You can submit your questions to Dr. Drill via e-mail to : DrDrill@CadetStuff.org.

Hey Dr. Drill,

KluaneP

Dear KluaneP,

You ask a very good question. . . and how timely it is! This command is useful not only for Fourth of July parades, but Encampment Pass-In-Review parades, too!

Eyes, RIGHT is an interesting command in that it may be given either while marching, OR at the halt (Pop quiz, hero: what are the others?). I pity the poor airman who begins marching when this command is given. This airman should be discretely handed a box of Q-Tips to clean out his ears. This command is also not to be confused with a much lesser-known drill and ceremonies maneuver known as Eyes, WRONG. Unfortunately, several airman got stuck in the cross-eyed position when the USAF last attempted a group use of the command Eyes, WRONG, and all branches of service discontinued its use.

Paragraph 3.8 of the AFMAN 36-2203 nicely covers your question. For the most part, you've got it right (no pun intended). Except for the part that you have WRONG. Can everyone find KluaneP's false assumption?While you think about that, we'll cover Eyes, RIGHT from the halt. . . then we'll talk about marching.

As I pointed out, Eyes, RIGHT may be given from the halt. So there you are, standing in line formation, minding your own business. The flight commander decides to show respect to a high-ranking officer walking by the formation, and whips this Eyes, RIGHT business on you. What do you DO?Well, that depends on where you're standing. NO. . . I don't mean IN FRONT OF THE DINING HALL or OUTSIDE THE BASE THEATER (...and can someone answer a question for Dr. Drill? Why is it that when you're on a military base you see movies at the "thee-aye-tur" and at home it's a "thee-tur"?). I mean where you're standing IN THE FORMATION. For the purpose of Eyes, RIGHT, let's divide the flight into two parts. Part 1 is the extreme right flank of the formation. Part B (I never was very good at indexing) is the rest of you jokers, standing there wondering what Eyes, RIGHT means.

On the command Eyes, RIGHT, the members standing on the extreme right flank of the formation (Also sometimes known as the element leaders. Duh.) execute as quickly as possible the best STAND FAST of their lives. They do this sooooo quickly, it is as if they did not move AT ALL. That's right - just stand there and look pretty. The rest of you, in the aforementioned "Part B" of the formation, get to execute a cardiovascular maneuver as follows: without using your arms, and without taking off your shoes, attempt to rotate your brain bucket using only the muscles in your neck. How far should you go? Well. . . if you're concerned about the Medical Officer's heart condition, try not to exceed 180 degrees. I suggest 45 degrees of rotation to the right is appropriate. That's right. All you have to do is rotate your head 45 degrees to the right. If you don't have a protractor with you, then you can estimate 45 degrees in one of several ways. First you can use trigonometry. As this is very difficult while standing in formation, I recommend just estimating HALF of 90 degrees. 90 degrees would mean you're looking over your right shoulder. Half of that would have you looking at the back of the head of the guy standing one row in front of you, and one person to your right. This is a great chance to check over each other's military haircut. Too complicated? I think not.

Oh, and one more thing: arm swing. The saying, "It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing" does NOT apply to Eyes, RIGHT while at the halt. I think the flight would look pretty silly with most (but not all) members looking 45 degrees to the right, and spontaneously swinging their arms as if marching! If you're at the halt, keep those arms at your sides; you know: the position of attention. Got it? Good. . . moving on.

Now we'll cover that marching business. Did everyone find KluaneP's fatal assumption? Let me explain. When marching and executing a movement to the RIGHT (including Column Right, MARCH; Right Flank, MARCH; Right Shoulder, ARMS, etc. ) the command of execution is given on the RIGHT foot! And yes, boys and girls, this DOES include the command Eyes, RIGHT. OK, now on to the meat of your question. You're marching along, and the command is given to execute Eyes, RIGHT. You are correct, the right file of the formation keeps heads and eyes to the front. The rest of the formation executes the command in the manner described above. . . heads and eyes 45 degrees right, looking at the back of the head of the smartly-dressed and military-haircut-wearin' airman one row in front, and one person to the right. The guidon executes a completely different maneuver, but we won't go there right now.

You asked about arm swing, and the proper movement of the flight commander. Reading Paragraph 3.8 of AFMAN 36-2203, there is no provision in there for anyone to STOP swinging the arms. So, you are 100% correct. . . the troops just keep on swingin'! As for the flight commander - the book does not specifically state what the flight commander is supposed to do; but, as we saw a couple months ago, we're directed to fall back on FM 22-5 when the AFMAN 36-2203 isn't clear. And, luckily for us, FM 22-5 is clear on this matter. Allow me to quote:

6-11. Eyes Right ... c. When marching, the preparatory command Eyes is given as the right foot strikes the marching surface and the command of execution RIGHT is given the next time the right foot strikes the marching surface. On the command of execution RIGHT, all men, except the right file, turn their heads and eyes to the right and align themselves on the right file while continuing to march. Men in the right file do not turn their heads and eyes but continue looking straight to the front and maintain correct distance. Only the platoon leader salutes.

To return airmen's heads to the front from the Eyes, RIGHT position, the command Ready, FRONT is given on the LEFT foot. The command is NOT Eyes, FRONT. There is no such thing! Remember. . . moving to the left, give the command on the LEFT foot. Of course, if you're going to use Eyes, LEFT, the word LEFT would be spoken on the LEFT foot, and Ready, FRONT would be given on the RIGHT foot. Got it?

And one more point. . . the commander that said to the troops, "Your a low life piece of *@$&. . . " clearly had not gone through CAP's Required Staff Training. If you would like to find out more about how to avoid the Hazing Trap, take a look at Civil Air Patrol's training resources for more information. If you have to call anyone a "low life piece of ANYTHING," then I submit there has ALREADY been a leadership failure. For more on the finer points of leadership, check out some of the outstanding articles found RIGHT HERE on CadetStuff. org!

Sincerely,

Dr. Drill

(Oh, and for those of you who were wondering which other commands can be called at the halt or on the march, they are: Half Step, Mark Time, To The Rear, Column Right (Left), Right (Left) Flank, Counter, Attention, Close, Extend, Right (Left) Shoulder, and Port Arms. How'd you do..?)