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Mules, draft 16
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Trench Standing Orders.

1. Duties.--A. One officer per company and one non-commissioned
officer per platoon will always be on duty. During their tour of duty
they will not be in their dugouts. They will frequently visit all
trenches occupied by their units. Every listening post will be visited
at least once by an officer during his tour of duty.

B. The officer and non-commissioned officer on duty will, when his
tour of duty is completed, turn over to the officer or
non-commissioned officer relieving him all orders, a report of the
work in progress, if any, and any other information of use.

C. At night the officer and non-commissioned officer on duty will
frequently patrol the trench line, to see that the sentries are alert
and to receive any reports they may desire to make.

D. The-non-commissioned officer coming on duty will go round and post
new sentinels with the non-commissioned officer coming off duty.

E. The length of the tour of duty will depend upon the number of
officers and non-commissioned officers on duty. Normally each tour
should be, by night, two hours; by day, four hours. This may be
modified, however, so that all officers and non-commissioned officers
will have an equal amount of this duty while in the trenches.

F. Non-commissioned officers, after posting sentinels, will report
"all is well" or otherwise to the officers on duty.

G. No man will be detailed for a duty in the trench without being
given suitable warning of this duty and be informed at which hour he
will come on duty.

H. The Company Commander will be responsible for sending any report
required by Battalion Headquarters.

2. Sentries.--A. The number of sentry posts required will depend on
the assumed propinquity or distance of the enemy, strength of
obstacles, ease with which sentry posts can be re-enforced and other
local conditions. Normally by day this should be one sentinel for each
platoon and at night three double sentinels for each platoon. There
must be sentries enough to insure alarm being given promptly in case
of attack and that local resistance is sufficient until help can
arrive.

B. The next relief will remain within an easy distance of the sentry
on post, usually in shelters provided for this purpose.

C. Every sentry is to be regularly posted by a non-commissioned
officer who will explain to him his duties and ascertain tha