Early the next morning, John returned to the Klaibo barracks with Bradley. Although it is clear to everyone that the preparations for the reception www.biquge.info of recruits from the 82nd Division are only a pretext for Commander Gris-Wald to send Pope to his post, they must also be seriously prepared to deal with it.

At about 10 o'clock, a limousine with three stars painted on the front drove into the barracks. Bradley personally led the main officers of the division headquarters to greet him at the gate of the headquarters as a sign of respect for his immediate superiors and the welcome of Colonel Pope, the new chief of staff.

"Hello Omar!" As soon as Lieutenant General Wald got out of the car, he greeted Bradley warmly, apparently pleased with Bradley's attitude. "You're thinner than when we met last month, so you can't go on like this."

Then Lieutenant General Wald turned to Colonel George-Pope behind him and said, "George, you have to help Omar with some of the burden, otherwise Mary will be angry, and I will never be able to eat her doughnuts and apple pie again." ”

After saying that, Lieutenant General Wald laughed "boldly", and Bradley and Pope also laughed brightly. John watched with interest as the three old colleagues (Bradley, Wald, and Pope all taught at West Point from 1920 to 1924) performed "Friendship in Arms" with great interest.

After a short greeting, everyone went to the conference room of the division headquarters together. First, General Wald read out the appointment of Colonel Pope, and then Pope gave his acceptance speech amid warm applause. The whole conference room was filled with a "festive and peaceful" atmosphere. As for what Popper said at the time, John didn't remember a word. He had been watching the expressions of the crowd, trying to find something out of them. It's a pity that his Taoism is too shallow, or everyone's acting skills are too high, and he didn't see anything in the end.

After the appointment was announced, Pope was officially inaugurated. When Ridgway, on behalf of the 82nd Division, reported to Commander Wald on the preparations for the reception of new recruits, he had already sat down at the head of John, listening and making notes in his notebook, and his attitude was very serious.

In contrast to Pope, Commander Wald was less attentive to Ridgway's debriefing. He spent most of his time playing with his pipe, occasionally whispering to Bradley. When Li Qiwei talked about the part of the logistics reform of the 82nd Division, he didn't pay much attention to it, but nodded his head twice noncommittally.

John originally thought that this report was purely a formality, but he did not expect that when Ridgway talked about the "National House" plan, Lieutenant General Wald was immediately interested.

"Omar, whose idea was this? You should have let me know this sooner. After asking Ridgway six or seven questions in a row, Lieutenant General Wald excitedly patted Bradley on the shoulder and asked.

"Colonel John Vanderbilt. Deputy Chief of Staff and Logistics Staff Officer of our division. The logistical reform plan just now was also his idea. Naturally, Bradley won't miss the opportunity to make a name for himself as a friend.

"Which one is Colonel Vanderbilt?" Commander Wald asked.

"I am, sir!" Immediately John stood up and stood in salutation.

Lieutenant General Wald carefully looked at the young colonel in front of him: "Well done, young man!" What military school did you graduate from? West Point or Virginia? ”

"Sir, I'm a graduate of Fort Leavenworth."

John was a logistics specialist who was recruited into the army in 1939. Previously, he was an assistant to the chief of the Operational Planning Division of the General Staff. Bradley explained for him.

"Oh, you're McNair's new student!" Lieutenant General Wald suddenly realized: "Yes, yes, a talent. If the stupid people of the 28th Division had half of you, they wouldn't have embarrassed me so much. ”

Listening to Lieutenant General Wald's words, the officers of the 82nd Division present laughed. Except for a very few people, like that one from the Pennsylvania National Guard, Colonel Thomas Martin. Because the 28th Division that Wald is talking about was recently reorganized by the Pennsylvania National Guard. The division's commander, Colonel Martin's brother, is currently busy in Philadelphia preparing for next year's gubernatorial election.

However, among the officers present, no one cared at all whether the colonel, who had just turned 53 years old, looked good or not. Now these Pennsylvanyans are now unwelcome in the 82nd Division, and they have become a joke in the entire 4th Army.

Because the commander of the division was busy with election preparations and was absent from the barracks for a long time, and other high-ranking officers either came to gilded straw bales or were "politicians" who were keen to form gangs and factions and eliminate dissidents, the management of the entire division was chaotic, and the training was lax and chaotic.

Last month, the Army General Staff conducted a thorough assessment of five divisions reorganized from the National Guard, and the 28th Division not only ranked first in the overall score, but as many as 1,400 officers and noncommissioned officers (almost seven percent of the total) failed the basic ability test.

That's so much that Major General McNair, the head of the training department in charge of the assessment, couldn't even get rid of them. They can only be organized individually for secondary training. It is said that there was a 105 howitzer company in the 28th Division, and in the end, only 1 second lieutenant and 1 corporal remained, and the other 3 officers and 14 non-commissioned officers all went to the "cram school".

This incident made the face-loving Lieutenant General Wald lose face. He approached Chief of Staff Marshall several times for this purpose, and strongly requested a new division commander for the 28th Division, but he failed to do so. He was so angry that he didn't scold the 28th Division several times a day, and his heart was not happy.

John could have understood Marshall's struggle. After all, the State National Guard, unlike the Army, has an intertwined relationship with local political forces. Edward Martin has been the commander of the Pennsylvania National Guard for so many years, and now he wants to rely on the position of division commander for a few more days to accumulate more chips for the next gubernatorial race, and Marshall really can't take him.

If it had been tough, Roosevelt, the commander-in-chief of the Army, would not have agreed to it in the first place. Edward Martin is the Democratic Party's favorite to run for the next governor of Pennsylvania. In Roosevelt, I am afraid that he would rather have the 28th Division completely abolished than be willing to risk delaying the election.

Secondly, Marshall himself did not dare to do so. There are at least a few dozen more state National Guard units to be reorganized. If Edward Martin is really swept away, what the top ranks of the National Guard in other states will think will inevitably affect the next reorganization.

Historically, John recalls, Edward Martin did not resign as division commander until next year's gubernatorial election officially began. Therefore, even if Lieutenant General Wald is unhappy in his heart, I am afraid that he will have to endure him for more than a year.

After venting his dissatisfaction with the 28th Division, Lieutenant General Wald turned the topic back to the "All-American House" program. "Colonel Vanderbilt, you came up with this plan. In addition to what Brigadier General Ridgway said just now, do you have anything to add? ”

"The specific measures have been explained in detail by General Ridgway just now, and I only emphasize one point here, that is, the important role of the non-commissioned officers of each company in this plan. At the heart of our entire program is to give recruits a sense of belonging to the troops. These recruits are new to the city, and the most contact they have on weekdays is their comrades in squad and platoon. At this time, it is necessary for the non-commissioned officers of each company to pay more attention to the psychological needs of the recruits, create opportunities for them to deepen their understanding of each other, and establish emotional bonds between squad and platoon members. ”

Lieutenant General Wald's words were heard by John, and he nodded again and again. In the U.S. Army, officers are only responsible for training and directing operations, and the day-to-day management of soldiers is the job of non-commissioned officers. Lieutenant General Wald had never previously considered the issue of troop building from this point of view.

"Very good, Colonel Vanderbilt. I think this is not only useful for new recruits, but all divisions of the Fourth Army should learn from it. I suggest you put these thoughts into writing as soon as possible. Not only for me, but also for Major General McNair. ”