Photo By Keith Hayes | Students from other classes gather around to watch older students get drilled and...... read more read more
Marines from Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, Calif., went back to school in Yermo, not to learn but to teach young students how to march.
Sergeants Jeffrey Xoichicale, supply, and Edward Rojas, career planner, along with Cpl. Kenneth R. Mullins, HQCO training NCO, and Lance Corporals Brendan T. McDowell, communications and Andy R. Molina, mail clerk, imparted their knowledge to about 80 13 and 14-year-old students from Yermo School, May 15.
The Marines had volunteered to teach marching and drilling to the students as part of Yermo School Civil War Days event.
“Many of our students have expressed interest in becoming Marines, and we use Civil War Days as a way to get them interested in history and the military,” said Diana Sandridge, 8th grade teacher and organizer of the event.
“We have the North and South ‘armies’ face off against each other for the day and then we determine who the winner is,” she explained.
“Sometimes the South wins.” On the large flattop area in back of the school, students learned how to form up in platoons, to distance themselves properly from the students around them and how to march in step to commands relayed by their chosen student commander.
The Marines taught the students which foot to step off on, left face, right face, forward march, column left and right, and other commands common to military maneuvers.
By the time the event was half an hour old, students from other grade levels had been released from class to ring the blacktop and watch the older students march.
“I was surprised at how fast they learn,” Sgt. Xochicale said. As the color sergeant he regularly participates in drills. “They responded well to training and instruction and had started to march pretty well after about half an hour.”
“I think young people can benefit from military drill because it teaches them how to stay silent and still so they can listen to the commands,” he concluded.
| Date Taken: | 05.24.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 05.25.2018 16:39 |
| Story ID: | 278513 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS BASE BARSTOW, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 39 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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