Royal Army College

Lesson Overview

The drill taught so far has been foot drill, the soldier and the squad moving without arms. But much ceremonial is performed with the rifle in hand, and the drill of the weapon, arms drill, is a distinct skill the soldier must learn: the controlled, precise handling of the rifle on words of command, by which a body of soldiers moves their weapons as one. The earlier lessons built foot drill and the compliments and occasions that rest on it; this lesson teaches arms drill, the ceremonial handling of the rifle that completes a soldier's drill and is required for the present arms of the compliment, the guard of honour, and the great ceremonial occasions. It matters because arms drill is part of full ceremonial, because the present arms a soldier renders as the highest compliment and the guard of honour's salute are arms drill, and because handling the weapon precisely and as one, on command, is a demanding test of the discipline and timing that drill builds, with the added gravity that the thing being handled is a weapon. As with the foot drill of this course, this is the knowledge layer: the movements themselves are physical skills built on the square under a drill instructor and certified in person, and the weapon is handled throughout with the safety discipline the weapon-handling course demands. This lesson teaches what arms drill is and why it is done, the principles that govern it, and the chief movements and their meaning, so that when a soldier takes a rifle onto the square they already understand what they are building.

The lesson takes arms drill in three parts. First, what arms drill is and why it matters: that arms drill is the ceremonial drill of the rifle, distinct from foot drill, required for the present arms of the compliment and the guard of honour and the great occasions, and a demanding test of discipline because the thing handled is a weapon moved as one on command. Second, the principles of arms drill: that it is governed by the same precision, timing, and word-of-command discipline as foot drill, with the added, overriding discipline of weapon safety, so that arms drill is precise, simultaneous, and safe throughout. Third, the chief arms-drill movements and their meaning: the principal positions and movements of the rifle in ceremonial, above all the present arms by which the highest compliment is paid, described so the soldier knows the shape and purpose of each. Throughout, the lesson holds that arms drill completes a soldier's ceremonial drill, that it is the same drill discipline applied to the weapon under the overriding rule of safety, and that the present arms it teaches is the ceremonial act at the heart of the compliment and the guard of honour.

By the end you will be able to explain what arms drill is, how it differs from foot drill, and why it matters to ceremonial; explain the principles that govern arms drill, including the precision, timing, and word-of-command discipline of all drill and the overriding discipline of weapon safety; describe the chief arms-drill movements and their meaning, above all the present arms; explain why arms drill is a demanding test of discipline; and approach the building of arms drill on the square understanding what each movement is for.

Key Terms

Arms drill: the ceremonial drill of the rifle, the controlled, precise handling of the weapon on words of command, by which a body of soldiers moves their weapons as one; distinct from foot drill.
Foot drill and arms drill: the two parts of a soldier's drill, foot drill performed without arms (the earlier lessons) and arms drill performed with the rifle (this lesson), the second built on the first.
Present arms: the highest compliment paid in drill, the ceremonial salute with the rifle, by which a soldier or body honours the Sovereign, the Colours, and the most distinguished occasions.
The position of attention with arms: the basic position of the soldier at attention holding the rifle, from which the arms-drill movements begin and to which they return.
The arms-drill movements: the principal ceremonial positions and movements of the rifle (such as the shoulder, the order, the present), each performed precisely and on command.
Simultaneity: the requirement that a body perform each arms-drill movement together as one, on the same word of command, so the weapons move as a single action.
Timing in arms drill: the standard pauses and counts that govern arms-drill movements, by which the body moves together and the movement is performed crisply and as one.
Weapon safety in drill: the overriding discipline, carried from weapon handling, that the rifle is handled safely throughout arms drill, the cardinal weapon rules never set aside for ceremonial.
The weapon handled as one: the demanding standard of arms drill, a body of soldiers moving their weapons in perfect unison, a sharper test than foot drill because the weapon is heavier to move precisely and must be safe.
The knowledge layer: the understanding taught here (what the movements are, why, and the principles), as distinct from the physical skill built and certified on the square under a drill instructor.

What arms drill is, and why it matters

The lesson begins by naming a part of drill the course has not yet taught. The foot drill of the earlier lessons, the positions at the halt, the marching, the turns, the movements of the squad, was performed without arms, the soldier and the body moving their bodies alone. But much ceremonial is performed with the rifle in hand, and the drill of the weapon is its own skill: arms drill, the controlled, precise handling of the rifle on words of command, by which a body of soldiers moves their weapons as one. Arms drill is distinct from foot drill, built upon it but adding the handling of the weapon, and a soldier's drill is not complete until they can perform arms drill as well as foot drill. To take a full part in ceremonial, the soldier must master both: the movement of the body that foot drill teaches, and the handling of the weapon that arms drill teaches.

