d dressed; the socks and, if
practicable, the shoes should be changed.

628. The drinking of water on the march should be avoided. The thirst
should be thoroughly quenched before starting on the march and after
arrival in camp. On the march the use of water should, in general, be
confined to gargling the mouth and throat or to an occasional small
drink at most.

629. Except for urgent reasons, marches should not begin before an
hour after daylight, but if the distance to be covered necessitates
either breaking camp before daylight or making camp after dark, it is
better to do the former.

Night marching should be avoided when possible.

630. A halt of 15 minutes should be made after the first half or
three-quarters of an hour of marching; thereafter a halt of 10 minutes
is made in each hour. The number and length of halts may be varied,
according to the weather, the condition of the roads, and the
equipment carried by the men. When the day's march is long a halt of
an hour should be made at noon and the men allowed to eat.

631. The rate of march is regulated by the commander of the leading
company of each regiment, or, if the battalions be separated by
greater than normal distances, by the commander of the leading company
of each battalion. He should maintain a uniform rate, uninfluenced by
the movements of troops or mounted men in front of him.

The position of companies in the battalion and of battalions in the
regiment is ordinarily changed daily so that each in turn leads.

632. The marching efficiency of an organization is judged by the
amount of straggling and elongation and the condition of the men at
the end of the march.

An officer of each company marches in its rear to prevent undue
elongation and straggling.

When necessary for a man to fall out on account of sickness, he should
be given a permit to do so. This is presented to the surgeon, who will
admit him to the ambulance, have him wait for the trains, or follow
and rejoin his company at the first halt.

633. Special attention should be paid to the rate of march. It is
greater for trained than for untrained troops; for small commands than
for large ones; for lightly burdened than for heavily burdened
troops. It is greater during cool than during hot weather. With
trained troops, in commands of a regiment or less, marching over
average roads, the rate should be from 2-3/4 to 3 miles per hour. With
larger commands carrying full equipment, the