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Field Manual · Basics Every Recruit Learns the Hard Way

Drill & Ceremony: Facing Movements, Honors & Folding the Flag

Nobody arrives at Basic knowing how to face movement. This is the week you will feel the most foolish and it is completely normal — you are learning to move a hundred bodies as one, on someone else's count, in front of a drill sergeant who has seen every mistake you are about to make. The good news: drill is entirely learnable, it is all written down, and once it clicks you will do it in your sleep.

This is the plain-English version of the positions, the facing movements, the salute and honors, and the flag fold — grounded in the Army's doctrine, TC 3-21.5, Drill and Ceremonies. If you want the cadence that goes underneath all this marching, that lives in our cadence guide.

Part 1

The Positions

Everything in drill starts and ends at attention. Learn these five and the rest is just movement between them. The command has two parts — the preparatory command (which tells you what is coming) and the command of execution (the sharp word that means do it NOW).

Attention

“Squad / Platoon, ATTENTION (or FALL IN)”

Heels together and on line, feet turned out equally forming a 45-degree angle. Legs straight without locking the knees. Body erect, hips level, chest lifted, shoulders square. Arms hang straight, thumbs along the seams of the trousers, fingers curled, back of the hands out. Head erect, eyes straight to the front. You do not move, talk, or shift your weight.

Where recruits blow itLocking your knees. Stand locked long enough in the sun and you will faint face-first into the formation — and everyone remembers the guy who hit the deck at a change of command. Keep the knees straight, not rigid, and wiggle your toes inside your boots.

Parade Rest

“Parade, REST”

From attention, move the left foot smartly about 10 inches to the left of the right foot, weight evenly distributed. At the same time bring the hands behind the back and clasp them, right hand inside the left, thumbs interlocked, palms to the rear, fingers extended and joined. Head and eyes stay to the front. You may not move or talk.

Where recruits blow itBreaking at parade rest — turning your head to look at something, cracking a joke, shifting your feet. Parade rest is not a break; it is a quieter version of attention. Your head and eyes stay locked to the front. The only thing that moves is your eyeballs, and even those had better be discreet.

Stand at Ease

“Stand at, EASE”

Executed the same as parade rest, except you may turn your head and eyes to watch the person in charge. Feet stay planted. Still silent, still no talking.

Where recruits blow itTreating it like "rest" and starting to talk. Stand at ease frees your eyes to track the leader — nothing else.

At Ease

“AT EASE”

Keep the right foot in place. You may move and relax, but you must remain silent and keep your right foot planted so the formation can reform instantly on the next command.

Where recruits blow itMoving the right foot. That foot is your anchor — everyone reforms off it. Move it and the whole formation drifts.

Rest

“REST”

Keep the right foot in place. You may move, relax, and talk in a low, conversational tone. This is the loosest position you get while still in formation.

Where recruits blow itGetting loud or wandering off. Right foot stays put; keep the volume down so you can still hear the next command over your own war stories.

Part 2

Facing Movements

All facing movements start from the position of attention and are done in two counts. The whole trick is pivoting on the correct heel and toe and keeping your upper body still — arms pinned, no swinging, no looking down at your feet.

About face: right toe goes behind and left of the left heel (count 1), then pivot 180° to the right (count 2).

Right Face

Two counts“Right, FACE”

Count one: slightly raise the left heel and right toe. Pivot 90 degrees to the right on the right heel, assisted by slight pressure on the left toe. Keep the legs straight but not stiff and the body in the position of attention. Count two: bring the left foot smartly alongside the right and resume the position of attention.

Left Face

Two counts“Left, FACE”

Count one: slightly raise the right heel and left toe. Pivot 90 degrees to the left on the left heel, assisted by slight pressure on the right toe. Count two: bring the right foot smartly alongside the left and resume the position of attention.

About Face

Two counts“About, FACE”

Count one: move the toe of the right foot to a point about half the length of the foot to the rear and slightly to the left of the left heel, without moving the left foot; the weight of the body rests mainly on the heel of the left foot. Count two: pivot to the right, turning 180 degrees on the ball of the right foot and the heel of the left foot. On completion, the feet are in the position of attention.

The about-face that gives everyone troubleThe classic mistake is bouncing or hopping through the about face — you rush the pivot, lose your balance, and hop to catch it. Slow down. On count one, place that right toe deliberately behind and to the left of your left heel; on count two, let the pivot carry you all the way around and land square. The whole formation pivoting cleanly looks sharp; one soldier hopping like a startled bird does not.

Part 3

The Salute & Rendering Honors

The salute is the oldest, most visible courtesy in the profession, and a sloppy one is read instantly as a sloppy soldier. A limp-wristed, half-committed salute — the “wave hello,” the “swat a fly” — will get you corrected fast. Snap it up crisp, hold it until it is returned, and cut it away sharp.

