The annual Competitive Drill Day exercises exemplify the importance of the military program by emphasizing discipline, composure, and honor. Drilling had been a component of commencement exercises since the first closing ceremony in 1873, but the Competitive Drill Day emerged as a distinct event in 1937. At the end of every school year, the cadets would file into their troops and platoons to compete against one another in front of the school community. Along with the Cavalry Unit, there were three Battalions demarcating Upper, Middle, and Lower Schools with two companies in the Upper and Lower Schools and three in the Middle School. Within each battalion, the companies would compete against each other, with the most contentious being in the Upper School, which pitted boarders in one troop against “day-hops” in another. Cadets would head to their assigned drill fields to be reviewed and graded on appearance, manual of arms, and marching, with emphasis placed on appearance and cadence. Awards went out to the winning company commanders and specific individuals for “Leadership, Soldierly Bearing, and Excellence,” “Most Efficient Officier,” and “Most Efficient Non-Commissioned Officer.”
Drill Day Program – 1954
