Military-type exhibition Drillers around the world are looking more and more into developing their own uniform…
Do Standards even Matter?
The picture at right was sent to me by a Facebook friend who is an Army JROTC instructor in Texas. He sent it with the note that, at this particular drill meet, the SOP stated that only authorized service uniforms were to be worn. He told me the reason for the strict uniform requirements: One year I saw a color guard …
You Don’t Really Need to Practice?
You don’t really need to practice! You will be able to throw a rifle around in just a matter of weeks, especially if you sleep with your drill rifle under your pillow. OK, enough sarcasm, you need to practice. Every day. For a couple of hours at least and then wake up and do it again. World-class Driller Sam Gozo …
Honor Guard Competitions
What is the reason for competing? In the military drill world, a competition has been a means of showing other teams how much hard work has been put into the routine, and I’m not just talking about exhibition drill. Honor guard units compete against each other in funeral ceremonies and the tasks associated with them. Color teams post the colors …
The Essence of Judging Military Drill
DrillMaster explains how to judge military drill.
The Spinnable Saber!
What am I talking about? Well, in same competitions cadets are not allowed to let the sword or saber leave their hand- they cannot spin their chosen piece of drill equipment. Now, that has led to some creative work being done by a small handful of Drillers- which is an excellent thing! However, it also stifles other creativity. I have …
The Drill Meet
What is a Drill Meet? In America, the drill meet, after putting in hours of hard work designing, choreographing, practicing, rewriting and practicing some more, is a competition for drill teams, Drillers and color teams (NOTE: military-based: “color team;” music-based: “color guard“). The organizations that compete are each services’ Jr., high school, and Sr., college, Reserve Officer Training Corps, Army …
JSDC12
Yes, it is another Joint Service Drill Competition that is now in the history books! This year’s competition also included a performance from the Tulane University Mardis Gras Drill Meet champions, the Merchant Marine Academy Drill Team. I judged each team on the World Drill Association Adjudication System’s Overall Effect caption. The scores I gave each team are in the …