Ellsworth Community College - Web Yearbook (Iowa Falls, IA)

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are if WEB a a I? , ! -I ,,,,,, , lpaqfffiixxiiii- t 1 0w lq' .1naraa ...urnuuumx 1 f .----...- A ..,,, -.-. , WMS ' 65112 man Behinil HAROLD C- BlNGl-IAM FIRST LIEUTENANT SANITARY CORPS, N. A. Following the Spanish-American war there appeared a popular song featur- ing The man behind the gun. The picture which this song aroused in my young mind may have been a poor representation of the real theme, yet there was an irresistible suggestion of men feverishly operating in battle an old two- wheeled cannon of the sort used in past wars. A limited knowledge of present day tactics has caused another idea partially to replace that earlier picture. The man behind the gun now belongs to a different army than the fighting man. He is only one of thousands in the back- ground who are quite essential to an efficient army but very properly overlooked by the non-participants. He may have great visions of the importance of his own particular kind of service but he can have no assurance that his work will ever be recognized either in or outside the army. He is truly the man behind, obscured, out of sight, yes, out-of-luck because he is out of range. The nature of my present work at once classes me with this group of super- numeraries. ' Just now all of the psychologists are miles behind with little pros- pect of getting a close-up of the battle line. With the information at hand that articles are to appear in this section of the Web from men in the front lines of the service, I hesitate to write about an inconspicuous branch like military psychology. The limited sphere of my work is pointedly suggested by the term squirrel cage which the enlisted men have widely applied to the psychological quarters. The same idea has been appropriately expressed in the classification of the mental examiners as nut pickers. By some of the more sophisticated, however, we are more professionally designated as bug doctors. Despite the perfunctory role suggested by the preceding categories, military psychology is actually rendering vital and distinctive service. A single incident will illustrate one phase of this service. It occurred at Camp Devens when a steam fitter called on me for professional consultation. He had evidently heard the term bug doctor applied to us who wore the insignia of the sanitary corps for he was confident of my ability to give him relief. With unusual directness he presented the facts without effort to hide anything. Further questioning was unnecessary when he had finished. In his own words, he said: Say, doc. what can you do to get rid of crumbs? They're thick as the dickens on the bunch I sleep with down there. Even though my experience in the profession at that time was limited, I had no hesitation in prescribing an old home made and thoroughly tried remedy, the fine comb, to be used regularly at night and any time during the day that the nervous system specifically called for it. Now it would be unfortunate to give the impression that military psychology has no serious bearing. It is indeed a vital part of a life or death fight. Through it there is a scientific expression of those human factors which are struggling against militarism and Kaiserism. America has seen in war, as in peace, the human problem involved. This human element, for the first time in the history of warfare, is receiving consideration that is based on strictly scien- tific procedure. For our army to be the mightiest possible force, it must not only be intelligently directed but intelligently acting. If more intelligence can be util- ized in the American forces than the enemy can muster, he will, though our present military machine only approximates his, in the end be outwitted and defeated. In the hands of the psychologists there is a balance of power that has the possibility of turning back those waves of invaders which are opposing liberty and democracy. Perceiving this opportunity the psychologists, in the beginning, took up the self appointed task of convincing the proper authorities that they had a valuable contribution to offer in this crisis. It was necessary for them to demonstrate their ability to identify the mentally unfit in the military personnel. Four separate staffs in as many National Army cantonments took up this task of

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flbur iinll nf Zllnnnr ,,.. llllll I 3 Q4 1 ? ' ---K- ' demonstration. Following the success of the initial step, the problem has become many times multiplied by recent requests of military authorities. We now find ourselves charged with definite tasks in creating efficiency in the men at the front. It is too late to train the men now, so we must find them. In a word, it is our job to improve by selection the morale, steadiness, discipline, and intrepidity of our fighting forces. This desired esprit de corps, unseen, but none the less real, is actually the man behind. Overshadowed by the more conspicuous physical man in the fore- ground, the spiritual force is commonly overlooked. Being impervious to gas, steel, or flame it will be a vital factor in winning the present conflict. Brain, not brawn, is going to turn the tide of this struggle. The wholesale enlistment of American intelligence in this struggle is at present the most optimistic sign in sight. From the very beginning, the best minds were drafted into all branches of the service and the human element has underlain our rapidly developed mili- tary policy., For years the Hun has devoted himself to the building of a mighty military machine, powerful and efficient, but material. The Yankee has devoted himself instead to an individualistic program with a premium on versatility. American intelligence is slow to set moving in concentrated action but it is powerful because weapons are only a portion of its products. Floyd Allen Serg't. S. Anderson. Ray Baird George Baxter. Clifford Bell Lieut. H. C. Bingham Ralph Brightwell Clarence Brittain Edward Brower Alva Canham Adam Christman A. C. Clarke Ray Clemmons George Conklin Henry Coobs Dwight Crabtree Erva Culp George Cunda J. M. Deen David Duller Martin Dunn Lieut. A. Erickson Alger Evans Gale Esslinger J. R. Fanselow Roy Fryslie Oral Ganfield Lieut. Roy Ganfield Harold Hall Kenneth Hill Marlin Hillhouse Lloyd Hanson Editorial Note-Due to strict censorship we a P. L. Hanson John Hendrickson Paul Heacox VValter Hoffman James Hunter Eben Howie John Hyman Arleight Johnson Caroline Johnson Serg't. W. G. Kennedy Lem Killingsworth Benjamin Knutson Harold Koch Floyd Lake Holly Lewis Glenn Lyon Erling Larson Robert Lee William Lee Maj. Serg't. E. J. Lindsay Lloyd Leshure Raymond Marks Lieut. G. C. Mauss Lieut. E. L. Marraige Ray Miller Leroy McEwan Guy McGrath Walter Mulford Willard Peck Victor Pulis Martin Reiken wished articles from a number of menin service. Clifford Rierson J. M. Rhinehart Ralph Rowan Lee D. Rowe Vern Sanders Lindley Sawyer Thaddeus Stewart Ralph Stevens Oliver Schweiger Corp. Hugh Schuck Robert Simpson Herman Snater Melvin Severson Otis Thompson C. D. Thorpe R. J. Tidman Reuben Trickey Clare Van Vorhis Lieut. F. Wall Barnell Walker Roy Watt Paul White Neal Welden Lewis Welden George Wiggins Ewart Wilson Edward Wirds R. P. Wood Byron Wright Harold Wright Harvey Yaw re unable to publish, as we had ,, a