# What's the point of marching ? \[w.r.t. armed forces\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 27, 2003, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-marching-w-r-t-armed-forces/184729 "2003-06-27T10:13:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-marching-w-r-t-armed-forces/184729/1 "2003-06-27T10:13:28Z")
What’s the point really ? I’ve often wondered. I have marched. For house, for school and for country. I’ve enjoyed it. But I’ve never really figured out what it’s true purpose is. It doesn’t seem to particularly hone defense or attack skills. Maybe a little discipline, uniformity, order. But I don’t see it being of much use in a theater of operations. What does marching achieve ? Is it essential to the training of armed personnel ? Why ? ---
**Author:** ![Apollon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47774/32.png) [@Apollon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollon)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-marching-w-r-t-armed-forces/184729/2 "2003-06-27T10:31:11Z")
It used to be useful in old times where battles were fought in formation. They had to maintain a straight front line, shoulder to shoulder, and for that they had to assure that everyone would be moving at exactly the same speed. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-marching-w-r-t-armed-forces/184729/3 "2003-06-27T10:38:02Z")
**Apollon** is correct, for history’s sake. Back when the rank-and-file was how you conducted war, it was necessary for commanders to have simple commands to control their troops, and do what the leadership needed to be done. Nowadays, it’s more for drill and ceremony. But there’s nothing like a 3.0 mile run in formation, singing “jodies”. 😃 Tripler Which is in about. . . 1 hour. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-marching-w-r-t-armed-forces/184729/4 "2003-06-27T10:50:17Z")
I’ve heard many career military folks, not to mention my old marching band leader, say that marching in formation promotes discipline and unity as well. Discipline because it lets you know your commander controls you right down to the way you walk; unity because you’re all walking like idiots together (and some of the drills require considerable cooperation to pull off). And you wouldn’t try to claim my old marching band leader could be _wrong_ about anything, would you? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![jinty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/dbc845/32.png) [@jinty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jinty)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-marching-w-r-t-armed-forces/184729/5 "2003-06-27T11:54:23Z")
Also, it made the speed a column of soldiers travelled at more predictable. That’s important if you’re planning an attack that relies on the 1st Bunions and Callouses Regiment being able to cover the 15 miles from Veruccaville in 5 hours to be in the right position. And it looks tidier, too :D. Generals like tidy columns of troops. ---
**Author:** ![Spiny\_Norman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Spiny\_Norman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiny_Norman)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-marching-w-r-t-armed-forces/184729/6 "2003-06-27T12:13:47Z")
Not only does it look tidy, it’s damn practical. Ever tried to move 100 civilians from building A to building B within a practical timeframe ? It’s like herding dachshunds and you can be damned sure that you end up with a different number of people. Soldiers, on the other hand: Form up in front of building A, left-turn, forward march, stop in front of building B. Makes life simpler. For training purposes, marching with full gear is a great “shakedown” apart from the PT aspect - the soldiers get an opportunity to adjust their webbing, helmets, boots etc. just so. If you don’t think that’s important, it’s probably because you’ve never lived in your gear for a week. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-marching-w-r-t-armed-forces/184729/7 "2003-06-27T14:36:56Z")
**Spiny** makes a great point about the usefulenss of in-garrison marching to move people around in an orderly and prompt manner. And to elaborate on the value of “drill and ceremony” to build/keep up a sense of unity and discipline, including focused attention, motivation, comradeship, knowing your place and role, pride of performance, detail-orientation, etc. – If you get discipline/cohesion inculcated into the troops as an essential element of everyday life, _then_ it makes it easier to train them for operational missions (be it tactical or technical) where you want them to be able to react to events in an _organized_ fashion. It’s good to be able to count on that your people are already conditioned to all being where they’re supposed to when they’re supposed to, motivated to all do their assigned job, the right way, when teaching them about taking out a pillbox, filing supply reports, blowing up a bridge, fueling airplanes, dispensing medication, decrypting intel, loading missiles, whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Tomcat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Tomcat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tomcat)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-marching-w-r-t-armed-forces/184729/8 "2003-06-27T18:20:04Z")
Trivia question: Why do most European (and many other countries) soldiers goose-step when marching and US soldiers shuffle? It’s because of: Cobblestones. European roads are full of them and always have been. US roads have been dirt or paved for most of this century. Goose-stepping avoids tripping. Nowadays it is probably mainly for show because asphalt is everywhere, but it did have a purpose. I see tourists trip and fall on a weekly basis here in Prague, cobblestones are a bitch. -Tcat ---
**Author:** ![Balle\_M](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/13edae/32.png) [@Balle\_M](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balle_M)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-marching-w-r-t-armed-forces/184729/9 "2003-06-27T18:51:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tomcat \* > \*\*Cobblestones. European roads are full of them and always have been. US roads have been dirt or paved for most of this century. Goose-stepping avoids tripping. Nowadays it is probably mainly for show because asphalt is everywhere, but it did have a purpose. I see tourists trip and fall on a weekly basis here in Prague, cobblestones are a bitch. > > -Tcat \*\* Hmm…is it actually the cobblestones or an over-indulgence of some excellent Czech pilsner?