Purposes of Drill
Drill has many purposes, contrary to popular belief. Drill accustoms individuals to working as a member of a team -- a team moving confidently together in unison and to a measured cadence. Drill is also used to move a unit from one place to another in a standard, orderly manner. Drill also teaches discipline by instilling habits of precision and automatic response to orders. Drill improves morale by developing team spirit. It also gives younger petty officers the confidence of command and experience in giving proper commands.
General Rules
- When marching, alignment is always maintained to the right.
- Whenever drill movements are executed when marching, the command of execution (MARCH), is given as the left foot strikes the ground if the movement is to the left and as the right foot strikes the ground if the movement is to the right.
- All steps, marches and movements are to be executed in the quick time cadence of 120 steps per minute unless stated otherwise.
Commands
A drill command is the direction of the commander given orally and in standard wording. The commander is at attention when giving commands. Commands must be delivered in a loud, clear voice.
There are two types of commands:
- Preparatory command. Indicates the movement to be executed, such as Forward.
- Command of execution. Causes the desired movement to be executed, such as MARCH.
Preparatory commands are indicated by small letters; those of execution in CAPITAL LETTERS.
The commands BELAY THAT or AS YOU WERE are given to recall a command or to start over on a command given incorrectly. On either of these commands, you should return to the position held before the improper command was given.
Attention - This position of Attention consists of the following:
- Body erect
- Head and eyes facing forward
- Hands at a natural curl with thumbs along seams of trousers
- Heels together with feet at 45 degree angle
- Knees straight without stiffness
- No talking
- No movement until a command is given
The command for attention is given as follows:
[Ship, Crew, Detail], ATTENTION!
Dress Right - To align the [Ship, Crew, Detail] the command is Dress Right, DRESS! At the command DRESS, the [Ship, Crew, Detail] snap their heads to the right (all except the first person on the right who remains looking forward) and raise their left arm straight out to the left side (all except last person) and touch the shoulder of the person to the left. Fingertips should just barely touch the shoulder. Fingers and thumb are all extended and joined. When alignment is correct the commander gives the command Ready, FRONT! At the command FRONT, everyone drops their arm smartly to their side, without slapping the leg, and snaps head forward at same time.
Close Interval Dress Right - Same as Dress Right, but the command is At Close Interval, Dress Right, DRESS! And instead of extending left arm straight our to the side, the left hand is placed on the left hip, elbow in line with body, fingers of left hand extended and joined and heel of palm resting on the hip with the fingers pointing down.
Open Ranks - Open ranks are used when a formation is to be inspected. It allows the inspecting party room to conduct its inspection. The command is Open Ranks, MARCH! At the command MARCH, the back rank immediately executes a dress right and the front rank takes one step forward then executes a dress right. If there is three ranks, then the front rank takes two steps forward and the middle rank takes one step forward. When alignment is correct the commander gives the command Ready, FRONT!
Close Ranks - This command is used to return to a normal formation after open ranks. The command is Close Ranks, MARCH! At the command MARCH, the front rank stands fast and the back rank takes one step forward, maintaining alignment. If there is three ranks, the middle rank takes one stop forward and the back rank takes two steps forward.
Hand Salute - The command is [Ship, Crew, Detail] Hand, SALUTE! At the command SALUTE, everyone smartly brings their right hand promptly up to right side of the bill of their cover. Forearm, wrist, hand and fingers are all in one straight line with fingers and thumb extended and joined. Upper arm should be parallel to deck. To recover from the salute, the command Ready, TWO is given. At the command TWO, the right hand/arm is dropped smartly to the side, without slapping the leg, and back to the position of attention. A HAND SALUTE IS NEVER GIVEN IF YOU ARE UNCOVERED, NO EXCEPTIONS.
Parade Rest - The command is [Ship, Crew, Detail] Parade, REST! At the command REST, move your left foot smartly 12 inches to the left. At the same time join hands behind your back, right hand inside the left, palms to the rear on the belt line, right thumb under left, fingers extended and joined. Do not move. Do not talk.
At Ease - At the command AT EASE, the right foot is kept in place. Silence is required. Movement to the extent possible with the right foot kept in place is allowed.
Rest - At the command Stand at REST, the right foot is kept in place. Talking is permitted.
Right (Left) Face - The command is [Ship, Crew, Detail] Right (Left), FACE! Entire [Ship, Crew, Detail] turns to the right (left) at same time. You should pivot on heel of right (left) foot and ball of left (right) foot and pivot 90 degrees. Then bring left (right) foot alongside the right (left) foot to resume the position of Attention. Arms should not swing out from sides.
About Face - The command is [Ship, Crew, Detail] About, FACE! Entire [Ship, Crew, Detail] turns to the right 180 degrees by moving right foot behind left, keeping right leg straight, and pivoting on ball of right foot and heel of left foot. When turned 180 degrees, you should end up in the position of Attention with heels together and feet at a 45 degree angle. Arms should not swing out from sides.
Forward March - The command is [Ship, Crew, Detail] Forward, MARCH! On the command MARCH the entire [Ship, Crew, Detail] steps off with left foot. The step is 30 inches long and cadence is 120 steps per minute (quick time).
Column Right (Left) - The command is Column Right (Left), MARCH! On the command MARCH, the first person faces to the right (left) by pivoting on ball of left (right) foot and heel of right (left) foot, without stopping, and steps out with right (left) foot in the new direction of march. Other people in the column will continue to march to where the first person pivoted. At that point, the will successively face to the right (left) in marching and continue in the new direction.
Right (Left) Flank - The command is By the Right (Left) Flank, MARCH! At the command MARCH, the entire [Ship, Crew, Detail] pivots to the right (left) and marches in the new direction. The next command should either be a Halt or the opposite Flanking movement.
Right (Left) Oblique - The command is Right (Left) Oblique, MARCH! At the command MARCH, which is given as the right (left) foot strikes the deck, each person takes one more step forward, then faces to the half right (left) in marching and steps off at a 45-degree angle from the original direction of march.
The command Forward, MARCH is given to resume the original direction of march. It is given as the right (left) foot strikes the deck. At the command MARCH each person takes one more step in the oblique, then faces half left (right) in marching then steps off in the original direction with the right (left) foot.
Mark Time - The command is Mark time, MARCH!
- If marching when this command is given, at the command MARCH, given as either foot strikes the ground, one more step is taken, then the other foot is brought along side, then the cadence is continued by alternately raising and lowering each foot. When the foot is raised, the ball of the foot is two inches from the ground.
- If at halt, at the command MARCH, the left foot is raised and lowered then the right as described above.
- The halt is executed the same as in quick time, except take two two-inch vertical steps instead of two 30-inch horizontal steps.
- The command Forward, MARCH may be given while at Mark Time. The command MARCH is given as the right foot strikes the ground and you step out with a full 30-inch step with the left foot.
Side Step - The command is Right (left) Step, MARCH! At the command MARCH the right (left) foot is moved 12 inches to the right (left); then the left (right) foot is moved 12 inches to the right (left), left (right) knee straight. The cadence is continued at quick time. The side step is executed from the halt only and for short distances.
Halt - The command is [Ship, Crew, Detail], HALT! HALT is given as either foot strikes the deck. To execute the halt take one more step after the command HALT then bring the heels together at the position of attention.
©Copyright 1994 Eric Kozowski