I was not in the Corp. Having said that, my son will be the First Sergeant in C Battery of the FTAB. He was also a member of the '24 Fish Drill Team, exhibition block, and was an FDT Advisor last year. He was the best drilled fish in the FTAB and the best drilled sophomore in the Corps. I share that not to brag, although I am very proud of him, but because I am told that not long ago, there was practically zero BQ participation in FDT, whereas now the number of BQs in FDT ranges from 30-40%. I think that statistic says something about the typical BQ these days and maybe about the typical CT. I have had the privilege of getting to meet several of my son's '24 FDT buddies and I can tell you they are some seriously outstanding young men and women who are redass Aggies and just damn fine people.
If I was looking for an outfit that was motivated and made up of high performing, hard charging cadets, I would see if there were former FDT pissheads and juniors in leadership roles in that outfit. They know how to follow and how to lead and sacrifice.
My son said F-1, now disbanded, used to be a good source of FDT fish. Where will the '26 FDT come from?