Pershing Rifles
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The Pershing Rifles, a military drill team organization for college-level students, was founded by then 2nd Lt. (later General of the Armies) John J. Pershing 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.
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[edit] History
[edit] Founding
In 1891, General Pershing, then a 2LT in Troop L, 6th Cavalry Regiment at Fort Bayard, New Mexico, 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 Omaha, Nebraska, earning the "Omaha Cup" and $1,500 for the group. 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." 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. These "ribbons" were the first service ribbons ever worn in the United States.
From 1900 to 1911, the Pershing Rifles reached the height of their existence prior to World War I. It was one of the most important features of Nebraskan military and social life. 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.
[edit] Reestablishment
In 1917, conditions became so bad that the organization was disbanded and its records burned. Thus, in seven short years, this promising organization had passed from national renown to oblivion. In 1920, the Pershing Rifles were formed again. There sprang a corps with new life and activity out of the ashes of the organization that had died of its own weight in 1917. The growth of Pershing Rifles after its reorganization is as remarkable as its former decline. It stepped back into its old niche and strove to grow big enough to fill it 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 The Ohio State University (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.
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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 9 combined regiments. (At one time there were 17 regiments; they have been combined, and only 9 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.
[edit] Membership and competitions
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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 ROTC), it is not a prerequisite for membership.
Each company has latitude in selecting their uniform and weapons. They vary from company t-shirt and BDU pants to more formal uniforms, like the Army's service uniforms, or "Class As". Many companies wear berets, in 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.
Most Pershing Rifles companies use older battle rifles (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 drill (aka trick drill, involving spinning or throwing the rifles).
Not all Pershing Rifles companies specialized in drill and ceremony. At the University of Colorado at Boulder in the 1970s, the Headquarters Company of the Ninth Regiment became specialized in small-unit tactics, believing that tri-service tactical training should commence with a cadet or midshipman's first association with the military.
[edit] 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.
[edit] Notable alumni
- Arthur Dean
- Larry Ellis
- Joe Gray
- Galen Jackman
- James Earl Jones
- Jack Keane
- Curtis LeMay
- G. Gordon Liddy
- Charles McGee
- Colin Powell
- Hugh Shelton
- Elvis Jacob Stahr, Jr.
- William Ward
[edit] Further reading
- Pershing Rifles National Headquarters
- 8th Regimental Headquarters, Pershing Rifles
- "Military and Naval Science name change honors Pershing" The University of Nebraska-Lincoln's The Scarlet, April 20, 2006 issue
[edit] Contact information
Pershing Rifles National Headquarters is historically based at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
