Signal corps

“ When a signal station is to communicate with two or more stations, a telescope should be firmly fixed bearing on each, when practicable, and so far apart that those communicating with one station will not disturb the other party. ”

“ When a number of stations are in view from one station and it is desired to send a message to all or more than one station, some preconcerted signal, as a rocket, a red light, or some peculiar flag or torch signal, should be designated as a signal for general attention. ”

“ The Chief Signal Officer of the Army reserves the right to inspect any or all processes of manufacture, and unsatisfactory material will be marked for rejection by the inspector before, during, or after assembly, as occasion may arise.
Each glass will be tested for power, field, definition, and light. Any glass which is not the equal of the sample and model in all respects will be rejected. ”

“ Given the same wire and the same nervous apparatus, and the amount of electric force required to give rise to these several states of consciousness will be the same, however often the experiment is repeated. And as the electric force, the light-waves, and the nerve-vibrations caused by the impact of the light-waves on the retina, are all expressions of the molecular changes which are taking place in the elements of the battery; so consciousness is, in the same sense, an expression of the molecular changes which take place in that nervous matter, which is the organ of consciousness. ”

“ Powers and limitations of the acetylene signal lantern.—As conditions are usually more uniform at night than in the daytime, the signal lantern is probably the most reliable of all visual signaling outfits. The advantages of this form of apparatus are its portability, speed of operation, and comparatively great range. The principal disadvantages are due to the interference caused by rain, fog, and moonlight. The speed attainable with the lantern is about the same as that attainable with the heliograph. ”

“ These meanings usually include the letters of the alphabet and numerals, combinations of which being used to formulate necessary information. Combinations of elements of any system can also, however, be used to indicate any desired meaning.
With reference to period of visibility, signals are of two kinds, transient and permanent. A transient signal is one which disappears as soon as completed; [11] a permanent signal is one that remains in view for some time. Heliograph signals are transient signals, while signals made by code flags are permanent signals. ”

“ In most systems of signals suitable for military use, each signal is composed of one or more separate units, known as elements. Having prescribed a certain number of elements, the various signals are formed by having these elements appear singly or together in different arrangements or combinations. The continental system is one of two elements, namely the dot and the dash, while the Morse system employs three elements, the dot, the dash, and the space. Having agreed upon a certain number of combinations of elements, a system of signals is formed by giving a meaning to each combination. ”

“ The Ardois system is a special system of night signaling designed to utilize combinations of red and white signal lights in forming the elements of any desired alphabet. Four signal lamps capable of displaying either red or white lights are attached at convenient intervals to a vertical cable or staff rigged between the top of a mast and the deck, if on shipboard, or the ground, if on shore. Illumination is furnished by electrical means and any desired combination of lights is automatically obtainable by operating a keyboard. ”

“ A change of the subordinate elements of the percept does not matter so much as the slightest modification in the quality or even in the intensity of the signal. This, of course, does not mean that the subordinate sensory elements are not psychologically and biologically of the utmost consequence to the organism, but they are not of that immediate importance as the focal, nuclear elements appear to the consciousness of the organism. The nuclear elements, as signal, focus the interest of the animal. ”

“ Enlistments standards of the Women's Army Corps are high: in addition to the usual age, citizenship and physical requirements, to be accepted the recruit must be of excellent character and have a high school education, or the equivalent. ”

“ Signal stations should be convenient for messenger service and hence as near commonly traveled roads as the physical contour of the country will permit. Locations for signal stations should be so selected that the visual lines do not cross traveled roads, camps, etc., as dust and smoke in the daytime and lights at night are factors in determining the visibility of signals. Signal stations can if necessary be artificially concealed by erecting screens constructed of limbs of trees, etc., about the flanks and rear. Sheltered positions should be utilized in windy weather. ”

“ Backgrounds of this description do not accord with either of the essential requirements of the signal station and should be avoided whenever possible.
In general, sky backgrounds should always be selected for signal stations when conditions are such that the requirement of secrecy can be dispensed with; if, on the other hand, there is reason to fear that the signals may be intercepted by the enemy, dark backgrounds [71] should invariably be chosen, even though the disadvantages they impose, render them less desirable visually. ”

“ An ordinary nerve, normally connected with its terminal organs, gives sign of life by means of muscle, which by direct or reflex path is set in motion when the nerve trunk is stimulated. But such nerve separated from its natural termini, isolated from the rest of the organism, gives no sign of life when excited, either in the shape of chemical or of thermic changes, and it is only by means of an electrical change that we can ascertain whether or no it is alive ... The most general and most delicate sign of life is then the electrical response.’—Waller, in Brain, pp. ”

“ So without further ado I would like to present to you our chief of staff of the United States Army, General Matthew B. Ridgway. General?
Today's ceremony has special significance, not alone for the Women's Army Corps, but for all of us. It emphasized the essential need for women in the Army, and the continuing nature of that need. The task of keeping our Nation strong and free requires the efforts and talents of all our citizens, men and women alike. ”

“ Every cell in the human body is a seat of consciousness, while the nervous system is the organ of inference. All the bodily organs are related to one another through the structure of the nervous system, the fibers of which permeate all the organs, collect sense and feeling impressions from them, and transmit them by fibrous nerves to the ganglionic nerves, where such impressions are woven into concepts to be ultimately returned to the motor apparatus. ”

