Basic Field Manual
Soldier's Handbook

FOREWORD     You are now a member of the Army of the United States. That Army is made up of free citizens chosen from among a free people. The American people of their own will, and through the men they have elected to represent them in Congress, have determined that the free institutions of this country will continue to exist. They have declared that, if necessary, we will defend our right to live in our own American way and continue to enjoy the benefits and privileges which are granted to the citizens of no other nation. It is upon you, and the many thousands of your comrades now in the military service, that our country has placed its confident faith that this defense will succeed should it ever be challenged.     In the transition from civil life to the life of a soldier you may, at first, feel somewhat confused. It is the purpose of this handbook to help you over these rough spots as rapidly as possible and to lay the foundations for your successful career as a soldier.     Making good as a soldier is no different from making good in civil life. The rule is the same and that is-know your own job and be ready to step into the job of the man ahead of you. Promotion is going to be very rapid in this Army. Be ready for it. You will have little time to learn the duties of a noncommissioned officer after you become one. You will be expected to know those duties and show that you know them. At a moment's notice you may have to take charge of your squad as a corporal-and in a critical hour. In the same way when you are a sergeant you cannot tell under what conditions and at what hour you may have to take the place of your lieutenant. You want to know what is expected of you and be ready to do it.     The things that a trained soldier must know, and the way in which they are done, will be taught you as rapidly as you can absorb them. The basic military information is described and explained in this handbook so that it may be available constantly to you during the first weeks of your service. By mastering the contents your future progress will be much more rapid.     In making yourself an efficient soldier you are helping to build a defense for our country that nothing can destroy. You are repaying your obligation to the United States for all the benefits of the past and are declaring your faith in our future. If you will make a part of yourself the following characteristics of the good soldier, you will be doing your part in upholding the glorious reputation of the Army of the United States:     Be obedient. - Obedience means to obey promptly and cheerfully all orders of your commissioned and noncommissioned officers. At first you cannot be expected to know the reason for everything you are ordered to do. As you remain longer in the service and you understand more of the reasons for military training you will find that everything has been figured out as the result of experience in the past. Ways and methods which have been successful in the past are continued until some new way proves to be better, and then the change will be made. Cheerful obedience leads to a better performance of your duties. It makes it easier for all of your comrades to do their part. It means better teamwork.     Be loyal. - Loyalty means that you must stand by your organization through thick and thin. Boost your organization at every opportunity. Be loyal and true to your officers, your noncommissioned officers, and your comrades. In this way you will be loyal to your country.     Be determined. - Determination means the bulldog stick-to-it-iveness to win at all costs. During your training keep everlastingly at the most difficult tasks and never give up until you have mastered them. Determination to win means success in battle.     Be alert. - Alertness means being always on your guard. A good soldier may be pardoned for failure, but never for being surprised. Should the unexpected happen, use your head and do something, even if it is wrong, rather than "lie down."     Be a member of the team. - Teamwork means that each man in the squad, platoon, company, troop, or battery gives everything in his power to make for the success of the whole unit. Success in battle depends on teamwork just as much as success in a football game depends on the pull-together spirit of the football team. Unless you play your own special part the team may not win.

Handbook for Army Air Forces Officers

There are a couple of translations for "UT VIRI VOLENT" they are: That Men May Fly or So The Strong May Fly.

One of the largest and finest flying schools in the world, Randolph, from its beginning, was known as "The West Point of the Air." Starting with a clean slate, Lieutenant Clark and the architects of the field were able to lay it out in precisely the manner that was best suited for its flying training mission. The overall plan was so well designed that, notwithstanding all the tremendous advances in aviation, few changes have been necessary over the years. General Fechet,in accepting Randolph Field from the city of San Antonio, foretold the central position that the base would hold in the history of flying training when he said, "The work we see here today is only a promise of what is to come. Randolph Field will be developed into the greatest airport in the world, to train the best aviators in the world."

Military developments in the years leading up to America's entry into World War II confirmed the nation's need for a strong air arm. By 1940, the United States began to take steps to greatly expand the size of the Army Air Corps. The increased demand for flying training caused by this expansion resulted in the creation of the Air Corps Flying Training Command on 23 January 1942. The first commander was Maj Gen Barton K. Yount. He retained command when the organization was redesignated the Army Air Forces Flying Training Command on 15 March 1942, after Congress redesignated the Army Air Corps as the Army Air Forces. General Yount shifted the command's headquarters from Washington, D.C. to Fort Worth, Texas, on 1 July 1942.

The pre-war expansion and America's ultimate entry into World War II in 1941 brought about an enormous increase in new recruits requiring training. Despite ever-increasing production goals, the flying training and technical training commands were able to meet the nation's demand for trained pilots, air crewmen, and technicians. Through use of military and contract flying instructors pilot production increased dramatically - from only 184 in 1937 to a peak of 11,411 graduating from primary pilot training in November 1943. Technician production likewise increased. In the two decades prior to 1940, the Air Corps trained a total of 15,000 technicians. By June 1943, Army Air Forces Technical Training Command was producing 600,000 technicians per year. Between 1 January 1939 and the end of the war, the training commands produced 192,676 pilots, 294,847 gunners, more than 45,000 bombardiers and over 1.3 million technicians.

