By the left QUICK-----MARCH!! - The history of close order and combat drill

When I was a teen I joined and was part of the Army Cadets.  My unit CC1979 sponsored by the Canadian Grenadier Guards held our parades and did our courses at Centennial Regional High, the corps was asked to find new quarters and now trains in a different location, for more info visit the Facebook page.  

Part of what cadets reservists and regular CF members do is something called Close Order Drill.  Why?  I duno is not the correct answer LOL.  The answer is really straight forward, it's designed to train members of the unit to move in a uniformed manner, to develop teamwork and to provide members the opportunity to gain  confidence and trust in the leadership training the team.  To give you an idea of what close order drill looks like see  the picture below.  It is of me in 2019 waiting to go on parade during a reunion of my corps.

As you can see in the photo to the left there are two groups to the right are the alumni to the left the current compliment comprising CC1979.  We are at attention just so you know I am the dude in the yellow shirt.  This is close order drill.  Besides standing at attention we also did other drill movements, marching, open order and close order march the dress right etc.  There is a set of procedure movements for the platoon as well as the company Sargent Major and those who carry rifles and flags all done a certain way and all designed to show orders can be given and taken and executed in an even flow with confidence and precision.  Though for the older crew it was a bit rusty as some, like me had not done drill in years, not worry it is like riding a bike you never really forget drill.

The second form of drill, and FYI army cadets, do not do this one, is called Combat or Battle drill.  In the early days of warfare soldiers moved in a certain way on the field of battle, one was called the Phalanx developed by the romans.  These were set movements designed to guide large battle groups in the process of move and engagement on the filed.  Today battle drill like the Phalanx is not taught as weapons modern to the filed would simply wipe such formations out in seconds.  Instead battle drill is the art of learning who is in command of sections, platoons and larger formations and how to engage with modern weapons.  Training such as how to clear a room or use a General Purpose Machine gun while moving are taught.  Both sets of drill are important and there is an  interesting history to how drill evolved.  Take a look at this article from the Britannica site that speaks about how these drills evolved.  

Below are some videos about trainign in the military.  The first is season one of Basic UP.  This show followed CF members through the training regimen.  It shows both drill sets.  The second video is of a room clearing exercise, commonly know as Battle / Combat Drill.  The last two videos below show Close Order drill.  While I am a proud Canadian and support of the CF I have to give props to the Marines, these guys are the best when it comes to CO drill. 

Thanks for dropping into the site.  And for those who serve and have served thank you for what you do to keep our country safe.

Cliff T.