Drill! Drill! Drill! Why do these guys drill so much? Practice, practice, practice…they practice everything! Eventually it pays off, and today we’ve got the evidence. I managed to find a picture of Mark with his (then) newly issued rifle. Let the drills begin!
They practice…and then they practice some more. Saturday (the 19th) is when the practice paid off. First Formal Color Parade! Two local (and generous) parents were on hand to grab some shots of the first formal event. I didn’t see any blood in the several hundred pictures, so I’m going to assume that the Detailers were somewhat pleased with the performance. Try this on:
That’s M Company — where’s Mark? Click on the photo for a full size attempt, or go ahead and take a peek below:
He’s got his game face going! (That’s what’s known as “military bearing”. Apparently the plebes are always safer if they assume military bearing as opposed to any other bearing…especially during a parade.) Also note that the plebes aren’t wearing the silly Cracker Jack hats anymore. This may be a parade thing, or it may mark the beginning of the transition from embarrassing plebe wear to something a bit more appropriate. By the end of plebe summer, they’ll be wearing the same kinds of uniforms the detailers wear (but without all the decoration).
Side notes: this week marks the changeover of the Detailers. First Set out; Second Set in. This is good, and it’s bad. It might get easier; it might get harder. The plebes derive a certain amount of comfort from knowing what their current Detailers expect. The First Set will now be relaxing a bit, and the plebes are even encouraged to put together some skits to poke fun at their now-departing tormentors. The First Set had a job to do, and the plebes have come to respect that and appreciate it.
That changes this week. Second Set is fully briefed on who needs work and where. Second Set will be zeroing in on each plebe’s weak points and beating on it until it goes away. Expectations are going to change, and it’s a whole new ball game (again). The good news is that all of the plebes are better today than they were just a couple of weeks ago. From what I’ve been able to learn, the transformation is already amazing.
Tomorrow we’ll go from E-Course (last post) to O-Course. We’ve already discussed O-Course and what it means, but now I’ve got a picture or two!