Three Trophies to Air Force ROTC at SCIDM

Posted on March 4, 2015 by Cherie

The Air Force ROTC Honor Corps of Det 028 at Embry Riddle Prescott Az has proudly returned from the Southern Invitational Drill meet with three trophies!!!!! Our teams performed excellently this year and we are more than happy to be returning victorious.

For some who may not know what SCIDM is, it is a drill competition for both senior and junior level ROTC detachments in the nation. The competition celebrated its 50th year on Feb 28th with competition teams as far away as Washington and Utah. From Prescott, AZ it takes about 7 hours to make the trip into Redondo Beach and compete but, it is well worth it. The teams, Rifle, Sabre, and Honor Guard, spend about 10 hours a week perfecting each performance. We are known as one of best Corps in Northern Arizona and we are very proud of it as we put in large amounts of work every week.

If you are interested in joining AFROTC please consider joining a team on the Honor Corps. If you have any questions please let me know I am more than capable of answering them.

The Sabre Drill Team!

Posted on February 3, 2015 by Shivam

It has been said that the friends you make in College are the ones you will keep forever. I strongly believe in this quote. Here at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, I have made many friends that impact me both personally and academically. From spending countless amount of hours together in class to hanging out on weekends, these people make me a better student and a better person.

From being involved in Air Force ROTC, Silver Wings, ASIS International, Eagle Eye, Cyber Eye, to working in Admissions, I have met many people who I will keep in touch with throughout my life. Everyone here at Embry-Riddle is motivated and has the same drive that you do, and that is what makes these friendships unique. One of the most important groups is the Sabre Drill Team.

Being a member of Air Force ROTC, I have also chosen to participate in Honor Corps. Within Honor Corps, I have been the Commander and a successful member of the Sabre Drill Team. The friends I have made while being a part of the Sabre Drill Team, are those types of friends that I will keep forever. With this particular group of people, going on monthly hikes is something we all love to do. Aside from mentoring the underclassman, as an Alumni of the team, I get to hang out with them outside practice and ROTC. Another reason why I will keep these friends forever, is because they have been able to help me academically as well. Sometimes all you need is a study session with your friends to get things going!

Hiking in the Granite Dells near Watson Lake and Willow Lake is perhaps the best way to hang out and bond with friends. Even if you aren’t an outdoor person, you will learn to embrace Prescott’s beauty! My best memory with the team was when we initiated new members. We took a large group of people out to the Dells and ended the gorgeous hike with the afternoon sunset and a presentation of the swords.

Veterans Day Vigil by ROTC!

Posted on November 19, 2014 by Shivam

Veterans Day is a very important day for many students here at Embry-Riddle. Not only does it help students remember sacrifices given by our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines, but it also helps many of the veterans on campus reflect back to their time serving our nation. Embry-Riddle has a large Veterans population on campus and has also been named a Top Military-Friendly University for the fifth straight year.

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The Air Force ROTC Honor Corps of Detachment 028 does something special every year for Veterans Day here in Prescott, Arizona. Honor Corps is comprised of three teams; Rifle Drill Team, Sabre Drill Team, and the Honor Guard. These three teams get together 24 hours before the Veterans Day Parade and stand guard at the Northern Arizona Veterans Affairs Center in Prescott. Being home to one of the largest VA Centers in the nation, the Northern Arizona Veterans Affairs significantly helps the Air Force ROTC community for Vigil. This 24 hour event is called Vigil. The first picture in this blog was taken by me at around 4:00 am. This goes to show the commitment and the courage of the Cadets that volunteer for this self-less event.

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Being an Alumni of the Sabre Drill Team, this year was no different. I started doing this about three years ago, and it was one of the best experiences of my life. Starting at 10 am on Monday, November 10th, our Cadets held one hour shifts to guard the flag pole at the VA Center. The flag was guarded non-stop for 24 straight hours by around 30 cadets, taking multiple 4 man shifts. The Vigil ended at 10 am on Tuesday prior to the Prescott Downtown Veterans Day Parade. By doing this, personally, I have learned quite a bit about myself and what it means to be a future officer in the Air Force. When not on a shift, cadets are usually inside a building, with tons of food, either bonding with each other or spending time getting our homework done. At Embry-Riddle one thing is for sure, as our Colonel always says, “Student First, Cadet Second!”

SCIDM- Honor Corps

Posted on March 1, 2013 by Cherie

Hey there I just got back from a cool competition that Air Force ROTC Honor Corps does every year and I just thought I’d tell you a little about it. First off though I’ve got to tell you about the teams in Honor Corps, there are three: Honor Guard, Rifle Drill, and Sabre drill.

I am a member of the Honor Guard and we basically post and retrieve flags as well as doing other events for football games and flag retiring. Honor Guard has the most variety of all the teams and it is also the one that pay most attention to detail, if you plan on being in Air Force ROTC and you want your uniform to be perfect then please join Honor Guard!! Guard is a lot of work between uniforms and performances but it is very rewarding as all we do honors those who came before us in all branches of the military. For example, each year Guard performs a 24 hour vigil for veteran’s day along with the two other teams. Vigil takes a lot of training, time, and dedication but, it is an entirely rewarding experience as it allows you to experience a fraction of the sacrifice that our veteran’s experienced while serving our country.

The Rifle drill team spins (and occasionally breaks) rifles in variations of four to ten man performances. Rifle team is definitely the more rambunctious of the groups in Honor Corps, but they put on an incredible performance which personally I could never do. They of course, also help with vigil and perform at SCIDM every year. If you get the chance to come by Riddle one of these days you can see rifle and the other teams practicing in the lower fields. Practices are exceedingly interesting to watch and we invite you to stop by and check out the teams. You might be lucky enough and get to learn a few moves with the rifle (it’s a fake one by the way so no worries). If you enjoy it then we definitely encourage you to join one of the teams.

Sabre team is the last team, they are the smallest of all the teams in Honor Corps but, they are pretty epic too. I honestly don’t think I could toss a sharpened sabre around all day and hope that my partner catches it properly. It takes a lot of courage and skill to do something like that in my opinion. Despite how dangerous it sounds almost no one ever gets injured so don’t fear grab a sabre and try it out, they are a lot lighter than the rifles that Rifle and Guard have to carry so if you don’t want to be holding a lot of weight Sabre is perfect for you!! Their performances are also quite impressive, and they performed incredibly at SCIDM.

That’s all I’ve got for now but if you want to see some of our performances please feel free to look at the links below!!

Ten man Rifle Drill Team at SCIDM

Honor Guard Recruitment Video

Sabre Team