See these related articles: How Drops Affect Scoring & Learning to Drop. Salute! Imagine this: you are a judge at a JROTC competition assigned to judge one of the exhibition drill categories. During a performance, a cadet drops his rifle, comes to attention, salutes the rifle, picks it up and continues on with the performance. The “Face-Palm” action would be inappropriate in …
What is “Readability”?
Readability describes something that we can easily read. We get that. When we pick up a newspaper or look at a magazine article, we find it easy to read and comprehend, in general. We can read a master’s degree thesis and find complex words, phrases and sentence structure. On the other hand, we can look at a child’s first paper …
My Cadet Hero
The best reason for JROTC, in my view, is that high school cadets can wear a military uniform and participate in different activities no matter their physical issues. I have worked with JROTC units for many years and have had the opportunity to work with many, many cadets. Of those cadets I have seen some with physical issues that would …
Feet: Transitioning From and To a 45-degree Angle
The small details (read: Sweat the Small Stuff) are what build up from one tiny aspect to a whole routine and when you pay attention to these small details it helps create greater effect and better communication and team cohesion. Feet seem to be an afterthought in military drill, but that is changing. In exhibition drill, if you have not …
Astronaut War Eagle Drill Meet Performance Critiques
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 …
The DrillMaster JROTC Competition Study Sheet
This is a beginning for you, it is not the be-all and end-all of study sheets. Use it or take it and modify it and use that. Whatever you do, you need to be prepared for your inspection and have answers at the ready. Actually, your response and not just the answer itself, is more of your grade. Download the …
Two Ways to Execute About Face
There are about five ways to execute About Face, but for this brief study, we will concentrate on the two ways to execute About Face to be within your service’s regulation drill and ceremonies manual, what I call The Straight Leg Method, where the knee is more or less locked throughout the movement and the right foot travels in a circular …
Cocoa Beach Drill Meet Color Team DrillMaster Performance Critiques
My first time being able to judge Color Team (Color Guard) and use my audio commentary technique for the teams! There was a big learning curve for the cadets and most were appreciative. In no particular order: (click to listen to or download the MP3 file) MIHS Female MIHS Male Cocoa Beach Female LET1 Cocoa Beach Female Cocoa Beach Male …
Manuals for Teaching Regulation Drill for Each Service!
You can’t very well take your service’s drill and ceremonies manual outside with you and train from that- but training from the source is the best thing to do. How can you get around this obstacle to teaching? Announcing the publishing of DrillMaster’s Color Team Coach’s Field Manual. Yes, for the field! Take it with you in your pocket, it …
January: Drill Season is Here!
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 …