MILITARY MUSIC

The earliest surviving pictorial, sculptured, and written records show musical or quasimusical
instruments employed in connection with military activity for signaling during encampments, parades, and combat. Because the sounds were produced in the open air, the instruments tended to be brass and percussion types. Oriental, Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and American Indian chronicles and pictorial remains show trumpets and drums of many varieties allied to Soldiers and battles.

Introduction

a. Bugle Calls. Bugle calls are used in U.S. military service as the result of the Continental Army’s contact with the Soldiers and armies from Europe during the revolutionary period. After the American Revolution, many of the French (and English) bugle calls and drum beats were adopted by the United States Army.
b. Attention. This is taken from the British “Alarm,” at which call the troops turned out under arms.
c. Adjutant’s Call. The adjutant’s call indicates that the  adjutant is about to form the guard, battalion, or regiment.
d. To the Color. The old cavalry call, “To the Standard,” in use from about 1835, was replaced by the present call of “To the Color.”
e. National Anthem. Our national anthem officially became "The Star Spangled Banner" by law on 3 March 1931, in Title 36, United States Code 170.
f. Sound Off. The band, in place, plays “Sound Off” (three chords). It then moves forward and, changing direction while playing a stirring march, troops the line and marches past the Soldiers in formation, then returns to its post. Upon halting, the band again plays three chords.
g. Retreat. Retreat is the ceremony that pays honors to the national flag when it is lowered in the evening.
h. Official Army Song. The official Army song, “The Army Goes Rolling Along,” was formally dedicated by the Secretary of the Army on Veterans Day, 11 November 1956, and
officially announced on 12 December 1957 (AR 220-90). In addition to standing while "The Star Spangled Banner" is played, Army personnel stand at attention whenever the official song is played. Although there is no Department of the Army directive in this regard, commanders, other officers, and other personnel can  encourage the tribute to the Army by standing at attention when the band plays “The Army Goes Rolling Along.”

Find more on US Army Drill and Ceremonies from:

Stages of Team Building From FM 6-22

Teams do not come together by accident. Leaders must guide them through three developmental stages:

 Formation.
Enrichment.
Sustainment.

Formation Stage
Teams work best when new members quickly feel a part of the team. The two critical steps of the formation stage—reception and orientation—are dramatically different in peace and war. In combat, a good sponsorship process can literally make the difference between life and death for new arrivals and to the entire team.

Reception is the leader’s welcome to the organization. Time permitting; it should include a handshake and personal introduction. The orientation stage begins with meeting other team members, learning the layout of the workplace, learning the schedule, and generally getting to know the environment. In combat, leaders may not have much time to spend with new members. In this case, a sponsor is assigned to new arrivals. That person will help them get oriented until they “know the ropes.”

In combat, Army leaders have countless things to worry about and the mental state of new arrivals might seem low on the list. If Soldiers cannot fight, the unit will suffer needless casualties and may ultimately fail to complete the mission.

Enrichment Stage
New teams and new team members gradually move from questioning everything to trusting themselves, their peers, and their leaders. Leaders learn to trust by listening, following up on what they hear, establishing clear lines of authority, and setting standards. By far the most important thing a leader does to strengthen the team is training. 

Training takes a group of individuals and molds them into a team while preparing them to accomplish their missions. Training occurs during all three stages of team building, but is particularly important during enrichment. It is at this point that the team is building collective proficiency.

Sustainment Stage
During this stage, members identify with “their team.” They own it, have pride in it, and want the team to succeed. At this stage, team members will do what is necessary without being told. Every new mission gives the leader a chance to strengthen the bonds and challenge the team to reach for new heights of accomplishment. The leader develops his subordinates because he knows they will be tomorrow’s team
leaders. The team should continuously train so that it maintains proficiency in the collective and individual tasks it must perform to accomplish its missions.

For more on the stages of team building, get your copy of FM 6-22.

History of the US Army Rangers

The history of the American Ranger is a long and colorful saga of courage, daring, and outstanding leadership. It is a story of men whose skills in the art of fighting have seldom been surpassed. Only the highlights of their numerous exploits are told here.

Rangers mainly performed defensive missions until, during King Phillip’s War in 1675, Benjamin Church’s Company of Independent Rangers (from Plymouth Colony) conducted successful raids on hostile Indians. In 1756, Major Robert Rogers, of New Hampshire, recruited nine companies of American colonists to fight for the British during the French and Indian War. Ranger techniques and methods of operation inherently characterized the American frontiersmen. Major Rogers was the first to capitalize on them and incorporate them into the fighting doctrine of a permanently organized fighting force.

The method of fighting used by the first Rangers was further developed during the Revolutionary War by Colonel Daniel Morgan, who organized a unit known as “Morgan’s Riflemen.” According to General Burgoyne, Morgan’s men were “….the most famous corps of the Continental Army, all of them crack shots.”

Francis Marion, the “Swamp Fox,” organized another famous Revolutionary War Ranger element known as “Marion’s Partisans.”

Marion’s Partisans, numbering anywhere from a handful to several hundred, operated both with and independent of other elements of General Washington’s Army. Operating out of the Carolina swamps, they disrupted British communications and prevented the organization of loyalists to support the British cause, substantially contributing to the American victory.

Find out more about the American Ranger: