Copyright © 2001-2008 CadetStuff.org.
May be copied as-is for Cadet training purposes with specific prior permission and appropriate citation. All other rights reserved.
You gotta fight, for your right...Dr. Drill |
|
|
You can submit your questions to Dr. Drill via e-mail to : DrDrill@CadetStuff.org. Dr. Drill, I've been in CAP 3 1/2 years been to several wing and national level events, and have never seen a true right guide. I have seen that the flight guidon bearer generally does this duty when you have a bearer. In my home squadron we generally go off the front right person in the flight. However, as this changes with every flank and to the rear, it doens't all work real well. And as our normal flight size is about 4 people (give or take 1) I'm not sure that putting a true right guide in place will make things any easier, especially with the relatively small drill space we have. Any advice? C/1Lt. John Lufi Dr. Drill responds:Cadet Lufi, You're a very lucky young man that Dr. Drill is feeling mellow today. Yes, yes: he's taken up Zen gardening and it seems to be helping. Otherwise, Dr. Drill might fly into a frenzy, tearing his lab coat to shreds and wrapping his stethoscope around the convenient neck of a nearby squeaky Cadet with a question that could have been answered with a modest perusal of CadetStuff.org's copious Drill section and even basic knowledge of the Drill Manual... "What Dr. Drill? You mean we're supposed to actually read this stuff?", you say. Hey, campers: it's bad enough you guys don't read the drill manual! Dr. Drill (and the other staffers on CadetStuff) don't spend their precious time doing this for their health! Sheesh...
March with precision, like the Lines in my garden. Follow along, kids, as Dr. Drill types the magic words 'right guide' into the "Search CadetStuff" box that's located right on the main page. A quick click of the mouse and viola! (That's French for "Holy cow, look at that!"); a listing of all the CadetStuff articles with the words 'right' and 'guide' in them. And here's a little gem: A Drill for Dummies article in the old part of the site entitled "How do I Fall In?"! Follow along with the good doctor now: 2. CadetStuff:Drill:Drill for Dummies:How do I Fall In? Hey, look! Someone in that article is apparently shouting 'RIGHT GUIDE!' That looks like the place. Let's click on it together, shall we? Wow, pictures and everything! Those CadetStuff guys really know what they're doing; Dr. Drill couldn't have done it better himself. Here's the key paragraph that answers part of your question: When the flight falls in, the guide is supposed to assume the first position (for some odd reason, the "guide" is a position that is seldom used in CAP, but we will reference it here for the purposes of illustrating the correct method and because it is a required position), the element leaders then align off the guide, and the remaining flight members then align themselves off the element leaders and the individuals in the front rank. So, we see that there is no such position as 'right guide', but that the GUIDE is a required position in a flight. There's your first answer: you should never see a 'right guide', but you should always see a 'guide'. If you haven't, someone is doing it wrong. (Hang on for a second while Dr. Drill puts on his surprised face.) Okay, done... Now, Dr. Drill is no dummy - and neither are you. If you're drilling with four Cadets in the formation there's really no call for a guide. The guys practicing need to do the basic movements while, as you should know, the guide does some pretty strange footwork when columns are called. On to the second half of your question (and for this half, let's assume you have a flight of three elements of four and a guide in his proper position), which was about the wisdom of having this 'guide' guy setting the direction of march when he's not in the front of the formation. Simple answer: if the guide (and the element leaders) are not usually at the front of your unit while you're marching, you're doing it wrong. (Let me dig out the Surprised Face again...) "But Dr. Drill!" I can hear you wail. "What about flanks! What about 'to the rear'? How can I march with my element leaders in the front when we're doing those?" Hmm, let Dr. Drill think about that one... Oh yes, here's the answer: you can't have the element leaders at the front during flanks or 'to the rear'. Remember, Dr. Drill said usually. And by that he means about ninety percent of the time. If you take a gander at the Drill Manual you'll see what I mean: Section B--Marching There you have it, killer! You should march your unit in a column formation with the element leaders at the head except for minor changes of position. Bet you didn't realize that, didja? Do I need to get the Surprised Face again? I didn't think so. The rule of thumb for flanks and 'to the rear' is to get into them and then get out of them. You should only give a flank to move around some obstacle in your path and you should give the opposite flank - and return your unit to column formation - as soon as you possibly can. The same is true for 'to the rear': if you need to do it, do it, but get back out of it pronto! Dr. Drill will chime in and agree with your general understanding that the squadron guidon bearer can be used in the guide position. However, the flight guide can also be given a guidon. At encampments, where you might have twenty or more Cadets in a flight, it is vital for the flight commander to be able to see the guidon so that he knows where the head of his unit is and can turn or position them properly. Ah... Encampment! Where drill is warped and twisted into a pretzel - or perhaps a Mobius strip, since encampment drill errors seem to go on forever... But, let's save that one for another article (or ten). The very thought is making Dr. Drill's eye twitch (which makes it harder to work that sand rake in the garden!). You asked for Dr. Drill's advice: my advice is to dispense with the guide position until you have a flight of twelve - three elements of four each. At this point you have no excuse not to have a guide. And give the guide a guidon of his own to carry. However, more importantly, I suggest you learn the difference between line and column formations (and reverse line and reverse column) and use them properly; even if you only have four people in a flight. Also, you might want to do a little recruiting... Until next time, Dr. Drill |
|
