Shadows In the Jungle by Larry Alexander Page B

at Hollandia. To practice nighttime navigation, two men would row a mile out, pick out a landmark on the shore, and fix a compass reading on the mark. Then they were required to cover their heads with a poncho and, using just the compass, row to shore in an attempt to land as close as possible to the mark.
    During the first day of training, each team was issued a six- or ten-man rubber boat with oars. Their instructors, Lieutenants Beckworth, Frederick A. Sukup, Daily P. Gambill, and Henry R. Chalko, taught them how to inflate the craft with lung power, pumps, and CO 2 cartridges, how to board and launch them from PT boats and J-boats, and how to maneuver and land in rough surf. They also learned how to conceal and recover boats once onshore.
    The men drilled in daylight and at night. The drills were often dangerous and, on one occasion, deadly. At Tami Beach near Hollandia, a rubber boat capsized and two Scout candidates drowned. They would prove to be the unit’s only fatalities in two years of active duty.
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    Onshore, training included communications skills in Morse code and radio. Every Scout candidate underwent this training in case the team’s appointed radioman was killed or wounded. They were also taught the use of the blinker light and had to be able to send ten words per minute. The Scouts were trained on the SCR-288 walkie-talkie; the SCR-300 radio, which was carried on a man’s back; and the SCR-694 radio, which was powered by a hand-cranked electrical generator, and which, with its greater range, came in handy later in the war during extended missions in the Philippines, when the men were living and moving with the guerrilla bands. They also learned to use the Australian ATR-4 radio.
    But sometimes communication would involve dealing with natives and the enemy verbally, so members of the Netherlands East Indies Administration taught the men Melanesian pidgin English, a language developed through interisland trade that blended native words with English. The Scouts would not be fluent in the language, but would at least know how to ask for food, water, and inquire about the location of the enemy troops. In the Philippines, pidgin English was replaced by Tagalog. The Scouts were also taught basic Japanese, particularly key military words they might overhear.
    Courses taught included map reading, the use of the compass and how to find one’s way through unfamiliar terrain, how to read latitude and longitude to call in airdrops or guide boats in to shore. They learned how to recognize rivers, valleys, and mountains.
    For intelligence-gathering skills, the men were schooled in how to plan missions, including how many men to take, how much food and ammo would be needed, the types of weapons best suited, and the length of the mission. They attended classes on Japanese order of battle and how to handle prisoners. They sketched coastlines, beaches, and other terrain features, to clear the way for invasions, and learned to analyze beach gradients, tides, reefs, vegetation, fresh water sources, soil and sand composition, roads and trails.
    Classes were also held on how to evaluate enemy morale, physical condition, defenses, both fixed and mobile installations, bivouac areas, bridges, roads, ammo dumps, airfields, lines of communication, and other targets of opportunity.
    â€œWhen, where, what, why, who covers everything you need to find out on an intelligence operation,” Bradshaw told them. “Never forget that and never vary the order.”
    Methods of concealment were taught, ways to protect themselves by the use of grease paint, mud, grass, and other ways of blending in.
    To survive in the harsh environment of the jungle, the men learned basic reconnaissance and patrolling skills, including escape and evasive techniques, taught by Australian 1st Lt. Raymond “Moose” Watson, on detached duty from the Australian New Guinea Administration Police. Earlier in the war, deep behind enemy