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USAF Drill Team visits Cannon

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Stephanie Strine
  • 27th Special Operations Wing Public Affairs
CANNON AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  The United States Air Force Honor Guard Drill Team, the traveling component of the USAF Honor Guard, performed Wednesday for a crowd of approximately 50 people at the base fitness center.

They expertly marched while tossing and catching their 11-pound wooden-stocked M1 Garand rifles as if they were weightless.

The precision drill performance was a professionally choreographed sequence of weapons maneuvers, including precise tosses and complex weapon exchanges among members of the team. Toward the end of the performance, the drill team flight commander, 1st Lt. Chad Frey, walked through a gauntlet of spinning bayonets.

James Laquerre, the Force Support Squadron deputy commander, said the drill team's visit to Cannon is a recruiting tool to get people to understand what the Air Force is about.
Cannon Honor Guard member Airman 1st Class Derrick Palmer of the 27th Special Operations Aircraft Maintenance Squadron said the show was entertaining. He came to support the team, and he was impressed by their maneuvers, which were very elaborate compared to the more "simple stuff" the drill team does here, he said.

Airman 1st Class Stephanie Nevins of the 27th Special Operations Group said she has always enjoyed drill performances, even before she joined the Air Force. She also said she likes to support any events that come to Cannon, where she has been stationed for around one year.

"They have to train so hard for this," she said. "It's crazy."

Airman Nevins added that anyone who has the dedication to join a group like the USAF Drill Team deserves respect.

The team, based at Bolling Air Force Base, Washington, D.C., performs at Air Force bases, civilian events involving the Air Force, and community events around the world. Since 1948 the team has performed in every state and many countries.

Its mission, according to the team's Web site, is to "promote the Air Force mission by showcasing drill performances at public and military venues to recruit, retain and inspire Airmen."

The team supports Air Force recruiting as "the official Ambassadors in Blue."

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