Arms drill matters for several reasons the soldier should hold. It is part of full ceremonial: many ceremonial occasions are performed with arms, and a soldier or body without arms drill cannot take a full part in them. It is required for the compliments and occasions the course has already touched: the present arms, the highest compliment paid in drill, is an arms-drill movement, so the soldier who renders the present as the supreme mark of respect to the Sovereign or the Colours, as the compliments lesson named, is performing arms drill; and the guard of honour, drill raised to its highest standard, salutes with the present arms and is performed throughout with the weapon, as the guards-of-honour lesson described. So arms drill is not a separate curiosity but the means by which the most important compliments and the most demanding ceremonial occasions are performed. And it matters as a test of discipline: handling the weapon precisely and as one, on command, is a demanding test of the discipline, timing, and unison that drill builds, sharper in some ways than foot drill, because the weapon is heavier and more awkward to move with precision, must be moved by the whole body in perfect unison to look as one, and carries the added gravity that the thing being handled is a weapon, which must be handled safely throughout. A body that can perform arms drill well has reached a high standard of the collective discipline drill exists to build. So arms drill completes a soldier's ceremonial drill, is required for the present arms of the compliment and the guard of honour and the great occasions, and is a demanding expression of the discipline this whole course teaches, which is why the soldier learns it as the natural next step beyond foot drill.

   WHAT ARMS DRILL IS + WHY IT MATTERS

   FOOT DRILL (earlier lessons) = moving the BODY, without arms.
   ARMS DRILL (this lesson) = the ceremonial drill of the RIFLE -- precise
   handling of the weapon on words of command, the body moving its
   weapons AS ONE. distinct from foot drill, BUILT on it.
   a soldier's drill isn't complete until BOTH are mastered.

   WHY IT MATTERS:
     part of FULL CEREMONIAL (much ceremonial is performed with arms)
     required for PRESENT ARMS (the highest compliment, L04) + the GUARD
        OF HONOUR (which salutes with the present, L07)
     a demanding TEST OF DISCIPLINE -- the weapon is heavier + awkward to
        move precisely, must move in perfect UNISON, and is a WEAPON that
        must be handled SAFELY throughout
   -> arms drill completes ceremonial drill + expresses the collective
      discipline of the whole course at a high standard.

The principles of arms drill

Arms drill is governed by the same principles as foot drill, with one added and overriding discipline, and understanding the principles is the key to the movements. The first principle is precision: every arms-drill movement is performed exactly, to a set standard, the rifle brought to a precise position by a precise path, with no slackness or approximation, exactly as foot drill demands precision of the body. An arms-drill movement done loosely or imprecisely is as much a fault as a sloppy foot-drill movement, and the standard is the same exacting one the whole course holds. The second principle is timing and simultaneity: arms-drill movements are governed by standard pauses and counts, and performed by a body together as one, on the same word of command, so the weapons move as a single action. The whole effect of arms drill, like foot drill, depends on the body moving as one: a present arms in which the rifles come up together, in perfect unison, to the same position at the same instant is the mark of a well-drilled body, while one in which the weapons move raggedly is the mark of a poor one. The timing, the counts and pauses learned on the square, is what produces that unison. The third principle is the word of command: arms drill, like all drill, is performed on words of command, the cautionary and executive parts governing when each movement begins, so the body acts together on the command, as the foundations and earlier lessons taught for foot drill.

The fourth principle is the one added for arms drill and it overrides all the rest: weapon safety. The thing being handled in arms drill is a weapon, and the cardinal weapon-safety discipline taught in the weapon-handling course is never set aside for ceremonial. The weapon is handled safely throughout arms drill: it is treated with the respect and safety any weapon demands, the cardinal rules of weapon handling, never pointing the weapon at anyone, keeping the handling safe, observed even as the movements are performed for ceremonial effect, and ceremonial weapons are prepared and confirmed safe as the occasion and regulations require. Arms drill is never an excuse to handle a weapon carelessly; on the contrary, it demands the highest standard of controlled, safe weapon handling, performed with precision and for show but always safely. This overriding discipline of safety is what distinguishes arms drill from foot drill most sharply: foot drill handles only the body, while arms drill handles a weapon, and the weapon's safety governs throughout. So arms drill is performed by the same precision, timing and simultaneity, and word-of-command discipline as foot drill, under the overriding discipline of weapon safety, and a body performing arms drill well is one that moves its weapons precisely, as one, on command, and safely. These principles govern every movement the next section describes, and the soldier holds them as the foundation of all arms drill: precise, simultaneous, commanded, and above all safe.

