Medical Officers Training Camp - Yearbook (Fort Riley, KS)

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Tms PAGE is IJEDICATIQD TO Col.. E. L. MUNSEN, M.C., U.S.A THE FATHER OF THE MEDICAL TRAINING CAMP IDEA.

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MEDICAL OFFlClil2Sg'liI2AlNlNC CAMP '1 '9 'llO3l:'o in T oioioioioioioqhoioioioioio ITD ITT Dil .l7,Y, KAN SAS g Toreworo T 5 T the outbreak of the present war, the expansion of the Regular Medi- . I cal Corps, which consisted of approximately 500 medical officers . A l iid 13000 Enlisted men, to a number sufiicient to properly officer ,ummm ,S Segojgger Bree t?hat. this Ceountry was to. raise, brought up a very p o em or imme iate consideration. X It has been frequentl stated b ersons 0 ' I that a doctor needs no furifher trainlhgg than hii l edge to immediately step into the work of a military medical officer. wg., This 1S a fallacy that has caused.this country much sorrow and . A-f trouble. and a reference to the medical history of the Civil War and Y' the war with Spain tells many sad stories of suffering in the armies of this country, due to this lack of militar instruction a '- cal officers. This was thoroughly understood in the Surgeon Generals' Office at the otlifblfgakheolfwtclife present war and immediate steps were taken to organize training camps to prepare the medical Officers for their duties with the troops in the field. This department was put under the control of Colonel E L Munson, M. C., who, by training and his profound knowledge of the problems presented, was eminentl l fitted for the work which, to say the least, was monumental in character. y The plan as developed consisted of the establishment of training camps at Fort Riley Kansas Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, and Fort Benjamin I-larrison, Indiana, with the smaller camp for coldred Officqers at Fort Des Moines, Iowa. To these camps were to be sent all officers of the Reserve 'Corps who were called into active service, except those whose services as examiners of recruits were needed for immediate duty. A course of three -months' intensive instruction was outlined. This course was only intended to give ground work upon which was to be built the thorough instruction of the officers before the went to the battle front, it being recognized by the authorities that three months of even intensive i y struction was not sufficient to make of them finished products. H' In the organization of these camps for this purpose, the following plan was pursued A Commanda t and a staff of regular medical officers who by their previous training and study were especiall u fied, were selected to instruct in the different branches of the work. In addition to this it vga? aal 1- provided that the training of the enlisted men of the Medical Department was to be carried out To these camps. This was done for a double purposeg not only to train the men themselves but also bn their presence, to provide organizations for the training of the medical officer in his special' duties l y The camp at Fort Riley, Kansas, was established on june lst, 1917, the staff of instructors h ' - arrived shortly before this date. Temporary barracks and, stables were constructed and seventavfing officers started in to receive their training. Shortly after this, other officers arrived but unfortu y- ie the full capacity of the camp was notyreached until about the last of August whenq 1100 officersnatey in training. Shortly after the first officers arrived, enlisted recruits were sent fo the camp and s were organized working force was present and the camp took on an appearance of actual war conditionsooqfan training for the first officers and enlisted men continued until August 25th, when officers and men I ' S for the five National Army Cantonments in this district were sent to their divisions These require ments were Camp Funston, Kansasg Camp Dodge, Iowa: Camp Lewis, Washingtong Camp 9122335- Texas and Camp Pike, Arkansas. , By this time a large number of officers and men were sent to the camp and itswfull ca 't reached. From that time until the present. intensive instruction of these men has continued wlfhci y was ing ,success, and officers from this camp have been sent, not only to the divisions in this countr fo mcreis' and special details but also an appreciable number have been sent abroad. y F regu ar In addition to the basic course, it was early recognized that the training of officers in s e ' 1 1' of work must be attempted, and special instruction in camp sanitation, and the duties of a sanitarp entles was inaugurated. From this beginning, a number of special departments have been built lh adI?:l'f'Or to the training of officers for regimental and sanitary train duties, they have also been specially: 152 9