25. Memorization was often a necessary part of military training
The ability to give a correct answer to a question through memorization of the answer, rather than comprehension of the subject, was a valuable trait during military training. One of the first requirements of recruits was to learn the General Orders of a Sentry. During the Vietnam era all branches of the military used the same orders, as did the Coast Guard. Their authorship is unknown, they appeared in the Navy Sailor’s bible, The Bluejacket’s Manual, in 1902. Some have ascribed their authorship to George Washington in the Continental Army’s encampment in Cambridge in 1775. The eleven orders were, like the Code of Conduct, expected to be known verbatim by anyone wearing a military uniform.
The Navy version differed from that of its land based compatriots (who don’t generally have an Officer of the Deck to report to) but the differences during the Vietnam War were minor in nature. A common scenario in basic training was a recruit dropping in utter exhaustion following a five mile run while carrying up to forty pounds of equipment, only to hear the voice of his drill instructor demanding to know the fifth general order of a sentry. Woe betide the unfortunate trainee who did not leap to attention and respond, “Sir, the fifth general order is Sir, ‘To quit my post only when properly relieved’, Sir”.
Where do we find this stuff? Here are our sources:
“Trial by Fire: A Carrier Fights for Life”. Training Film, US Navy. 1973. Online
“US Combat Advisers Knew the Score and Got Ignored”. James A. Warren, Daily Beast. April 3, 2018
“Brown Water Navy in Vietnam”. Entry, NavyHistory.org. January 11, 2012
“The Brown Water Navy”. Jim Falk, Stars & Stripes. September 14, 1969
“Tiger Land, then and now”. Rachel Steffan, Leesville Daily Reader. April 29, 2017
“Training Films”. The Unwritten Record, National Archives. Online
“Ranch Hand in Vietnam”. Air Force Magazine. October, 2013
“Training: The Vietnam Era”. Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island. Online
“Uphill Battle”. Frank Scotton. 2014
“Glossary of Military Terms & Slang from the Vietnam War”. The Sixties Project. 1996. Online
“TOPGUN, Top School”. Everett Allen, Navy News Service. May 16, 2016. Online
“Dogs at War: Left Behind in Vietnam”. Rebecca Frankel, National Geographic Magazine. May, 2014
“America in Vietnam: A Working Class War?” J. F. Guilmartin. 1994
“USCG in Vietnam Chronology”. US Coast Guard History Program. Online
“The Uniform Code of Military Justice”. Entry, Military.com. Online
“The Bluejacket’s Manual, 25th Edition”. Thomas J. Cutler. 2017