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Movin' on up..!

Dr. Drill

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

You are correct in your article about "at ease" except for one thing. What my fellow midshipmen and myself have always been taught is that one MUST move on a command of "at ease." Nothing specific, but you have to move somehow. Platoons will be docked points if somebody doesn't respond to the command.

Nice website, by the way. Keep it up.

v/r,

MIDN 4/C Garrett O'Hara, USNR

Dr. Drill responds


Mid O'Hara,

Thanks for writing back and telling me this strange tale. Let's take another look at the reference from the manual, shall we?

2-2 b. Rests. There are four rests for halted troops. They are parade rest, at ease, rest, and fall out. All are executed from the position of
attention.
(2) At Ease. The command is AT EASE. It is executed in one count. At the command, keep your right foot in place. You may move about but must not talk. You may also be given this command when not in ranks. In this case, it means cease talking but continue whatever you were doing before the command.

Emphasis mine.

So, I'm sorry Mid, but just because they say they'll dock you doesn't make it right. This is what Dr. Drill refers to as 'guerilla drill': stuff that ain't in the manual, but that gets incorrectly propogated. Some excellent examples in the CAP world include squaring corners during posting and the booty-shaking "Fall Out Dance".

If I was in your place, I'd politely ask for clarification on that point and have the manual in hand while I did so. I'd also keep in mind that what they're teaching you is not in the manual, so it's up to you not to propogate it in the future.

Good luck (you're going to need it),

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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