Snap and Precision is the mark of a well trained Cadet!
The Gadsden City High Army JROTC Drill Team is one of many things that you can do after school in the JROTC program. It consist of Armed, and Unarmed compulsory drills, Exhibition, Color Guard, PT, and Academic teams. We travel all around the state of Alabama and go to different high schools and compete. It is recommended that you complete one full semester in JROTC before you join the drill team, but everyone is welcome and we are willing to teach if you are willing to learn
Unarmed Drill: If Armed Drill can be perfected then that makes Unarmed Drill a little easier. Unarmed Drill is the most frequently used form of drill and ceremony in the military today it is the easiest to learn. In a competition environment Unarmed Drill is speculated to be the event where only perfection wins first place, due to the fact it’s very easy to spot a cadet out of sequence with the entire platoon.
Armed Drill
The Armed Drill Team is one of the most worked on and precious forms of drill and ceremony. Not only does it include movements of Unarmed Drill, but it is made up of countless sharp precise movements with an eight and a half pound rifle. It takes a great degree of discipline to master this form of drill, but with time and effort and the right commander it is possible. A group of students start out sloppy and morph into a platoon of cadets moving simultaneously as one unit.
Exhibition
The most difficult form of drill, it consists of spinning, throwing, and a variety of formations all crammed into a five to nine minute drill. These drills can be Armed or Unarmed, but 75% of the time they are armed drills. Many cadets tend not to do this style of drill on there drill team due to the complexity.
Color Guard
Let’s just say you have to be perfect. It’s a four man team with two guards on the outer side and two flag bearers in the middle, and the U.S. flag on the right. Color Guards are sometimes hard to grade because there is no exact regulation to the drill. Perfection is the key. Every movement has to be as one. The slightest, hardest to find mistake in a platoon sticks out like a sore thumb in a Color Guard. Color Guard teams usually consist of the four most experienced and senior members on a drill team.
Instructor: LTC Harrison
Practice Time: 3:15 – 5:00