GENERAL, PROPERTY, AND DISBURSING REGULATIONS SIGNAL CORPS, UNITED STATES ARMY. ARTICLE 1. DUTIES AND PERSONNEL. DUTIES OF THE SIGNAL CORPS. 1. The Chief Signal Officer is charged with the direction of the Signal Corps of the Army; with the control of the officers, enlisted men, and employees attached thereto; with the construction, repair, and operation of military cables, telegraphic and telephonic lines and wireless installations, field telegraph trains, balloon trains, and furnishing and installing instruments and connecting cables used for transmitting information in connection with fire control at seacoast fortifications; with the preparation, distribution, and revision of the War Department telegraphic code; with the supervision of such instruction in military signaling and telegraphy as may be prescribed in orders from the War Department; with the procurement, preservation, and distribution of the necessary supplies for the Signal Corps and for signaling installations of the lake and seacoast defense. He has charge of all military signal duties, and of books, papers, and devices connected therewith, including telegraph and telephone apparatus and the necessary meteorological instruments for target ranges and other military uses; of collecting and transmitting information for the Army, by telegraph or otherwise, and all other duties pertaining to military signaling. (A. R., 1578.) 2. The furnishing of time service to posts is not a function of the Signal Corps, but of the Quartermaster's Department. (Dec. C. S. O., Jan. 18, 1905.) PERSONNEL. COMMISSIONED OFFICERS. 3. The Signal Corps has an authorized strength of 1 brigadier general, 1 colonel, 2 lieutenant colonels, 6 majors, 18 captains, 18 first lieutenants, 36 master signal electricians, 132 sergeants (first class), 144 sergeants, 156 corporals, 552 first-class privates, 168 privates, and 24 cooks; in all, 46 officers and 1,212 enlisted men. 4. An officer of a staff corps or department, or an officer serving therein by detail, will report to The Adjutant General of the Army and to the head of his corps or department on the last day of every month, giving his address, a statement of the duties on which he has been employed during the month, the date of his assignment thereto, and the authority by which so assigned. (A. R., 843.) 5. Officers obtaining leaves of absence or permission to delay en route in changing stations from authority other than of the Chief Signal Officer of the Army are directed to promptly notify the signal office, in writing as far as practicable, in advance of such leave or delay and give prospective date of leaving station and of return. Officers while on leave of absence will keep the Chief Signal Officer advised of any change of address in order that they may be communicated with if necessary. 6. Signal officers are enjoined to exercise great care in making recommendations for foreign service. Men of indifferent character or dissipated habits should be kept on duty within the limits of the United States, where they can be disciplined and supervised; nor should men of weak physique be recommended for foreign service. Unsuitable men are a source of weakness and injury either in Alaska or the Philippines, where Signal Corps men generally serve on detached duty. 7. Commanding officers of Signal Corps noncommissioned officers, excluding those stationed in the Philippine Islands, who are about to be discharged will notify the Chief Signal Officer of the Army prior to the discharge of the soldier whether or not he is fully qualified in all respects to perform the duties required of men of his grade and whether or not the continuance of his warrant is recommended. If it is recommended that the warrant be not continued upon reenlistment, the communication should be sent at least three months prior to the date of the soldier's discharge, so as to allow time for a decision to be made and the soldier notified thereof before the date of his discharge. 8. Commanding officers of Signal Corps companies, excluding those stationed in Alaska and the Philippine Islands, will furnish the Chief Signal Officer of the Army by mail direct at the end of each month the number of enlisted men in each grade in their companies, both present and absent. This information will be furnished by telegraph by the commanding officers of Signal Corps companies stationed in Alaska. (Cir. 9, O. C. S. O., 1908.) 9. On the last day of each month the commanding officer of each Signal Corps field company will forward to the Chief Signal Officer of the Army, through his commanding officer, a report setting forth the following information: (a) The enlisted strength of his company, present and absent. |