In the early days of WWII those who had a conscientious objection to bearing arms had a rough time in the military. The army didn't know how to deal with the problem. Those were the days of the draft, and a draftee had no choice as to where and how he served. To handle this problem, a new classification of 1A-0 was introduced into the selective service to accommodate CO's. To show their willingness to cooperate with the military on this, the Seventh-Day Adventist church inaugurated a special course to prepare CO's for service in the noncombatant medical corps. This course, the Medical Cadet Corps (MCC), was made available in academies and colleges as an alternate to the standard physical education classes. The course consisted of standard close order drill plus special courses in the treatment of the wounded in battle. This training continued in the years between WWI and WWII, and it proved to be a great advantage to those who wished to serve in the medical corps as noncombatants. When the draft was abandoned, and the US adopted a volunteer army, the MCC training was discontinued.
During my college days I opted for MCC instead of Phys. Ed., and this came in good use later on as I was asked to teach the course as an academy teacher. Much of military discipline involves learning to function as a unit, and the various drills and formations are designed so that large groups of individuals can be moved around in an orderly fashion. Ability to obey such commands as right, left, and about face, forward march, halt, column right or left, right or left flank, etc. are designed for this purpose. One of the most difficult maneuvers is to keep a straight line while marching. The line usually dresses to the right and one must be constantly cognizant of his relationship to the person on his right side. It takes a lot of practice to keep a straight line.
Keeping a straight line in battle is important in order to present a solid front to the enemy. However, this concept can be carried to extreme when the bullets are flying. A friend of mine was in the paratroopers in WWII, and he had a British commander who was constantly yelling "tidy up the line." I think of the solid red line of the British troops as they assaulted Bunker Hill in the battle of Concord and were mowed down by the bullets of the patriots.
We are engaged in a war that began some 6,000 years ago and the cry has gone out by our Commanding Officer to "tidy up the line." We are to be like the army of Zebulum which kept rank in battle (1 Chron 12:33), which were fearless and not doublehearted. We are to be like "an army terrible with banners" (Song of Solomon 6:4). Now is the time to press together for the final assault against the gates of hell, and they shall not prevail if we "close ranks."
