Cadences

I haven't updated this thing in a long time. In large part due to the fact that my instructors have made statements about blogs that have left me a tiny bit paranoid about incidentally sharing too much information online. Well there's that and the fact that I've only recently acquired access to the internet in the barracks. Either way, I'm over it now, I'll just watch what I say and carry on.

As I mentioned in a previous post, drill and ceremony hasn't exactly ever been my forte. Although I haven't really tried to improve in that area either. Marches are something that I just sort of endure, in large part because I hate cadences. I don't like marching around having everyone around me shouting and chanting, and I generally only participate when I feel like the sgts are watching, or when I'm at the front of the formation where my lack of participation would be more obvious. The rest of the time I march along in silence and try to pretend that all the noise around me isn't really there.

The other morning I got in formation to go to breakfast chow and fully intended to have yet another uneventful march up to the dfac. The sgt who is a self-proclaimed "angry Russian" all the sudden started shouting "Specialist Black, Post! You'll be marching us to chow this morning." For some idiotic reason it had never really occurred to me that this could happen someday, so I was caught completely off guard, and having been a non-participant in cadences as much as possible all I could say was "I don't know any cadences Sgt." I wouldn't say that really went over well. There was quite a bit of cursing and an order to "just do it," and after that a pathetic little attempt on my part, which was shut down rather abruptly and I was ordered to fall back into formation and told that I suck.

I thought that would be the end of it, but no. He hunted me down in line at the dfac and informed me that I would be prepared with 3 cadences the next day. So naturally I waited until a few minutes before bedcheck to contemplate addressing the issue, and then had someone write out all the lines to a cadence on a piece of paper for me. The next day at lunch chow we all lined up and I heard again "Specialist Black! Post!" I ran out to take the formation, and my sgt asked me if I was prepared. I told him that I was and then produced the piece of paper. Now, obviously I knew that there was no way, no how that he was going to be okay with me marching along reading cadence off of a piece of paper, but it was too funny an opportunity to pass up. I thought he was going to snap when he saw my paper. Instead all that came out was "BLACK! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!!!!! IS THIS A JOKE?! THAT'S HOW YOU PREPARE TO CALL CADENCE?!" Then there was more cursing while I tried to act all shocked like I couldn't believe that he was objecting to my preparations. He order me back into formation, told me again that I suck.

He did of course hunt me down in line at the dfac again and tell me in no uncertain terms that I will learn to call cadence. The same day at formation for dinner chow we're standing there and I hear again "Specialist Black! Post!" This time I came out to take formation and told him that I still didn't have any cadences since they didn't teach me any in class since lunch. I got barked at again and told to fall to the back of the formation...again. Then he started shouting at the rest of the company for not stepping up and teaching me a cadence. There was a lot more swearing involved, but I'm pretty sure he made his point. One of the privates came up to me in line and told me a couple of lines that I would just have to shout out that would launch the company off on a lengthy little cadence that didn't require much echoing.

That Sgt was gone all day the next day, and I had almost forgotten about it, and was feeling pretty safe when we lined up to go to an evening class, and all the sudden I hear "Specialist Black! Post!" By then the whole company was laughing when I ran out to take the formation. I actually did manage to call a few cadences and get them marched over to the battalion without screwing things up too bad. I have not been called upon again to call cadence, but I suspect that this might not be the last time I get called out. I hope the company is fond of those cadences.... because they're pretty much the only ones I know.