Educating the Military Drill World
The Tomb Sentinel walk is one of the most precise and recognizable ceremonial movements in the United States military. Its smooth, controlled glide is essential to the dignity of the vigil.
The way that glide is produced, however, deserves examination.
A video shows a wreath-laying ceremony or announces that a member of a service has died. Photographs and video snippets appear in sequence and Taps plays as the soundtrack. The intention is respectful. But the death of a service member or the laying of a wreath does not automatically make Taps the appropriate soundtrack for a video.
A reader recently commented on LinkedIn a suggestion for a follow-up article after reading one of my posts about a Marine Corps color guard. The final paragraph of that post said: “If you are going to make the comment, ‘these are Marine Security Guards (in Australia) and color guard is not their job!’, don’t bother. Your primary job may not …
One of the most persistent problems in military drill and ceremonies is no longer confined to a unit, school, installation, or local community. The internet has changed the way incorrect ceremonial practices spread.
The Army authorizes both single-strap and double-strap designs. The single strap is relatively common because it is inexpensive and widely available. It is also the weaker design from an ergonomic standpoint.
Every so often, another piece of ceremonial folklore appears that sounds authoritative because it has been repeated for years.
Why Adults Should Not Fill Positions in Cadet Color Guards and Drill Teams I recently posted a photograph of an Army Junior ROTC color guard. Four positions were occupied by cadets. The fifth was occupied by an Army JROTC instructor, who was marching with the cadets and carrying a flag. Several people asked what was wrong with that. One response …
Drum and bugle corps developed as a distinctive form partly because it operated within restrictions. Those restrictions were not defects waiting for later generations to remove. They helped define what the activity was.
While watching an older video of Morning Colors at Marine Barracks Washington, I initially heard the preparatory command as: “Colors, ATTENTION.”
One of the recurring problems on Air Force installations is the unintentional transfer of ceremonial drill into environments where regulation drill is the governing standard. It usually begins innocently.