The movement itself

The hand salute is a one-count movement. Raise the right hand smartly until the tip of the forefinger touches the lower part of the headgear above and slightly to the right of the right eye. If you are uncovered, the forefinger touches the forehead above and slightly right of the right eye. Fingers and thumb are extended and joined; the palm faces slightly inward. The upper arm is horizontal, the forearm inclined at roughly 45 degrees, the hand and wrist straight. To complete the salute, drop the arm to its normal position by the side in one sharp motion.

Who salutes and who salutes first

Enlisted members and junior officers salute commissioned and warrant officers. The junior renders the salute first and holds it until it is returned. In practice: you see the bars, oak leaf, eagle, or star, you salute — the greeting of the day goes with it ("Good morning, sir," "Good afternoon, ma'am"). Hold it until the senior returns it, then cut it away sharply.

When you salute (and when you do not)

Salute outdoors when you recognize an officer, when reporting, during the raising and lowering of the flag at reveille and retreat, when the national anthem or "To the Color" plays, and when passing or being passed by the uncased colors. You generally do not salute indoors except when reporting to an officer, and you do not salute when in ranks unless commanded, when carrying articles with both hands, or when it would be impractical or unsafe.

Rendering honors to the flag and anthem

Outdoors in uniform: come to attention, face the flag (or the music if the flag is not visible), and hold a salute from the first note of the anthem or the raising of the flag until the last note or the flag is fully lowered. At reveille and retreat on post, if you are outdoors when the cannon fires or the music starts, you stop, face the flag or music, and salute. Out of uniform, place the right hand over the heart.

Part 4

Folding the Flag — the 13-Fold Sequence

Done right, the flag is folded a total of thirteen times into a tight tri-cornered shape — the “cocked hat” — with only the blue star field showing and no red or white stripe visible. It is two lengthwise folds followed by a run of triangular folds. It takes two people, taut hands, and zero rushing. This is the same fold used to present the flag at military funeral honors, and it is worth doing perfectly every single time.

1
Two people hold the flag waist-high, stripes down, and pull it taut over the body of the deceased at a funeral, or hold it stretched between them for a ceremonial fold.
2
Fold the flag in half lengthwise, bringing the lower striped half up over the blue field.
3
Fold it in half lengthwise a second time, blue field on the outside, so you are left with a long narrow strip with the blue field showing on top.
4
Begin the triangular folds at the striped end: fold the lower striped corner up to meet the top edge, forming a triangle.
5
Fold the outer point inward, parallel to the open edge, forming a second triangle.
6
Continue the triangular folds down the entire length of the flag, each fold a crisp triangle, tucking the last flap into the fold.

An honest word on “the meaning of each fold”You have probably heard a script recited at retirements and funerals that assigns a separate meaning to each of the thirteen folds — the first for life, the second for belief in eternal life, and so on. It is moving, and people love it. It is also not official military doctrine. TC 3-21.5 prescribes how the flag is folded, not a symbolic meaning for each fold; the popular recitation is a well-loved civilian tradition that various services have explicitly noted is unofficial. We are not going to put words in doctrine's mouth. Fold the flag with precision and respect — that is the part the manual actually asks of you.

Key Takeaways

Everything in drill begins and ends at the position of attention — heels together, feet at 45 degrees, eyes to the front, knees straight but never locked.
Know the difference between the positions of rest: parade rest and stand at ease keep you silent and planted; at ease and rest let you relax, but at ease and rest both keep the right foot fixed as the formation’s anchor.
Facing movements are two-count moves from attention. Pivot on the correct heel and toe, keep the upper body still, and — for the love of the drill sergeant — do not bounce or hop through the about face.
The hand salute is a one-count movement rendered by the junior first and held until returned. Snap it crisp, hold it, cut it away sharp; render honors to the flag and anthem at attention, facing the colors or the music.
The flag is folded thirteen times into a tri-cornered shape showing only the blue star field. The step-by-step fold is doctrine; the popular per-fold “meaning” recitation is a civilian tradition, not official military doctrine.

Learning the marching that goes with all of this? The count, the cadence, and the jodies that keep a formation in step live in our cadence guide. Drill is the footwork; cadence is the heartbeat.

Sources

TC 3-21.5, Drill and Ceremonies — Headquarters, Department of the Army. The governing doctrine for the positions, facing movements, the hand salute, and rendering honors. Hosted at the Army Publishing Directorate (armypubs.army.mil).
4 U.S.C. § 1–10, The Flag — the U.S. Flag Code, the statutory basis for respect and handling of the flag.

Educational reference grounded in public U.S. Army doctrine. Your service and your unit set the standard you are actually held to — when your drill sergeant or first sergeant corrects you, they win. Always defer to your chain of command and the current edition of the applicable regulation.