Achievement 5 drill test

[cadetesman]

Hello, just wondering about the achievement 5 drill test. I've looked it over, practiced, and feel prepared. Just wondering id anyone has a video of a perfect/great test, or any pointers. I take it tomorrow, thanks!

[AngelWings]

Hello, just wondering about the achievement 5 drill test. I've looked it over, practiced, and feel prepared. Just wondering id anyone has a video of a perfect/great test, or any pointers. I take it tomorrow, thanks!

Simply practice everything. Drill is best learned through repetition, and if you practice it, it will be engrained in you.

[RogueLeader]

Hello, just wondering about the achievement 5 drill test. I've looked it over, practiced, and feel prepared. Just wondering id anyone has a video of a perfect/great test, or any pointers. I take it tomorrow, thanks!

How have you looked the drill test over?  IIRC, that is a controlled test item, and that is a test compromise.  If it was a drill study guide, then its ok.

[lordmonar]

Hello, just wondering about the achievement 5 drill test. I've looked it over, practiced, and feel prepared. Just wondering id anyone has a video of a perfect/great test, or any pointers. I take it tomorrow, thanks!

How have you looked the drill test over?  IIRC, that is a controlled test item, and that is a test compromise.  If it was a drill study guide, then its ok.

Anyone can down load the drill test from NHQ....so no test compromise.

[Sgt. Fischer]

Wow. I just looked over that chapter 5 drill test, and it has changed since when I did it! I'm a first sergeant, and I have no idea how to do a "close march", or an "extend march"! 

[a2capt]

Unlike Leadership 2000, Drill tests for Learn to Lead are not controlled items with exception of the Milestones that include drill.

[Extremepredjudice]

Hello, just wondering about the achievement 5 drill test. I've looked it over, practiced, and feel prepared. Just wondering id anyone has a video of a perfect/great test, or any pointers. I take it tomorrow, thanks!

How have you looked the drill test over?  IIRC, that is a controlled test item, and that is a test compromise.  If it was a drill study guide, then its ok.

If we told you, we'd have to kill you.


It is available on Capmembers.

[Dad2-4]

I agree that once you really learn it it's ingrained. I first learned drill in MCJROTC beginning in 197?. To this day I can still teach it to cadets (or interested SMs), including open and close march, column of files, oblique, and other mysterious movements.
Practice, practice, practice. March up and down the driveway (ignore the neighbors), stand in front of a mirror, march with CAP or JROTC friends at school. Make it fun but make sure you're doing the movements correctly.

[coudano]

Make sure you keep in mind that for Drill 4 and 5, you are GIVING the commands, from the position of flight sergeant,
not executing them in the flight as a flight member.

Focus on your command voice, cadence, confidence, and stay ahead of what is going on right now (think ahead).
Know which feet to call which commands on, and call them on the correct feet.

If your people are not "together" then fix them.  Stop them and fix them if necessary.
You are never going to be able to do a column right, for example, if the formation is all out of step and DCID,
even if you call the command perfectly, they are going to just run into each-other...

oblique, and other mysterious movements.

Just remember that those don't exist in USAF (CAP) drill

[Extremepredjudice]

If your people are not "together" then fix them.

While it may get you brownie points, it isn't actually required. 



Edit to clarify: You should correct them, but if you aren't comfortable, just keep on going...

[coudano]

I'll agree with that to a certain extent,


So everyone is standing there at parade rest,
and you stand at attention, facing the flight, and with good LPDISC, go "Flite, Tench-HUT!"

Then for me, you've passed that command.  Good job.
Even if half the people in the flight fail to snap to attention.
Or somebody like goes to "rest" or does nothing, or who knows what.

The reason you would fail this command would be if, for example, you weren't loud enough, and not everyone in the flight could physically HEAR the command, and THAT was the reason they didn't execute.  That's how you miss that command.



so now consider a scenario like this:

Your flight is marching along, and you give them a column right (correctly, good job!)
However, when they do it, they get all jacked up; Run into each-other; Bust DCID, and get all out of step.
I'm still going to give you credit for the column right.  It's not your responsibility (in this context) if they blow it up, as long as you gave the command correctly.

However, suppose your next command will be To The Rear March.
Everyone is still gaggled up from their misperformance on the last command.
They aren't in step with each-other, and you may or may not be in step with the guide even.
How am I, as the evaluator, supposed to decide whether you called HARCH on the right foot? (instead of the left?)

In a situation like this, you would be very well suited to "fix" the flight, before trying the next command.
If for no other reason, then to make sure that you are clearly demonstrating that YOU can *CALL* the command correctly.  Even if the flight can't execute it worth junk.

Best case scenario, your evaluator tells you to stop, fix it, and try that one again (incidentally it's what YOU should have done, in the first place).  Worst case scenario, you have just demonstrated that you do not have positive control of your flight, and you can't get them into the right conditions to call a command in the first place, let alone call it correctly, and you miss that rearp harch on your eval.  (that would be fairly harsh on the part of an evaluator but I can imagine it being done)



When i'm evaluating, I am /extra/ impressed by a cadet NCO who will proactively, assertively, and even pre-emptively fix problems within the flight.  Of course that little bit of extra good impression doesn't make much difference for you on your drill test sheet.  But it may very well weigh positively in your favor at your promotion review board.



Of course, a few things you can do to help yourself out a little...
1.  You're an NCO...  So make sure your airmen are trained up so that they /actually CAN/ execute all of these commands without blowing up your formation.

2.  Pick your drill detail and sit out that new C/AB who has only been in CAP for 2 weeks.  Stick to the more experienced cadets that can keep up in an evaluation environment.

[lordmonar]

That is more or less how I do things.

I try to have a flight that knows what they are doing....it makes things go faster....but the test is on how to give the commands...not how to control a flight full of new guys who don't know their left from their right.