Dressed to Kill
Cadet Staff Sergeant Smith is leading drill practice
after the squadron inspection. You're pretty new to the squadron, but you think you're
starting to get the hang of this "drill" thing. After a particularly heinous
attempt at a column movement, the flight is pretty much a mess. Interval and distance are
completely shot. C/SSgt Smith sighs - the way he always does when something so obvious and
simple as a column movement proves to be beyond the comprehension of your primitive brains
- and say "Dress Right, DRESS."
Since the flight is in column formation, with the
element leaders at the head, you end up using the third element as the base of the
movement. You ended up too far from the guy to your right and when he puts up his left arm
he doesn't feel your shoulder. This inspires him to look at you and begin waving his arm
around so you'll get the message to cover over to him.
Meanwhile, in the file in front of you one Cadet has
ended with the guy on his left far too close. When he puts his arm up he places his palm
on the guys shoulder and pushes him to the left until he's at an arms distance.
In a few seconds all the gesturing and shoving is
over and the flight is in some semblance of a formation. C/SSgt Smith has achieved a
zen-like state of disgust and you're ready to try the column movement again.
Dress Wrong
First, it is incorrect to use the command 'Dress
Right, DRESS' in column formation. A flight may only 'Dress Right' when in line formation,
with the element leaders on the right . If the
flight is in 'inverted line' formation, with the element leaders on the left, the
appropriate command is 'Dress Left, DRESS'. In column formation (element leaders at the head) and reverse column (element
leaders at the rear), the proper command to 'dress' the flight is 'COVER'.
Sticking with the command 'Cover' for a moment: there
is no arm raising and heads are not turned. Instead, position is determined visually and
adjustment is made with a series of 'short, choppy steps'; sort of a shuffle. This is also the method for aligning the flight in reverse column formation.
Back to Dress Right...
Dress Right!
On the command 'Dress Right, DRESS', everyone except
the last man in each element raises their left arms straight out from the shoulder,
parallel to the ground. The fingers should be flat and extended and the thumb along the
forefinger. If the man to the left is too close, the arm is place behind his shoulder. As
the arm is lifted, everyone except the element leaders turns their head and eyes to the
right. Position is adjusted by using short, choppy steps (as in 'Cover').
What Should Have Happened?
Everyone reading this has been on the wrong end of a
disastrous column movement and probably most of us have been faced with a flight sergeant
who straightened the flight out by commanding "Fix Yourselves" or "Dress
Right, DRESS". In these situations, the only command to align the flight is 'COVER'.
When in line formation, which is how a flight must
fall in and fall out, the command to align the flight 'Dress Right, DRESS', which should
not be followed by shoving, looking left and hand waving to encourage proper interval.
Instead, flight members should immediately assume the 'Dress Right' position (left arm
parallel to the ground, head and eyes right) and adjust their position using 'small,
choppy steps'. |
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