Cite Your Sources

As an instructor who has had the privilege of doing work in many different places and with many different people and coupled with more than a decade of experience, I have come across all kinds of rules that I have never heard of before. I always ask the same question and get the same answer: "Where did you come up with that?" And I get the same response: "It's what I was taught", or "It's just common knowledge." Wrong! You don't have to live very long to realize that a lot of people believe things that are downright false. Why should the world of drill be any different?

Because Pathfinder drill has a history that has been contributed to by a vast number of individuals with every color of experience, training, and background; it is reasonable to assume that some inaccurate information slips in. However, in this digital age where so much information is at our fingertips wherever we may be, there is no excuse for perpetuating inaccurate information.

As Drill Instructors, you have a responsibility to continually purify Pathfinder drill. Weeding out all the little inaccuracies, false beliefs, and poor technique. And this includes dumping any rule that you cannot verify through appropriate sources. Appropriate sources are never Pathfinder published. They are often published by the government (in the form of the United States Flag Code), or manuals published by various branches of the Armed Forces (ie. Army Drill and Ceremonies Manual) or professional drill organizations (Think New Guard America). Plain and simple: never teach anything as a hard and fast rule that you cannot find in these resources. That's not to say you should never adapt or create rules for special circumstances.

Let me use and example: Flag Position in an Auditorium. A simple task for sure. But there is always someone who will make their beliefs known to all if the flags are set up in a way that is inconsistent with what he/she believes. Let the bickering commence. No one can say where they got their ideas from but everyone is positive they are correct and sometimes even invent sources (such as the flag code). Believe it or not, these kind of quarrels have causes rifts in Pathfinder organizations. Don't be that guy.

Arm yourself with the resources available to you. Challenge everything you have been taught. Understand that it may not always be correct. And don't cling to incorrect ideas when you discover you are in error. You will destroy your reputation as an instructor. Cite your source and have the professional ethic to admit when you may be wrong.