Virginia Military Institute - Bomb Yearbook (Lexington, VA)

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Each room in each division constitutes a militaiy command, of which its orderl) ' is chief, and hence held responsible for any disorder which may occur during his tour of dut -. Meals are sei ved at prescribed times, the cadets marching to and from the Mess Hall in battalion under command of the senior cadet captain, who retains command during the meals and gives the signal for the corps to leave at the proper time. Each mess is in charge of a non-commi.ssioned officer; each company of its captain ; and the senior cadet officer present in charge of all is responsible to the Commandant, through the Officer in Charge. For recitations and lectures, the cla.sses are divided into sections, each in charge of the section marcher. At all hours of the d,i - from eight till four, when the bugle sounds the call for change of classes, the sections are formed on the company parade ground.s, under supcn-ision of the Officer of the Day; marched to the lecture rooms by the section marcher and there, by him, turned over to the professor awaiting them. At all roll-calls, whether for drills or ceremonies, the general appearance of the cadet is inspected by his companj- officers and these are checked b) ' close inspections of the Commandant and assistant professors at stated times. B)- these officers, also the condition of all quarters in barracks is inspected daily; the results of such inspections recorded on prepared blanks kept by the Officer of the Day, and by him reported to the Commandant at the expiration of his tour of duty. Guard Mounting and Battalion Parade daily with a guard regulated and gnxemed b) ' the Guard Manual of the United States Army, may be .said to fill out the list of details, necessaril)- mentioned in order to gixe an)- adequate idea of our military as a system. By all authorities, the conduct and bearing of a soldier on guard is considered a good test of his military qualities ; this, of course, within the limits of knowledge and experience required of a private or non-commi.ssioned officer in the ranks. Recognizing this and the fact that to develop the power to control, men must be placed in positions where such power is put to the test, the .s ' stem of guard duty, above referred to, is carried to such an extent at the Institute, as to render it a characteristic part of its military S)-stem. Because of this and as an example of the application of some of the principles mentioned we again, enter into details. Besides the a.ssistant professor in charge, the guard complete is composed of the Officer of the Da}-, two sergeants, two corporals, and fifteen privates. The privates are detailed from the companies by their first sergeaiits ; the non-commissioned officers, by tlie sergeant major from his guard roster and the officers, by the cadet adjutant, from the list of comiiau)- officers present for duty. That it may not interfere too seriousl)- with academic duties the guard is of two kind.s — the regular and the quarter guard, and each is subdivided into three reliefs. The latter of these guards the quarters, and is on duty from re -eille till taps. The former has charge of barracks during the periods at which the corps is absent at meals and being again posted immediately after supper, is on duty throughout the night, till relie -ed, at re ■ ' - by tlie quarter guard.

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