ST. CROIX, VIRGIN ISLANDS, - Detachment 1 Delta Company, 1-114th Aviation Security and Support Battalion, Virgin Islands National Guard marched their way to a win at a drill and ceremony competition held at the Lieutenant Colonel Lionel A. Jackson Readiness Center, Estate Bethlehem Military Compound on St. Croix, Aug. 7.
The nine-member squad, led by Sgt. 1st Class Gary Thomas, beat out three other teams during the 104th Troop Command Battalion inactive duty training to win the coveted title.
The participating units in the competition were the 1-114th Aviation, 651st Maintenance Company, 661st Military Police Law & Order Detachment, and the 662nd Engineer Company. The teams consisted of nine Soldiers, three of which had to be females.
The teams had to execute several facing movements during the competition. All movement commands such as 'fall in', 'dismissed', 'march', and 'dress right, dress', had to come from the squad leader. Each squad leader had to ensure that the required series of calls and maneuvers were executed by the team on the drill hall floor.
The competition began with a little history on the origins of drill and ceremony and its purpose, and the introduction of judges.
"The competition was a great chance for the members of the 104th Troop Command to show their comradeship in performing drill and ceremony," said VING retired Command Sgt. Maj. Charles David, a former state command sergeant major, who was one of the three judges at the competition.
David spoke highly of the competing squads and noted the difficulties of drill and ceremony.
"One thing I hope they got from this, is that doing a competition is different to marching soldiers on an open field. If they're going to continue doing this on a regular basis, the Soldiers should train as a team and practice their movements within the confined area presented to them," he added.
David went on to say that some teams overshot their boundaries when they did not give the commands in a timely manner in order for the troops to execute.
"Practice, practice, practice as an element if you're going to be competing as an element," he said.
The 1-114th Aviation Det. was the overall winner; they were successful in the D&C as well as the flag-folding portion.
"The 114th Aviation [Det.] performed well within the confines of the boundaries. In my opinion, I think they were the true winners of the competition," David noted.
According to the 1-114th squad leader, Sgt. 1st Class Gary Thomas, who is the assistant platoon sergeant in the unit, they practiced for about two hours on Sunday morning.
Most of the team retained their knowledge of drill and ceremony from active duty time in the active component, he stated.
"We agreed to add the unit motto at the last minute. That was the only thing not mandatory for the competition," Thomas explained. The squad sounded off with the unit's motto "Cheat death, save lives any time anywhere," before being dismissed.
David also praised the only squad to be commanded by a lower-enlisted Soldier.
"I would like to commend the specialist from the engineer team," he said in reference to Spc. Deandre Harris. "There were NCOs commanding the other squads and this specialist went out and gave it his all. I think with some additional coaching he will be more than ready for the next competition, he deserves kudos for his performance."
At the conclusion of the drill and ceremony portion of the event, Command Sgt. Maj. Judy Clarke, 104th Trp. Cmd., command sergeant major revealed the mystery event, unfolding and folding the U.S. Flag within five minutes.
The squads, all received applause for their performance, but again 1-114th Aviation Det. exceeded the standards.
"Spc. Christina Cruz, is a part of the military funeral honors team. She was able to give a quick lesson to Staff Sgt. Max Frederick Jr. the other person who participated in the flag folding," Thomas said.
Clarke stated the intent behind that portion of the competition was to relay the reverence of the U.S. Flag.
"I felt that the mystery event, flag folding, gave the soldiers a feel of what the flag represents, it brought a sense of reality and remembrance of our departed soldiers, Lt. Col. David Canegata and Sgt. 1st Class Floyd Lake," said Clarke.
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