Armed Drill Team

Brief Description of the M14 Service Rifle
Competitions that attended the Armed Drill Team
Pictures of the Armed Drill Team

The Armed Drill Team consist mainly of male cadets, due to the strenght needed to handle the M14 Service Rifle. There has been an ocassion in which the Armed Drill Team had three female cadets.

The Armed Drill Team consists of 14 members plus the Team Commander and a couple of alternates.

M14 Service Rifle

The U.S. Rifle, 7.62 MM., M14, is a gas operated, magazine-fed, air cooled, shoulder weapon. When the M14 is issued it is equipped to fire either semiautomatically or automatically by removing the selector lock and replacing ot with a selector and selector spring. There is a stud on the rear of the flash suppressor to accomodate the bayonet or a grenade launcher. The M14 Service Rifle is no longer use for combat, in the Marine Corps, but it is used for ceremonies and drill. Important characteristics of the M14 Rifle are:

Weight (approximate)

Rifle(w/full magazine and cleaning equipment) 11¼ lbs.
Magazine ½ lbs.
Full magazine(w/ball ammunition) 1½ lbs.
Cleaning Gear 2/3 lbs.
Lenght (approximate)
Overall, without bayonet 44 1/8 in.
Barrel 22 in.

Muzzle Velocity 2,800 feet per second
Chamber Pressure 50,000 pounds per square inch
Cyclic Rate of Fire 700-750 rounds per square inch
Maximum Range 3,725 Meters
Maximum Effective Range 460 Meters
Maximum Effective Rate
Semiautomatic 40
Automatic 60
Maximum Range 3,725 Meters
Maximum Effective Range 460 Meters
Competitions

Not every JROTC program in the United States is fortunate to go compete at the national level, and not all the participating high school receive a winning throphy, but one particular school from Laredo, Texas brought home more that they had anticipated. The United South Marine Corps JROTC left Daytona Beach, Florida with the national championship, making them number one in the country.

To accomplish such a feat is not very easy, yet the cadets seemed to have found the courage and strength in order to demonstrate their full potential. Last year,1998, United South competed in Florida for the first time, never having gone to a national meet before, and it was only the program's second year. However, it was the first year the armed drill teams had ever competed in any competition. Throughout the 97-98 school year, the cadets had been accepted to the most prestigious drill meet in the nation.

United South had won third place, which was a surprise to the cadets and the school they represented, for they had not expected to score so high in their drill. Their outstanding display of military discipline helped them overcome the toughness of their competitions and it was no different when they returned to Daytona with one goal; to win the national championship.

Better prepared and more determined than ever, the Marine cadets performed their best at nationals the second time around in the challenger's division. In the end, their best was all they needed to earn the title of national champions with five trophies in all.

The following link provides information on the results from the National Competition in 1999 at Daytona Beach, Florida:

This is a page of the Official WebSite of the National Competition
United South ROTC takes national drill title
MCJROTC gets 1st at WBCA Youth Parade
MCJROTC during the Veteran's Parade(picture)
These are links to other sites about the Drill Team:
Pictures of the Armed Drill