   THE PRINCIPLES OF ARMS DRILL

   the same principles as foot drill --
     PRECISION ...... every movement exact, to a set standard, by a
        precise path; no slackness (a loose movement is a fault)
     TIMING + SIMULTANEITY .. standard pauses/counts; the body moves AS
        ONE on the same command -> the rifles come up together, in unison
        (the mark of a well-drilled body)
     WORD OF COMMAND .. performed on cautionary + executive commands, the
        body acting together on the command

   -- plus ONE ADDED, OVERRIDING discipline:
     WEAPON SAFETY -- the thing handled is a WEAPON; the cardinal
        weapon-handling rules are NEVER set aside for ceremonial. handle
        safely throughout; never point at anyone; ceremonial weapons
        prepared + confirmed safe as required.
        (this most sharply distinguishes arms drill from foot drill)

   -> arms drill: PRECISE, SIMULTANEOUS, COMMANDED, and above all SAFE.

The chief arms-drill movements and their meaning

With the principles in hand, the lesson describes the chief arms-drill movements, so the soldier knows the shape and purpose of each, while the movements themselves are built on the square under a drill instructor. The foundation is the position of attention with arms: the soldier standing at attention holding the rifle in the regulation position, the weapon held correctly and still against the body, from which the arms-drill movements begin and to which they return. As the position of attention is the foundation of foot drill, the position of attention with the rifle is the foundation of arms drill, and the soldier learns to stand correctly and still with the weapon before learning to move it. From this position the principal movements are performed, each carrying the rifle to a different position for a different purpose.

The chief movements are a small set the soldier should recognise by purpose. The carrying positions hold the rifle for different circumstances of a parade: the position in which the rifle is held at the shoulder for marching and bearing on parade, and the position in which the rifle is held at the order, grounded by the soldier's side at the halt, the standard position at attention with arms on many occasions. Moving between these carrying positions, on command and in unison, is much of the everyday business of arms drill, the rifle taken from the order to the shoulder and back, precisely and together, as the parade requires. The movement that matters most, and the one all the others serve, is the present arms. The present arms is the highest compliment paid in drill, the ceremonial salute rendered with the weapon, by which a soldier or a body honours the Sovereign, the Colours, and the most distinguished persons and occasions, as the compliments and guards-of-honour lessons named. To present arms is to bring the rifle, on command and in perfect unison, to the position of the present, the formal salute with the weapon held before the body, and it is the supreme mark of respect a body under arms can pay, the arms-drill equivalent of the salute that the compliments lesson taught. The present arms is what a guard of honour renders to the Sovereign, what a body under arms renders on the most solemn occasions, and the movement toward which much of arms drill is directed, so the soldier learns it as the heart of arms drill and the act that gives the rest of it its purpose. There are further movements the soldier learns on the square as their role requires, the movements of inspection, of funeral ceremonial (the rifle reversed for mourning), and others, but the carrying positions and the present arms are the core, and the soldier who understands these understands the shape of arms drill. Each movement is performed by the principles of the previous section, precisely, in unison, on command, and safely, and the meaning of the whole, like all ceremonial in this course, is the disciplined rendering of respect and the visible expression of the collective discipline drill builds, now performed with the weapon in hand. The soldier approaching the square for arms drill therefore knows what they are building: the controlled, precise, unified, safe handling of the rifle that completes their ceremonial drill and lets them render, with the weapon, the compliments and ceremonial the foot drill alone could not.

In Practice: The Guard That Presented Arms as One

A body of soldiers of the Royal Kaharagian Army forms a guard of honour for a distinguished occasion, and the moment that tests them is the present arms, the arms-drill movement at the heart of the ceremony, and how they perform it shows this lesson. Their foot drill, learned in the earlier lessons, has brought them onto the ground and formed them up correctly; but the honour they are there to render is paid with the rifle, through arms drill, which completes what foot drill began. Each soldier stands first at the position of attention with arms, the rifle held correctly and still, the foundation from which the movement begins. They have built the movements on the square under a drill instructor, and they understand the principles that govern them: precision, so each rifle travels the exact regulation path to the exact position; timing and simultaneity, so the whole guard moves its weapons as one, on the same word of command, the rifles coming up together in perfect unison; the word of command, on which the movement begins together; and, overriding all, weapon safety, the weapons handled safely throughout and prepared and confirmed safe for the ceremonial as required, the cardinal weapon rules never set aside for the occasion.

