The Lincoln Log

The squad drill competition took place on Feb. 8 in the south gym. Through practice and team bonding, all teams became victorious, although only Bravo Company took the title of first place. Delta Company took second place and Alpha Company took third.

Each commander represents his or her own company by drilling their cadets to memorize a drill and a drill that is completely made up. The competition involves five officers that train their squad members to memorize drills and perform on a specific day. Drills are a list of marching commands by the officer. Some examples of commands are file from the left, right flank, stand fast, and rear march.

The squad drill competition involves two parts: the formal drill, which is a list of commands that every squad is expected to execute, and a free drill which each squad uses their own creativity to win.

Sophomore 1st Sgt. Keiah Gallofin was the winner of this year’s squad drill competition. She was happy and completely confident in her victory. “We practiced a thousand times,” Gallofin said.

They were confident in both their drills because they had practiced for several hours. Like all teams, Bravo Company had its moments of high stress.

“We all respected each other, but at the same time, we all had our moment [of stress]. They talked back [to me] and gave attitude and I talked back [to them],” Gallofin said.

Bravo Company also had a sense of camaraderie. Gallofin was a friend to each squad members before she became their 1st Sgt. She knew her squad well to begin with and could work well with them. She knew what made her squad upset, but knew how to fix the problem more easily. She knew her squad’s strengths and weaknesses.

“I think they [Bravo company] practiced hard enough. They practice everyday after seventh period and straight up practice rather than fooling around, compared to other teams who practiced but fooled around at the same time. I’m really happy for her,” said Charlie Company Commander senior Justin Yap.