Why not to chew gum in formation

Organization is key to a successful military unit . Being on time , in step , and in line with everyone else in the unit is the fundamental goal of each soldier , and the desire of each commanding officer . There is nothing that makes a commander more proud than to know that their unit is organized , discipline , and able to follow s above and beyond the normal call of duty . And , there is nothing that makes a soldier more proud than to know that he or she is serving with the most disciplined dedicated , and efficient

soldiers possible . While there are many major things that can erode this pride in one 's unit , whether from insubordinate actions of others to a basic failure to follow standing s , there are also minor things that can also erode the effectiveness of the unit on a whole . One of the actions that most consider minor but can actually lead to a widespread deterioration of the unit as a whole is the insistence upon chewing gum while in formation . Though it only seems minor and is not technically considered an offense barred by army regulations , it is something that speaks of a breakdown of discipline and basic disregard for the regimented nature of standing in formation as well as service in the armed forces

Considered one of the earliest authorities on the function and duty of a military in modern times , sixteenth century strategist and thinker Niccolo Machiavelli is quoted in Chapter 6 of the Field Manual explaining the duty of soldiers in formation : The [soldiers] must learn to keep their ranks , to obey words of command , and signals by drum and trumpet , and to observe good , whether they halt , advance retreat , are upon a march , or engaged with an enemy (FM . Even in the sixteenth century , and actually going much further back than that all the way to ancient times , the ability of an army to stand in formation signifies their discipline and preparedness to their commanders and all those who observe . The sight of well-organized , perfectly formed ranks of soldiers coming across the battlefield have struck fear into the hearts of opponents for millennia , and the ability for such organization was created in drills and learning how to stand in formation . Though the ancient Roman army did not have to worry about things like cell phones going off or soldiers chewing gum in formation , they still had to worry about men that would often disregard the importance of standing in formation . Some of these things include soldiers being out of rank or even worse , soldiers being late . In the modern army , these issues happen as well , but they are no excuse for failing to stand correctly in formation , just as there is no valid reason to chew gum in formation either

Difficult times sometimes create situations that make it impossible to maintain the normal activities of everyday life . It is impossible to predict when these events will occur , or exactly how they will affect...