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Servants enter from the rear...

Dr. Drill

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

Dear Dr.Drill,

My squadron is having a hard time deciding exactly how a "to the rear" is performed. Could you tell me step-by-step exactly how to do it?

C/A1c Robert Taylor

Dr. Drill responds


Hello Robert!

The first and best step is always to open the D&C.

3.16. To the Rear March. The command is To the Rear, MARCH, given as the heel of the right foot strikes the ground. On the command MARCH, the airman takes a 12-inch step with the left foot, placing it in front of and in line with the right foot and distributes the weight of the body on the balls of both feet. Then pivot on the balls of both feet, turning 180 degrees to the right, and take a 12-inch step with the left foot in the new direction, with coordinated armswing, before taking a full 24-inch step with the right foot. While pivoting, do not force the body up or lean forward. The pivot takes a full count (figure 3.11), and the arm swing is suspended to the sides as the weight of the body comes forward while executing the pivot, as if at the position of attention.

Breakin' it down:

Step 1. The commander calls "To the Rear" as the right foot hits the ground, and calls "MARCH" when the right foot hits the ground again.

2. The very next step with the left foot is a 12-inch (half) step.

3. Then pivot 180 degrees to the right on the balls of the feet. Remember to keep the arms close to the body, not swinging around like a helicopter. And stand straight! I don't know how many times I've seen Cadets lean forward like they're pivoting into a stiff breeze.

4. Take another half step with the left foot. Start up arm swings again.

5. Take a full step with the right foot and continue marching.

One of the best ways to learn this is to have the Commander say "To the Rear, MARCH. Half step - [short pause during pivot] - Half Step, Full Step" to remind cadets to take the two half steps. And, really, the key to this movement is not to rush it. The entire movement should take three beats; the pivot is one beat all by itself.

Another suggestion, again this is for training purposes only, would be to give the command and then say "Step-pivot-step" in cadence to the movement. So you'd say "To the Rear, MARCH. Step. Pivot. Step." as a reminder.

Big thing that will bite you with To the Rear is the guy who is 180 degrees out of step. He's going to go to the left, not to the right!

Best of luck!

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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