1. LEANING REST IN FOUR COUNTS.
Repeat 6 to 8 times, [Figs. 15], [16].
| Fig. 15 | Fig. 16 |
At one knees are bent to squatting position, hands on the ground between knees; at two the legs are extended backward to the leaning rest; at three the first position is resumed, and at four the position of attention; hands should be directly under shoulders; back arched; knees straight; head fixed; execute moderately fast; breathe naturally.
Walking and Marching
[845]. The length of the full step in quick time is 30 inches, measured from heel to heel, and the cadence is at the rate of 120 steps per minute.
Proper posture and carriage have ever been considered very important in the training of soldiers. In marching, the head and trunk should remain immobile, but without stiffness; as the left foot is carried forward the right forearm is swung forward and inward obliquely across the body until the thumb, knuckles being turned out, reaches a point about the height of the belt plate. The upper arm does not move beyond the perpendicular plane while the forearm is swung forward, though the arm hangs loosely from the shoulder joint. The forearm swing ends precisely at the moment the left heel strikes the ground; the arm is then relaxed and allowed to swing down and backward by its own weight until it reaches a point where the thumb is about the breadth of a hand to the rear of the buttocks. As the right arm swings back, the left arm is swung forward with the right leg. The forward motion of the arm assists the body in marching by throwing the weight forward and inward upon the opposite foot as it is planted. The head is held erect; body well stretched from the waist; chest arched; and there should be no rotary motion of the body about the spine.
As the leg is thrown forward the knee is smartly extended, the heel striking the ground first.
The instructor having explained the principles and illustrated the step and arm swing, commands: 1. Forward, 2. MARCH—and to halt the squad he commands: 1. Squad, 2. HALT.