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Steppin' Out...Dr. Drill |
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You can submit your questions to Dr. Drill via e-mail to : DrDrill@CadetStuff.org. Dear Dr.Drill, I have a major drill problem. My squadron is continuing to grow larger. And there are a bunch of Cadets including myself that have been in a good while, we can drill and stay in step well (and on top of that are tall). And we also have quite a few new cadets (and some older ones) that are very short. My point is, is that there is a problem with the short cadets staying in step. Such is the problem that during a recent parade, I was flight commander, and in the flight were a tall person, a short person, and yet another taller person (in that order). I was right behind the short person calling cadence, and I ended up steping on his heels, he was out of step. The problem was that the short person's regular step would've been the two tall people's half-steps. And to add to that, the tall people would not try to accomidate to taking smaller steps. It just isn't working. Do you have any answers or suggestions to help this problem? Your help is greatly appreciated. Thank You, Cadet Shawna Bell Dr. Drill RespondsDear Cadet Bell, Let me dispel one of the most commonly misunderstood myths about drill and ceremonies right here and now. Are you ready for this. Brace yourself: SIZE DOES MATTER!
Are we clear. Good. Now let me explain what the heck I'm talkin' about here! If you're a loyal reader of CadetStuff.org, you'll know that in August of 2001, Dr. Drill's predecessor wrote an article about sizing the flight. It remains a quality piece of research material for any wanna-be drill instructor or flight commander. I'll take the liberty of paraphrasing some of that wonderful work of literature (curiously left OUT of the Dewey Decimal System) for you. A great way to get your flight looking good (before they even start marching) is to SIZE FORWARD(No, that's not a command. Its merely a term used to refer to the whole process of moving the taller people into the correct positions in the flight using the techniques described here and in AFMAN 36-2203, para 4.3.2). The most common way to do this is called the "taller-tap" method. No, this does not mean that some micro-brewery called "Taller" has its product on TAP near the drill pad... This means that you, the erstwhile flight commander, are going to perform the following steps with your flight. First, maneuver the flight into column formation. This means the element leaders are standing at the front. Since you know enough about drill to have your flight form up in line formation, getting to column formation can be accomplished with a snappy 'Right, FACE'. Don't go breaking your arm patting yourself on the back just yet -- you're only getting started. At this point, command the flight to SIZE FORWARD. In this movement, each member of the flight will compare his height with the height of the person standing directly in front of him. (Element leaders are excluded from this move, as they should always march at the head of the column.. Using the "taller-tap" method, if you're taller than the dude in front of you, tap him (gently) on the shoulder, and change places. This should filter the taller people to the front of the formation, and the more vertically-challenged flight members to the back. As the flight commander, you can observe when this moving around is complete. Give your flight another snappy 'Right, FACE'. Many audience members have astutely pointed out that this puts the flight in inverted line formation. Two brownie points for those of you who knew that little bit of drill trivia. With the flight in inverted line, command the flight to SIZE FORWARD once more. This time, element leaders should play along. They will only be changing places with other element leaders, so they'll still be marching at the head of the column formation. Once this is all done, give the flight a 'Left, FACE'. You'll be back in column formation, and all sized up. If you still see discrepancies in the sizing of the flight, you can repeat as needed. Sort of like, "lather, rinse, repeat," but different. My dear Cadet Bell, this solves the first half of your problem, but what about that pesky issue of flight members stepping on each other's heels? Time for Dr. Drill to go back to basics. WAAAAYYYYY back to basics. I'm talking definitions of basic terms here. Terms such as these: 1.5.28 Pace. A step of 24 inches. This is the length of a full step in quick time. We could even go further back in the definitions list to find these buggers: 1.5.4 Cadence. The uniform step and rhythm in marching; that is, the number of steps marched per minute. OK... now that we've gotten that out of the way, I can hear you wail, "But Dr. Drill... how do I know if the flight is supposed to take a 12, 24, or 30-inch step?. Easy. The only time you're taking a 30-inch step is if you're marching at double time. Most parades don't have flights marching at double time. Why. Not enough time to dodge the horse manure. That really messes with your shine. As for 12 and 24, you math wiz types may have noted that 12 is exactly ½ of 24. Gold star for you. 24 inches is the standard length of a step for anyone (regardless of height!) marching at quick time. 12 inches is the length of a half step! So you're 7-foot-2. Your uniform pants only extend down to mid-shin because AAFES doesn't make pants your size. You're marching in the parade behind some schmuck (probably your element leader!) who's 4-foot-nothin'. What are you supposed to do. Get out your ruler (borrowed from the element leader in last month's column) and practice a 24-inch step. Your SHOES are probably shorter than that, but GET USED TO IT. Once you can get the flight sized forward and everyone marching with the correct size step, all your problems should be solved. Dr. Drill will be over-billing your HMO for this house call. Next time, make it an office visit, and we can settle up under the table for a lot less! Happy drilling! Dr. Drill P.S.: You were marching behind one of the Cadets when you were serving as flight commander? Excuse Dr. Drill for perhaps not being up on the latest techniques, but since when did the flight commander fall in with the flight while leading them in drill? "You got some 'splainin' to do, Lucy! Babalu!" |
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