thedrifter
09-30-08, 05:14 AM
Marines' 'Silent Drill' speaks volumes
--Hugh Muir
Date published: 9/30/2008
Ignoring a misty rain, the Marines' 24-member Silent Drill Platoon put on a display of precision and discipline at the National Museum of the Marine Corps last Thursday before a brave crowd of several hundred visitors. Among them were veterans belonging to "The Marines of Long, Long Ago," a group whose members served during the 30 years from Guadalcanal in World War II to the end of the Vietnam War. Meeting for a reunion at Quantico, they had asked for a performance of the crack group. The 20-minute drill, in the Museum's front plaza, involves a series of marching and rifle-spinning maneuvers that are all performed without a single spoken command. The exercise is made all the more spectacular in that it is done with fixed bayonets on every rifle. The platoon travels some 30,000 miles a year, making scores of appearances. The unit was under the command of Gunnery Sgt. Reginald Bradford, who served a seven-month tour in Afghanistan and two tours in Iraq before he was wounded in February 2006 by an improvised explosive device near Fallujah that destroyed his Humvee. Now, five surgeries "and a lot of physical therapy" later, he is the leader of the Silent Drill unit during a three-year posting to Quantico. Asked about the rain, he said softly: "We're Marines. We're ready for anything."
Ellie
--Hugh Muir
Date published: 9/30/2008
Ignoring a misty rain, the Marines' 24-member Silent Drill Platoon put on a display of precision and discipline at the National Museum of the Marine Corps last Thursday before a brave crowd of several hundred visitors. Among them were veterans belonging to "The Marines of Long, Long Ago," a group whose members served during the 30 years from Guadalcanal in World War II to the end of the Vietnam War. Meeting for a reunion at Quantico, they had asked for a performance of the crack group. The 20-minute drill, in the Museum's front plaza, involves a series of marching and rifle-spinning maneuvers that are all performed without a single spoken command. The exercise is made all the more spectacular in that it is done with fixed bayonets on every rifle. The platoon travels some 30,000 miles a year, making scores of appearances. The unit was under the command of Gunnery Sgt. Reginald Bradford, who served a seven-month tour in Afghanistan and two tours in Iraq before he was wounded in February 2006 by an improvised explosive device near Fallujah that destroyed his Humvee. Now, five surgeries "and a lot of physical therapy" later, he is the leader of the Silent Drill unit during a three-year posting to Quantico. Asked about the rain, he said softly: "We're Marines. We're ready for anything."
Ellie