Gator Guard Drill Team

Gator Guard Drill Team

Active	1953 – present
Country	United States
Type	Drill Team/Color Guard
Headquarters	Van Fleet Hall (Gainesville, Florida)
Nickname(s)	Gator Guard
Motto(s)	"All The Damn Time"
Commanders
Commander	Commander Gregory S. Davis

The Gator Guard Drill Team, abbreviated GGDT, is a nationally recognized precision drill team and military fraternity based at the University of Florida. The team is named after the Florida Gators, the mascot of the University of Florida. Founded in 1953, the Gator Guard is most widely known for its annual performances in the New Orleans Mardi Gras Parades.

Unit history and background

Gator guard performing at Mardi Gras parades, 2016.

The Gator Guard Drill Team was founded in 1953 at the University of Florida.^[1] The drill team was formed by cadets from the University of Florida ROTC program. The Gator Guard performs annually at the University of Florida's Homecoming Parade, as well as the Krewe of Mid-City and King Rex parades at the New Orleans Mardi Gras.^[2]^[3]^[4] The Drill Team uses M1903 rifles with 8-inch bayonets for all performances.^[5] In addition, the Gator Guard also performs Color Guard ceremonies for the University of Florida, the SEC, and the MLB. The Gator Guard was modeled after the 3rd United States Infantry Regiment, "The Old Guard." The team makes an annual trip to Washington D.C. to train with The Old Guard.

The Gator Guard absorbed and succeeded the University of Florida's Army ROTC chapter of the Pershing Rifles upon its inception. The founding class of the Gator Guard consisted of 16 cadets in 1953. The team's membership would see an all-time high of 72 members in 1957.^[6]

In many universities across the United States, ROTC participation was compulsory. This policy would be revoked in the 1960s, following opposition to U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, in favor of voluntary programs.^[7] This move from compulsory to voluntary participation in the UF ROTC program would cause a substantial decrease in enrollment of members, both in the ROTC program and in the Gator Guard Drill Team. This is largely why the team's enrollment peaked in 1957. From 1963 to 1972 the Gator Guard would hold an unprecedented nine year winning streak as the "Best Drill Unit" in the All-Florida Invitational Drill Meet, held in Sarasota, Fl.

On August 18, 1976, an alumnus of the Gator Guard, Mark T. Barrett, assigned to United States Forces Korea would tragically be at the center of the Axe Murder Incident. Assigned to the Joint Security Area of the Demilitarized Zone, LT. Barrett would be part of a detail sent to cut down a poplar tree that had been blocking the view of the United Nations observers. While in the process of cutting down the tree, the detail was assaulted by North Koreans and LT. Mark Barrett was killed. The incident would be recognized internationally, and had the potential to spark an escalation of conflict on the Korean peninsula. A memorial for LT Barrett currently stands in front of Van Fleet Hall (Gainesville, Florida). The Gator Guard performs an annual changing of the Guard ceremony over the course of 24 hours over Mark T. Barrett's memorial, in similar fashion to 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) Tomb of the Unknown Soldier changing of the guard.

In the 1970s, women would gain opportunities for entrance into ROTC programs, as the Army opened up positions in Field Artillery and the Ordinance Corps to female officers.^[8] Women coming into the Army through ROTC dovetailed with the elimination of the Women's Army Corps. The Gator Guard, having been an exclusively male team, would also see the entrance of female members in the coveted position of drillers, who would march and execute precision drill movements in parade as part of the team.^[9] The first female cadet to march with the drill team was during the 1973-1974 school year was Carmen Parrot. She was allowed to carry the Guidon during parades. The first female commander of the drill team would be Nancy A. Oxer in 1979. The first female GGDT member to be commissioned was Bonnie Chandler.

Between 2010 and 2015, the Gator Guard helped to create and train teams at other Florida universities modeled after the Gator Guard Drill Team. By 2015, the Gator Guard had successfully set up the 'Osprey Guard' at the University of North Florida, and the 'Seminole Guard' at Florida State University.

