US Army Command and General Staff College - Summary Yearbook (Fort Leavenworth, KS)

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list spreads widely to include three ping-pong addicts and two who list elbow-bending as their favorite sport. Over half of those who list a sport participate once a week, a high standard which is not maintained by the man who reports that he plays golf annualiy. There can be no attempt to list a favorite book. The most votes received by any one publication were twenty, and those went to FM lO'l-5. Fifteen votes went to FM lOl-TO, and Rommel's Papers was third with twelve votes. Few other books for manualsl re- ceived more than five votes each, which should give you an idea of the wide reading tastes of the class. The frequency of military biographies furnishes an in- dication of the influence of the leadership paper on our current reading choices, but some titles fsuch as Auntie Mame, Dennis the Menace and The Revolt of Mamie Stoverj don't category too well. Magazines are also numerous. One hundred and thirty-two favor Time. Life goes to forty-six and News- week to forty-seven. Thirty-five read US News and World Report, nineteen favor sports magazines of one sort or another, and seven select Playboy as their first choice. From then on out, just about every magazine in print is read by one or more, including two fol- lowers of Business Week fone of whom must be doing all right, because he reports his hobby as reading financial matter, and he owns two cars, a dog and a cat, and three TV setsi. Sports programs on TV are preferred by fifty-eight. Forty-five select Ed Sullivan, and forty-three vote for Sgt. Bilko. After these leaders, it's anybody's choice, running the gamut from the one man who mentioned Bishop Sheen to the two happy warriors who glue themselves to the set when the Mickey Mouse Club comes on. It will not surprise many that Florida ffifty-three votesi and California ffifty-onej are the most popular places chosen for retirement. Thirty-four states are men- tioned at least once, and thirteen foreign countries, but, surprisingly enough, the only mention of Kansas was the indirect one made by the man who said he 140 wanted to retire on the staff and faculty of the C 81 GSC. This reply is being studied by the experts. Ninety-three hadn't made up their minds yet. The class has an average of fifty-six months overseas service per man, running from a minimum of nine to a maximum of one hundred and thirty-two months. Twenty-four homesteaders have less than thirty months overseas service and nine men have one hundred or more months across the water. This, of course, includes tours in all-the theaters, running from fifty-two men with one tour, through two hundred and fifty-seven with two, one hundred and fifty-six with three, nineteen with four and one lucky devil with five. Three hundred and sixty students saw service over- seas in World War Two, and two hundred and fourteen in Korea. These figures include one hundred and eighty- five especially chosen individuals who were in both wars, and ten who were in both the Pacific and Europe during World War ll. Quite a few realists in this class-two hundred and ten of them, in fact, who expect to be colonels. Forty- five are looking forward to one star, thirty-seven to two, nine to three and thirty to four. One man figures on five stars and one is going to be president. There are two armored officers who plan to be admirals, one man who aspires to be Patrol Leader of the Wood- chuck Patrol, and eighty-three who wouldn't even speculate. Lot of decorations in the class: two hundred and sixty-seven bronze stars accompanied by one hundred and forty-nine clusters and twenty-one V s. Eighty- seven Commendation Ribbons with nine clusters, twenty- nine Air Medals with seventy-four clusters, eighty-seven Purple Hearts with forty-one clusters, eighty-eight Sil- ver Stars with twenty-two clusters, fourteen Legion of Merits, nine DFC's with two clusters, and four Dis- tinguished Service Crosses. There are an even hundred men with the Combat Infantry Badge, and thirty-five have the badge with the star on it. Two men are com- bat medics. One hundred and eight parachutists, of whom eighteen are senior and nineteen are master

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parachutists. Forty-one are glider-riders Clook Herman, no motorl and we have an assortment of twenty-six pilots, including three marines, five AF senior pilots and nine senior Army Aviators. Three hundred and six men have commanded in combat and two hundred and thirty-three have been on staffs in combat. These figures include one hun- dred and eighty-five who have done both. We study an average of just under three hours a night including one who says he doesn't study, three who report one-half hour, one who reports forty-five minutes and three who report six hours per night. Two hundred and seventy-nine hard-pressed students color their own maps. One hundred and thirty-six wives perform this chore, and in rhirty-five families it is a joint effort. Five hardy souls report that no one Joes their's and six are using maps colored by last year's class. Seven use their children, two sisters-in- law get credit, PFC Seback and SP3 Griffith receive one vote each, and four anonymous engineer office employees or soldiers are mentioned. One man replies What maps? and we feel it is best not to answer this question at this stage of the game. If he's still here, why should he worry. He may have the solution. Social life is hard to depict. A fourth of us go out four times a month, a seventh go out three times, a fifth twice, a tenth six times. Three don't go out at all Ctwo of these couples have five kids eachj and two bachelors report that they go out twelve times a month, only to be topped by one hardy bon vivant who hits the neon-lighted trail sixteen times a month. This guy is married with one child and studies three hours a night. Good organization, that's what it is. What one thing would you most rather change at the C8tGSC? Here is one answer: Gee, I don't want to change anything! What a good deal it all is!! My quarters in West Normandy are peachy. The curriculum is dynamic. lAnswer that phone!! Kansas is a beautiful place. The instructors are keen fellows. Examinations are a stimulating challenge. lHey, church bellslj The whole course is a morale-builder and builds self-confi- dence. I never had it so good. fLook out, here comes a street car!! l love it!!! lWho keeps ringing that doorbell?i Although it cannot be said that this is a typical answer, it does, after a fashion, reflect a number of the sentiments which were voiced in the various answers to this question. Two hundred and twenty-one students referred to the examinations in one fashion or another-the an- swers running the gamut from the stark word exams through such specific suggestions as eliminate the exams to some very detailed and sometimes heated discussions of the examination program. Most of the remarks suggest elimination or major modification of the examination program. The rest of the suggestions cover a multitude of sub- jects. Twenty-nine propose an improvement in the quarters situation and fourteen would shorten the study requirements and hours. Twenty recommend shorter classroom hours and thirteen would like to see their class standings or grades changed. Fourteen don't want to change anything flncluding the person whose answer is quoted above and sixty-four left the question un- answered, whether from emotions too strong to tran- scribe, or sheer vegetable indifference can only be surmised. Several references are made to instruction. Eight would change the caliber of the instructors, two simply recommend changing the instructors, four would like to improve what they call the attitude of the staff and faculty, and one man suggests preparing for the next war instead of the next exam. Two men are dissatisfied with the barber shop, one with the Kansas weather. One suggests changing the ventilation in Gruber Hall and two want longer breaks. One of the most specific and clear-cut recommenda- tions is from the man who wants to change the ther- mostat in the apartment downstairs. 141