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I had started a thread on the history of naval parades done ashore (i.e. not divisions done aboard a ship) in the navy forums. My purpose was to find out what the RCN and MARCOM thought was a parade. I have been subjected to two extrenes: fancy ceremonial parades every morning in sea cadet training centres and lame boring parades for a once-in-a-lifetime gradutation from NETPO.
I've read the SC manual of drill and ceremonial which dictates a ceremonial divisions complete with a march past (totally different conception from the shipboard ceremonial divisions) and it is completely different from the CF ceremonial manual's directions on parade and march past formats.
The SC ceremonial manual's justification for the difference (and I say 'justification' because the manual is subordinate to the CF one) is, by my reading of the intro paragraphs, that this format is taken from the RCN/RN format.
So, I checked an old (1953) RN manual of parade drill to see the original parade format. It turned out that the RN drill in 1953 was more similar to the CF drill of 2006 than the SC drill was to either (in terms of parade format). As I have not found any other RN/RCN manuals of drill, I cannot say that the SC manual has no basis. But it would surprise me to find that march past traditions were so drastically changed in different years of the RCN/RN's history (given that the march past has not changed all that much between 1953 and 2006).
I should note here that the RCN/RN manual follows army format with changes in names of command/2i/c positions (e.g. "MWO" to "Coy CPO"). It would seem sensible that naval battallion drill followed the army format; all tactics for land fighting should tend towards similarity.
I see many discrepancies (little ones like this, not obviously necessary ones) between sea cadets and the navy. Surely sea cadets have no reason to follow their own separate traditions if one of their aims is to foster interest in MARCOM. That is to say, in simple matters such as parade format, it seems sea cadets ought do it the navy way.
The closest thing to a SC march past that I have found in the CF manual of drill and ceremonial is the march past for the Sunset Ceremony, which is based on naval battallion drills. Can someone find me a reference to a naval battallion drill that justifies the SC march past?
(Secondly, there is also the issue that I have never seen a SC unit (SCSTC/LHQ) conduct a parade by their own book. But that is only an issue if we can prove the historical basis for the SC parade.)
PS. It seems that I have used the words 'parade' and 'march past' nearly interchangeably. I mean that the entire SC parade format is not exactly matching the RCN/CF format, and that the march past hasthe greatest discrepancy.
I've read the SC manual of drill and ceremonial which dictates a ceremonial divisions complete with a march past (totally different conception from the shipboard ceremonial divisions) and it is completely different from the CF ceremonial manual's directions on parade and march past formats.
The SC ceremonial manual's justification for the difference (and I say 'justification' because the manual is subordinate to the CF one) is, by my reading of the intro paragraphs, that this format is taken from the RCN/RN format.
So, I checked an old (1953) RN manual of parade drill to see the original parade format. It turned out that the RN drill in 1953 was more similar to the CF drill of 2006 than the SC drill was to either (in terms of parade format). As I have not found any other RN/RCN manuals of drill, I cannot say that the SC manual has no basis. But it would surprise me to find that march past traditions were so drastically changed in different years of the RCN/RN's history (given that the march past has not changed all that much between 1953 and 2006).
I should note here that the RCN/RN manual follows army format with changes in names of command/2i/c positions (e.g. "MWO" to "Coy CPO"). It would seem sensible that naval battallion drill followed the army format; all tactics for land fighting should tend towards similarity.
I see many discrepancies (little ones like this, not obviously necessary ones) between sea cadets and the navy. Surely sea cadets have no reason to follow their own separate traditions if one of their aims is to foster interest in MARCOM. That is to say, in simple matters such as parade format, it seems sea cadets ought do it the navy way.
The closest thing to a SC march past that I have found in the CF manual of drill and ceremonial is the march past for the Sunset Ceremony, which is based on naval battallion drills. Can someone find me a reference to a naval battallion drill that justifies the SC march past?
(Secondly, there is also the issue that I have never seen a SC unit (SCSTC/LHQ) conduct a parade by their own book. But that is only an issue if we can prove the historical basis for the SC parade.)
PS. It seems that I have used the words 'parade' and 'march past' nearly interchangeably. I mean that the entire SC parade format is not exactly matching the RCN/CF format, and that the march past hasthe greatest discrepancy.