U.S. Marine Corps - Small Wars Manual (1940 Edition)
Chapter IV. TRAINING.
Section IV
TRAINING IN THE THEATER OF OPERATIONS
Par. System of training 4-18 Facilities 4-19 Subjects covered 4-20 Training centers 4-21 Troop schools 4-22 Org. of trng centers and troop schools 4-234-18. System of training.-a. Upon arrival in the theater of 0perations, immediate steps are taken to continue the training along methodical and progressive lines. The training is goverened by training programs and schedules prepared by the various organizations.
b. For each training subject functional units (squads, sections, and platoons) are employed. This places the responsibility for training progress upon the unit leader. Unfortunately, all training subjects cannot be so handled. In many instances, subjects must be taught by classes composed of individuals from several subdivisions of a unit.
4-19. Facilities.-As early as possible after the force is established on shore, organization commanders of higher echelons should provide their respective commands with the facilities necessary for the conduct of training. Whenever practicable, these facilities should include the establishment of training centers, troop schools, ranges for practice and record firing of infantry weapons, ranges for combat practice firing, and terrain suitable for the conduct of field exercises.
4-20. Subjects covered.a. Paragraphs 4-11, c, and 4-16, b, list subjects suitable for training conducted in the theater of operations.
b. All training should include field exercises involving the tactical employment of troops in military situations peculiar to the terrain and enemy resistance likely to be encountered in different sections of the country.
4-21. Training centers.- a. Weapons are constantly improving and minor powers are progressively arming themselves with a greater number of improved weapons. This indicates the necessity for trained troops if our operations are to succeed without excessive casualties to personnel. When partially trained troops compose a large part of the units of the force, the establishment of a training center is highly important.
b. The establishment of a trainiug center offers the following advantages:
(1) It provides for methodical, progressive, and coordinated training.
(2) It is the central agency for the receipt and dissemination of information with respect to the unusual features of the campaign as they develop during operations in the field.
(3) It may be made sufficiently extensive to include terrain for field exercises and ranges for combat practice firing, thus providing facilities that might otherwise be denied to detached companies and battalions.
(4) It is an ideal agency for the training of replacements. All replacements, both officers and men, should be put through an intensive course of training before they are assigned to active units in the field.
(5) It supplies a location for troop schools.
(6) It provides the ranges necessary for the record firing of all infantry weapons.c. A training center includes the following activities:
(1) Ranges for record practice: These include the ranges, courses, and courts necessary to conduct record practice with all weapons.
(2) Ranges for combat practice firing: These ranges should be sufficiently extensive to permit the maneuvering of units and the firing of all weapons under conditions similar to those encountered in the type of combat peculiar to the country in which operating.
(3) Troop schools: The unit in charge of the training center will be better able to conduct classes in special subjects than will other units of the force. Units of the force are thus enabled to send selected personnel to the training center for an intensive course of training in a particular specialty.4-22. Troop schools.-Each theater of operations will present different problems that will require a knowledge of special subjects. A troop school is the ideal agency for such instruction. The following are a few of the subjects that may have special application:
Scouting and patrolling. (To include tracking. )
Sniping.
Handling small boats. (Launches, native canoes, etc.)
Language of the country.
Transportation, (Ox carts, small boats, animals.)
Care of animals, riding and draft.
Packing. (Pack animals, pack saddles, and their cargoes.)
First aid, hygiene, field sanitation. (An advanced course. )
Horseshoeing.
Saddlery. (Leather working.)
Cooks and bakers. (To include butchering and cooking for small units on the march and in garrison.)
Aviation observers. (For all officers.)4-23. Organization of troop schools and training centers.-a. Instructors for troop schools that are conducted by the various garrison units are supplied by the units themselves. The students for such troop schools are the members of the unit and duties are so arranged that the troop school does not interfere with the normal routine of the garrison, At times, the unit will be called upon to perform some emergency type of duty that may necessitate the temporary suspension of the troop school. Instructors for a training center come from the unit in charge of the training center and from the unit or units undergoing instruction. Ordinarily, units such as complete companies are assigned to training centers for instruction. In addition, replacements are organized into casual units in the order in which they arrive for duty from the continental United States. At times, it will be advantageous to assign certain qualified individuals among the replacements to receive special instruction in one of the troop school classes conducted at training centers. Troop school instructors are members of the unit in charge of the training center.
b. The training unit is the company. Instruction may be by platoons, sections, or squads. Companies undergoing training at a training center furnish many of their own instructors. Special instructors are furnished by the unit operating the training center. The supervision and coordination of training is a function of the staff of the training center.
c. A list of subjects suitable for the troop school method of instruction is found in paragraph 4-22. Classes are organized from among selected personnel sent to the training center from the various units in the field and from among qualified replacement personnel who have just arrived. Upon completion of the assigned courses, men are sent to active units in the field. Provided existing conditions do not require otherwise, men who have been sent to the training center for specialized training are ordinarily returned to the organizations from which they were originally detailed. Replacement personnel who have completed a special course are sent to those organizations where their specialized training will be most valuable.
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