Western Courier

Issue date: 4/18/08 Section: News

Western's ROTC Color Guard has been successful for the second straight year at the Perishing Rifles Invitational Drill competition.

Most athletes at Western Illinois University compete with a ball. However, there are some that use a track, a pool or M1903 Springfield Rifles.

Western's ROTC Color Guard won first place for the second year in a row at the Pershing Rifles Invitational Drill competition at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

"This year took a whole new level of dedication because we (had to follow) the Marine Corps Drill Manual, which, being an Army ROTC, we are not familiar with," said Laura Tabrosky, senior interdisciplinary studies major and leader of the Color Guard. "So this spring was a huge learning experience for all of us."

Students who have attended sporting events at Western or who participated in the mock election might recognize the Color Guard as the students who present the colors, or flags.

"Our typical practice started off by practicing for sporting events or any WIU events we had coming up," Tabrosky said. "As the year progressed, game seasons ended and we practiced solely for competition."

Competing alongside Tabrosky were Megan Breen, sophomore finance major; Steve Berry, junior computer science major; Daniel Davis, senior Board of Trustees Bachelor of Arts major; James Nardelli, senior business major; Jessica Donnelly, freshman social work major; Jessica Harris, freshman law enforcement and justice administration major; and Kelly Ward, sophomore LEJA major. They were coached by Master Sgt. Levi Carcamo.

At the Pershing Rifles Invitation Drill competition, this group of eight took part in three categories: inspection, squad basic drill and Color Guard. During the inspection, noncommissioned officers from the Marine Corps judged members on their personal appearance, weapons' appearance and general military knowledge.

The other two categories - squad basic drill and Color Guard - involved intricately choreographed maneuvers involving marching and handling of their rifles.

"We were judged on factors such as correct movements and how sharp our movements were. We could have been penalized for things such as excessive movements, poor communication or stepping outside the boundaries of our 50-foot drill floor," Tabrosky said.

Even though the guard won first prize at the competition, the group does not have much time to rest. Its next assignment will be at the annual ROTC ball Saturday. Despite the busy schedule, Tabrosky enjoys being part of the guard.

"I'd be lying if I didn't say winning the state competition this year and last year (weren't my most memorable moments with the ROTC), but really, there were a lot of memorable moments, because we have a great team and it's a lot of fun," Tabrosky said.

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