An Evening Parade

By GORDON I. PETERSON, Senior Editor

Visitors to "the oldest post of the Corps"--the Marine Barracks in Washington, D.C.--are accustomed to a flawless display when they view the Silent Drill Platoon and hear Marine musicians perform at the weekly evening parades conducted on the grounds at "8th and I." For those spectators attending the parade on 18 May, however, the post's always impeccable Marines exhibited an even higher order of military professionalism.

The commander in chief, President George W. Bush, was present to take their salute at a review commemorating the bicentennial of the Marine Barracks founding by President Thomas Jefferson.

Speaking from the porch of his quarters overlooking the parade field before the evening's event, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James L. Jones expressed his appreciation to the president and the first lady for honoring Marines assigned to the barracks and for recognizing their service in performing a broad range of security, ceremonial, and other duties.
Bush, standing next to his wife, Laura, with the commandant and his wife, Diane, praised the Marine Corps in his brief remarks and pledged that Marines will not be committed to combat during his watch without a clear mission and a strategic imperative to carry out that mission. He also acknowledged his own responsibility to safeguard the welfare of Marines and their families.

Throughout U.S. history, the commander in chief and the Marine Corps have shared a special relationship. When then-Commandant Lt. Col. William Ward Burrows ventured by horseback with Jefferson to select the site for today's barracks, their goal was to find an area close enough that a garrison of Marines would be "within easy marching distance of the new Capitol building."

The last presidential review at the barracks was held during President Clinton's first year in office in May 1993.

The barracks today is home to more than 1,100 Marines, Sailors, and civilian employees. Its assigned Marines serve the president and first family by standing guard at the White House and at the presidential retreat at Camp David, Md. The Marine Band, the "President's Own," was authorized in 1798 by President John Adams and has played for every president since its founding. The Marine Drum and Bugle Corps, formed in 1934 as the "Commandant's Own," provides musical support for hundreds of ceremonies across the United States and overseas each year.
The president and first lady clearly enjoyed their special evening with the Marines, and the Marines reciprocated that feeling.

Sgt. Kevin M. Boyce, a drummer assigned to the Drum and Bugle Corps, told Sea Power that it was a special honor to perform for the commander in chief so early in his presidency. "He made time to come to our parade," Boyce said.
Boyce also acknowledged that their special guest's presence raised the stress level for Marines during the review. "Everyone is nervous--there's a lot of security during the buildup," he said. "It made things more tense, but intense as well, and I feel that we had a really good performance as a result."

Boyce also said that the Marines at "8th and I" (so named for the streets intersecting at one corner of the barracks) did not make any special preparations for the bicentennial presidential review. "We didn't try to do anything differently," he said. "We take every performance as if it should be for the commander in chief."
A native of Orlando, Fla., who played the drums both in high school and college, Boyce admitted that he never imagined, when he enlisted in the Corps in 1997 as a motor vehicle driver, that he would one day be performing for the commander in chief.

"Heck," Boyce said, "I never thought that I would perform for the commandant!"