What Does ROTC Do Anyway

By: Douglas Castonguay

Heading to the gym, when we get to use it for practice, I often hear many remarks about the guns that ROTC uses for its drill teams. Many people ask questions like: "What is it that you guys do anyway?" Most of the school got that answer at the pep-rally ending the Winter Carnival this year. For the small minority who missed this demonstration and those who still have questions allow me to explain.

Drill and Ceremonies competitions consist of 11 cadet corps from all over New England. Most of these corps represent the Boston area. All branches of service participate in The Northeastern Drill and Ceremonies league. It is usually dominated by Air Force and Navy, but recently the Army and Marine Corps ROTC units have been becoming involved. There are two units who proudly represent Maine in this competition, Lewiston High School, and Massabesic High School.

The competition itself is marching and rifle movements. Teams are judged on synchronization, bearing, and number of participants, difficulty of movement and precision. There are seven team events to choose from, and a team can participate in up to five of those events. One team event that Lewiston's cadets participate in is Team Drill Regulation. This event is composed of a routine set by the judges and verbal commands called by the commander. The judges know every movement that you are supposed to make and watch you under a microscope. The other four team events are all exhibition teams like the COED (Blue Lightning) exhibition rifle team that demonstrated their routine at the pep-rally. Besides our COED team we have an all male exhibition drill team and an all female exhibition drill team. These teams are composed of nine to fifteen cadets. The routine is not set and any military movements are allowed. These teams are fun because they allow for creativity and give the better drillers a chance to show off for the crowds. The last team is our synchronized team, a four-man exhibition team that follows the same constraints as any other exhibition teams.

In the past, we have been quite successful as anyone who has been up to room A202 has seen. The walls of our work areas are littered with plaques and trophies. I hope that this gives some insight into what the drill teams do. On a final note I would like to say that this team is a representative of your school just as much as any other team is. When we do host a home competition, or even when we have one away, I hope to see some of the same support for the drill teams in the future as the other athletic teams have seen in the past.