Jul. 4, 2007 - Left, Right, Left!
They say that in order to truly understand a man, you must walk a mile in his moccasins…or in this case, army boots.
This morning was an education for this civilian. Tomorrow is the Change of Command Parade for our Wing Commander, and today was the practice. We started at 8:00 and finished at approximately 10:30. The temperature was not unduly high, but it was warm at 22 degrees, particularly when standing on the tarmac for an extended period of time. We welcomed the cooling of the breeze as it blew quite steadily throughout the morning. Tomorrow it is to be 29 degrees, and thankfully we are wearing short sleeves with no tunic.
The education came for me in learning to march. It looks really easy, doesn’t it? Well, it is quite easy, but one does have to know the rules. My husband was late for the practice, but when he arrived he stood in the centre file, beside me, and he let me know as we went if I needed to shape up my step or my arm swing. I must admit that I found that a little annoying, but in the long term I was grateful for his help so that tomorrow I will be able to do things properly, and not stick out and make the band look bad. There will be a few civilians on parade tomorrow, but the others have done this before, so I’m the only rookie. We wear a uniform without rank (the same as a brand new private wears) so we can’t hide behind the excuse of “I’m a civilian” because no one can tell that we are.
Not that I’d want to, mind you. There is a responsibility when one wears the uniform of an organization. When I don my uniform, even though it is only as a band member, it is the uniform of the Canadian Air Force, and so when I wear it I am representing the Canadian Air Force, and by extension, Queen and Country. This being the case, it is important that I follow the rules, which has been a little frustrating so far since I didn’t attend any boot camp in which to learn the rules, but am left learning them as I go along. This morning was an experience in which I learned several things, namely:
1. The basics – how to halt, right face, fall out, quick march (the first step is crucial!), mark time, left/right wheel. (Yes, as the shortest one in the group I was on the OUTSIDE of the wheel most of the time. Nice. For those unfamiliar with military terms, the wheel is when the outside take really big steps and the inside take really little steps so that everyone ends up turning a corner. See Heather March. See Heather STRIDE! The inside is much easier for us short people.)
2. I learned that one has to pay attention to feet and arms while marching, in addition to making sure you are in line both with the guy in front of you and the guy beside you. This sounds easy enough, but when you have to stare straight ahead it is easy to get out of line with those beside you. Trust me on this one. My dear trumpet player, who happened to be marching next to me this morning, let me know when I was out of line with him. J
3. Add to all of that playing an instrument! Now I am to focus on the music - music that is jiggling as I walk, mind you! - but still have to see that I’m in line with those in front and beside me. Yikes!
4. And all this while marching in time! Normally, keeping time is not a problem for me. But with the different strides of those in the group, I found the time-keeping to be less than natural.
If there is any military member reading this, please don’t laugh too hard at my ineptitude. Think back to your very first parade practice and have pity on a poor civilian being thrown onto the parade square with no instructions or training. Fortunately, everyone around me knows what they’re doing, so as long as I keep alert and follow the others I should be fine.
The main point of this crazy little post is not actually about the nitty-gritty details of marching on parade. What I have come to realize is the three-fold benefit of being in the Wing Band. Of course, I love the band and playing in it has given my husband and me a fun thing to do every week, with lots of performances and events to play at. It has given me contact with people outside my church – something that can be quite difficult for a homeschool mother to find, especially one like me who does not like a lot of extra-curricular activities in her life. And the third benefit is that through doing something I love I can support an organization I believe in. For 19 years I have been a military wife – and for 4 before that I was a military girlfriend/fiancé. This is not new to me. I have always supported my husband in his work, and the armed forces in general. I believe in the necessity of the military and I am grateful for those willing to do their part in it.
But playing in the band has made that support a little more practical. It has been a privilege to be places that normally a civilian would not be able to be. Places such as the welcoming of visiting ambassadors and seeing the presentation of medals to those who served in the first Gulf War. So tomorrow I will wear the uniform and do my best to follow the rules. And being in the band, I’ll have fun doing so. ;-)
