the bacon once, and quickly browning it. Remove the bacon to lid of meat can, leaving the grease for frying potatoes, onions, etc. 88. Potatoes (fried).-Take two medium-sized potatoes or one large one (about one-half pound), peel and cut into slices about one-fourth inch thick and scatter well in the meat can in which the grease remains after frying the bacon. Add sufficient water to half cover the potatoes, cover with the lid to keep the moisture in, and let come to a boil for about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the cover and dry as desired. Salt and pepper to taste. During the cooking the bacon already prepared may be kept on the cover which is most conveniently placed bottom side up over the cooking vegetables. 89. Onions (fried).-Same as potatoes. 90. Potatoes (baked).-Take two medium-sized potatoes (about one-half pound) or one large one cut in half. Lay in a bed of light coals and cover with same and smother with ashes. Do not disturb for 30 or 40 minutes, when they should be done. 91. Canned tomatoes.-One 2-pound can is generally sufficient for five men. Stew. Pour into the meat can one man's allowance of tomatoes and add about two large hardtacks broken into small pieces and let come to a boil. Add salt and pepper to taste, or add a pinch of salt and one-fourth spoonful of sugar. Or, having fried the bacon, pour the tomatoes into the meat can, the grease remaining, and add, if desired, two broken hardtacks. Set over a brisk fire and let come to a boil. Or, heat the tomatoes just as they come from the can, adding two pinches of salt and one-half spoonful of sugar, if desired. Or, especially in hot weather, eaten cold with hard bread, they are very palatable. THE FORAGE RATION 92. The forage ration is given in National Guard regulation 79, paragraph 35. SHELTER (F. S. R. Ch. X) 93. Good shelter contributes greatly to the maintenance of the efficiency of troops in the field. The character of the shelter 83. Rations are drawn from the issuing officer under authority of the "ration return" approved by the commanding officer, showing the number of enlisted men entitled to be subsisted, and the actual period in camp-date and hour of arrival to date and hour of departure. There are no 'savings to the organization of money value of rations not drawn. Any excess drawn is paid for by the organization. 66 INDIVIDUAL COOKING 99 84. Generally, the cooking while in camp is done by the company cooks, who should be instructed in the training manuals, The Cook and The Baker, and the Militia Bureau pamphlet. Notes on Messing and Mess Management. For purposes of instruction or when at an overnight camp away from the mess, rations for one or two meals are sometimes issued to the individual soldier and he is required to do his own cooking. The following rules and information will assist in preparing the food in an edible manner: 85. The best fire for individual cooking is a small, clear one or a few brisk coals. To make such a fire, first gather a number of sticks about 1 inch in diameter. These should be dry. Dead limbs adhering to a tree are drier than those picked up from the ground. Split some of these and shave them up into kindling. Dig a trench in the ground, laid with the wind, about a foot long, 4 inches wide, and 6 inches deep. Start the fire in this trench, gradually piling on the heavier wood as the fire grows. When the trench is full of burning wood, allow it a few minutes to burn down to coals and stop blazing high. Then rest the meat can and cup over the trench and start cooking. Either may be supported, if necessary, with green sticks. If you can not scrape a trench in the soil, build one up out of rocks or with two parallel logs. 86. Coffee.-Fill the cup two-thirds full of water and bring to a boil. Add 1 heaping spoonful of coffee and stir well, adding 1 spoonful of sugar if desired. Set it to the side of the fire to simmer (not boil) for 10 to 20 minutes. Then, to clear the coffee, throw in a spoonful or two of cold water. This coffee is of medium strength and is within the limit of the ration if made but twice a day. 87. Bacon. Cut a side of bacon in half lengthwise. Then cut slices about five to the inch, three of which should generally be sufficient for one man for one meal. Place in a meat can with about one-half inch of cold water. Let come to a the bacon once, and quickly browning it. Remove the bacon to lid of meat can, leaving the grease for frying potatoes, onions, etc. 88. Potatoes (fried).-Take two medium-sized potatoes or one large one (about one-half pound), peel and cut into slices about one-fourth inch thick and scatter well in the meat can in which the grease remains after frying the bacon. Add sufficient water to half cover the potatoes, cover with the lid to keep the moisture in, and let come to a boil for about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the cover and dry as desired. Salt and pepper to taste. During the cooking the bacon already prepared may be kept on the cover which is most conveniently placed bottom side up over the cooking vegetables. 89. Onions (fried).-Same as potatoes. 90. Potatoes (baked).-Take two medium-sized potatoes (about one-half pound) or one large one cut in half. Lay in a bed of light coals and cover with same and smother with ashes. Do not disturb for 30 or 40 minutes, when they should be done. 91. Canned tomatoes.-One 2-pound can is generally sufficient for five men. Stew.