Lean Back and Set 'em Down

Lean back and set 'em down

March from the waist down

40 inches back to chest

Take a 30 inch step

That's how the cadence goes and each instructor has a little different take on the rhythm and tune. It's an easy reminder of some often overlooked details of marching. It's focuses on fours distinct areas of importance: How the foot contacts the ground when a step is taken forward, role of the upper body in marching, distance and alignment, and length of step.

Lean back and set 'em down is a reminder of a concept not often taught withing Pathfinder drill. This is the specific way a foot should contact the ground when taking that marching step forward. Now, the words don't really say anything about the feet but it is a reference to the way the footfall should be taught. When first being instructed on the proper footfall patterns, Pathfinders will be told to take slow steps and lean back slightly from the waist. This helps the Pathfinder develop the best muscle memory for farther down the road. Specifically, that the heel should be the first thing to contact the ground as a Pathfinder takes a step forward. Leaning back helps subtly move the center of gravity back and helps prevent a flat foot fall that is associated with a center of gravity too far forward. The lean also helps the Pathfinder have a straight leg when the foot hits the ground.

March from the waist down is the idea that all the mechanics of marching should happen below the waist. The arms move but that only helps in creating a smooth movement and maintains the center of gravity. Otherwise, movement should be confined to the lower extremities. It extends the basic concepts going back to facing movements where Pathfinders are taught to initiate the turn from the ground up and not from the shoulders. There should be no twisting of the body through turns both at the halt and marching. Commonly, Pathfinders get sloppy and develop (for various reasons) turns initiated from the shoulders and that throws the feet off from properly executing the turn. The difference is slight and would only be noticed by seasoned instructors but it appears sloppy on large formations even to the casual observer.

40 inches back to chest is a reminder for Pathfinders to always be aware of spacing. Since drill manuals like their rules and specific directions, the proper distance from the pack of one person in a formation and the chest of the person standing behind them is exactly 40 inches. And believe me when I say the measuring tape does come out for that. Pathfinders have a more relaxed interpretation of the spacing concept which (because of the large size differences in Pathfinders) can be said as "average arm length, plus change". Each unit or club will have a slightly different spacing but for the most part it will be uniform with the arm length rule as long as Pathfinders are evenly distributed. The idea of putting all sizes together may sound good in principle and may aid to advanced drill routines but causes mis-alignment in club and unit drill.

The last line take a 30 inch step is pretty clear. The United States Army specifies a 30 inch step be taken measured from heel to heel as a soldier marches forward. Pathfinders have adopted a 24 inch step to help younger pathfinders with shorter legs to march comfortably. This line simply reminds of the need to be thinking about the size of your steps and not give in to the tendency to shorten them.

History of Drill: A Pathfinder Perspective

Drill is a military discipline. There is no other way around it. It's original purpose was to allow one army to kill more people than the other guys. As morbid as it sounds, we must recognize the origins of these skills in order to properly adapt them to the present-day use in the Pathfinder Organization.

Drill in it's earliest stages of evolution dates back almost to the dawn of war itself. Fighting was conducted melee style with each combatant rushing into a fray as part of a group. It was each man for himself. Very quickly, armies needed ways to control troop movement and military drill was born and evolved though history till the Greeks started improving on the theory.

The Greek invented what we know as drill in it's modern sense of a group of soldiers moving and maneuvering as one in order to more effective in the battlefield. Greek and (more famously) the Spartans had training programs designed to prepare their soldiers for the complex unit formations needed to be the most effective. It was still simple compared to it's height of domination in antiquity but the concept was there and would continue to be refined upon by the Greek successors, the Romans.

Roman drill was one of many reasons the Roman Empire conquered most of the known world at the time. Romans developed a standard set of commands that could be learned across the army and the formations were simplified (Greek formations could be quite complex and require special skills). Troops were trained in these commands, issued standard gear, and practiced thoroughly. This gave Roman armies a distinct advantage on the battlefield because whomever could maneuver the best and the quickest usually won.

The advent of firearms changed drill but the single shot muskets still needed the precision of close order formations to be effective. Countries developed their own distinct styles of drill as it was still and effective battle field tool. In the days of musket battles, whomever could maneuver to a flanking position would often win that skirmish or battle.

Fast forward to the United States Revolutionary War. The US forces were suffering defeats in the war up to this point. The encampment at Valley Forge during the winter of 1777-1778 was a historic event for drill in the United States. Up to that point, the Contenential Army consisted of various militias and colonial armies. They were poorly trained and had inadequate supplies. A former Prussian Officer named Baron Friedrich von Steuben was introduced to General Washington by means of Benjamin Franklin. Von Steuben eventually went to Valley Forge and General Washington allowed him to begin a training program. Von Steuben began training a model company in the military disciplines of the Prussian army. Soon, the model company was efficient at loading and firing their muskets in an orderly manner and could also maneuver at the verbal commands. Impressed with the dramatic transformation, Washington ordered the techniques be taught to the army and the model company became instructors to other groups.

Now it is easy to see why United States Drill and Ceremony bear little resemblance to British Drill despite the intense British influence on the colonies and developing nation.

As weaponry advanced and battlefield maneuvering became less and less required, drill was less and less employed. The trench warfare of WWI essentially eliminated battlefield drill. Drill was continued as a training aid and for it's use in pageantry. Every so often a small change was made to bring us to the current drill used by the different branches of the United States military.

Drill came into the Pathfinder clubs through the attitudes of the time. It was quickly seen as a way to develop aspects that staff wanted to foster in the Pathfinders such as discipline, organizational, moral, etc.