MILITARY TRAINING

[Music] [Applause] la [Applause] that's a very good question Captain all of our training is directed to a single end success in battle and that applies all the way from our instruction of the individual Soldier to the battle training of our field armies yes sir and that means that each of our officers and non-commissioned officers must not only be leaders but also teachers and good teachers at that time is too vital particularly in these days to nurse along officers and non-commissioned officers who can't get the utmost out of every training hour that of course means that each of us must know how to teach yes Sergeant pardon me sir the agitant says the officers are assembling in the classroom and wishes to remind the C with their classes schedule will start in 5 minutes thank you Sergeant it's time for our school captain I think you'll find the answers to many of your questions about methods of instruction during this class I can certainly use a number of those answers sir you know Captain not many people realize that an officer spends practically all of his life teaching or going to school and being taught yes sir and that brings us down to the matter of the instructor himself it's very easy for me to stand here and tell you that the man who is to teach others must have a personality that inspires confidence and stimulates interest but that's very little help instead you want a concrete procedure something you can get your teeth into it is just such a procedure that I intend to present to you today but first let me tell you what I shall look for and expect of you gentlemen I shall expect you to be neat and dignified at all times and to be not merely interested in your work but enthusiastic about it nothing is quite so contagious as enthusiasm I shall expect you to be patient with your men and able to understand their Viewpoint their difficulties and their capabilities and limitations every time you appear before your class I shall expect you to have a complete knowledge of your subject and a plan by which you intend to present that subject I shall expect you to learn the tricks of the game of teaching its shortcuts that we have learned from experience and those methods of instruction that offer the most positive guarantee for conveying the ideas in your mind to the minds of others we know for example there are five channels through which knowledge flows to the human brain these channels are called the physical senses they are hearing sight touch smell taste all methods of instruction are based on transmitting knowledge through one or more of these five physical senses the most effective methods are those that make use of more than one physical sense a lecture for example delivered without illustrations or other instructional AIDS makes use of only one of the senses hearing it is one of the least effective methods of instruction a lecture supplemented by such instructional AIDS as training films film strips stereoptic and slides charts Maps diagrams models and sand tables makes use of two of the senses hearing and sight it is far better than the bare lecture first because it uses two of the senses second because we acquire far more knowledge through the eye than we do through the air but it is an established fact that we learn to do a thing only by doing it this process almost always involves the sense of touch for example we cannot make a man a Rifleman merely by showing him a rifle explaining how it works and telling him how to shoot it the man must actually practice with a rifle all right everyone get down take up that position he must learn how to hold it he must learn how to aim it he must learn how to squeeze the trigger he must become accustomed to the explosion and to The Recoil against his shoulder these things involve sight hearing and touch the three main channels we use occasionally we make use of a fourth sense in training in chemical warfare training for instance we rely largely Upon Our sense of smell to detect the presence of gas in the training of our cooks and Bakers we make considerable use of the fifth sent taste the problem then that confronts all people who must instruct or train other people is to determine the best way to impart their knowledge or skill for example the teacher in the K kindergarten the professor in the university the chief clerk in an office the foreman in the factory the squad leader the company Commander the regimental Commander all must find and apply the most effective method of presentation and the most effective method of instruction for each lesson they are required to teach in no other Walk of Life however are correct instructional methods as important as in the army in no other Walk of Life is failure on the part of the instructor measured in terms of life and death It is Well to remember this for it is a heavy [Music] responsibility your task is a practical one it is to translate the training plans for your unit the blueprint of the fighting force your commanding officer expects you to build from paper to reality if you are to accomplish this vital training Mission you must not only understand and appreciate the use of the five physical senses as channels of communication between you and your unit but also the six steps that are fundamental in teaching these are one preparation by the inp instuctor and his assistant two explanation by the instructor three demonstration by the instructor or his assistant four application or practice by the students five examination or test of the proficiency of the students six discussion by the instructor to sum up major or important points and clarify any obscure matters of these six steps the most important is preparation let us consider some of the serious failures that result from lack of preparation or improper preparation number five please major Green speaking major green this is Captain hamson uh my training schedule calls for chemical warfare training this morning I'd like to use the gas chamber from 10 to 11: is that okay sir sorry Captain hamson K company's using the gas chamber during that period Captain smart arranged for two weeks ago I suggest captain that you make such arrangements as this at least a week in advance this is a vital part of your Advanced planning and preparation yes sir well I'll I'll try to rig up something else and uh I promise you I won't make that mistake again here are other mistakes that the inexperienced instructor must guard against for instance these men have been seated so that the sun is square in their eyes this is a bad mistake a careful instructor always considers this in selecting the location for his instruction and in seating his class notice the Sergeant's position he holds a grenade in his right hand at the command full pin he uses the same twisting motion he used in the standing and kneeling position the instructor also considers distracting influences this instructor didn't the place he selected for for his instruction is too close to heavily traveled roads the traffic is a distracting influence moreover it makes it difficult for the men to hear in preparing your instruction you must select your area carefully to avoid this sort of thing you must also think of other units working nearby this instructor didn't he too has fallen down in his planning are there any questions all right we'll start the smoke okay Sergeant let her go yeah forward H responsible for this smoke this time it looks as if the young man is going to be corrected here is a group of men being taught the functioning of the M1 rifle the spot for this instruction has been well chosen the men are in the shade the sun is not in their eyes they there are no distracting influences but let's listen to the instructor for a moment the same young Lieutenant we just saw and the operating lug merely sliding in the straight section of the recess and the operating Rod the cam surface of this recess then comes in contact with the operating lug and cams it up rotating the bolt counterclockwise and disengaging the Locking lugs on the this officer is completely unprepared he is wasting the time of his men he does not know his subject and he has no plan for teaching it therefore he reads it out of the basic Field Manual no group of men will ever learn how an M1 rifle functions by listening to someone read it out of a book remember this and follow it never read a lesson to your men here is another instructor who has overlooked a phase of preparation now that we have learned the types of gases and their effect the next thing you do is to learn how to recognize these gases by the rotor this is extremely important in battle your life may depend upon the keenness of your nose so this morning I want every man here to sniff each of these gases we have studied this is so important that we will go over this several times during the hour uh Sergeant struther where is that gas identification set it has seven bottles in it containing sample gases I don't know Lieutenant the company mechanic Bor all that stuff over and he said he bought all he could from the Third Battalion well I guess we'll skip that it wasn't very important anyway anyway uh we will study the canister instead proper preparation involves decision as to equipment needed early arrangements to assemble that equipment and personal check to see that the equipment is at the proper place at the proper time passing the buck to the Supply Sergeant or the platoon Sergeant may result in such a thing as you have just seen loss of time loss of valuable instruction and personal embarrassment incidentally never make the mistake this officer made do not try to contradict a previous statement to cover up your own failure never try to Bluff your way out it always fails and you lose the confidence of your men so far we have covered what might be called the physical matters of preparation hand in hand with these goes the actual preparation of the subject itself you may not consider yourself L prepared until you are master of your subject this means detailed study or careful review it does not mean Reliance on your memory for something you learned last year or last month preparation involves analysis of your subject a consideration of the time available to you the size of the group you are to teach the area assigned to you and the training AIDs that are available or that can be improvised from this analysis you determine the essential facts to be taught the best way to teach them and the instructional AIDS you intend to use you are now ready to write out your lesson plan when this is completed you should assemble your equipment and rehearse your lesson to make sure that your time estimate is right and also to assure yourself of a smooth fluent presentation if you have worked properly your lesson plan should provide for a brief explanation of what the class is to learn and why they are to learn it during this period we take up sight setting you must remember this no matter how good a shot you are you cannot hit your target unless you know how far away it is and how to set that range on your rifle the same thing goes for windage wind blows your bullet out of its pad therefore we must learn to estimate how much wage is called for and then set that wage properly on our rifles it should also provide for a stepbystep demonstration of each phase of the subject practice by the students is the next step Sergeant take a look at that windage no it's wrong it's set one and 1/2 points left instead of one and 1/2 points right now look here Ellison this is as simple as ABC to take right windage you move the rear s to the right just like this now now I'm going to ask you some questions and see how much you have learned you're getting ready to fire at 500 y you estimate that the wind is blowing 10 m hour from 3:00 how much wage do you take white longw you answer that one sir I take five clicks right windage which is one and a quar point that's right everyone set that up and noncoms check all rifles a test usually oral to determine proficiency comprises the fourth phase the last step is a discussion to sum up the important points and clarify any doubtful matters in the field exercise this is called a critique instead of a discussion we shall talk of the critique later these are the six vital steps in teaching memorize them make them your own apply them Common Sense will tell you when one of them is inappropriate and can be omitted remember then preparation explanation demonstration application examination discussion so far we have considered the mechanics of teaching and the use of the five physical senses as channels of communication let us now consider the actual teaching process or methods of instruction basic Field Manual 21-5 lists the five teaching methods most commonly used for military instruction these are the lecture the conference the demonstration the group performance method the coach and pupil method I mentioned earlier that the lecture or talk was one of the least effective methods of instruction particularly the talk that does not make use of the various training AIDS but since there are many occasions when the talk is essential we must learn to get the most out of it the first thing to remember is this keep the talk short particularly to soldiers a properly prepared vigorously presented 10-minute talk is worth a dozen long Harang fix the attention of your men at once and catch their interest if you are explaining scouting and patrolling for example tell them in a few sentences the part it plays in actual battle an anecdote of the famous Sergeant York or woodfill will add interest and arouse enthusiasm and then of course use the various