-Pour into the meat can one man's allowance of tomatoes and add about two large hardtacks broken into small pieces and let come to a boil. Add salt and pepper to taste, or add a pinch of salt and one-fourth spoonful of sugar. Or, having fried the bacon, pour the tomatoes into the meat can, the grease remaining, and add, if desired, two broken hardtacks. Set over a brisk fire and let come to a boil. Or, heat the tomatoes just as they come from the can, adding two pinches of salt and one-half spoonful of sugar, if desired. Or, especially in hot weather, eaten cold with hard bread, they are very palatable. THE FORAGE RATION 92. The forage ration is given in National Guard regulation 79, paragraph 35. SHELTER (F. S. R. Ch. X) 93. Good shelter contributes greatly to the maintenance of the efficiency of troops in the field. The character of the shelter tion. The underlying principle is to utilize the best available facilities for shelter so far as is consistent with the situation, and to improve existing facilities to the extent permitted by prevailing conditions. According to circumstances, troops in the theater of operations are sheltered in bivouac, camps, or billets. 94. Troops are in bivouac when resting on the ground covered only by shelter tents or hastily improvised shelter, or without any overhead cover. Bivouac facilitates tactical control and readiness for action. It is, however, undesirable from the viewpoint of comfort, rest, and protection from the weather and is therefore resorted to only when required by tactical conditions. In proximity to the enemy, the tactical distribution of the troops imposed by the situation and the necessary degree of readiness for action generally require the use of bivouacs. 95. Troops are in camp when sheltered by tentage other than shelter tents or quartered in huts or other temporary structures especially constructed for military purposes (cantonments). Camps facilitate control of the troops and adminis tration but are not practicable for the shelter of units engaged in active operations. On account of the mobility of tentage, the use of tent camps is advantageous for the purposes of temporary shelter; where the camp site is to be used for a prolonged period for the shelter of troops, cantonments are more economical than tent camps on account of the rapidity with which the tentage becomes unserviceable. 96. Troops are in billets when occupying private or public buildings not especially designed for military purposes. Billeting in dwellings in the United States and its possessions is limited by the third amendment to the Constitution, which provides that "no soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house without the consent of the owner; nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law." Use may be made of public buildings when available, or private buildings may be rented. In enemy territory billeting is resorted to when shelter of this character is most advantageous in the particular situation. Families are not removed from their dwellings when it can be avoided. In the territory of an ally the billeting of troops is governed by the laws and customs of the allied country. Billets afford excellent shelter and permit of the screening of troops from aerial observation; they have, moreover, the advantage of offering an immediately available or material. Billets do not, however, favor a high degree of readiness for action, and the tactical situation usually renders their use inadvisable in close proximity to the enemy. The danger of the transmission of disease inherent in billeting requires careful inspections and strict enforcement of sanitary rules. Insufficiency in billeting space frequently results in a combination of billets with other forms of shelter (close billets). 97. Arrangements for sheltering troops are, as far as practicable, made before their arrival. The preparations for quartering a command are made by means of quartering parties composed of a staff officer of the command with the necessary assistants, a medical officer, and representatives of the several units. The staff officer of the command is the chief quartering officer. The duties of quartering parties are to select the quartering area when this has not already been determined and make arrangements for its occupancy with the proper authority; to apportion the area to the subordinate units and allot to each the available facilities for its administration and supply, subject to the approval of the area commander; to reserve facilities for the general service of supply, administration, and command (headquarters, infirmaries, message centers, guards, etc.); in general, to take the necessary measures to assure that all agencies of command, administration, and supply continue functioning with the least possible interruption after the arrival of the troops. 1 THE SELECTION OF CAMP AND BIVOUAC SITES 98. The general location of camps and bivouacs is determined by service requirements. A camp or bivouac must be located with reference to the main objectives of the troops. Within the limitations by these objectives, every possible consideration is given to the requirements of sanitation, administration, and supply, and the comfort of the troops. 99. The following sanitary considerations are of especial importance: Drainage. The site should be sufficiently high and rolling to drain off the storm water. Dryness.-Porous soil covered with a stout turf and underlaid by a gravelly or sandy subsoil is best; a clay subsoil is usually damp and impermeable. Alluvial soils, marshy ground, and ground near the foot of a range of hills are usually damp. |