FREE – Fall-In Procedures for Regulation Drill

Judging starts from the moment you can be seen! The purpose of these procedures is to maximize your first impression and to create the idea that your team is highly-practiced and extremely detail-oriented. The goal of this process is to push into the top scoring categories before you even start the scored part of the competition. 

Will these procedures win you the competition?  Probably not by themselves, no.  This strategy is about pushing to the top of your competitive “tier.”  It won’t move you from 10th place to 1st place but it could very well take you from outside the top 5 to within it if performed AND timed correctly!  

Approaching the Gate

1. Wait until the team before you in the line up is marching into the drill area.
   • Ideally, the team should be marching up to the edge of the drill floor as the other team is beginning to report-in. 
2. March to the edge of the gate/entry in a column of twos.
   • Automatically begin marking time.
   • Give the command “Platoon/Flight, HALT.”
   • Give the command “Parade, REST.”
3. Have the Prep Team (Parents, Team Managers, Cadet Helpers) QUIETLY work on the team.
   • Fix hair.
   • Straighten uniform items.
   • Re-tie shoe laces.
   • Perform any additional last-minute checks.

The goal of this approach is to draw attention to what your team is doing WITHOUT being disrespectful to the team that is preforming before you. You want the team to be on the edge of the judge’s perception and be a comparison to what they are seeing vs. what the your team is doing. 

Fall-In Procedures 

1. There are two factors that affect when the team should begin moving into the gate area.
   1. If the entry and exit gates are the SAME…
      1. If the team before you exits the floor and does not immediately begin to purposefully move out of the gate (meaning they are just lallygagging and not doing something like waiting for feedback from the judges), have the Cadet Commander give the command “Platoon/Flight, ATTENTION” in the best command voice they have. The team should execute the sharpest and most aggressive Attention from Parade Rest possible. Then, wait for the Head Judge to finish grading the previous team.
         • The goal is to take command and control of the area by prompting the other team to exit the area. 
      2. If the team DOES move out of the gate in a timely manner, wait for the Head Judge to be done grading the previous team.  You’ll know they are finished when they begin looking for their scoresheet runner or otherwise clearly turn their attention from their scoring device.
   2. If the entry and exit gate are NOT the same…
      1. Wait for the Head Judge to be done grading the previous team.
2. Once the Head Judge has completed scoring the previous team, have the Cadet Commander call the team to Attention (if they aren’t already there) and give the command “Post”.
   1. The First Squad/Element Leader or Guidon will smartly march to the top corner of the gate, execute an About Face, sharply look down, make any necessarily adjustments to position themselves perfectly at the corner of the floor without stepping onto it, take 6 steps forward, execute another About Face, repeat the process of adjusting to an exact position above, and then go to Dress Right Dress.
      • If the team is armed then they must go to Port Arms before stepping off and then go to Order Arms once they halt at the top corner of the gate. Drillers may never execute facing movements while at any position other than Order Arms or Sling Arms. 
   2. At the command “Fall-In” the rest of the platoon/flight marches, WITHOUT PIVOTING, to their spot in the formation.
      • First Squad/Element members will automatically go to Dress Right Dress and obtain proper alignment and interval.
        • When each member has finished adjusting, they will put their head forward and wait for the subsequent member to put their head forward before putting their arm down.
      • The rest of the Squad/Element members will automatically look to the right and obtain alignment, and then look forward and cover (DO NOT put your arm up).
        • This should all occur is sequential order from the Squad/Element Leaders across the Platoon/Flight.
      • If the team is armed then they must go to Port Arms before stepping off and then go to Order Arms once they halt at the top corner of the gate. Drillers may never execute facing movements while at any position other than Order Arms or Sling Arms. 
   3. Once this is completed the Cadet Commander will give the command “Parade, REST.”
3. The Cadet Commander will then march the edge of the drill area and face toward wherever the Head Judge is standing and wait for them to approach.

Interacting with the Head Judge

The Cadet Commander marching to the edge of the drill area should indicate to the Head Judge that they are prepared and expecting to be briefed. The entire purpose of this process is to create a moment to interact with judge in a professional and organized manner. 

• When the Head Judge approaches greet them (in a loud speaking tone) with the greeting of the day, the Cadet Commanders last name, the school name, and the city, state.
  • “Good [Morning/Afternoon/Evening, [Sir/Ma’am], Cadet [Last Name], from [School Name] in [City, State].
  • You may already know the Head Judge’s rank but address them as Sir or Ma’am unless they specifically instruct you otherwise. 
  • If the judge asks how the cadet is doing please choose something to say other than, “Outstanding!”. Look up a synonymous word before hand. Doing this will set the Cadet Commander apart from the other Cadet Commanders that they may have interacted with that day. 
• When asked, “Do you have any questions?” make sure to have a question!
  • We like, “How would you prefer to be addressed during report-in and report-out”. 
  • If the judge tends to be on the more prickly side and makes you address them by their rank from the start, a good secondary question is, “Do you have any special instructions for my team today?”
  • Go and observe the lay out of the meet and the judges before you compete. There could be something that actually calls for the Cadet Commander to ask a question. This is TOTALLY acceptable.
• Once the judge tells the Cadet Commander how to address them, then answer with “Yes/Aye Aye, [Rank]!” and then return to the position front and center on the unit, call the team to Attention, and then face and/or look over to where the Head Judge is positioned to wait for their affirmative to start. 

At no point during this interaction should the Cadet Commander break character.

• If the Head Judge asks them to lower their voice then they should comply but still speak in an assertive manner.
• If the Head Judge asks them to relax they should simply go to parade rest and return to attention any time they are speaking with the judge. 

Important Fall-In Notes

• If this procedure is properly executed, then the Cadet Commander will be moving to the edge of the floor as the Head Judge is approaching.
• This procedure SHOULD NOT make the judges stand around and wait for you.
• The Cadet Commander should practice taking a clipboard and signing their name so that they aren’t shaking and unprepared when they have to do it in a competition setting.
• Practice with different judging personalities:
  • Loud and aggressive
  • Soft spoken and relaxed
  • Male
  • Female
  • Slow speaking
  • Quick speaking
  • Etc.