In 2016, the team consisted of 31 active male and female members^[10]

Gator Guard Mission Statement

The Mission of the Gator Guard Drill Team, held since its inception in 1953, is as follows:

"The mission of the Gator Guard is to provide an effective leadership and teamwork framework through which select members of the Army ROTC program can broaden their military background in preparation for the acceptance of a commission. It represents the University of Florida in both university and civic functions and enhances the prestige of the university through favorable publicity received from these performances."^[11]

Gator Guard leadership

Gator Guard at UF 2015 Homecoming Parade. Commander holds saber.

The Gator Guard leadership structure mirrors that of a US Army Company (military unit). The titular head of the organization is the "Commander." The Gator Guard Commander is traditionally in charge of all missions and operations of the drill team. The drill team differs from other military type units in that the commander is not appointed, but rather elected. The team holds an election at the end of the spring UF academic semester. The exact date of the election varies from year to year. The organization also possesses a treasurer, who is also elected. All other positions in the organization are, in keeping with military tradition, appointed by the commander.

The highest ranking appointed position is the Executive Officer. The Executive Officer manages the team staff and helps guide operations. The next highest appointed position after the Executive Officer is the Platoon Sergeant. The Platoon Sergeant is the head trainer of the drill team and guides the day-to-day operations.

The team also possesses a Color Guard Commander, who is equal in rank with the Platoon Sergeant. The Color Guard Commander is appointed, and acts as the head trainer of the color guard participants and leads all color guard operations.

Gator Guard Commanders

	Name	Term began	Term ended
1.	No Record	1953	1954
2.	James C. Langley	1954	1956
3.	Kenneth Cox	1956	1957
4.	Frank E. Yon	1957	1958
5-8.	No Record	1958	1962
9.	Bob Adams	1962	1963
10.	Dick Combs	1963	1964
11.	Thomas E. Striker	1964	1965
12.	Stuart H. Watkins	1965	1966
13.	Glade M. Ligget	1966	1967
14.	Thomas Ball	1967	1968
15.	Thomas V. Steck	1968	1969
16.	James M. Hedick	1969	1970
17.	Marcy A. Dupré IV	1970	1971
18.	James Killian	1971	1972
19.	William A. Van Horn Jr	1972	1973
20.	Samuel W. Anderson	1973	1974
21.	William V. Allen	1974	1975
22.	Paul Rock	1975	1976
23.	John Jordan	1976	1977
24.	Thomas K. Heineken	1977	1978
25.	Ernie Robinson	1978	1979
26.	Nancy A. Oxer	1979	1980
27.	Karl D. Davis	1980	1981
28.	Charles Charleston	1981	1982
29.	Van T. Oxer	1982	1983
30.	Wes Ramp	1983	1984
31.	Jose Bentancourt	1984	1985
32.	Joel W. Cornell	1985	1986
33.	James E. Oxer	1986	1987
34.	John Daigle	1987	1988
35.	Paul Epstein	1988	1989
36.	Charles W. Seifert III	1989	1990
37.	Gregory M. Wikan	1990	1991
38.	Ralph López	1991	1992
39.	Peter E. Leone	1992	1993
40.	Amy R. Jensen	1993	1994
41.	Brett Rhodenizer	1994	1995
42.	Francisco López	1995	1996
43.	Dereck L. Edge	1996	1997
44.	Francisco López	1997	1998
45.	Charles A. Gambaro Jr.	1998	1999
46.	Abraham S.J. Falkowitz	1999	2000
47.	Hideyoshi C. Johnson	2000	2001
48.	Jeremiah J. Cordovano	2001	2002
49.	Andres M. Rivera	2002	2003
50.	Laiza M. Correa	2003	2004
51.	Lara R. Nobles	2004	2005
52.	Kamephis Perez	2005	2006
53.	Evan R. Raymond	2005	2006
54.	Daniel J. Perez	2006	2008
55.	Randall L. Conyers II	2008	2009
56.	Christopher M. Hayes	2009	2010
57.	Sheldon G.B. Waugh	2010	2011
58.	James K. Llanio	2011	2013
59.	Alexander W. Smith	2013	2014
60.	Sean P. Lynch	2014	2015
61.	Jared S. Abes	2015	2016
62.	Gregory S. Davis	2016	2017

References

External links

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Gator Guard Drill Team

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