05-07-2011, 02:01 AM
Just a personal observation here.
I remember my father (an ex-regular senior NCO in the Royal Engineers) once telling me the purpose of drill and why he was in favour of it (well, he would, wouldn't he?) He said that it made a soldier familiar with his weapons, in particular how they would behave under different conditions, distribution of weight, etc. It also created an esprit-de-corps - all troops moving together as one body as well as a habit of obeying orders. You were told to advance, that's what you did, no stopping for a discussion!
If they were anything, the Romans were professional in their military. They had found a system that worked and that had won them an enormous empire. Of course they used drill!
Mike Thomas
I remember my father (an ex-regular senior NCO in the Royal Engineers) once telling me the purpose of drill and why he was in favour of it (well, he would, wouldn't he?) He said that it made a soldier familiar with his weapons, in particular how they would behave under different conditions, distribution of weight, etc. It also created an esprit-de-corps - all troops moving together as one body as well as a habit of obeying orders. You were told to advance, that's what you did, no stopping for a discussion!
If they were anything, the Romans were professional in their military. They had found a system that worked and that had won them an enormous empire. Of course they used drill!
Mike Thomas
visne scire quod credam? credo orbes volantes exstare.
