Coast Guard Cadet Allison Murray prepares to sheath her sword Friday, Sept. 17, 2010, during a regimental review at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn. A regimental review is a formal gathering of the corps of cadets to honor a distinguished guest at the academy.
Boq
Note the position of her trigger finger.
Her firearms training may have carried over to this 'old school' weapons system.
Regardless. She looks very smart. (I was gonna say sharp, but, did not want to go there)
How can one tell, from that picture, whether the Cadet is sheathing or unsheathing the sword?
And prepare? It's almost sheathed. Way past preparing. Am I nitpicking?
Rick: maybe that's part of the Coast Guard cadet protocol? Maybe the sword isn't technically sheathed until fully thrust into the scabbard? Just asking. :)
On the other hand, it wouldn't be the first time a DoD photo captioner made a boo-boo, would it? Heh.
..if she was drawing it out: her left hand and the scabbard would be positioned farther around to the side of her left hip. and the next dude down the line evidently couldn't quite find the "insert here" slot when putting HIS away. see how far cocked out to the front he has his scabbard, and the angle he's gripping at? he was having a bad day at drill and ceremony, and he's staring at it to prove it to himself.
..and the "pause" is to get everybody synched up before simultaneously (on command) sliding the blade home the final inches.
http://www.militarysabers.com/army-saber-manual-of-arms/index.html
Noting that this link _is_ to the _Army_ saber manual of arms, and there _may_ be differences between the services.
As smoothly and as quickly as possible, the saber (sword) is inserted into the scabbard and stopped so that about 12 inches of the blade is showing; the right forearm (wrist) is horizontal to the marching surface and three inches from the body
At the command of execution SABER (SWORD), three actions take place simultaneously: the saber (sword) is pivoted downward toward the guard, at the same time grasp the scabbard with the left hand just above the upper brass ring mounting. Tilt it forward and turn it clockwise 180 degrees.