Drill & Ceremonies

Editor’s note: As a special service for our readers, WND is running a series of dispatches from Allan Wall chronicling his transition from civilian life as he prepares to fight with his National Guard unit in Iraq. Allan will write for us as often as he is able in order to let our readers vicariously experience what people in his position are going through. We hope you will check regularly for Allan’s dispatches and encourage your friends and family to do likewise.

“Drill and Ceremonies” (hereafter referred to as D&C ) is the collective designation for such military activities as marching in step, formations and facing movements.

D&C has existed since ancient times. Egyptian figurines dating from 2000 B.C. portray soldiers marching in columns. Then, as now, it serves a numbers of purposes.

Unit accountability is one such function. It’s much easier to count soldiers and take roll if they are formed up into smaller groups, rather than simply a large mass of people.

Marching in step is an orderly manner of moving military units from Point A to Point B. In earlier times, when firearms weren’t so accurate, formations were used in battle to mass gunfire.

The mechanics of D&C are accomplished through various commands. “Attention,” “Parade Rest,” “At Ease” and “Rest” tell soldiers in a standing military formation in what position to stand. “Left Face,” “Right Face” and “About Face” are commands for the soldiers in a formation to turn in place.

Mention should also be made of the cadences – call and response chants recited while running or marching. There are quick time (marching) cadences and double time (running) cadences. Some cadences celebrate military prowess, others poke fun at Army life, and some are quite clever.

Like any other acquired skill, when D&C is done well, it is impressive to behold. If it’s done badly, it looks ridiculous. That’s why practice is important.

In the National Guard, training time is usually limited, and D&C is usually not a top priority.

One Friday evening at Fort XYZ, the guardsmen training for Iraq duty were ordered to practice D&C in the parking lot. My platoon marched in small groups, so each soldier had an opportunity at leading the others. Definitely, we need more practice, although of course some individuals are better at it than others. But it was a profitable practice session.

As an added bonus, while marching in the parking lot, I spied a huge, nearly full moon suspended above the barracks. It was a beautiful sight.