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April 2008 |
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Column of Files, Column Right!Dr. Drill |
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You can submit your questions to Dr. Drill via e-mail to : DrDrill@CadetStuff.org. Dear Dr. Drill, Dr. Drill responds...Cadet Falco, Glad to see you're paying attention to the manual. What a refreshing change THAT is! Do you know how many questions are sent into Dr. Drill every month asking for basic definitions of terms that are clearly outlined in the manual? The only effort required is to open the book to the correct page! Sheesh! OK, down to business. You're describing two different drill movements -- one imbedded inside the other. Let's start with the Face in Marching, described in 3.18 of the AFMAN 36-2203 (not to mention a previous Dr. Drill article!). The paragraph reads like this, and I quote, (ahem...) 3.18. Face in Marching. The command is Right (Left) Flank, MARCH. On the command MARCH, the airman executes a 90-degree pivot on the ball of the right foot and, at the same time, steps off with the left foot in the new direction with coordinated arm swing. The pivot and step are executed in one count, and proper dress, cover, interval, and distance are maintained. (Editor's Note: Dr. Drill originally somewhat clumsily pasted the paragraph right out of the D&C manual without regard to the correction so graciously provided by the AFMAN 36-2203 POC at Lackland AFB. So for the purposes of not confusing you more, we've corrected this paragraph at the last minute and at great expense.) Are you with me so far? I thought so. Because your question is a good one that appears at first glance to be contradicted by what is written in the book. Let me see if I can explain Mr. Falco's confusion to the rest of my loyal readers. Anyone familiar with drill and ceremonies knows that turns to the right mean pivoting on the left foot. Picture yourself happily marching along when your flight commander barks out, "Column Right..." All of a sudden, your mind starts racing! "Holy cow! Turn's comin'! The commander just gave the command on the right foot, so the turn is going to be to the right... that means pivot on my left... OK... here' comes!" Then the commander calls, "MARCH" on the right foot. On the next count, when your left foot strikes the ground (unless, of course, you're Captain Ahab and your whale bone strikes the ground) you'll be pivoting smartly to the right! WOW! COOL! Conversely, of course, turns to the left mean pivoting on the right. Do I have to explain it again? I didn't think so. Put your hands down. Hey, you! YOU in the back of the class... wake up and stop drooling on your desk! Getting back to your question! I can answer it one of two ways. First, we can discuss paragraph 4.11.3 Column Movements from a Halt. This paragraph instructs element leaders to take one additional step prior to pivoting when executing a Column Right from the halt. How about that! The paragraph reads like this: 4.11.3 Column Movements from a Halt (Normal or Close Interval). When column movements are executed from a halt, procedures are similar to those in paragraph 4.11.1 and 4.11.2. On the command MARCH, element leaders begin the movement by executing a face in marching for a column left. For a column right, element leaders take one 24-inch step forward, then execute the movement. How about them apples? I know, you're screaming at me now, "Darn it, Dr. Drill... that's not what it says in Paragraph 4.13.2!" You very correctly quoted that paragraph in your question to me. I'll reiterate part of it here, with a little special Dr. Drill-style emphasis: 4.13.2 Column of Files, Column Right (Left). (leaving out the introductory garbage)... The element leader of the right (left) element commands Column Right (Left). The remaining element leaders command STAND FAST. On the command MARCH, the element leader and guide execute a face in marching to the right (left), and the element leader continues marching in the new direction with 24-inch steps. The guide marches to a position ahead of the element leader, then pivots 45 degrees to a position 40 inches in front of the element leader. The remaining individuals in the base file march forward on the command of execution, pivot in approximately the same location as their element leader, and maintain a 40-inch distance. Blah, blah, blah, etc., etc. Now, can you see where Dr. Drill has added a little emphasis? I see exactly the dilemma you're talking about... if the element leader executes a Face in Marching, he or she will be pivoting on the right foot. In the case of a Column Right movement, everyone else will be pivoting on the left foot. By golly, that would put members of the flight out of alignment by exactly one 24-inch step! Unless, of course, you paid attention to the word "approximately" in paragraph 4.13.2. Members of the flight simply need to adjust their step to pivot on the left foot in approximately the same location where the element leader executed his Face in Marching. In reality, if you watch members executing a Column Movement, you'll notice that the pivot point moves all over the map! The other way to fix this is to teach the command according to paragraph 4.11.3 (quoted above). If you're really obsessed about the step size that each member takes, then have the element leader take a step forward with the left and then pivot. It won't be exactly right (according to 4.13.2), but all your fears will be laid to rest -- somewhere in your closet with that monster that hasn't bothered you since you were six years old. I hope I was able to help answer your question. This was a good one, folks. Keep these questions coming! Again, Dr. Drill's one word answer to this month's question is: APPROXIMATELY. Happy drilling! Dr. Drill |
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