The
Pershing Rifles, a military drill team organization for college-level students, was founded by then 2nd Lt. (later
General of the ArmiesGeneral of the Armies is the highest possible rank in the United States Army...
)
John J. PershingGeneral of the Armies John Joseph Pershing, Honorary GCB; September 13, 1860 – July 15, 1948, was a general officer in the United States Army. Pershing is the only person to be promoted in his own lifetime to the highest rank ever held in the United States Army—General of the Armies General of the...
in 1894 at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Over time, the Pershing Rifles organization was adopted by several other universities as well to include tactical units as well as drill and ceremony. Together, these units form what is known today as the National Society of Pershing Rifles.
In 1891, General Pershing, then a 2LT in Troop L, 6th Cavalry Regiment at
Fort BayardFort Bayard National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery in the Fort Bayard Historic District, near Santa Clara , New Mexico. It encompasses , and as of the end of 2005, had 3,732 interments...
,
New MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. Inhabited by Native American populations for many centuries, it has also been part of the Imperial Spanish viceroyalty of New Spain, part of Mexico, and a U.S. territory. Among U.S...
, became a professor of Military Science and Tactics at the University of Nebraska.
The
Pershing Rifles, a military drill team organization for college-level students, was founded by then 2nd Lt. (later
General of the ArmiesGeneral of the Armies is the highest possible rank in the United States Army...
)
John J. PershingGeneral of the Armies John Joseph Pershing, Honorary GCB; September 13, 1860 – July 15, 1948, was a general officer in the United States Army. Pershing is the only person to be promoted in his own lifetime to the highest rank ever held in the United States Army—General of the Armies General of the...
in 1894 at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Over time, the Pershing Rifles organization was adopted by several other universities as well to include tactical units as well as drill and ceremony. Together, these units form what is known today as the National Society of Pershing Rifles.
Founding
In 1891, General Pershing, then a 2LT in Troop L, 6th Cavalry Regiment at
Fort BayardFort Bayard National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery in the Fort Bayard Historic District, near Santa Clara , New Mexico. It encompasses , and as of the end of 2005, had 3,732 interments...
,
New MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. Inhabited by Native American populations for many centuries, it has also been part of the Imperial Spanish viceroyalty of New Spain, part of Mexico, and a U.S. territory. Among U.S...
, became a professor of Military Science and Tactics at the University of Nebraska. Pershing wished to increase the morale and discipline of the battalion there, as well as to increase support for the Cadet Corps throughout the university's staff and community. To this end, he formed a hand-picked company of men, known as Company A, and made them his premier drill unit.
The following year, Company A won the Maiden Competition at the National Competitive Drills held at
OmahaOmaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
,
NebraskaNebraska is a state located on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha....
, earning the "Omaha Cup" and $1,500 for the group. The spectators were so excited by the event that they left their seats and carried the cadets off the field. In 1893, the special drill company became a fraternal organization bearing the name "Varsity Rifles." In 1894, the organization, in appreciation of the initiative and cooperation of LT. Pershing, changed its name to the "Pershing Rifles." Under Pershing's leadership, the organization won the Army Silver Cup for drill team competition, coming in second place after
West PointThe United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. Established in 1802, USMA is the oldest of the United States's five service academies. The military garrison at West Point was occupied in 1778 and played a key...
. When Pershing left Nebraska in 1895, at the request of a committee he gave to the company a pair of his cavalry breeches. These breeches were cut into small pieces and were worn on the uniform as a sign of membership.
From 1900 to 1911, the Pershing Rifles reached the height of their existence prior to
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
. Membership was a great military honor that continued until 1911. After that date, the organization lost prestige and declined. Its activity suddenly seemed to cease, and the organization became a mere a shadow of itself. Its military influence decreased, and its social activities lessened.
Reestablishment
In 1917, conditions became so bad that the organization was disbanded and its records burned. In 1920, the Pershing Rifles were formed again. By 1924, it had regained some of its lost prestige and special drill companies all over the country began to seek admittance into the Pershing Rifles.
The present National Honorary Society of Pershing Rifles owes its existence to
Ohio State UniversityOhio State University is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the largest single-campus university in the United States. Ohio State is currently ranked by U.S...
