USMC Silent Drill Platoon at Sun Devil Stadium

[GiGi's 1996]

I recorded this half time performance last night at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, AZ. Absolutely amazing. Thought I would share. Enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPexWe7P96Q

 

[cf_coder]

Saw them last week at the Civic Space Center in downtown phoenix. It's a very cool routine to watch.

_coder

 

[Bigshankhank]

They came to my university football games about once every other season. Yes they are impressive to watch, but for a college crowd they were, and the irony of this does not escape me, too quiet. We wanted to watch the bands play at half time, not watch a bunch of mouth breathers (not an insult, its how they keep in sync with one another) tossing their rifles around in dead silence.
Pearls cast before swine, I suppose.

 

[ddnww]

GO SUN DEVILS :girl::reddance::flame::mad2:

 

[simple]

They came to my university football games about once every other season. Yes they are impressive to watch, but for a college crowd they were, and the irony of this does not escape me, too quiet. We wanted to watch the bands play at half time

Fair enough

not watch a bunch of mouth breathers (not an insult, its how they keep in sync with one another)

Wtf are you talking about.

 

[GiGi's 1996]

They came to my university football games about once every other season. Yes they are impressive to watch, but for a college crowd they were, and the irony of this does not escape me, too quiet. We wanted to watch the bands play at half time, not watch a bunch of mouth breathers (not an insult, its how they keep in sync with one another) tossing their rifles around in dead silence.
Pearls cast before swine, I suppose.

I've gone to A LOT of college football games and I have seen a lot of halftime shows but this performance was by far the BEST performance ASU has ever brought to our stadium.
I can see your point though. Prolly 80% of the stadium did not and could not see the performance. The student sections are in the end zones and they certainly could not see the performance. It was sorta "quiet" as they performed. That was great for me though. It does not show up in the audio of the recording from my old iPhone 5 but you could hear the guns as they precisely handled their weapons. I was in awe and appreciate the commitment these boys give.

 

[RandyDaytona]

They came to my university football games about once every other season. Yes they are impressive to watch, but for a college crowd they were, and the irony of this does not escape me, too quiet. We wanted to watch the bands play at half time, not watch a bunch of mouth breathers (not an insult, its how they keep in sync with one another) tossing their rifles around in dead silence.
Pearls cast before swine, I suppose.

That's news to me. I have stood literally 15 feet from the silent drill platoon routine well over a hundred times (evening parades at the barracks in DC, Iwo Jima parades, + practices) and I never heard a sound - save the rifle butts hitting the ground and the "slap" movements - that's actually how it's timed. That and knowing the sequence and number of executions.

I was a member of the Marine honor guard at 8th & I. There are 6 marching platoons, one of which is the SDP. I was in one of the "other" platoons (1st plt., B Co., to be specific).

I'm not one to deprive anyone of a chance to call Marines "mouth breathers," but to be technical, if you DID hear breathing, it would have been from the nose, since a person's mouth is never actually open at the position of attention. I would also point out that it isn't exactly a sedentary activity to march around in circles for 10 minutes while tossing a 10 pound rifle in the air, all while wearing a form-fitted wool coat, so some heavy breathing tends to occur.

 

[Bigshankhank]

That's news to me. I have stood literally 15 feet from the silent drill platoon routine well over a hundred times (evening parades at the barracks in DC, Iwo Jima parades, + practices) and I never heard a sound - save the rifle butts hitting the ground and the "slap" movements - that's actually how it's timed. That and knowing the sequence and number of executions.

I'm not one to deprive anyone of a chance to call Marines "mouth breathers," but to be technical, if you DID hear breathing, it would have been from the nose, since a person's mouth is never actually open at the position of attention. I would also point out that it isn't exactly a sedentary activity to march around in circles for 10 minutes while tossing a 10 pound rifle in the air, all while wearing a form-fitted wool coat, so some heavy breathing tends to occur.

Again with all due respect, I was not directing it as an insult. And I was told that this was their method of timing from a friend in the student Corps of Cadets Silent Drill team, and just assumed that the technique would be universal in the rarified air of the few teams who do these performances. If not, well then color me educated.

 

[Flighht2k]

Again with all due respect, I was not directing it as an insult. And I was told that this was their method of timing from a friend in the student Corps of Cadets Silent Drill team, and just assumed that the technique would be universal in the rarified air of the few teams who do these performances. If not, well then color me educated.

