There seems to be confusion on the announcements or commands to present and post the colors. Let’s iron that out.
The Wear of Hats
The issue is that the service drill and ceremonies manuals do not specifically state that a color guard must be covered (wear their headgear: hats, helmets, or berets) all the time when presenting the colors. In this article, I go over the standards of being covered and when we can remove the cover.
Color Guards Overseas and the Foreign National Color
This information affects all bases overseas for all services. The photo at the top of the page is from 2025 of the Spangdahlem Air Base Honor Guard color guard in Luxembourg for the celebration of the liberation of Vianden with the wrong colors in the wrong positions. When my wife and I were stationed at Spang, I did this very …
Countermarch For a Five-Man Color Guard?
Let’s talk about Countermarch and the Wheel for a 5-man color guard for the Marine Corps, Navy, and Coast Guard. The Photo at the top of the page shows a color guard with Marine Forces, Europe and Africa, retire the colors during an Assumption of Command Ceremony MarForEURAF at Panzer Kaserne, Stuttgart, Germany. There are big problems in the photo. …
The Flagstaff and Guidon Staff Manuals DrillMaster Study
Both the flagstaff manual and the guidon staff manual are linked. In this study we will discover the similarities and where both manuals separate due to the flag attached to the staff. The guidon staff is the flagstaff and vice versa. The differences come in length and the type of flag attached. This is key to understanding the difference, the …
Understanding the Implementation of Military Drill
We often overlook the fundamental aspects and fail to implement D&C effectively in our training programs.
Understanding the Arguments Against Military Drill
Those who disagree with this article series will scoff, dismiss, and immediately jump on the logical fallacy ship and probably won’t even know they are doing it. Here are some arguments against the modern warfighter performing D&C today.
Understanding the Benefits of Military Drill
The tangible and intangible benefits of drill and ceremonies (D&C) are numerous. I will use a couple of them to make my point about how we are generally failing to use drill and ceremonies for its intended purpose and thus unable to completely reap the benefits.
Understanding the Purpose of Military Drill
The primary objective of military drill is to efficiently move a group of individuals from one location to another. But there is much more.
Understanding the Definition and Types of Military Drill
Military drill encompasses a variety of movements and formations performed by members of the military, cadets, and others, either with or without equipment (rifles, flags, guidon). There are distinct forms of drill, each serving specific purposes and contributing to the overall discipline and efficiency of military personnel.