Without such training their value is small, for no regiment should be accepted except at war strength and a national guard regiment so filled up, without experienced instructors who know the course, will take nearly as long to become efficient as would a new regiment. IX INSPECTIONS Much can be done to improve the training of our infantry by the inspections. Most officers greatly dislike to have an adverse report made by an inspector on their commands. Fear of such a report sometimes works to the detriment of sound training and sometimes to its improvement. [Sidenote: Influence of inspections] A captain once asked why he put so much time on exercises of obviously little consequence and so little time on others more important, replied: “Blank will inspect this year. He always pays great attention to such and such an exercise and never examines the company in the others. I want a clean record on this inspection.” We have all been influenced as was this captain. Even if we do not care personally, loyalty to our colonel or to the post commander leads us to consider what the inspector will require. The author has no intention of criticizing adversely the Inspector General’s Department; its inspections have steadily improved in recent years and become more rational and consequently more beneficial. His aim is rather to point out the place of the inspections in the year’s training and to suggest how, in connection with the methods of training proposed, they may be made both searching and helpful toward real proficiency. [Sidenote: The annual inspection] In the annual inspection it is evident that in the time available the inspector cannot examine an organization in everything it should know; he must choose certain things and judge from those of the training of the company or regiment. In making this choice the relative importance of the subjects must be kept in mind. Of course every company must be tried out in the combat exercises and in all the things that should be made fixed habits. It is of equal importance that no stress be laid on non-essentials. For the rest, he should select certain important things which every company should know and inspect it thoroughly as to its proficiency in those, examining the various companies at a post in different subjects so that a captain would feel that anything in the whole course might fall to his lot from properly making the pack to establishing an outpost at night. The inspector should make free use of the war game map, tactical walks and every other recognized means of instruction to find out how well the officers and men of the regiment are instructed and what class of work each organization is doing. In order to be fair to the organizations inspected the annual inspection should be made late in the season. It should never be made before the officers have had a fair show to instruct their commands. [Sidenote: Company examination] [Sidenote: Battalion examination]