and nation of a well equipped, well organized, and well drilled National Guard; and,
"Whereas, they further realize the worth of service in the National Guard, both to the men in the organization and to the country at large, and,
"Whereas, they understand the necessity and importance of lending proper and suitable encouragement to this organization and of removing, so far as they con- sistently can, all obstacles which lie in the way of this patriotic service; therefore "BE IT RESOLVED :
"By the Chamber of Commerce of the City of Charleston,
"1. That it recommends this service particularly to their own employees as far as is compatible and not prejudicial to the vital welfare of business enter- prises, and to all able-bodied young men, feeling as they do, that this is a patriotic duty to the country.
"2. That it will lend all possible moral support toward the upbuilding of the National Guard and particularly toward the aid and assistance of the branches of the organization in the city of Charleston."
II. At a meeting of the Huntington Chamber of Commerce, held April 9, 1915, the following resolution was adopted :
"Whereas, The Chamber of Commerce of the City of Huntington appreciates the significance and importance of the National Guard as an organization which instills patriotism, and indispensable means of defense and protection to a state and the incipient safeguard of a nation ; and
"Whereas, The West Virginia National Guard, has reached a high point of effi- ciency and has rendered a great and valuable service to our state the past few years ; and
"Whereas, The West Virginia National Guard stands now without appropriations to sustain it for the next two years and without which the organization or a part thereof must be disbanded ; therefore,
"BE IT RESOLVED :
"By the Chamber of Commerce of the City of Huntington,
"1. That we would consider a disbandment of the State Militia without sub- stituting other means of defense at the present stage of West Virginia's his- tory as an unprecedented blow to good Government.
"2. That we heartily favor the continued existence of the West Virginia National Gnard as an indispensable organization for the preservation, defense and good of our State, and as a patriotic duty and military asset which we owe to our Country.
"3. That we recommend a State apropriation for the Militia to the full amount of $65,000 per year that has been asked for, but do not wish to go on record as expressing any opinion on the subject of taxation.
"4. That we lend all possible moral support towards the unbuilding of our mili- tary organization at Huntington and commend it to all able-bodied young men feeling as we do. that this is a patriotic duty to the Country."
JOHN C. BOND, The Adjutant General.
STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA, ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE. Charleston, April 20. 1915.
Circular No. 4.
USE OF UNITED STATES PROPERTY.
1. United States property supplied the State for the West Virginia National
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Guard is for the sole and crclusire use of the West Virginia National Guard ; AND SUCH PROPERTY CANNOT BE ISSUED TO PERSONS NOT MEMBERS OF THE WEST VIRGINIA NATIONAL GUARD, except in cases of emergency, such as disastrous foods, fires, etc., and then only upon orders of the Commander-in- Chief.
2. In a recent letter to the Adjutant General from the War Department, it was stated that the "War Department disapproves the use of Government property such as tents. cots, etc., issued to the Organized Militia, by members of cadet corps of universities and other schools."
3. The use of such property by any person, except as provided in paragraph one above, is prohibited, and renders such person, as well as the accountable officer who permits it to be used, liable under the United States penal code. The pos- session of such property by any person, except as provided in said paragraph one above, shall be presumptive evidence of guilt, and all such property will be seized and taken by officers of the West Virginia National Guard, who are officers of the United States so far as the care and protection of such property is concerned.
4. Attention is called to the following provisions of the Federal Statutes :
Sec. 35. Criminal Code : * *
* Whoever shall knowingly purchase or receive in pledge for any obligation or indebtedness from any soldier, officer, sailor, or other person, called into or employed in the military or naval service, any arms, equip- ments, ammunition, clothes, military stores or other public property, whether furnished to the soldier, sailor, officer or person under clothing allowance or otherwise, such soldier, sailor, officer or other person, not having the lawful right to pledge or sell the same, shall be fined not more than $500.00, and imprisoned not more than two years."
