Making up drill commands

[cap235629]

Some of my pearls of wisdom from this year's encampment:

Do that thing that you do when you do it, MARCH!

Gaggle of Fraggles from the right, ROCK!

and the favorite of a certain cadet:

Lowrider, HARCH!

when the command of execution, HARCH, is given all passengers in the van, including the driver, will proceed to bounce up and down as if riding in a lowrider while keeping in time to the cadence that is called.

[lycan1138]

once in my naval Jrotc i heard an unusual command it was "Hey wait stop!" lol and the sad thing was it was during a drill compention

I don't suspect that this team won...

yea they didnt do well at all...

[Tags]

A new favorite at in my flight is when the guide-on is posted, the guide-on bearer says "Guide-on posted!" and the flight replies "With swag!" 

[titanII]

A new favorite at in my flight is when the guidon is posted, the guidon bearer says " guidon posted!" and the flight replies "With swag!" 

Fixed that for you

[Skydude61]

Counter, March

bugger of a move, that counter march....

[CadetHarry]

Left Flank Right Flank Double To the rear harch to the rear

[C/TSetser]

one our squadron made up was  point and laugh, on the command the flight raises there left arm and goes ha ha ha ha in a command voice, it is pretty epic

[DC]

one our squadron made up was  point and laugh, on the command the flight raises there left arm and goes ha ha ha ha in a command voice, it is pretty epic

That's been around for ages, my flight did that at my doolie basic encampment in 2005.

[Dizyd]

In my squadron we were marching to fast for a staff sergant taking a drill test so he said "Cadets, Slow Down Harch" He ended up having to say that many times.   

[Майор Хаткевич]

He was wrong. He should have counted cadence and given verbal cues if that wasn't followed.

[The Infamous Meerkat]

In my squadron we were marching to fast for a staff sergant taking a drill test so he said "Cadets, Slow Down Harch" He ended up having to say that many times.   

Instant drill test failure, that's just... dumb. I don't like seeing people fail, but that would be well deserved.

[Nuke52]

In my squadron we were marching to fast for a staff sergant taking a drill test so he said "Cadets, Slow Down Harch" He ended up having to say that many times.   

Instant drill test failure, that's just... dumb. I don't like seeing people fail, but that would be well deserved.

I think that's a bit harsh.  He'd have gotten marked down on the test for it, but give the man credit for, uhh, "creativity while thinking on his feet..."   

[cantthinkof1]

Stanky Leg, Harch!

[The Infamous Meerkat]

Sorry, I think that during a test one should know the test material, as that is the entire reason for having a test at all. Using a blatantly improper and unauthorized command shows a major lack of knowledge on the subject, and that the cadet would need some remediation and training before taking the test again.

Far too many cadets these days show up for their drill tests only having heard the commands for and executed the basics of drill, and know nothing more advanced than flanking movements... Then we pass them for 'not having instructed them correctly' and feeling bad for them, thus the cycle continues. They don't learn by getting passed for a lackluster performance, I certainly never did.

[Nuke52]

Sorry, I think that during a test one should know the test material, as that is the entire reason for having a test at all. Using a blatantly improper and unauthorized command shows a major lack of knowledge on the subject, and that the cadet would need some remediation and training before taking the test again.

Far too many cadets these days show up for their drill tests only having heard the commands for and executed the basics of drill, and know nothing more advanced than flanking movements... Then we pass them for 'not having instructed them correctly' and feeling bad for them, thus the cycle continues. They don't learn by getting passed for a lackluster performance, I certainly never did.

I agree with the majority of what you've said here, but the tests are not "zero defects" tests, i.e., one error and you fail.  The drill tests allow for mistakes and errors, requiring an accuracy of only 70%--not 100%.  If he calls one incorrect command, or even if he makes up some command he knows is wrong but he doesn't know the correct way to do it, as in "Slow Down, MARCH," that's still only one discrepancy and is not, in and of itself, reason to fail the test.