Then why mention it? If it wasn't a jab?

 

[Bigshankhank]

Then why mention it? If it wasn't a jab?

Well, for the sake of clarity if nothing else. I wasn't entirely certain how to read RandyDaytona's response and I wanted to be clear that there was no offense intended considering that he had served both as a Marine and as a member of an honor guard.
Given the common problem of not being to easily convey nor read sincerity vs snark, I figure it is always better to be clear and explain one's position as transparently as possible on the net.

 

[GiGi's 1996]

That's news to me. I have stood literally 15 feet from the silent drill platoon routine well over a hundred times (evening parades at the barracks in DC, Iwo Jima parades, + practices) and I never heard a sound - save the rifle butts hitting the ground and the "slap" movements - that's actually how it's timed. That and knowing the sequence and number of executions.

I was a member of the Marine honor guard at 8th & I. There are 6 marching platoons, one of which is the SDP. I was in one of the "other" platoons (1st plt., B Co., to be specific).

I'm not one to deprive anyone of a chance to call Marines "mouth breathers," but to be technical, if you DID hear breathing, it would have been from the nose, since a person's mouth is never actually open at the position of attention. I would also point out that it isn't exactly a sedentary activity to march around in circles for 10 minutes while tossing a 10 pound rifle in the air, all while wearing a form-fitted wool coat, so some heavy breathing tends to occur.

I sure hope I correctly titled this performance. I honestly did not hear their introduction and I sorta guessed at title after I went to YouTube and saw similar video. Am I right? I was wishing I knew the exact identification of this platoon so I could put in title and recognize them.

Also, those boys (I guess I call them boys because I am 44 years old and they're kids to me), I mean men had to be hot. It was at least 100 degrees on the field. Hot and humid night in Phoenix. Taking that into consideration, WOW, they really kicked a$$.

 

[RandyDaytona]

I sure hope I correctly titled this performance. I honestly did not hear their introduction and I sorta guessed at title after I went to YouTube and saw similar video. Am I right? I was wishing I knew the exact identification of this platoon so I could put in title and recognize them.

Also, those boys (I guess I call them boys because I am 44 years old and they're kids to me), I mean men had to be hot. It was at least 100 degrees on the field. Hot and humid night in Phoenix. Taking that into consideration, WOW, they really kicked a$$.

You did, and you're actually "more correct" than most - most people call them the Silent Drill "Team," but the Marine Corps knows them as the SD Platoon.

Unless they've changed the recruitment criteria, the marchers are certainly all "boys" (to me, too). They recruited us directly from Infantry Training School (now the School of Infantry), which we attend right after boot camp. So everyone there is 18-20, probably. SDP selects marchers from the other platoons, and while guys like me were only assigned there 2 years, then sent to the fleet, the SDP guys had the option to stay longer.

Hot: I remember doing funeral ceremonies at Arlington and it being so hot that you would sweat through the wool blouse and turn your white belt a sickly shade of yellow. In the winter you got snot running down your face and over your chin, then freezing, so pick your poison . Of course, that's nothing compared to what "real" Marines were doing out in the fleet - or later, in the desert. But complaining is good for the soul, right?

One of those winter ceremonies in '87 was when we buried Colonel Gregory "Pappy" Boyington, Medal of Honor winner and former Commanding Officer of the "Black Sheep Squadron." Still remember it to this day.

Coupla pics, some from back in the day, some from our recent reunions. The headstone at Arlington belongs to Rene Gagnon, one of the Iwo Jima flag raisers. Also took a photo of my buddy Dave (not sure why it's black and white) talking to retired Colonel John Ripley, who won a Navy Cross in Vietnam for swinging hand over hand underneath the Dong Ha bridge while under fire, so he could wire it with explosives before a North Vietnamese tank division could cross.

I wish I knew who the old salty Marine was that graciously allowed us to have a group photo with him. He had so many Purple Hearts that he was lucky to still be above ground.

 

[Ol'Blue]

That is quite the stack or metals right there.....

I have 12 medals but that is very impressive. The Combat "V" really says something about a man. It is not something that is given easy or very often at all.

Blue

 

[Planetölogy]