(OSU). In the fall of 1922, a group of advanced course men got together and formed "The President's Guard". This new organization was too loosely-organized and too closely allied to the regular drill for the company to stand alone. On May 13, 1925, it applied for affiliation with the Pershing Rifles; the Nebraska organization refused. The OSU group, seeing the need of a national organization for basic men, threatened to nationalize "The President's Guard" and leave Nebraska out of it if the two organizations could not merge together. The Nebraska organization approved the formal application of the OSU group after a year of negotiations. The Dickman Rifles, organized at the
University of DaytonThe University of Dayton is a private Roman Catholic university operated by the Society of Mary located in Dayton, Ohio...
to honor Major General
Joseph T. DickmanJoseph Theodore Dickman was born October 6, 1857 in Dayton, Ohio. He attended the University of Dayton and graduated in the class of 1871. In 1881 he graduated from the U.S...
, attended a Pershing Rifles drill competition in 1931. This competition led the Dickman Rifles to merge into the Pershing Rifles.
In 1928, the National Headquarters was established at the University of Nebraska. This laid the foundation for a strong national unit. Over the summer, applications for charters were sent to many universities across the nation. As a result, today there are over 200 units in nine combined regiments. (At one time there were 17 regiments; they have been combined, and only nine remain.) The Regimental Headquarters serve primarily as administrative units acting as the liaison between National Headquarters and all units of their respective regiments. The regiment aids in solving various problems that individual units may encounter during the course of the year. The regimental commanders, the national commanders, and the national commander make up the legislative body of the National Society of Pershing Rifles. This body dictates what happens in the society for the upcoming semester.
Membership and competitions
Active membership is restricted to college students enrolled at an institution that hosts a Pershing Rifles company. Members may be either male or female and while a majority have affiliation with the military (especially
ROTCThe Reserve Officers' Training Corps is a college-based, officer commissioning program, predominantly in the United States. It is designed as a college elective that focuses on leadership development, problem solving, strategic planning, and professional ethics.The U.S...
), it is not a prerequisite for membership.
Each company has latitude in selecting their uniform and weapons. They vary from company t-shirt and
BDUBattle Dress Uniform is the name of the military uniform that the armed forces of the United States have used as their standard uniform for combat situations since September 1981. It has either been replaced or is in the process of being replaced in every branch of the U.S. Military, though the...
pants to more formal uniforms, like the Army's service uniforms, or "Class A's". Many companies wear berets, in a wide variety of colors. The only real consistencies within companies are the wear of a Pershing Rifles rank shield and, on dress uniforms, a shoulder cord and the Pershing Rifles Service Ribbon, which is blue with six vertical white lines, symbolic of the six core values held by a Pershing Rifleman. The W-4 Company at The College of William & Mary may wear
Scots GuardsThe Scots Guards is a regiment of the Guards Division of the British Army, whose origins lie in the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland...
uniforms as recognition of their role as the
Queens' GuardThe Queens' Guard is a ceremonial unit at the College of William & Mary. The unit is recognized by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and is composed of students of the College. It is the only unit called "Queens' Guard" recognized by the British monarchy in the United States of America...
, a ceremonial guard unit mustered upon visits by Queen Elizabeth II to the College.
Most Pershing Rifles companies use older
battle rifleA battle rifle is a full-size rifle designed for military use that fires a high-power rifle cartridge such as the U.S. .30-06 Springfield, the German 7.92x57mm IS, the Russian 7.62x54mmR, or the 7.62x51mm NATO cartridge...
s (especially the M1903 Springfield or M1 Garand) in performing routines. At the annual National Society of Pershing Rifles National Convention and Drill Competition (NATCON), active companies compete in various categories of regulation drill (like proficiency at performing a color guard) and
exhibition drillExhibition drill is a modified routine that involves complex marching sequences that usually deviate from standard drill.Teams performing exhibition drill are often affiliated with military units, but the scope of exhibition drill is not limited to the Military Drill Teams...
(also known as trick drill, involving spinning or throwing the rifles).
Other Pershing Rifles companies, such as Company B-9 (
University of Colorado at BoulderThe University of Colorado at Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the University of Colorado system and was founded five months before Colorado was admitted to the union in 1876...
), Company C-9 (
Colorado School of MinesThe Colorado School of Mines is a public teaching and research university devoted to engineering and applied science, with special expertise in the development and stewardship of the Earth's natural resources. Located in the small town of Golden, Colorado, CSM was ranked 77th in America among...
), Company B-12 (
Boston UniversityBoston University is a private nonsectarian university located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Although chartered by the Massachusetts Legislature in 1869, Boston University traces its roots to the establishment of the Newbury Biblical Institute in Newbury, Vermont in 1839...
) and Company C-12 (
Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyThe Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological research...
), focus on tactical training. These companies teach their members skills such as
escape and evasionSERE is a United States military acronym for Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape, a program that provides military personnel, Department of Defense civilians and private military contractors with training in evading capture, survival skills and the military code of conduct...