What if a cadet didn't turn her head as required during a "Dress Right, DRESS"?  Using your words above, she "doesn't know the test material during a test, which is the entire reason for having a test at all."  I guess that's a fail, right?  And clearly she needs "some remediation and training before taking the test again"?  I disagree.  She gets marked down for her error, and the test is scored considering the entirety of her performance--to a 70% standard.

[arajca]

Using it ONCE is one discrepancy. Using it multiple times is multiple discrepancies. After a point it becomes impossible for the cadet to pass the test.

In my squadron we were marching to fast for a staff sergant taking a drill test so he said "Cadets, Slow Down Harch" He ended up having to say that many times.   

emphasis mine.

[The Infamous Meerkat]

Okay, you took what I said and oversimplified the crap out of, good work. Now please go back and use the context of "he had to say it many times". I never said a single use of it was a failure, it was the multiple use that would make it a failure, and beyond that it would be something to address with the ENTIRE flight about not running through their drill tests.

As for your Eyes, Right comment, that is a very minor mistake versus a command that causes the entire flight to do the 'wrong' thing. Very different cases of nowhere near similar magnitude.

Also, remediation should happen whether or not a cadet passes or fails, there are always things to be improved upon. Its not a punishment, its a fact of life and something every cadet needs to learn is going to happen. Constructive criticism will be offered for the rest of their lives, they need to learn not to be offended by it.

[Nuke52]

Using it ONCE is one discrepancy. Using it multiple times is multiple discrepancies. After a point it becomes impossible for the cadet to pass the test.

In my squadron we were marching to fast for a staff sergant taking a drill test so he said "Cadets, Slow Down Harch" He ended up having to say that many times.   

emphasis mine.

So every time a cadet is out of step, that's an additional discrepancy?  Left, Right, Left, Right, Lef--oh darn, I just failed.  I guess there's always next month...

No, you are wrong.  Look at a drill test.  Even if the command "Right Flank, MARCH" is used three times, it is only graded once.  The other instances on the grade sheet will say something like "Not Graded" or "N/A", "-", etc. 

Does the cadet know how to do an About, FACE?  No?  That's one wrong, not an additional mark down for each time they don't get it right.  emphasis mine.

[The Infamous Meerkat]

YES! It means even though you were given the same question multiple times on the same test, you failed to get it right EVERY SINGLE TIME! This is the exact coddling I'm talking about. If they knew the material, they would correct their discrepancies and move on, but them not doing so when they have three such opportunities is not one failure, as it is on the test several times. Also, aren't they supposed to look at the test before hand so that they know whats coming?

And yes, there is always next month. Maybe the rank will be less of a pat on the back if they EARN it and are treated as professionals. It can be done, and doing so breeds true leaders. We can be good with the status quo, but we can be great if we hold ourselves to a high standard.

[NC Hokie]

Regarding a cadet's failure to properly maintain control of a formation, it might be a good idea to actually READ the furnished material.  For the tl:dr crowd, the following passages should be instructive:

Scoring Philosophy. Each drill maneuver usually involves several task steps. For example, the command,
"Column Right, MARCH" involves ten or more task steps. To make it easy for testing officers to evaluate the
cadets' performance on the drill field, this test booklet identifies two or three standards for each drill
maneuver. Cadets who meet those standards earn credit for that drill maneuver. In other words, testing
officers evaluate cadets only on the standards listed, even though those standards cannot possibly
encompass every last facet of a drill maneuver.

Note: The element's ability to perform the commands is NOT relevant to this test – only the cadet's ability
to call commands properly is being evaluated.

Taken together, the clear intent is that you cannot arbitrarily penalize a cadet for improper attempts to regain control of an unruly formation.  You can ding him or her for failing to maintain overall leadership of the flight in the Achievement 4 test, but that is not enough to fail a cadet who meets the other four standards.

I'll listen to the argument that the cadet does not meet the subjective criteria of being "ready" for promotion (an argument that IS supported by the regulations), but we cannot willfully ignore rules, regulations, or instructions that we do not like.