I have been scouring the internet for many years learning about the differences in military drill around the world. One thing that isn’t different is the interest that many young men and women enjoy in the hours of work it takes to present a superior drill team (called an “honor guard” in Asia) performance and in some cases, age does …
The Firefighter’s Ceremonial Axe Manual
See also the article, Resistance to Change: Betrayal?, for some insight that may help dealing with this sometimes rather touchy issue. Why an axe manual in the first place? Firefighter honor guard units use two of their tools as ceremonial equipment that are normally used to fight fires. When I first began writing my book, The Honor Guard Manual, I wanted …
The Terror of the Dropped Rifle
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 …
The DrillMaster Honor Guard Staff Assistance Visit
In the military we have two types of visits from higher HQ: 1. Inspections and, 2. Staff Assistance Visits (SAV). Inspections are to gauge an organization’s effectiveness on a pass/fail or multiple rating standard. However, SAVs are meant to help an organization improve- it’s an inspection, but without the stigma of a judgmental rating. It is an educational process. Inspections have their place, most definitely, but …
Physical and Psychological Performance Preparation
Preserving the pattern of the “P”: for your positive pre-reading program, precluding any possible problems: peruse The Difference Between Practice and Training and The Difference Between Practice and Rehearsal. Please also read, Having a complete Plan for a Performance and, from the Civil Air Patrol angle, How to Plan and Coordinate a Color Guard Event. Now that we have given Ps a chance, …
Drill Team and Honor Guard Unit Training
In the military, we train. And we train, and train and train. We have major training scenarios (exercises) that involve multiple services and other countries, we have them for a single military installation, single unit training, all the way down to military specialty and ancillary training for each individual. It’s time consuming, but well worth the effort. After all, lives …
Honor Guard Training Q and A with The DrillMaster
Do you have an honor guard question? I am happy to answer it! Q: We already have 9 people committed to being on the Honor Guard. Is there a minimum/maximum that is desired? A: For my courses, yes, 12-25 trainees. For an honor guard, no, not really. Most of what you will do will be colors presentations for ceremonies and …
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 …
Military Drill World: March Forth!
Happy March 4th, or I should say, #MarchFourth, to everyone on a drill team, honor guard, color team, color guard, marching band, drum and bugle corps, winterguard, indoor percussion ensemble- anyone who marches and loves it. Today is YOUR DAY!
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 …