Sec. 36. Criminal Code :
"Whoever steal, embezzle, or knowingly apply to his own use, or unlawfully sell, convey, or dispose of, any ordnance, arms, ammunition, clothing, sub- sistence, stores, money, or other property of the United States, furnished or to be used for military or naval service, shall be punished as prescribed in the preceding section."
Sec. 46. Criminal Code :
"Whoever shall rob another of any kind or description of personal property belonging to the United States, or shall feloniously take and carry away the same, shall be fined not more than $5,000.00, or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both."
Sec. 47. Criminal Code :
"Whosoever shall embezzle, steal or purloin any money, property, record, voucher, or valuable thing whatever, of the money, goods, chattels, records, or property of the United States, shall be fined not more than $5,000.00, or imprisoned not more than five years, or both."
See. 48, Criminal Code :
"Whoever shall receive, conceal, or aid in concealing, or have or retain in his possession with intent to convert to his own use or gain, any money, property, record, voucher or valuable thing whatever, of the money, goods, chattels, records, or property of the United States, which has theretofore been embezzled stolen or purloined by any other person, knowing the same to have been so embezzled, stolen, or purloined, shall be fined not more than $5.000.00, or imprisoned not more than five years, or both ; and such person may be tried either before or after the conviction of the principal offender."
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Sec. 1973. Compiled Statutes :
"The clothing, military outfits and accoutrements furnished by the United States to any soldier shall not be sold, bartered, exchanged, pledged, loaned, or given away ; and the possession of any such property by any person not
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a soldier or officer of the United States shall be prima facie evidence of such cale, barter, exchange, pledge, loan or gift. Such property may be seized and taken from any person not a soldier or officer of the United States by any officer, civil or military, of the United States, and shall, thereupon, be delivered to any quartermaster or other officer authorized to receive the same." Sec. 6941, Compiled Statutes :
"The clothes, arms, military outfits, and accoutrements furnished by the United States to any soldier shall not be sold. bartered, exchanged, pledged, loaned or given away ; and no person, not a soldier, or duly author- ized officer of the United States who has possession of any such clothes, arms, military outfits or accoutrements, so furnished, and which have been the subjects of any such sale, barter, exchange, pledge, loan. or gift, shall have any right, title or interest therein, but the same may be seized and taken whereever found by any officer of the United States, civil or military, and shall thereupon be delivered to any quartermaster, or other officer authorized to receive the same. The possession of any such clothes, arms, military outfits or accoutrements by any person not a soldier or offi- cer of the United States shall be presumptive evidence of such sale, barter, exchange, pledge, loan or gift."
5. The Department of Justice is co-operating with the War Department in protecting such property and Circular No. 531, Department of Justice, dated April 6, 1915, directs a vigorous enforcement by United States Attorneys of the penal code relating thereto. Officers of the West Virginia National Guard should, upon discovery of any such property, communicate with the United States Attorney of the district in which it is found, and with this office.
JOHN C. BOND, The Adjutant General.
STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA, ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE, Charleston, West Virginia. April 30th, 1915.
Circular
No. 5.
EXAMINATION IN INFANTRY DRILL REGULATIONS.
PART II .- COMBAT.
1. What should be the nature of company exercises after the mechanism of close and extended order has been thoroughly learned ?
2. What must units maintain if success in battle is to be expected ?
3. In combat why should close order formations be used to the fullest extent
4. (a) During action, what is the post of a commander,
(b) What governs the latitude allowed officers ?
5. What is done by those who become separated from their proper organiza- tions.
6. Who usually issues written and who verbal orders ?
7. (a) Give in sequence the items the initial combat order must contain.
(b) How may such an order be expressed ?
S. How is communication between the firing line and Majors usually main- tained ?
9. (a) Why is combat reconnaissance vital, & (b) how are flanks protected ?
