Photo By Terrance Bell | Nov. 16 Fort Lee Traveller double truck... read more read more
FORT LEE, Va. (Nov. 16, 2017) -- On a cold Saturday morning at 8 a.m., the last thing on a Soldier-in-training’s mind is drill and ceremonies.
There are always exceptions.
One of them is Pvt. Leslie Topete, assigned to Delta Company, 832nd Ordnance Battalion. She volunteered to represent her unit in the 59th Ord. Brigade Drill and Ceremony Competition at Whittington Field and seemed annoyed more of her battle buddies did not.
“Personally, I love drill and ceremony,” said the 18-year-old from Fontana, Calif. “When the sergeant told us she needed Soldiers to compete, I was one of the first ones to sign up. We’ve had some difficulties getting people to join, but overall I think we did a good job.”
Topete’s unit was one of 11 from the 832nd and 16th ordnance battalions competing in the quarterly event to showcase their Soldiers’ ability to perform marching and facing movements in unison.
In the end, Bravo Co., 16th Ord. Bn., performed better than their counterparts and was awarded he top prize. Col. Sean Davis, 59th Ord. Bde. commander, ceremoniously acknowledged the unit’s victory, placing a streamer on its guidon during a brief awards ceremony that concluded the event.
CSM Dejarius Jones, who oversaw the competition, said the Soldiers should be commended for proudly representing their units and putting forth an effort to represent them well.
“I’m always blown away by these Soldiers,” said the 832nd Ord. Bn. CSM. “They volunteer to come serve their nation and continue to volunteer for events such as this. The temperatures were in the 20s, but they didn’t hesitate to come out to perform with motivation and focus.”
Pfc. Zachary Enriquez, who led Bravo Co. as its cadence caller, said his fellow Soldiers were committed to the task.
“It’s an honor for us,” he said, “because we practiced the day before for three hours straight. Everybody was tired and ready to go, but they still pushed through. I told everybody if we stick with it, we can actually win. It shows if you practice hard and work as a team, the outcome will be positive.”
During the competition, cadence callers and platoons of 20 Soldiers were required to perform 30 regulation movements within a 400-square-foot drill pad.
Drill and ceremonies, which once commanded a higher place in discipline development, is still an essential component in Soldier development, said Jones. It was a lesson he learned as a noncommissioned officer academy cadre member at a time when drill and ceremonies were removed from the basic leader course and later returned.
“When they brought it back, we could see the difference across the force,” he said, “so I have firsthand knowledge of how important it is to have these types of skills, especially at the squad level and below. It is very important.”
Soldiers learn drill and ceremonies in basic combat training, and the skill is reinforced in AIT. The 59th Ord. Bde. hosts several drill and ceremony competitions yearly.
Delta Co., 832nd Ord. Bn., placed second in the competition. It also earned a streamer.
| Date Taken: | 11.11.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 01.18.2018 17:49 |
| Story ID: | 262488 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 24 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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