When I first heard about SCIDM from the POCs who previously were on drill team, I was pretty skeptical about how amazing it could be. It was not until about two hours into the 18-hour van ride that I realized they were right. Even though it was really early in the morning and people were half awake, jokes started to crack and personalities revealed themselves. I was able to have conversations with people on the team outside of ROTC where it was easy to be relaxed and be ourselves. Slowly, inside jokes were formed and friendships were built that would continue throughout the rest of the trip.

The actual SCIDM competition itself lasted a few short moments, but those moments were very memorable. All the early morning and evening practices lead up to that one day. I felt extremely proud seeing my team perform, especially during the exhibition phase. Nobody dropped any rifles and the uniformity of the butt-stocks pounding on the ground represented how we all became such a close unit over the course of less than five months. It was as if we all had the same metronome going on inside our heads. The sense of camaraderie was present and we gave all our efforts into those few short minutes.

Even though the Full Armed Flight did not bring back any awards, we walked away from the trip better cadets. We as a team got to experience what it was like being yelled at by Marine drill inspectors while keeping our bearing to answer their questions. We all worked together to prep each others’ uniforms, and we all helped our teammates learn warrior knowledge. As for myself, I came back a better cadet because of the experience I gained in just one weekend. I now know how to shine my shoes effectively, act under pressure, and know when and how to support my fellow cadets. I also became better friends with my teammates and learned a lot of information about ROTC. I learned about college in general from my commanders, whom I gained a lot more respect for. I felt like we all went as a group of cadets going to SCIDM and came back as a strong, solid team.