10. In attack what is necessary to obtain fire superiority ?
11. What is meant by "Distribution of fire."
12. How is a gain in fire, superiority to be known ?
13. Why should every effort be made to obtain a position close to the enemy before opening fire ?
14. In an attack why is it absolutely necessary to economize ammunition ex- penditure to the fullest extent ?
15. Describe "Fire of position."
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16. (a) The firing line should have what density in the attack &
(b) Should the line in defense be too long to maintain this density how are the troops for the firing line deployed ?
17. What is meant by "Strength in rear"?
18. What governs the density of the whole deployment of a command ?
19. (a) When only are wide turning movements allowable ?
(b) How should frontal and enveloping attacks be pushed ?
20. In "Rushing" what determines the size of the fractions to "Rush ?"
21. When a firing line finds that it can advance no farther what must it do?
22. After a successful charge what farther action is necessary to complete the victory ?
23. Give the requirements of an ideal defensive position ?
24. (a) What is a counter attack,
(b) When should such attacks be used, &
(c) What part of the troops furnishes the strength for these attacks?
25. What is meant by (a) "dead space," (b) "advanced posts," (c) "passive defence," (d) "delaying action," (e) "meeting engagement."
26. When and where are machine guns especially valuable ?
27. Ilow is ammunition usually replenished ou the firing line ?
28. Why should night operations be frequently practiced ?
29. What is meant by (a) "fire trench," (b) "cover trench," (c) "communicat- ing way," (d) "communicating trench," (e) "dummy trench ?"
30. Draw profile, giving dimensions of simple standing trench.
31. (a) Upon what does the size of a patrol depend, &
(b) What advantages has a small patrol over a large one ?
33. (a) What special qualifications should a leader of a patrol sent out to gain information have, & (b) What inspections, precautions, and directions does he make, take, and give before starting.
34. Ilow are the halts and starts of the units of a marching column regulated, (b) What is the rule about closing up during a halt, & (c) What members of a company march with the field train ?
35. Name parts and give approximate strength of each, in a battalion act- ing as advance guard of a brigade?
36. What conditions govern the distances between parts of an advance guard ?
37. What principles govern the selection of an ideal camp site ?
38. What is meant by a bivouac ?
39. Into what parts is an outpost divided ?
40. (a) What is an outguard, (b) Where are supports usually placed ?
41. What is a March outpost ?
42. What information should be given (a) an outpost sentinel, (b) an outpost patrol ?
43. Who calls the roll of a company at muster ?
44. What salutes are rendered by the National Color?
45. In saluting when does an officer in command of a body of troops bring it to "Attention," and when not ?
Auswers to the above questions to be mailed to Major William Wallace, Charles- ton, W. Va., not later than June 10, 1915, by all officers of the West Virginia National Guard, except Chaplains and Medical Officers.
During May, company non-commissioned officers should be examined on the ques- tions submitted March 31 upon Part I of the Infantry Drill Regulations : the examinations to be conducted and papers marked by the company officers and forwarded to the Adjutant General.
JOHN C. BOND. The Adjutant General.
STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA, ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE, Charleston, June 1, 1915.
Circular
No. 6.
The Secretary of War has prescribed the following form of organization for the
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Medical Department of the Organized Militia, to meet with the requirements of section 3 of the Amended Militia Law, (Circular No. 18, D. M. A., 1914) :
Medical Department.
Section I. The Medical Department of the Organized Militia of the several States, Territory, and the District of Columbia shall consist of (1) a Medical Corps, (2) a Medical Reserve Corps, (3) a Dental Corps (optional), and (+) a Hospital Corps. These shall conform in organization, discipline, and equipment to like units of the Medical Department of the Army of the United States. The person- nel of the Department and all other persons assigned to duty therewith shall be collectively known as sanitary troops.
For duty in the field the sanitary troops shall be divided into, first, those assigned to regiments and other units; second, those organized into independent sanitary units as field hospitals and ambulance companies.
Medical Corps.
