University of Kansas - Jayhawker Yearbook (Lawrence, KS)

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R OCTO BER 1942 29 E ERIE UFFICER creating and maintaining a pool of trained reserve officers. Today the foresight of this plan is paying dividends. , The training which the men receive is thorough and designed with but one end in view-to make good officers. In the first two years a man is in the basic course. Two sections comprise the unit here at K.U. You may enroll in the infantry or the coast artillery. The course of study for the basic years is very similar in both sections. The catch to the basic course is that a man is not exempt from the draft, but before the prospect of an 18-19-year-old draft loomed, there was little doubt that a man could finish his basic course before being called. After finishing his basic course of study a man, if eligible, is permitted to enlist in the U. S. Army Reserve on a deferred status for two years. In this two years time, he will take work in the Advance Course of the ROTC. Where in the past, admission to the Advance Course was taken for granted, today a cadet ,must excell in grades and ability or he is left outside, looking in. It is here that the future officer begins to specialize. In the Coast Artillery he learns the intricate mysteries of the range finder, sighting devices, the functions and characteristics of large guns and numerous other subjects. The infantry man mas- ters tactics, the mechanism of his weapons, field forti- fications and the operation of motor vehicles. In the Advanced Course a man learns to command troops and to arrive at decisions through an analytical pro- cess of thought. Every effort is made to impress upon the men the necessity for independent decisions and sound judgment. When the lives of his men hang on his decision, an officer must not make a mistake! This year as never before, physical training has as- sumed a position of importance in the military cur- riculum. Drill is held twice a week on Monday and Wednesday afternoons. In the past the cadet strug- gled with an eight-pound rifle and generally suc- Pbotos by Kimball ceeded in lacerating the next man in line before he had mastered the manual of arms.. Last spring the growing army needed the rifles here for training draftees - and as a consequence the ROTC men are forced to do without their usual training in the manual of arms. Now calisthentics or foot drill oc- cupies the cadet's time between 4: 30 and 5 : 30 Mon- day and Wednesday afternoons. Two Kansas Toughernersn Cobstacle courses to the laymanb now grace the north and south slopes of Mt. Oread. After leaping a three foot hurdle, jumping a six foot wide ditch, essaying three other hurdles, clambering up a seven-foot wall and running a narrow catwalk, all uphill, the bruised and weary Jayhawker begins to I C ontinueal on Page 66 Q - The. commissioned officers of the ROTC and the men they are trying to train.

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l You'd better sign up, buddie-time's a wasting. gg HIS is no Laughing Matter! The title of this popular song of a few seasons ago might well be the theme of this year's ROTC unit. No longer does Joe College grasp his sides and roll with un- restrained glee on the grass at the sight of Dusen- berry's Mob straggling over Mt. Oread's slopes. No, indeed, for the Joe of today has probably joined this motley crew and is doing right faces and taking obstacle courses as if he thoroughly enjoyed it. The appeal which the ROTC holds for present day college lads lies in the fact that it is practically immune from the fell clutches of Local Board No. 1. Not only that, but while attending his classes, Joe is receiving valuable training which at the end of four years will give him a second lieutenant's commission in the Army of the United States. Of all the many reserve programs open to stu- dents of the University of Kansas, the ROTC is probably the most practical in view of the needs of the student and the nation. Only in the ROTC does joe receive assurance that he will complete his school work for a degree. He must complete eight semesters of ROTC before being eligible for a commission and, in general, these are finished at the same time the work required for a degree is completed. While go- ing to school the boys receive expert instruction in the type of work they will be required to do when they eventually are commissioned into the Army. Hitler, when he marched in Poland, and I-Iirohito when he loosed his treacherous bombs on Pearl Har- bor, changed the thoughts and actions of the Ameri- can people. Among the changes wrought by the evil men was the tremendous increase in enroll- 'PHE ment in ROTC courses over the country. Kansas University was no exception to this trend. In the last three years, the enrollment in K.U.'s ROTC unit has increased over 600 per cent. A change has come over these marching Jayhawk- ers. Marching comes easier because they try harder. Each man in the navy blue uniform of our unit real- izes that in the not-too-distant future, he will be tested by an ordeal more terrible than he can realize. Only by becoming trained and fit, physically and mentally, will he survive when the time comes. With this realization each man, from the Cadet Major down to the lowest freshman buck private, is doing his job with a greater seriousness than ever before. Let's take a look beneath the surface and see what the ROTC is made of and what it does. Its purpose is to take these green inexperienced college freshmen and in three or four years turn out a man who will be a good soldier and oHicer. Limited as they are by lack of time and equipment, the staff officers are do- ing a superb job. The Reserve Officers Training Corps is a separate division of the University. It is staffed by regular Army officers, several of whom are graduates of K.U. These men teach the classes in tactics, gunnery, and military customs and they supervise the drill. Cadet officers, chosen from the student soldiers, are in direct charge of the drilling of the cadet units. They are chosen for ability and receive valuable experience in commanding men. Before he graduates, a man will have experience in commanding units of varying sizes from a squad up to a battalion. In our military history, one outstanding fault has glared from the pages. In all our wars, from the Revolution on, the lack of trained officer personnel has handicapped our military efforts. The establishment of West Point al- leviated the situation to a certain extent, but in times of mobilization, the officer shortage has always be- come acute. ROTC was established with the idea of