training AIDS let me mention them again training films film strips charts stereoptic and slides Maps models sand tables or any other useful device that you can get or make never schedule a lecture immediately after the noon meal if you can help it it invites sleep and the invitation is usually accepted follow up every talk with some sort of physical activity be especially careful to see that your lecture is not preceded or followed by another lecture you use training aid keep your voice alive Your Enthusiasm High your talk short and you will do a good job the conference is a directed discussion of the subject it involves questions and answers both from the instructor and the class removing the misfire caution number two does not place his thumbs over the muzzle to stop the round until the base is lifted and the shell starts forward why doesn't number two put his thumbs over the muzzle until the two is tipped and the round starts forward will you answer that Stevens it might be a hangfire and the round might let go just as number two puts his thumbs over the muzzle or the piece might be Jarred and the round go off therefore he waits until the tube is tipped and the round starts forward that's right very good the major advantage of the conference over the lecture is the question and answer feature which enables the instructor to determine whether or not the class is following following him neither the lecture nor the conference is well suited for the instruction of enlisted men in general they should be used only for the explanation and discussion phases of instruction a demonstration is an accurate portrayal of a subject or procedure to be taught a well planned carefully presented demonstration is one of the most effective methods of instruction a demonstration is always preced by a thorough explanation of the work to be demonstrated again I call your attention to the way this plon is taking full advantage of all cover notice how the men disappear after each bound forward that's because each man has picked out his new position before he moves now look over to your right and follow the action of the bar team that you can see just moving out from behind those two trees the demonstration itself requires careful preparation and repeated rehearsal until all Personnel involved in it are letter perfect in their part a poor demonstration is worse than none at all because it sets false standards care must be taken to see that the demonstration does not move too fast or the various phases will simply become a confusion of movement to the student instructors must remember that they have available to them a large number of readymade demonstrations these are the training film therefore in planning your instruction you should consult the lists of training films which are available in this regimen make full use of them remember you do not need the regimental theater to show these films our 16 mm projector and portable screen can be used just as effectively in a darkened day room or mesle now let us watch one or two simple demonstrations being used by a platoon leader carple Jones and private Smith and brown bring the rifles and blanket out next we take up the ways to move an injured man if a litter is not at hand or if we do not have to move him so very far the first method of doing this is called the rifle blanket seat watch them closely I will explain each step and they will perform it f blanket once from side to side lay a rifle across the center of it so that the butt and muzzle project beyond the edges f one end of the blanket upon the other end and lay a second rifle upon the new center as before the free end of the blanket is folded upon the end containing the first rifle so that it projects about 2 in beyond the first rifle the litter is then raised from the ground with the trigger guards up all right corpal take a seat Brown you and Smith give the Corporal a ride around the front of the platoon so the men can get a closeup let us observe another simple but effective demonstration here an instructor is showing a group of young so soldiers a highly trained Squad going through its Paces in close order he does this to show them what a well- Tred Squad looks like to set a standard for them and to arouse their admiration now you men have had the steps the facings and the manual this morning we're going to take up Squad drill but first I want you to see what a well train Squad looks like after this show I'm going to slow them down and have them go through each movement in slow motion afterwards we'll try to put on a better show than theirs okay Sergeant should Left Flank H right flank H to the r h left leg H the r h right ready up piure right shoulder all right Sergeant very good man that's the way you're going to drill when we get through now we'll break this down slowly first we demonstrations may also be used effectively with the examination step and teaching for example we will see a platoon leader using a demonstration to test the knowledge of his platoon and handling a victim of snake fite this officer has injected a little humor in the demonstration a laugh is good stuff but too many laughs will obscure the instruction yesterday we completed our in instruction and first aid during the next hour you're going to see four different demonstrations of men applying first aid you are to watch them closely and write down in the air as you may see is there any man here who doesn't understand what he's to do all right Sergeant pass out pencils and packs oh one final word remember that the man who is injured may make mistakes as well as the man who's helping him so keep your eyes open all right all right the snake bit me look right here say that's bad what kind of a snake was it a rattler 20 ft Long hey let's fix a guy up fix it hey what are you guys going to do huh what are you going to do take it easy Soldier we're going to save your life oh ow ow what you doing now huh what are you doing he's stopping the bleeding oh how what's the heck she for I'm going to cover up the wound yeah yeah come on we'll walk back to the barracks with you help you in the bed piix you pass your pads asid and Blake here are the major errors you should have picked up one violent action should be avoided after snake bite the patient we saw was running and out of breath two the knife should have been sterilized a match would have done the job three the tourniquet was placed below the wound it should have been placed between the wound and the Heart four the wound should not have been bandaged the flow of blood should be aided not impeded five one patient while the other went for the ambulance in any event the patient should not be returned to Barracks but to the hospital any questions all right Brown Lieutenant uh shouldn't they have made the man lie down right away and try [Music]