By the Ripple

[UWONGO2]

There is a cadet-turned-senior who has a great presentation on CAP myths. He includes a funny story about how CAP teaches cadets raise their hands and how it got him noticed when he was going through the Air Force's basic training.

The jumping to the wall and standing at attention drives me nuts. So does saluting a flag on a flag pole every time they walk by one. The about face to fall out is specially called out as unnecessary in one of our pamphlets, yet I see lots of squadrons doing it.

[almostspaatz]

There is a cadet-turned-senior who has a great presentation on CAP myths. He includes a funny story about how CAP teaches cadets raise their hands and how it got him noticed when he was going through the Air Force's basic training.

C/Col William Craig?

[LSThiker]

There is a cadet-turned-senior who has a great presentation on CAP myths. He includes a funny story about how CAP teaches cadets raise their hands and how it got him noticed when he was going through the Air Force's basic training.

The jumping to the wall and standing at attention drives me nuts. So does saluting a flag on a flag pole every time they walk by one. The about face to fall out is specially called out as unnecessary in one of our pamphlets, yet I see lots of squadrons doing it.

You mean the right arm must have a 90-degree bend for it to be considered "raised"?  I love that one too.

Oh the fallout dance.  I was successful in eliminating that from my wing for about a year.  Then it returned

[NIN]

See, here's what kills me (and I see this once a week):

We have a name for something (a "ripple line") (awesome. It has a name)

Cadets get all wrapped around the axle about how you're supposed successfully execute this "ripple line" (you know, the thing that nobody can seem to find in a manual, pub, etc)

So cadets seem to be incredibly intimately familiar with the entire convoluted process of this "ripple line": forming the line, managing the line, giving people a hard time for not doing it right, etc.

Meanwhile, what we're actually doing is lining up 45-55 cadets in a SINGLE FILE LINE to sign in on a unit sign in sheet that is actually comprised of three separate sheets of paper. 

Instead looking at the situation and considering the process and the intended results, and maybe doing something like busting the line into three chunks by last name so three cadets at a time can be doing their sign in on the three separate sheets, we'd rather break everybody's chops for not stepping forward and assuming parade rest in exactly the right way while we eat up 20-30 minutes of our training time...

I know I left a forest out here someplace, but all these darn trees are in the way.