John is thankful that most of the recruits he is facing now lived through the hard years of the Great Depression, and many of them grew up without food and clothing.

Compared with his golden generation, who were born in the early 20th century (the growth period coincided with the economic boom in the United States, and the material resources were relatively rich), and accustomed to a comfortable life, these people knew the hardships of life from an early age, learned to support themselves, adapted to hard work, and were accustomed to obeying orders. More importantly, they have a strong will to change their destiny through their own efforts.

Although they may complain about the heavy training tasks, these recruits do not want to live up to their time in the army, and in their hearts they despise those who are neglected in training, afraid of hardship, and lack of fighting spirit.

Therefore, John's "mobilization" went smoothly and without much effort, he succeeded in getting the soldiers of Company B to accept the notion that it would be humiliating and boring to live in the army. Being a paratrooper and becoming one of the most elite members of the army is the only way to be energetic and what a man should do.

With this in mind, the next step is much easier. Even though most of the B Company soldiers were not very clear about what the Airborne Forces were all about, that did not prevent them from having the urge to become an Airborne Soldier. Who doesn't want to go home from the army in the future, with an enviable paratrooper badge on their chest, to show off in front of their hometown companions.

"Sir, have you ever jumped the parachute? Is it good to learn? Jeff, who was the most curious, couldn't help but take the initiative to ask John.

"I skipped it when I was in middle school, and I wasn't as old as you are now. As long as you do more ground exercises and master the essentials of movement, skydiving is easy to learn. John said that skydiving was simple, but in fact he was very proud of his own skydiving skills.

You know, even in later generations, not many ordinary Americans have a skydiving license (USPA). In his previous life, when he was learning to fly in Louisville, he went to study the AFF (Accelerated-free-fall) course, accumulated 25 jumps and got an A photo. Before the crossing, he was still 4 jumps away (full 50 times) before he could get a B photo.

And in this life, he was exposed to skydiving early in the flying club. Compared with the commanders of the 82nd Division and the 101st Division who learned to skydive with ordinary soldiers in history, John, who has two lifetimes of parachuting experience, is also a rare "veteran".

"Sir, is it dangerous to skydive?" This time it was Private Muck who asked the question. Mook, from Rochester, Pennsylvania, was a dock porter in the Great Lakes region before enlisting in the Army, and his physical fitness was among the best in the company. But this muscular man is a little afraid of heights, and when he trains for obstacle running, the most frightening thing is to climb the cargo net wall.

"Not dangerous at all, private. Skydiving is actually similar to jumping from a height of 4 feet, not as tall as a canoe (the standard canoe is 1.3 meters tall for obstacle running), isn't it? John smiled and soothed a slightly nervous Mook, "Your regiment is about to have a new commander, he is the founder of the Army's first Airborne Force Experimental Unit, a real ace parachutist. Don't worry, even if it's a noodle pocket, he can teach you how to skydive. ”

"He's not a noodle pocket, sir, he's a pig." Jeff, who had gradually let go, took the opportunity to make a joke, causing the audience to laugh.

Only Captain Glio noticed the other information that John had just revealed, "General, has the new regimental commander been decided?" When will you take office? ”

"It's settled, you should be able to see him in two days." John couldn't help but feel a little depressed when he thought of the new head of the 503 regiment who was about to take office.

Originally, his wishful thinking played very well, and he got both Taylor and Gavin to the 82nd Division to be his right-hand men. At that time, Taylor was the chief of staff of the division, Gavin was the commander of the 503rd regiment, and with him as the deputy division commander, an iron triangle was properly formed. Not to mention completely overthrowing Ridgway, at least it can be guaranteed that no one will be able to control the 82nd Division without his permission.

It's a pity that the ideal is very plump, but the reality is very skinny. John planned for a long time and used a lot of resources, but the result was not satisfactory.

Taylor's arrival in the 82nd Division went quite smoothly. Originally, Secretary Smith wished that Taylor, who was increasingly appreciated by Marshall and had become a faint threat to him, would be transferred away as soon as possible. Coupled with the fact that Marshall himself had the idea of letting Taylor go to the combat unit, Stimson mentioned it a little, and the matter was done logically.

Although Taylor did not rise to the top of the ladder this time and was directly promoted from major to colonel (permanent rank) as in history, Marshall did not treat him badly. Not only was the permanent rank firmly raised by one level, but he was also directly appointed as the chief of staff of the 82nd Division as a temporary colonel, and even the acting was erased. At present, he only needs to wait for him to complete the handover of work and complete the promotion procedures, and then he can take office.

Gavin's arrival at the 82nd Division was not so easy. First of all, William Lee, the old fellow, refused to let go. He did not reject sending people to serve in the 82nd Division. If you can mix to the level of a general, no one is a fool. William Lee naturally knew it would be good for him to do so.

It's just that he also has his own little abacus. As soon as he turned around, he recommended another of his right-hand men, Lieutenant Colonel Bad Milley, the leader of the paratrooper training group.

The reason for the disclosure is also high-sounding: Gavin is one of the members of the preparatory group for the new airborne division and is directly involved in the selection and evaluation of the new airborne division. It is not recommended that he be transferred to the 82nd Division in the near future, so as not to be suspected of affecting the fairness of the selection.

Privately, William Lee also brought Gavin's credentials out to tell the story. I think Gavin's ability is really good, but he is too young, and the major who has just been promoted this year still needs to practice more and accumulate some experience.

William Lee made it so hard that even Stimson couldn't insist too much. After all, Gavin and Taylor's situation is very different.

Taylor is in the key department of the Army Staff Secretariat, working under the noses of the army bigwigs all day long, and his level of ability is obvious to all. In addition, there is Marshall behind him to endorse him, everyone does not look at the face of the monk and looks at the face of the Buddha, and will turn a blind eye to his promotion (who does not have a cronies and love generals, as long as there is no direct conflict of interest, no one will stop this kind of thing).

And Gavin was just a major training officer in an experimental unit, and if it weren't for John's behind-the-scenes, the top of the army would have known which onion he was. If Stimson forcibly overstepped the rank and promoted an officer who could not compete with him on the surface without a strong reason, it would inevitably be considered that his hand was too long.

Originally, John thought that Gavin couldn't come, and it would be okay to change to Zink. The good guy is also a historical celebrity (the commander of the 506th Regiment of the 101st Division in the TV series "Band of Brothers"), and he had a relationship with the other party when he was at the Fort Leavenworth Military Academy, and his impression is not bad. The most important thing is that Zinke has no background, and before entering the paratrooper test unit, he was just an ordinary company commander of the 25th Infantry Regiment, which is relatively easy to woo.

Who knew that before he could do it, the appointment of Lieutenant Colonel Milley would come down. Ask Taylor about it, and there is actually Bradley's shadow behind it. After a long time, this Bud Milley was still Bradley's old colleague when he was teaching at West Point.

As a result, John's layout of the 503rd Regiment was completely ruined. John himself was also very helpless, people crossed over, slaughtered the city and destroyed the country, changed the dynasty, and reversed the course of world history. Why do I just want to make a small change, but it always backfires? Could it be that I'm not a pig's foot?

In addition to being depressed, he could only comfort himself like this. Anyway, according to historical inertia, after the 82nd Division is officially reorganized, Gavin will still come over to serve as the commander of the 505th Regiment, but it will only be a few months later. And he has already grabbed Milley's position (historically, Milley was the 82nd Division with Gavin, and his position was deputy division commander), so don't worry about this "unlucky" old guy anymore.