Sergeant Harry Homers, who had relieved Sergeant Denton as instructor to the Troop and afterward obtained his discharge from the regular army to enter business, was one of the men to appear for enlistment when word was sent out that a number were needed to bring the Troop up to its war strength of one hundred and five men. Men on reserve were called back, and within four days Sergeant Condren, in charge of the recruiting, announced that no more were needed. Called out June 19, the Troop remained at the Armory until June 25, when extra men and equipment were loaded onto a special train and sent to the state camp at Niantic, while those with riding experience rode the Troop mounts overland. Physical examinations in camp reduced the number of men on the roster, but the required strength was ready for muster into the federal service and the subsequent trip to Nogales, Arizona. Troop trains carrying horses move slowly, and nine days passed before the men detrained at the little border town in the far southwest. The intense heat of the sun in that climate proved trying for men accustomed to the climate of the seacoast, so within a few weeks numerous discharges were granted following persistent examinations by the medical department. Camped at the top of a hill not far from Nogales, the majority of the men had their first experience in soldiering and considered the treatment they received in the light of hardship until they looked back on this trip as a picnic from the battlefields of Europe. Here they learned to ride, shoot, mount guard and do kitchen police according to the steel-bound regulations of the army. They learned something of the value and meaning of discipline, learned how to care for themselves and their horses, and for the first time, as soldiers, carried loaded ammunition in their belts when they walked guard in the streets of the little border town, always in sight of the squalid, sneaky-looking Mexican sentries just across that narrow strip of neutral territory on the boundary line. New horses were issued by the government so that each man had a mount to care for and call his own, and when, during the latter part of August, the Troop was called upon to take part in manœuvers, they rode like veterans, drawing commendation for both officers and men. One of the most serious blows to the morale of the organization was felt by the Troop not long after it reached Nogales. The carefully selected cook, who enlisted for the tour of duty, proved better at handling cards than he did at conjuring food out of army rations. Instructor Sergeant Arthur J. Fisher, assigned to the Troop a couple of years previously when Sergeant Homers left the army, stepped into the breach, however, and gave the men the benefit of his years of experience in regular army kitchens. Under his direction Arthur Parmalee and Francis Foley gained expert knowledge and the Troop kitchen became as efficient as any in the district.