How often have we seen this scenario: A flight marches across a broad parking lot. After a series of "back-and-forths" across the lot, the flight commander calls "Column Right, March!" and the flight becomes a big ball of people milling around. The junior airmen who were at the front of the column formation look helplessly at their flight commander and shrug their shoulders. The flight commander disintegrates into a flailing mess, shouting "Fix it!" and "Get it together, people," while the airmen and NCOs scramble to get back in some semblance of order.

What commonly happens in that circumstance is that the flight got inverted, that is, in a formation where the element leaders and guide are not longer "leading" the merry procession, and when the column command was given, the junior-ranking airmen who suddenly found themselves thrust into the limelight were ill-equipped and inexperienced for the task. As a result of these kinds of situations, nobody, including the flight commander really learns from the experience. The airmen are embarrassed that they've failed to execute the command correctly, the NCOs are chagrined that they're not in a position to actually lead that particular command, and the flight commander is unhappy that his cadets can't seem to get it together. In the end, nobody really learns anything from it.

So, how do we avoid this oh-so-common trap? By stacking the deck in our favor, and then making sure that it is our stacked cards that keep coming up on top.

Wouldn't it be handy to have just a little bit of extra help, an assistant or two, out there on the drill pad while you're trying to get your flight to do what you want it to do? You already have that help, built right into your flight formation in the form of a guide and element leaders.

A flight can be comprised of at least 2 but not more than 4 elements. Automatically, you have between 2 and 4 "deputies" on the drill pad with you at all times. Add into this the guide (You are using a guide, right? No? Hahaha.. You're not maximizing your chances for success, are you?) and you have a formidable set of assistants on the drill field with you, just waiting to make things work better.

When we first fall a flight into formation, it is the guide and the element leaders who form the basis for the flight and the structure into which the cadets stand. The guide takes his or her position, and then each element leader falls in based on the guide's position & the first element leader. Everybody else falls in to the left of the element leaders based on their positions. (You're going to see this "trickle-down" chain-of-command thing again and again.. keep watching). Remember the oft-used, but little-understood concept of "Dressing right?" Why, do you think, do we "dress to the right" when we fall in? Because our leaders are on the right flank of the formation. The right flank is the key to our movements when the flight is in line.

So from the start, you have several assistants helping you, the drill commander, keep things organized. It behooves you to put your MOST EXPERIENCED drill & ceremonies NCOs in those positions. Strictly speaking, your most experienced NCO should be the Guide, your next most the third or fourth element leader, the next the first element leader, etc.

Once we face the flight to the right into a column formation, however, things take on a slightly different tenor. Now our element leaders and the guide are in the front of the formation. Remember that game "Follow the Leader?" Well, now we're playing it, albeit slightly differently. A quick forward march and we're all off on a merry jaunt, following the guide across the drill pad.

"Wait a second, sir," you ask "Didn't you mean following the element leaders?"

If I had meant element leaders, I'd have said element leaders. The airmen are following the element leaders, the element leaders are following the guide. And the guide is leading this rabble all over the drill pad..

Now might be a good time to talk about the guide. The guide is a position that is almost universally ignored in day-to-day drill & ceremonies, yet it is a position that if used correctly, can help to make your drill a complete success. AFMAN 36-2203, Drill & Ceremonies, para 1.5.18, defines the term guide as "Guide. The airman designated to regulate the direction and rate of march." You'll also note that no place in the drill & ceremonies manual does it suggest that the guide is any more optional than the element leaders should be. In other words: you should ALWAYS have a guide.

The guide should be your most experienced NCO or airman. When the flight is formed in line, the element leaders fall in off the guide's position, not the other way around. When the flight faces to the right from a line formation into a column formation, the guide automatically posts in front of the right file. (para 4.2.2) Now when you go marching off into the sunset, you have a cadet who is setting the direction & rate of march for the right file. Remember that "dress right" thing again? The whole concept of "the person on the right is always right?" (if you're smart, you make the guide a medium-to-small sized cadet, so the rest of the flight isn't running away from your midgets, er, I mean, vertically-challenged cadets..)

As an example of how to use a guide effectively, consider the Incline Right command. If you give the command "Incline Right!" it is the guide who should first incline to the right. Then the element leader of the right file will also incline to the right (trying to maintain cover behind the guide), followed by the other element leaders. And all the airmen should follow behind! Look ma, no hands!

You can use the guide in other ways, as well. Know that you have a column left coming up? Command "GUIDE LEFT!" which puts the guide in front of the left hand file, then give the column left command. The additional emphasis on the left file (which, after all, is the "base file" for a column left) will help your airmen remember which way to turn.

While the manual doesn't specifically speak to this, I have seen guides execute commands slightly early so that their position is maintained in the formation during columns. Imagine, if you will, a guide in front of the right file. You tell the guide "Column right coming up.." and then command "Column right, MARCH." If the guide is on the ball, when you say "Column right" he or she will take an additional step with the left foot and pivot to the right. Then on the command "MARCH" the element leader will pivot in the same place the guide just did. Mind you, this is highly, highly advanced, and certainly you'd be better off with the guide executing the command as outlined in para 4.11.1.5 (with a much better diagram found on in figures 1.7 & 1.8 of AFCWI 36-2203, the USAF Academy Cadet Wing's D&C manual). But if you have an advanced guide & element leaders, perhaps its time to ratchet things up a notch or two.

Back to the element leaders. Remember, since your element leaders are your "deputies" in drill, they are accorded a little extra latitude at it pertains to their execution of the movements and the things they must do while marching. They can look around a bit (just a bit!) to ensure good dress & cover. Don't underestimate the necessity of experienced people in the correct spots in a drill formation.

All too often, however, the drill commander forgets that the element leaders must remain at the head of their respective file and at the head of the flight while it is in column. This happens most frequently when the command "To the Rear, MARCH" is given or multiple flanks movements are commanded, placing the flight in an inverted column or inverted line formation. (If you're still paying attention but are wondering what I mean when I say things like "inverted column," take a gander at the definitions of these formations in para 1.5.23 & 1.5.24 in AFMAN 36-2203)

Every effort should be expended to make sure that the element leaders & guide remain at the front of the column formation. The most well-used command to ensure this is the "Counter, MARCH" command.

If you've done this, and absolutely insist on marching your flight around willy-nilly, you're going to find your element leaders are at the rear of their respective files and no longer in a position to help out the drill commander. Instead, inexperienced airmen and no guide are leading the merry band astray. Disaster will generally ensue.

Marching at inverted column or inverted line should only be for very short, very quick circumstances. Facing about from a line formation to inverted line and marching 6 or 8 steps to get in line with other units at formation is acceptable. Deciding that you're marching in the wrong direction to get to the dining facility, performing a "To the Rear" and marching the ¾ of a mile to the mess hall with the element leaders in the rear of the formation is not acceptable.

When drilling, as the drill commander you need to stack the deck as much in your favor as possible. Placing experienced airmen or NCOs into element leader positions is important to give your inexperienced airmen someone to follow, and hopefully eventually emulate.