Section II. The Medieal Corps of the different States, Territory, and the District of Columbia shall consist of one chief surgeon and the other medical officers necessary to furnish the commissioned medical personnel of the Organized Militia of the State in compliance with the requirements of the Tables of Organi- zation, Organized Militia, 1914. The rank of these officers shall be commensurate with the size of the Organized Militia of the State as prescribed in the Tables of Organization.
The chief surgeon shall be appointed from among the senior medical officers. He is properly a member of the State headquarters organization, in addition to any duties he may have as a member of or as attached to any organizational unit. Ile shall be in control of the Medical Department of the Organized Militia of the State. Territory, and the District of Columbia, subordinate only to the officer commanding the tactical unit, if any, to which he is attached, and to the governor, as commander in chief, acting through his representative, the adjutant general. He will act in the capacity as chief sanitary adviser and as such will make any recommendations deemed necessary for the health of the commands. Hle shall have general supervision of the sanitary troops of the Organized Militia, and will be held responsible for their discipline, instruction, and efficiency. He will direct and have control over the examinations of all candidates for appoint- ment and promotion of officers and non-commissioned officers of the Medical De- partment. He will make recommendations to his immediate superior concerning the assignment to duty and stations of the entire sanitary personnel of the Organiz- ed Militia and the proper administration of the Medical Department.
Seetion III. All appointments to the Medical Corps of the Organized Militia shall be with the grade of first lieutenant and no person shall receive such appoint- ment unless he shall have been examined and passed by a medical board con- sisting of not less than three officers of the Medical Corps of the Organized Militia designated by the adjutant general of the State, Territory, or the District of Columbia.
Section IV. Promotions in the Medical Corps to fill vacancies in the several grades shall, preferably, be made according to seniority, but all such promotions in said corps shall be subject to examination as hereinafter provided : Provided, That all first lieutenants of the Medical Corps who have served for a period of three years or its equivalent as commissioned medical officers of the United States Army or of the Organized Militia, shall be promoted to the grade of captain, provided that they meet with all the requirements of Section V. Provided further, That any medical officer of the Organized Militia who has given up the active practice of medicine shall be ineligible as an active officer of the Medical Corps.
Section V. No officer of the Medieal Corps below the rank of major shall be promoted therein until he shall have successfully passed an examination before a medical board consisting of not less than three officers of the Medical Corps of the Organized Militia to be designated by the adjutant general of the State, Territory, or the District of Columbia, such examination to be preseribed by the adjutant general upon recommendation of the chief surgeon, and to be held at such time anterior to the accruing of the right to promotion as may be for the best interests of the service; Provided, That should any officer of the Medical Corps
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fail in his physical examination and be found incapacitated for service by reason of physical disability contracted in line of duty, he shall be retired with the rank to which his seniority entitled him to be promoted ; but if he should be found dis- qualified for promotion for any other reason, a second examination shall not be allowed, but the adjutant general shall appoint a board of review to consist of three officers of the Medical Corps of the Organized Militia of the State, Territory, or the District of Columbia, superior in rank to the officer examined, none of whom shall have served as a member of the board which examined him. If the unfavorable finding of the examining board is concurred in by the board of review, the officer reported disqualified for promotion shall be honorably discharged from the service. If the action of the examining board is disapproved by the board of review. the officer shall be considered qualified and shall be promoted.
Section VI. That all medical officers ou active duty in the Organized Militia of the several States. Territory, and the District of Columbia, conforming to the requirements of Tables of Organization, 1914, may be retained, without examina- tion, in the Medical Corps as reconstructed under the requirements of this circular without loss of relative rank or right to promotion.
Medical Reserve Corps.