When the command to present arms is given, the guard renders the highest compliment drill affords: the rifles brought, on the executive word and in a single unified action, to the position of the present, the formal salute with the weapon, honouring the distinguished person and, through them, the Crown. Performed well, the present arms is a single crisp movement of the whole body, every rifle arriving at the same position at the same instant, and it is the supreme mark of respect a body under arms can pay, the arms-drill act toward which the whole ceremony is directed. The guard holds the standard of the whole course: precise, unified, commanded, and safe.

The value is a guard that renders the Crown's honours fully and to standard, which foot drill alone could not have done. Because the soldiers had mastered arms drill as well as foot drill, understood its principles, and performed the present arms precisely, in unison, on command, and safely, they paid the highest compliment drill affords as one disciplined body, doing honour to the occasion and credit to the Army. A body that knew only foot drill could not have rendered the present arms at all; one that handled the weapons raggedly or unsafely would have marred the honour and broken the discipline the ceremony exists to show. This guard understood that arms drill completes a soldier's ceremonial drill, that it is the same drill discipline applied to the weapon under the overriding rule of safety, and that the present arms is the ceremonial act at the heart of the compliment and the guard of honour, which is the whole of this lesson.

Check Your Understanding

Explain what arms drill is and how it differs from foot drill, and why a soldier's drill is "not complete" without it. Why does arms drill matter to ceremonial, and how does it relate to the present arms of the compliment and to the guard of honour?
Describe the principles that govern arms drill: precision, timing and simultaneity, and the word of command, shared with foot drill, and the added, overriding discipline of weapon safety. Why does the weapon's safety govern throughout, and what most sharply distinguishes arms drill from foot drill?
Describe the chief arms-drill movements and their meaning: the position of attention with arms, the carrying positions, and above all the present arms. Why is the present arms "the movement toward which much of arms drill is directed," and what does it honour?

Reflection (write a short paragraph): This lesson teaches that much ceremonial is performed with the rifle, that arms drill completes the foot drill the course has taught, and that handling a weapon precisely, as one, on command, and above all safely is a demanding test of the discipline drill builds. Think about why moving a weapon in perfect unison is a sharper test than moving the body alone, and why the discipline of weapon safety must never be set aside even for ceremonial effect. Why is the present arms, rendered as one by a body under arms, the supreme mark of respect drill affords, and what does performing it well show about the discipline of the body that performs it?

Summary

Much ceremonial is performed with the rifle, and arms drill, the ceremonial drill of the weapon, is a distinct skill built on foot drill: the controlled, precise handling of the rifle on words of command, by which a body moves its weapons as one. A soldier's drill is not complete until both foot drill and arms drill are mastered.
Arms drill matters because it is part of full ceremonial, because the present arms of the compliment and the guard of honour's salute are arms drill, and because handling the weapon precisely and as one is a demanding test of discipline, sharper than foot drill, since the weapon is awkward to move in unison and is a weapon that must be handled safely.
Arms drill is governed by the same principles as foot drill, precision (every movement exact to standard), timing and simultaneity (the body moving its weapons as one on the same command), and the word of command, with one added and overriding discipline: weapon safety, the cardinal weapon-handling rules never set aside for ceremonial, the weapon handled safely throughout and confirmed safe as required.
The chief movements are the position of attention with arms (the foundation), the carrying positions (the rifle at the shoulder for marching, at the order grounded at the halt), and above all the present arms, the highest compliment paid in drill, the ceremonial salute with the weapon by which a body honours the Sovereign, the Colours, and the most distinguished occasions, the movement toward which much of arms drill is directed.
Arms drill completes a soldier's ceremonial drill, is the same drill discipline applied to the weapon under the overriding rule of safety, and lets a soldier render with the weapon the compliments and ceremonial that foot drill alone could not. This is the knowledge layer; the movements are built on the square under a drill instructor and certified in person, the weapon handled with the safety discipline the weapon-handling course demands.
Cross-references: builds on the foot drill of Lessons 02 and 03 and the word-of-command discipline of Lesson 02; performs the present arms that is the highest compliment of Lesson 04 (Compliments and Marks of Respect) and the salute of the guard of honour of Lesson 07 (Guards of Honour and Military Funerals); is used in the parades and occasions of Lesson 05 and the honouring of the Colours of Lesson 06; rests on the weapon-safety discipline of Weapon Handling and Safety (FLD 210); and expresses the precision, bearing, and discipline that the capstone (Lesson 10) gathers into the soldier's character.

Arms Drill: Drill with the Rifle