CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- More than 1,000 spectators filled the bleachers of the Paige Fieldhouse Football Field here during the Battle Color Ceremony March 15.
The Silent Drill Platoon, the Commandant’s Own Drum and Bugle Corps and the Marine Corps Color Guard make up the Battle Color Detachment. The detachment is based at the historic Marine Barracks in Washington, D.C., the oldest active post in the Marine Corps.
“The Battle Color Detachment strives to motivate, entertain, and inspire Marines and the public with every performance,” said Staff Sgt. Joshua D. Miles, the 29-year-old narrator for the Marine Corps Battle Color Detachment.
“We perform together nearly 50 times per year throughout the United States and abroad,” Miles said.
The detachment featured a variety of musical performances followed by a performance by the Silent Drill Platoon.
A Marines.com site described members of the Silent Drill Platoon as “handpicked to represent the Marine Corps. Through intense practice, they learn to perform precise rifle drill movements flawlessly for audiences across America—without a single verbal command ever being spoken.”
“We have to show the public and the rest of the Marine Corps what we’re all about,” said Lance Cpl. Anthony J. Smith, the 21-year-old rifleman with the Silent Drill Platoon. “I try to portray precision and discipline with every performance.”
The Silent Drill Platoon performed numerous drill sequences and concluded with a one-of-a-kind rifle inspection, which demonstrated more showmanship than function.
Smith, one of the inspected riflemen, said he felt the inspection went very well. Things can go wrong in a split second and marines have to be able to react quickly, and Smith said he has to focus hard every time.
The Battle Color Detachment spends countless hours perfecting drill and musical expertise.
After the ceremony, the audience was welcomed on the field for a meet-and-greet with Marines from the battle color detachment. It wasn’t long after the ceremony until the detachment was back on the road, headed to their next event at the School of Infantry here that afternoon.
For more information visit, community.marines.mil.
Contact Cpl. Trevon S. Peracca at Trevon.Peracca@usmc.mil.