While ultimately successful, this enormous expansion of the training mission highlighted some difficulties with the Army Air Force's training command structure. To remedy these, Chief of the Army Air Forces General Henry H. "Hap" Arnold merged the flying training and technical training missions on 31 July 1943, creating the Army Air Forces Training Command. Maj Gen Yount, who was promoted to lieutenant general in September 1943, became the first commander, with headquarters at Fort Worth, Texas. At the peak of the war, his command consisted of 461,656 personnel and 438 training bases.

A native of Austin, Texas, Capt William M. Randolph attended Texas A&M before entering the Army in 1916. Following pilot training at Kelly Field, he received his wings in 1919. In 1928 he was selected to a committee to recommend a suitable name for the new flying training field the Air Corps planned to build just east of San Antonio. On 17 February 1928, Captain Randolph was killed when his AT-4 crashed on takeoff from Gorman Field, Texas. Seven months later the War Department agreed to name the field after Randolph. After the Air Force became a separate service Sept. 18, 1947, Randolph Field was officially renamed Randolph Air Force Base on Jan. 13, 1948.

FOREWORD     This handbook was written primarily for the newly commissioned flying officers of the Army Air Forces, Its purpose is to start the new officer ofi on the right foot, lessen the number of mistakes commonly made by a11 new oTiicers, and help with some of the personal problems he may have. Basically, a11 new ofticers need the same advice and help when entering the life of a commissioned officer. Much of the advice and information contained herein will not be new to you, either in idea or in statement, because this manual is a compilation, from many sources, of materials that are neither new nor original except, perhaps, in the manner of expression. Although a few items pertain to flying officers alone, this manual, in general, is applicable to and for the use of all oflicers of this command. DUTY, HONOR, COUNTRY     The code of duty well performed, of honor in all things, of country above self - is the unwritten, unspoken tenet on which the official acts of officers are based. It is an all inclusive code and a philosophy of living which serves as a goal and an ideal. - The Officer's Code - UNIVERSAL MATCH CORP., NEW YORK Of course some officers, spending too much time in the Officers' Mess, demonstrated this 'sense of humor' by slipping paper notes in the matches. From pages 6, 7, 8 and 9; part B, C and D of the Handbook for Army Air Forces Officers. Dated May 3, 1943.     DUTY. This is the most important word in the officer's vocabulary. It is a word which determines in a large part the value of any officer to the military service. Ability, common sense, initiative and other important military qualities will be lost unless accompanied by an adequate sense of duty. By duty we mean that an officer constantly exerts his best ability toward doing what he ought to do. The officer who neglects to put forth his best efforts under all conditions falls short of what is expected of him. The young officer can readily determine for himself whether he constantly uses his best efforts and whether he is attempting, to the best of his ability, to perform that which he ought to do. It is often required that an officer shall neglect his own comfort and ease to accomplish the duties required of him. The conscience of the young officer will indicate to him whether, when he is on guard, he uses his best endeavors to instruct and to inspect his sentinels thoroughly. It will tell him whether at the end of a hard day he neglects his own weariness to look alter the comfort of his men who are dependent on him. It will tell him whether, in all matters which are put upon him, he is giving to the Service the best that is in him. If he does not use his abilities, it he is not persistent in his endeavors, he is falling short of tne Army tradition and of what the government has a right to expect. Many an officer, of excellent ability otherwise, finds himself unrewarded because he is lacking in continuous and persistent ettort.     HUMANENESS AS A DUTY. i. While by virtue of your rank and authority you will be in a position to enforce your will upon those under you, it is well to forget this power. Depend upon yourself, your ability, your personality. Keep rank and authority in the background. In the words of Emerson, "Be yourself." Be human, with all the interest, the sympathy, the pride and satisfaction in your men that you take in your best friends. Your men know that probably you have had superior advantages; but never make the mistake of letting them know that you know it. Always bear in mind the fact that they are human, that they have a human allowance of pride in themselves. They know their own weaknesses and deficiencies and will resent anything that savors of being patronized. Never make the mistake of trying to "high-hat" them. In the iirstplace, it is foolish and unnecessary. In the second place, you cannot get away with it.     2. We have a tremendous duty, in every day relationships with our fellow officers. How we fulfill this duty is bound to have a deciding bearing on our success or failure as an officer. Unfortunately, we have in the Army a certain type of officer known to the service as a "boot-licker," and "apple-polisher." He is the type who seeks to curry favor of those higher in rank, thereby obtaining special consideration. This is a form of cheap popularity. Avoid it as you would a pestilence. Any commander worthy of being a commander is quick to note this type of officer and is not long in dispensing with his services.     3. Never be guilty Of stooping to a mean trick in dealing with your fellow Officers. Be as square with them as you expect them to be with you. Play the game on the up-and-up.     A SENSE OF HUMOR. It you do not have a sense of humor, cultivate one, within reason. Lack of it is worse than a disease. A disease affects only the person who has it. A lack of a sense of humor is a wet blanket affecting all with whom you come in contact. Do not be afraid to laugh with your men. It will demonstrate only that you are human and will add a little cement to the bonds that hold them to you.

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