Just like in dance and other physical performances, posture is the first thing the audience sees. It is the first visible evidence of discipline.
Rifle Exhibition Safety: The Scoresheet Is Where Culture Changes
The article on rifle spinning, tosses, immediate stops, and adolescent injury risk has done exactly what I hoped it would do: it has made people think.
The 8.5lb Elephant in the Room: Armed Exhibition, Teenage Bodies, and Long-Term Damage
Armed exhibition drill has been part of military drill for decades. It is exciting, demanding, and when performed well, it shows timing, confidence, coordination, control, and strength. But we need to address the health aspect of an 8.5-pound rifle repeatedly slamming into a teenage body because that is what the activity often rewards. That is the problem. The M1903 rifle, …
You’re Not Training Wrong—You’re Training in the Wrong Environment
Instructors, this is one of the most common issues I see across cadet programs, ROTC units, and even some professional teams:
The 2026 Joint Service Exhibition Drill Competition Results
The Joint Service Exhibition Drill Competition held this past weekend brought together the service exhibition drill teams.
When Everything Is Emphasized, Nothing Is: The Failure of Constant Intensity in Ceremonial Performance
A recent parade performance by members of the Guardia Civil of Spain highlights a recurring issue in ceremonial presentation: the belief that increased intensity, applied continuously, improves performance.
Una reciente presentación en desfile por parte de la Guardia Civil pone en evidencia un problema recurrente en la ejecución ceremonial: la creencia de que aumentar la intensidad de forma constante mejora el resultado.
The Three Pillars of a Championship Team: Building Drill Team and Color Guard Excellence
Three powerful concepts—Building Cohesion, Competition Simulation, and Peer Leadership—will build a truly dominant and strong drill team and color guard.
Exhibition Drill Is Not Pageantry
In recent decades, military drill teams—particularly those performing exhibition drill—have increasingly adopted visual elements commonly associated with pageantry arts. Audiences often see this overlap and assume the two are functionally equivalent. They are not.
Pageantry vs. Exhibition Drill — The Essential Difference
Although exhibition drill may borrow tools from pageantry arts, the two are not the same discipline. They differ fundamentally in purpose, authority, design intent, and evaluation philosophy.
Can a Flight Commander Switch Sides During Regulation Drill?
In JROTC drill competitions—during the regulation drill sequence—questions occasionally arise regarding the authorized positioning of the flight. One recurring practice, observed most frequently in the west, but slowly creeping to other areas, involves the commander switching from the prescribed left side of the formation to the right side and eventually switching back through column movements. This article examines whether that practice is doctrinally supported.