quote:

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And a certain saber named after a certain FDT member from '82 was also taken during that time and used by another unit.

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Yeah, I went to that FDT member's funeral, and Silver Taps, and Muster, too. It's something I'm sore biased about.

Which reminds me that I had to miss Bobby Cox's funeral for what was a very stupid reason; and I found out about Kelly Castleberry's too late.

I think the current rifle situation is a little worse now. There aren't even enough functional weapons for the entire team to practice inspection arms.

Ulysses 90;
The FDT in my day marched and drilled like the FDT's before. We weren't trying to copy anybody: that's what made the FDT unique.

I don't know if the advisors et. al. are trying to copy the Marine Silent Drill Team. If they are, then the uniqueness of the FDT is no more. The Marine Silent Drill Team is very sharp and unique itself, but so is the FDT. The two entities should remain different.

"It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man," Psalm 118:8.

[This message has been edited by NJ75AGfdt (edited 11/12/2011 9:49a).]

I have read this thread stating the problem are the 'heads trying to act tough vs teaching drill. That leaves a question:

Where are the junior and zip advisors during FDT practice? Do they work with the team or not? Somebody "in the know", could you please advise.

Are all the advisors Navy/Marine ROTC cadets, or are there Army and Air Force ROTC cadets mixed in? Thanx.

"It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man," Psalm 118:8.

Past few years the largest chunk of FDT fish have come from one outfit (an NROTC outfit), but they can come from anywhere with the exception of the band. A lot of outfits and some of the outfit academic volunteers have started highly discouraging their fish from going out for FDT, for different reasons.

From all that I've read and seen for myself, the FDT has changed from what it was when I drilled. Maybe that's what they want. A long time ago, a post stated maybe the name should be changed to distance the old FDT from the new FDT during the 90's disbanding. Maybe that's the right decision here.

"It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man," Psalm 118:8.

Well, frankly, given the output from the top of the College of Military Sci, I'm surprised they did not/have not created an all-year's drill team, the better to be "just like everyone else."

bigtruck, which outfit is supplying the FDT cadets?

I suppose he means N-1...

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For The Good Times
First of the Finest, Finest of the First

Our team, and previous teams, had fancy drill "moves" when the CO called out the command. What are the current "moves" by the FDT to someone in the know (? Big Truck guy?). I'd like to compare what we had vs. what they are performing today. Thanx.

"It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man," Psalm 118:8.

Yeah, I believe it's N-1 that puts out the most FDT fish.

FDT doesn't mimic the Silent Drill Team, but similar to the Silent Drill Team, FDT focuses on precision movements executed be all members of a large drill block. As opposed to what some schools do, which is throw out a dozen cadets and have them do super fancy stuff with less than perfect precision and togetherness.

The current routine is essentially a "push play" and watch it go. The only commands given are at the step off, after reporting in, and the ripple. We don't really have any fancy moves that are executed on command. It may have been just me, but when I was a fish I learned the drill as one big memorized routine. The Dick Haynes, some of the other tosses, and a few stylistic things have been lost since the team's reformation. Part of the problem is so many old drill dicks didn't want to have any association with the current team because they thought it would never live up to its previous winning tradition. Another part of the problem is time and teaching style. The BQs drill at least 5 times a week, FDT is lucky to get 3 practices. And FDT drill, when it is being taught effectively by the advisor, it isn't being compartmentalized, it is being memorized. At least that's the way I saw it.

And for the record I don't like the idea of some how dissociating the current team from prior teams. I want to say that the team has gotten 1st place 6 out of the 8 times they have competed since returning, and the other two times they got 2nd place. That's pretty good considering they also probably have a better GPA than most of the previous teams.

bigtruckguy;
OK. Fair enough. You are closer to it than I. You mentioned The Ripple, Dick Haynes as moves. When I marched, we always performed the moves in the same order starting with "Swing to the Rear." We did not start performing the move until the CO called out the command. We also had "Dick Haynes", also "Queen Anne", and "The Ripple". I may be forgetting one.

We drilled, on average, 5-6 times per week. 2-3 hours after class during the week day, and all day Saturday. We occasionally drilled on Sunday.

Do you know the story behind "Dick Haynes?"

"It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man," Psalm 118:8.

[This message has been edited by NJ75AGfdt (edited 11/16/2011 5:38p).]

Dick Haynes is no longer done (I believe named after the 70 (?) senior advisor that was killed in a car accident come back from Conroe). Not entirely sure what "Swing to the Rear" is, but everything is done in the same order now as well. But the drill is essentially autonomous and can be done silent if necessary. CO calls a "Long Order Arms" at three points, before step off, after report in, and after the ripple. The only other command given is "Report in." Queen Anne is still around, done during the ripple and one or two other points during the routine.

According to a member of the class of '64 that I've spoken with, FDT really only started getting good after Bill Schmid '64 joined the team. The Commander of Central Catholic's drill team, he brought FDT the Ripple movment, and the team moved from 2-3 practices a week to 5-6 days. Grades suffered, but the team was finally competitive, although it was disqualified from the LSU drill meet for marching too slow. That same team got second to Arlington State, a team that hadn't been beaten in many years, at a Washington Birthday Celebration and meet in Laredo. And then at the San Antonio Fiesta Flambeau parade, FDT beat Arlington State and got 1st.

Your right on with Dick Haynes. The accident occurred in Plantersville after the FDT marched in Conroe. In a "Strange but true" moment, I remember that weekend and seeing the FDT round a Conroe street corner.

Thanx for the additional info. Swing to the rear was done by teams that bracketed mine.

"It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man," Psalm 118:8.

FDT starts Monday. It was announced in Duncan this morning