DRILL AND CEREMONIES
"Maintain discipline and caution above all things, and be on the alert to obey the word of command. It is both the noblest and the safest thing for a great army to be visibly animated by one spirit."
Archidamus of Sparta: To the Lacaedaemonian expeditionary force departing for Athens, 431 B.C.
This next subject deals with D & C. I would have to admit this is my favorite part of being in the Army. To be able to stand in front of a company, a platoon or a squad and direct them by the simple commands projected out by my voice.
During a time at PLDC, you will be graded on this task. Your instructor will give everyone enough time to practice if you are not familiar with the commands. I am not going into great detail about this subject because you can find all the information you need in the Drill and Ceremonies manual (FM 22-5). But what I will do is let you know what you will be graded on.
You will be tested in the following areas: Stationary and facing movements and marching commands.
The instructors will be listening for the command voice. That is, how loud and distinct your voice is when executing the commands. They will pay close attention to the rise and fall in the pitch and the tone changes of your voice. In addition, cadence will be an important part when it comes to marching the squad because it sets a rhythmic and uniform flow of words in the command voice.
Here is the list:
- STATIONARY AND FACING MOVEMENTS
- HAND SALUTE
- LEFT FACE
- RIGHT FACE
- ABOUT FACE
- STAND AT EASE
- ATTENTION
- PARADE REST
- AT EASE
- REST
- MARCHING MOVEMENTS
- FORWARD MARCH
- REAR MARCH
- MARK TIME MARCH
- HALT
- COLUMN LEFT
- COLUMN RIGHT
COLUMN HALF-RIGHT
- LEFT FLANK
- RIGHT FLANK
- RIGHT STEP
- LEFT STEP
Once you have completed all of your commands, it is important that you dismiss the squad properly. What I mean by this is, do not have the squad at rest when you give the command to "dismiss" or you will be a NO-GO. The squad must be at attention. Another note to keep in mind is the instructor will not let you know if you left out a command. So try to relax and stay focus. This is not a timed task. Good Luck!
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