| The US Army traces its history back to the | | | | golf than just the wealthy. Golf was encouraged as a |
| formation of the Continental Army on 14 June, 1775. | | | | healthy pastime for the whole Army, and as this |
| There are Army wide traditions, and unit level | | | | gradually seeped into the civilian world, it ceased to |
| traditions. Some of these are very serious. We trace | | | | be a mark of how unusual the army was in fondness |
| the civilian control of the US Armed Forces to | | | | for golf. |
| George Washington's voluntary release of power | | | | There are traditions which have become famous |
| after the American Revolution. The strong tradition | | | | from the movies, such as the Rangers with "Leave |
| of following the orders of our civilian leadership is also | | | | no man behind" in the Ranger Creed. Exposure to this |
| an important part of the culture of the whole nation. | | | | has led to many soldiers thinking this is just the |
| Other traditions are very local, such as the rights of | | | | normal way of doing business. |
| the Third Infantry to march with fixed bayonets. | | | | However, what is certainly the most famous tradition |
| Many units in the US Army have strong traditions | | | | of the Army is calling cadence. This spread to other |
| such as unit mottoes. When an enlisted man salutes | | | | services and nation and even outside of the armed |
| an officer in many of these units, he will call out the | | | | forces. A cadence is a beat that helps soldiers |
| unit motto, such as "Can Do!" or "Twenty Rounds | | | | perform a task in unison. Originally this might mean |
| Full." | | | | marching or loading a musket. The modern use of |
| There are traditions that have been allowed to die. | | | | the term refers to a chant credited to a private |
| These include a deliberate separation of the soldier | | | | Ducksworth in 1944, in which each time the soldier's |
| from society. Some have mutated. The old cavalry | | | | left foot hit the ground, he would repeat words |
| tradition of "Horse, Saddle and Rider" was about the | | | | called out by the soldier who was leading the |
| order in which a trooper was to take care of | | | | cadence. In the original case, it was a chant that |
| matters. While we don't have many horses left in the | | | | started with "Sound off! One, two, Sound off, Three |
| service, we still expect to take care of our vehicles, | | | | four" with variations in timing and content to keep |
| then our personally assigned gear and then ourselves, | | | | interest up. It was a means of inspiring tired troops |
| in that order. | | | | into a bit more enthusiasm. Now there are hundreds |
| Then there are traditions that still exist, and are | | | | of elaborate cadences, some of which are tied to |
| scarcely noticed. Golf is one of those. Prior to WWII, | | | | Army or unit traditions, others of which are common |
| the officer corps had more than its fair share of | | | | throughout the Armed Forces. Seldom will anyone |
| wealthy members. They liked golf, but in order to | | | | watch a military movie without some sign of cadence |
| justify golf courses on Army land, more had to play | | | | being called. |