“ The 4-foot kit is the standard field flag kit and the range at which signals can be exchanged with it depends on a variety of factors, such as the condition of the weather, the location of stations, the proficiency of signalmen, etc. The speed for continuous signaling is seldom greater than five to six words per minute.
Care of flag material.—Signal flags should be examined at the close of drill or practice and repairs made to any rents or loose ties discovered. Flags, when soiled, should be thoroughly washed and dried in the sun. ”

“ Exposures of this kind obviate to a great extent the difficulty of sun haze and should be secured when this difficulty is encountered and it is impracticable to change the azimuth of the station.
Altitude.—The location of signal stations at high altitudes will tend to obviate difficulties arising from smoke, haze, and dust. The undulation of the atmosphere noticeable on a hot summer's day is always less at a distance from the earth's surface, and it is often practicable to read signals from a tree or housetop when they would be unintelligible from the ground. ”

“ Marriage is not encouraged during basic training but if a trainee does decide to marry, that too can be arranged. The only requirement is that the WAC complete one year in service before resigning. Marriage will always lead all other careers for women and the WAC graduate will be a better wife, mother and citizen, thanks to the training and education during her life in the Women's Army Corps. ”

“ Pigeons to be used for signal communication should be trained with the message holder attached to the leg to accustom them to carrying it. Pigeons should be distributed to combat troops, with message holders attached if it is known that the receiving troops have not had training or experience in handling the birds. Otherwise, holders may be delivered separately. Personnel of a loft should make every effort to provide message center units being served with necessary information concerning care, handling, and release of birds. ”

“ Responsibility for Training The commanding officer of a signal pigeon company, or the officer in charge of a pigeon unit, will prepare a training program to serve as a general guide for activities of the unit. Weekly training schedules for the guidance of the enlisted personnel will be based upon this approved training program for the unit. ”

“ The 17-weeks course combines purely academic studies with military subjects. Young women with college educations are given the opportunity to begin military careers as commissioned officers. Because the Women's Army Corps has no ROTC, the demand for officer personnel must be met by training women of qualified caliber in the Center's OCS.
Similar to the advanced training offered by other branches of the army, the Center also conducts an advanced officer course to prepare WACs to staff duty at higher headquarters in the Army and Department of Defense. ”

“ For while the various sensory surfaces are severally adapted to respond to different kinds of external movement—the eye to light, the ear to sound, and so on—any of these surfaces may be brought into suitable relation with any of the muscles of the body by means of the cerebro-spinal nerve-centres and their intercommunications. ”

“ Each and every operator will also have a personal signal of like character. Station calls or personal signals when once given or assumed will not be changed except by order of higher authority. Every station should at all times have on hand a list of all calls and personal signals liable to be encountered in station working. The general call suited to attract the attention of any station whose regular call is unknown [79] will always be a signal represented by the letter "A" in the Morse or the letter "E" of the Army and Navy Code. ”

“ Each incoming stimulus carves out for itself in the central nervous system or deepens a pre-existing channel in the central nervous system, but channel is not a trough formed by the physical displacement of particles, it is a chemical channel, a thread or trace of the autocatalyst of central nervous activities, a thread which need not necessarily be supposed to be more than a few times the diameter of 'the sphere of molecular influence' in width. ”

“ But the brain differs from the cord in being directly connected by nerves, not only with adjacent parts, but also with the distant and more important organs in the interior of the body—heart, lungs, etc.; in containing groups of cells which have stimuli sent on to them from all over the body viâ the cord; and in possessing centres which control those lower down in the nervous system. It therefore not only receives and balances stimuli from all over the body, but, by governing the centres which preside over the bodily movements, is able to wield and direct the body as a whole. ”

“ We have seen that stimulus produces a certain excitatory change in living substances, and that the excitation produced sometimes expresses itself in a visible change of form, as seen in muscle; that in many other cases, however—as in nerve or retina—there is no visible alteration, but the disturbance produced by the stimulus exhibits itself in certain electrical changes, and that whereas the mechanical mode of response is limited in its application, this electrical form is universal. ”

“ Dark backgrounds are far more common and more easily obtainable than sky exposures. They afford the maximum means of concealment from hostile observation, but materially reduce the range, speed, and accuracy of signal transmission. ”

“ More vital than the bony framework, or the muscles to which it gives support, is the nervous system, seemingly not only the central source of vital power, but the means of union and sympathetic relation of every cell and fiber of the entire body.
The brain has been aptly compared to a central telegraphic office, and the nerves to the extended [198] wires, which hold in communication and direct relation all the organs, and from which the functions of each are directed. ”

“ Sample.—The bidder shall furnish with his proposal a sample of the glass which he will supply, and award will be made after comparison of the samples with models on file in the office of the Chief Signal Officer. The maker will be allowed to examine the model glasses in detail in the office of the Chief Signal Officer of the Army, Washington, D. C.
3. Inspection and test.—When the order under this specification is complete, the contractor will notify the Chief Signal Officer of the Army, who will cause an inspection to be made. ”

“ We can, to a certain extent, regulate the depth and frequency of our breathing, and we can blink our eyes voluntarily; but an average man would be quite at a loss what to do if asked to make the pupil of his eye dilate and contract, the glands of his stomach secrete, or his heart alter its rhythm.
It is a familiar fact that some reflex actions can be altered by an effort of the will; in other words, an impulse from a brain cell will prevent a nerve cell in the spinal cord from discharging. ”