Questions are asked by the Director. One or more members of the class are required to make a brief statement of the problem, the idea being to make certain that every man is entirely familiar with the tactical situation under consideration. This insures a solid foundation on which the succeeding situations may be developed.
The first situation is then handed to members of the class. The Director cautions them that each man is to consider himself as being the commander of the unit whose operations are to be considered.
The solution of the situation is then proceeded with. This solution may be required to be reduced to writing; it may be given orally; or a combination of the two systems may be employed.
For example: The situation involves the preparation of a verbal field order. The Director proceeds step by step with the details of the matter to be included in each successive paragraph, arriving at a decision as to just what the wording should be.
1. Information of the enemy and our supporting troops.
3. Distribution of troops and tactical order for each element.
4. Administration arrangements, where applicable.
5. Place of commander or where messages are to be sent.
Having determined upon the wording of each paragraph, the members of the class are required to write out the body of the order.
Where the members of the class have sufficiently progressed in their tactical training some of the preliminary discussion and solution may be omitted and the men be required to write out the body of the order based on the tactical situation. The written solutions are collected by the Director and redistributed to the class, taking care that no man receives his own solution back again. This is productive of good results, for if a man knows that his work is to be seen by another he will put forth his best effort and be more careful with his work. Again, the entire solution may be given orally and nothing reduced to writing. In this case the Director brings out the elements by questions and discussion, and in the end one or more members of the class are called upon to state the contents of the body of the order. This method is excellent for the training of officers in the giving of verbal tactical orders.