Drill Team and Honor Guard Unit Training

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In the military, we train. And we train, and train and train. We have major training scenarios (exercises) that involve multiple services and other countries, we have them for a single military installation, single unit training, all the way down to military specialty and ancillary training for each individual. It’s time consuming, but well worth the effort. After all, lives …

Honor Guard Training Q and A with The DrillMaster

DrillMasterColor Guard/Color Team, Honor Guard, Honor Guard Training, Instructional 8 Comments

Do you have an honor guard question? I am happy to answer it! Q: We already have 9 people committed to being on the Honor Guard. Is there a minimum/maximum that is desired? A: For my courses, yes, 12-25 trainees. For an honor guard, no, not really. Most of what you will do will be colors presentations for ceremonies and …

Following the Army’s Drill Manual for all Services

DrillMasterColor Guard/Color Team, Instructional 14 Comments

FYI: this article is about JROTC colors in a competition only. Competitions don’t reflect “real life” colors presentations. But competitions do offer a great opportunity to hone some great skills. The JROTC units from the Marines, Navy Air Force, and Coast Guard all have something in common- they all have to follow the Army Drill and Ceremonies Manual, Training Circular …

Beating a Performance Plateau with New and Improved!

DrillMasterDrill Team Training, Drill Teams, Instructional 1 Comment

Do you know why products are constantly puting new labels on them with words like: “NEW!” or “NEW and IMPROVED!” Comfort. We become comfortable with the things we have or use and we may be happy with using XYZ dish washing liquid for the rest of our lives, but the advertisers want to make sure you can’t live without it! …

Astronaut War Eagle Drill Meet Performance Critiques

DrillMasterDrill Team Training, Drill Teams, DrillMaster Performance Critiques, Instructional, Judging Leave a Comment

Astronaut High School’s Army JROTC hosted the 2015 War Eagle Drill Meet at their school in Titusville, FL on the 21st of February. I judged Unarmed Squad, used a new score sheet as a trial and recorded my usual commentary as the performances progressed. These recordings are standard in pageantry arts with music and visual judges giving feedback. My recordings …

How to plan and coordinate a Color Guard Event

DrillMasterColor Guard/Color Team, Commentary, Guest Post, Instructional 2 Comments

Today, DrillMaster has a guest author! Hello fellow drill mates, This article will talk about the steps to planning and coordinating a Color Guard event! To give you a little bit of information about myself, I am Alex Pantaleo, a Cadet 2nd Lieutenant in the Civil Air Patrol. I have attended the Pennsylvania Wing Honor Guard Academy in 2013, then …

January: Drill Season is Here!

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While some JROTC units have a busy first semester that includes drill meets, for many across America January is when the competitions begin. Some states, like Florida, do not have any drill meets until the end of January, leaving the first semester to Raider meets. Maybe, like the school where I teach, Merritt Island High School, you have been having …

Programming, Continued

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Apparently “dropping the base” can have something to do with describing how one creates a routine and, while that may have some sort of relevance at the moment, this description could very well have lost its meaning in a short time. I’ll stick with terms that designers have used for decades. Below, are the Seven Parts of and Exhibition Drill …

Armed Driller Alternatives

DrillMasterDrill Teams, DrillCenter News, Instructional, Review 3 Comments

‘Part One’ of this post is here: Psst, Hey Buddy. Armed Exhibition Drill Rifles for Sale The above blog post is great if you want to buy a demilitarized rifle or even a working 1903, M14 or M1 Garand, but what else is out there and are these alternatives right for military drill? Well, let’s look and see: Let’s start …

How to Become a Certified Visual Judge

DrillMasterAsk DrillMaster, Drill Teams, DrillCenter News, Honor Guard, Instructional 2 Comments

The World Drill Association and DrillMaster now offer a training and certification program for judges for the military drill world. All aspects of military drill come under the visual category and should be judged as such. That is where the program comes in. There are four visual captions: 1. Overall Effect 2. Composition Analysis 3. Movement 4. Equipment Also a …