Section VII. That for the purpose of securing a reserve corps of medical officers available for military service, the governors of the several States, Terri- tory, and the commanding general of the District of Columbia militia are author- ized to issue commissions as first lieutenants therein to such graduates of reputable schools of medicine, citizens of the United States, and legally qualified practitioners of medicine and surgery, in accordance with the laws of the several States, Terri- tory, and the District of Columbia, as shall from time to time, upon examination to be prescribed by the adjutant general, upon recommendation of the chief surgeon, be found physically, mentally, and morally qualified to hold such commissions, the persons so commissioned to constitute and be known as the Medical Reserve Corps. The commissions so given shall confer upon the holders all the authority, rights, and privileges of commissioned officers of the like grade in the Medical Corps of the Organized Militia, except promotion, but only when called into active duty, as hereinafter provided, and during the period of such active duty. Officers of the Medical Reserve Corps shall have rank in said corps according to date of their commissions therein, and when employed on active duty, as hereinafter provided, shall rank next below all other officers of like grade in the Organized Militia.
Section VIII. In emergencies the adjutant general, upon recommendation of the chief surgeon, may order officers of the Medical Reserve Corps to active duty in the service of the Organized Militia of the State in such numbers as the public interests may require, and may relieve them from such duty when their services are no longer necessary : Provided, That no officer of the Medical Reserve Corps who is unwilling to accept such service, shall be ordered upon active duty as herein pro- Vided. And provided further, That the governor of a State or the commanding general of the District of Columbia militia is authorized to honorably discharge from the Medical Reserve Corps any officer thereof whose services are no longer required. And provided further, That any officer of the Medical Reserve Corps who is subject to call, and who upon being ordered upon active duty as herein provided refuses to accept such service, shall forfeit his commission.
Section IX. Officers of the Medical Reserve Corps when called upon active duty in the service of the Organized Militia as provided in Section VIII of this Act shall be subject to the laws, regulations, and orders for the government of the Organized Militia, and during the period of such service shall be entitled to the pay and allowances of first lieutenants of the Medical Corps,
Appointment of Medical Officers in the Organized Militia.
Section X. An Applicant for appointment in the Medical Corps of the Organized Militia must be between 22 and 34 years of age, must be a citizen of the State, must have a satisfactory general education, must be a graduate of a reputable medical school legally authorized to confer the degree of doctor of medicine ; must be a legally qualified practitioner in the State. and must have had at least one year's hospital training, including practical experience in the practice of medicine and surgery, or its equivalent in practice.
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(a) Appointments to the Medical Corps are made by the governor and comman- der-in-chief, upon the recommendation of the chief surgeon after the applicants have passed the prescribed examination. The examination to consist of three parts -physical, mental, and moral.
(b) Permission to appear for examination should be applied for by letter to the adjutant general of the State, Territory, or the District of Columbia. The applica- tion must be wholly in the handwriting of the applicant, must give the place and date of birth, his residence, and must inclose certificates, based upon personal ac- quaintance, from at least two reputable persons, as to his citizenship, character, and habits. The applicants meeting with the above requirements will in due season be formally invited to appear before the examining board convened at a con- venient point, and a date will be fixed for their appearance.
Examination.
Section XI. The examination will be conducted, under instructions from the chief surgeon, by a board consisting of at least three commissioned medical officers convened for the purpose.
Each applicant, upon presenting himself to the board will, prior to his physical examination, be required to fill out and sign a statement as to his nativity, age, citizenship, certificate authorizing him to practice his profession in the State, and to submit his medical diploma. lle will also sign the following certificate :
"I certify to the best of my knowledge and belief that I am not affected with any form of disease or disability which will interfere with the performance of the duties of an officer in the Medical Corps to which I am about to undergo exam- ination."
Professional Education.
Section XII. This will be in the following subjects, upon questions prepared by the board : Anatomy ; physiology ; histology ; chemistry ; physics ; materia medica ; therapeutics : surgery ; practice of medicine ; obstetrics ; gynacology, and hygiene.
The board will examine and mark the papers, taking into consideration the following :
English grammar, orthography, composition, and aptitude for the service.
Applicants who have been found physically qualified, and whose general educa- tion and English grammar, orthography, and composition have been found satisfac- tory, and who make a general average of 75 per cent in the professional examina- tions and aptitude will be reported to the adjutant general as qualified.
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