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Four Pete's sake!

Dr. Drill

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

Dear Dr. Drill,

I have a few questions about some things I picked up in JROTC and I can't seem to find the answers in AFMAN 36-2203. First off, can a column movement be executed when the guide and element leaders are not at the head of the formation (i.e., have the assistant element leaders in front when giving the command)? Second, I can't seem to find the reference to the command "Eyes" and "Snap". Next, when a cadet is at Parade Rest or At Ease in a formation, and an officer steps in front of the cadet, does the cadet go to Attention? Finally, when assuming command of a flight, I've been taught that if the cadet assuming command is the same grade as the cadet relinquishing command, then the assuming approaches from the side, if the assuming is higher ranking than the relinquishing, then he/she approaches from behind (causing the one in command to execute an about face to receive the order/request), and if the cadet assuming command is lower ranking, then the cadet approaches the commanding from the front (between the commander and his/her flight. I'd appreciate it if you could let me know which of these beliefs (if not all) are actually myths.

Sincerely,

Carl Godbee, C/Maj, CAP


Dr. Drill responds

Dear Cadet Godbee,

You ask quite a few good questions! Let me try to pick them apart one by one, and provide you with some 100% pure, fresh-squeezed, CadetStuff® Brand answers!

But first, let me clue you in to the Golden Rule of Drill: if you can't find the answer in AFMAN 36-2203, then it ain't Regulation Drill™. Since you couldn't find these movements in the manual, it would have been reasonable for you to stop right there and go to someone in your chain of command and say, "Uh... Did we just get all these drill movements out of a Fortune Cookie?" But, you didn't and here we are and now I'll answer your questions in some detail.

Your first question deals with marching. You ask: "Can a column movement be executed when the guide and element leaders are NOT in the front of the formation?" I'll refer everyone who might be following along to Chapter 4 of AFMAN 36-2203. Let's look at 4.2. Rules for the Guide. There is no specific prohibition in this section that prevents flights from executing column movements while marching in INVERTED COLUMN FORMATION (which is what you described). Inverted column means that assistant element leaders would be marching in front, and the guide and element leaders in the back. The only part of the manual that comes close to answering your question is paragraph 4.2.6, which states, "Normally, the flight is marched with the element leaders and the guide at the head of the column." So, the quick answer to the first part of your question is, "You can, but it wouldn't be normal."

OK... moving on. Part Deux of your long-winded interrogative: You can't seem to find reference to the commands "Eyes" and "Snap." Well, Cadet Godbee, this is no surprise. You wouldn't find these commands unless you were in possession of the first rough draft of AFMAN 36-2203, which the USAF sent to Dr. Drill for my expert comments and advice! The command "Eyes" all by itself unfortunately didn't make the final cut of the 03JUN96 edition of the drill manual. The truth is, a focus group of Air Force Senior Airmen from around the world (all of whom had to have some combination of the letters "eyes" in their last names in order to qualify for the group) decided the command wasn't specific enough, and lacked any purpose. You're probably referring to some local custom where an instructor is trying to get the attention of an audience, and shouts "Eyes!" as if to say, "Hey! Eyes up here, people!" No such command exists in AFMAN 36-2203. There are commands that USE the word Eyes, however. Take for example Eyes, RIGHT (LEFT). You can read about this command in paragraph 3.8 if you really wanna.

Now for the dreaded command "Snap." This one was cut from the final edition of the drill manual because when Training Instructors gave this command to a group of new recruits who were being used as a test audience, all of the newly bald airmen started to dance, snapping their fingers to the beat. This took place in the early 70's, and Disco was the popular music of the time. I'm sure you have the visual in your heads by now. Obviously, this won't do in a basic training setting. Therefore, the command was cut. The word "snap" does appear in one description of the command voice. It's the "S" in DLIPS, which is short for "Distinctness, Loudness, Inflection, Projection, Snap." DLIPS is a quick and dirty acronym to remember when developing your command voice. This is not to say that, when giving commands, you should be snapping your fingers. Quite the contrary, my friend. Commands are given from the position of attention, and the command voice needs to have snap to it.

Caution: Do not attempt to give the command Eyes, SNAP to a flight of troops. The result is messy, and often bloody. What happens, you ask? Well, people's eyes start popping out of their heads and snapping together like a pair of clapping hands. The bad part is when everyone is feeling around on all fours on the drill pad and trying to find a matching pair to shove them back in the eye sockets. The drill pad ends up all slippery. It's Very messy. Do not attempt!

Alrighty, then... on to your third question. When at ease or at parade rest in formation, does an airman snap to attention when an officer approaches? A good question. This is something you see quite a lot. I often wonder where this one got started. Let's take a practical case as an example: INSPECTION. Guidance for inspection of a squadron can be found in paragraph 5.5. Inspecting the Squadron. It is perfectly proper for the guide to assume the position of parade rest when the officer has finished inspecting him or her. It is also proper for the element leader to command the members of his or her element to come to attention, or stand at parade rest. There is NO provision, however, for any member of a flight or squadron to stand at attention when an officer approaches. As a member of a flight or squadron, the idea is to look just as uniform as the guy standing next to you. You don't want to stand out as an individual. If an officer walks up to a flight for an informal chat, the flight commander should probably be calling the whole flight to attention. If not, the element leader should call the element to attention (as described in paragraph 5.5.5). Can you tell me an instance where it IS acceptable for a member of a flight to snap to attention when everyone else stays at parade rest? No? How about FRONT AND CENTER?

The last part of your submission deals with relinquishing command of a unit on the drill pad, and where the new commander should approach from depending upon his or her rank. You describe a very interesting ballet of directions and facings and salutes, etc. NONE OF THESE is mandated by the AFMAN 36-2203. I even checked the USAF Cadet Wing Instruction 36-2203 (effectively an Academy supplement to the Air Force Manual. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Zero. Nichts. There is no specific method to follow. If you want to continue doing things the way you describe, that's fine. The manual doesn't tell you a right way or a wrong way. You're just making things all complicated and stuff!

Dr. Drill is off to Encampment in the morning. A 4-hour drive through the countryside to get to a CRTC out in the boonies. Then I get to spend a week un-doing what has been taught wrong for years and years! My prescription for cadet leaders going to encampment: BRING YOUR DRILL MANUAL, and actually READ the thing. If you have questions, ASK!

See you at Encampment!

Dr. Drill

Caution: Dr. Drill isn't always one hundred percent serious. Please activate your Joke Detectors. And don't call us when you find yourself explaining to a membership termination board why you used a staple gun to keep a cadet's hands at his sides during "To The Rear, March". All we're going to say on your behalf is "Duh!"

And if you find yourself on the bad end of a serious counseling because you decided to go toe-to-toe with your squadron commander over the position of the guide during a squadron-in-mass formation or something similarly trivial, well, we're just going to point, laugh and call you names!

Dr. Drill welcomes comments and corrections. Nothing herein is to be construed as official policy unless quoted from an up-to-date regulation or manual and Dr. Drill is not to be used as a blunt instrument to reshape the pointy heads of your superiors. Dr. Drill has made an extensive study of the drill and knows some people who know some things, but he's not the Final Authority on what happens at your unit. That Final Authority is? That's right, kids! Your UNIT COMMANDER.

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