24.

July 25th

Dearest,

Training a battalion is very much like training a foot-
ball team in some ways. You know you have a certain 
minimum period in which to prepare the men. Into that 
period you must pack the maximum possible. At the end 
of that period, if you have worked as we have, you are 
set to go, and what is more, the boys are set to go. That 
period ended with the ending of our four-day maneuver. 
Now the boys are set, they are waiting for the word, and 
the danger exists that, lacking the word, with the suspense 
naturally accumulating, they will go stale. We are alert 
to the danger, and are taking a whole series of steps to 
avoid it. But it requires plenty of work, though of a some-
what different character. We are cutting down somewhat 
on the heavy work, although giving enough to continue 
hardening up and to keep in trim. Especially are we cutting 
down on the heavy work during the blazing heat of midday 
and afternoon, and packing most work now into the early 
morning up to 11, and in the night, with night maneuvers 
most nights.

Simultaneously we are trying not only to introduce new 
things into the training (and there are plenty of new things 
we can well afford to spend time on, if we have the time) 
but also to make it more interesting by means of introduc-
ing more competitions, etc. For example, on night maneu-
vers we are pitting one company directly against another, 
in mimic warfare. The winning companies in the first 
nights meet for the final competition. This week we are 
starting volley ball, soccer and softball tournaments, with 
each section entering teams. Tomorrow we are taking the 
whole battalion out on a long stiff march (combined with

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