While trophies and bragging rights may be reasons the BYU Air Force ROTC drill team competes each year in the Southern California Invitational Drill Meet, an Air Force general says learning discipline and teamwork are key.
"It is discipline and teamwork that make an organization successful and work well," said Brig. Gen. Steven J. DePalmer, a one-star U.S. Air Force general who addressed the teams.
As teams took to the field, BYU's team placed first in the 12-man exhibition, second in the regulation phase and second overall at the annual competition, held on March 9 in Anaheim, Calif. For the past five years, BYU's Air Force drill team has consistently placed within the top three at the event, which has been sponsored by the University of Southern California's Air Force ROTC for the past 45 years.
"To place among the nation's elite military academies is a great honor," says Capt. Brent Roper, commandant of cadets at BYU. "We don't take the responsibility of training future military leaders lightly. Our country deserves nothing less than this kind of hard work and dedication."
Each year, the cadets from BYU voluntarily give up their early mornings for nearly two semesters to practice marching and spinning demilitarized M-1 rifles in cadence under the supervision of a drill commander. By practicing 300 hours spread over six months' time, the cadets are put under stress and experience pressure in preparation for their military careers.
"The sergeants' overbearing commands are all about testing the cadets by getting them to lose their bearing right before competing," says Cadet Logan Dixon, a senior exercise science major and former drill team participant. "But that's what this competition is all about. The drill sergeants want to give our armed forces experience before actually getting out there and commissioning."
More than 15 colleges or academies competed in this year's competition, including cadets from the Navy, Army and Air Force branches of the U.S. military. This year, the Air Force Academy from Colo. even made an appearance at the competition.
"We competed against some well-established military organizations, and we still came home with several trophies," says Maj. Alan Hanks, a professor of aerospace studies in the Marriott School of Management. "It shows that our cadets are more than just obedient. It shows they have the discipline needed for successful careers as leaders in the Air Force."
For BYU, this discipline is exactly what leads them to perform with such teamwork and honor at the invitational each year. Cadets on the drill team even perform with ten-inch bayonets attached to their guns, which gives them extra points as they spin and toss them during the competition. But showmanship and finesse aren't the only things that drive the cadets to compete in the prestigious event.
"Most importantly, we teach respect," says Cadet Robert McClain, drill team commander. "We teach how to respect orders and superiors, to respect duty and honor and to respect self and wingman."
About the BYU Air Force ROTC Program
Established just four years after the creation of the U.S. Air Force, the Air Force Reserve Officers' Training Corps came to BYU in 1951 to prepare quality cadets for commission as officers upon graduation. A satellite of the Air Force itself, BYU's Detachment 855 is also operated through the renowned Marriott School of Management as the Department of Aerospace Studies. Cadets from the detachment have won first place in national competitions such as the Southern California Invitational Drill Meet and regularly provide community service through the Arnold Air Society.
About the Marriott School of Management
The Marriott School is located at Brigham Young University, the largest privately owned, church-sponsored university in the United States. The school has nationally recognized programs in accounting, business management, public management, information systems, entrepreneurship, and recreation management and youth leadership. The school's mission is to prepare men and women of faith, character and professional ability for positions of leadership throughout the world. Approximately 3,300 students are enrolled in the Marriott School's graduate and undergraduate programs.
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Writer: Philip Volmar