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Corps 31163 I: are rrainedurure members , of I he Photo by gg KAY, fellow, take 'er up, circle, and put 'er down. ' The first solo flight. The instructor ambles away from the small red cabin plane leaving behind him an only mildly ex- cited CPT primary student. His fingers are nimble and sure as they touch the controls. His heart quick- ens only a little as he taxies up the field toward the head of the runway. While waiting for the go ahead signal from the control tower, he has a chance to get cold feet. He doesn't, though, because, after all, flying is merely a matter of knowing how. This is solo, he thinks. This is where I can prove l'm a good flyer. In the air, after a perfect take-off, he feels great. He circles the field, and gradually there comes to him a glow of satisfaction. He is flying! Alone! There is no finer feeling. . When he banks into the wind and angles down toward the fast-approaching field, dread for the first time clutches at his heart. Now comes the real test! But our flight student, with only eight or ten hours of supervised flying behind him, knows deep within himself that he can land his plane. He has no choice. He must land it. He does-and Civilian Pilot Training has created another war time flyer. As he walks toward the lunchroom to buy uthe boys a coke, he begins to get the jitters. A solo flight! Great Scott! What if--. He knows, however, that as soon as he gets back in the air, he will be all right again. ! 'f JAYHAW 3 All over the nation, more and more men are going through experiences like the one above. World War ll is being fought in the air, and the Army and Navy have made desperate calls for pilots. CPT has been designated to supply some of those pilots. The University of Kansas has cooperated with this Civil Aeronautics Association program since 1939, when the rumble of war was indistinct and far away. Each succeeding year has brought added significance to all types of pilot training. In 1942, CPT has been given a full-time job of Htting men into the war planes of America. This intensification brought three important re- adjustments in the CPT program: 1. Last year, a University student could learn to fly and go to college at the same time. This year he can do only one. If he takes CPT, he must attend ground school classes 30 hours a week, in addition to the time Csix to twelve hours a weekj that he spends in the air. He, too, has a full-time job. 2. Every man who takes the CPT course is obli- gated to affiliate himself with one of the service air forces, or become a CPT instructor in his own right. No licenses are granted. Last year he was given a private or commercial pilot's license and placed in a reserve group, he volunteered only if needed. The war, of course, had not started then. ' 3. CPT is now open only to men who have failed to pass requirements for the Army Air Force reserve or Navy's V-5 reserve program. Any student who has not taken one of these examinations, or who has passed the test and been enlisted in one of the two reserves, is not eligible for CPT training. The theory behind this recently instituted limitation is that the CPT course can correct deficiencies in those who failed the mental test, or make instructors of those who could not meet the physical requirements of Army or Navy cadet training. .