,
survival skillsSurvival skills are techniques a person may use for an indefinite duration to survive a dangerous situation . Generally speaking, these techniques are meant to provide the basic necessities for human life: fire, water, food, shelter, habitat, and the need to think straight, to signal for help, to...
,
rappellingAbseiling , rappelling in American English, is the controlled descent down a rope; climbers use this technique when a cliff or slope is too steep and/or dangerous to descend without protection...
,
hand-to-hand combatHand-to-hand combat is a generic term often referring to weaponless fighting conducted from a military based point of view. This distinguishes it from combat sport...
, and
marksmanA marksman is a person who is skilled in precision shooting, using projectile weapons, such as with a rifle but most commonly with a sniper rifle, to shoot at small long-range targets. In the military, marksmen are sometimes attached to an infantry squad where they take accurate long-range shots at...
ship.
Quotes
- The purpose of the National Society of Pershing Rifles is to develop, to the highest degree possible, outstanding traits of leadership, military science, military bearing, and discipline within the framework of a military oriented, honorary fraternity." —General of the Armies John J. Pershing
The above quote is a widely-accepted mission statement of the National Society of Pershing Rifles units today. The bulk of this "quote" is taken from the Purpose of the Pershing Rifles, by General Pershing himself.
- "The purpose of the Pershing Rifles is to foster a spirit of friendship and cooperation among men in the military department and to maintain a highly efficient drill company." - as stated by General John Joseph Pershing.
- "For the first time in my life I was a member of a brotherhood," [Colin] Powell
Colin Luther Powell is an American statesman and a retired four-star general in the United States Army. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State , serving under President George W. Bush. He was the first African American appointed to that position...
would later say about the Pershing Rifles. "The discipline, the structure, the camaraderie, the sense of belonging were what I craved. . . . I found a selflessness within our ranks that reminded me of the caring atmosphere within my family. Race, color, background, income meant nothing."
- "I waited until my junior year to pledge for a military fraternity, The Pershing Rifles. This was later than most other students, but all my life I was a late bloomer. The pledging was tough and physical, but also military. I received a lot more exposure to weapons and military discipline than I would otherwise have obtained. My brother was in Vietnam and I believed I would wind up there, too."
Notable alumni
- Arthur Dean
Arthur Dean may refer to:* Arthur Dean , American corporate lawyer and advisor to numerous U.S. presidents* Arthur Dean , British Conservative Party politician, MP 1924–1929...
- Larry Ellis
- Joe Gray
Joe Gray was an American actor who made appearances in dozens of films as numerous uncredited roles, including 10 of Frank Sinatra's films and 16 of Dean Martin's films....
- Galen Jackman
- James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones is an American actor of stage and screen, well known for his deep basso voice. To modern audiences, he is best known for providing the voice of Darth Vader in the Star Wars franchise, and Mufasa in The Lion King.-Childhood:Jones was born in Arkabutla, Mississippi, the son of Ruth...
- Jack Keane
John Keane is a retired four-star general and former Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army, and a defense analyst....
- Curtis LeMay
Curtis Emerson LeMay was a General in the United States Air Force and the vice presidential running mate of American Independent Party candidate George Wallace in 1968....
- G. Gordon Liddy
George Gordon Battle Liddy was the chief operative for the White House Plumbers unit that existed during several years of Richard Nixon's Presidency. Along with E. Howard Hunt, Liddy masterminded the first break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate building in 1972...
- Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Mapplethorpe was an American photographer, known for his large-scale, highly stylized black and white portraits, photos of flowers and naked men...
- Charles McGee
Charles McGee was the executive director of the New Hampshire Republican Party. He was convicted of phone-jamming Democratic efforts to organize a get out the vote effort for their candidate running against John E. Sununu during the 2002 New Hampshire US Senate race. Senator Sununu was elected by...
- Colin Powell
Colin Luther Powell is an American statesman and a retired four-star general in the United States Army. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State , serving under President George W. Bush. He was the first African American appointed to that position...
- Hugh Shelton
General Henry Hugh Shelton is a retired American career military officer of the United States Army. He served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1997 to 2001.-Biography:...
- Elvis Jacob Stahr, Jr.
- William E. Ward
General William E. "Kip" Ward, USA is Commander, U.S. Africa Command, the first officer to hold this position. General Ward previously served as Deputy Commander, U.S. European Command. General Ward was commissioned into the infantry in 1971. His military education includes the Infantry Officer...
Further reading