Silent Drill Team

The United States Naval Academy Silent Drill Team, "The Jolly Rogers," was established in 1990. The mission of the Jolly Rogers  is to represent the Brigade of  Midshipmen in official ceremonies and events by demonstrating excellence and discipline through precise and calculated exhibition drill performances.

The Jolly Rogers is a rifle platoon that performs a unique precision drill exhibition. Established in September of 1990 by a group of Midshipmen, the Jolly Rogers represent the Naval Academy and the United States Navy in a wide variety of public appearances, to include local dress parades, sports half-time shows, local military events, invitational drill meets, and other official ceremonies

Throughout the year, they perform in front of hundreds of thousands of spectators at the US Naval Academy and across the country. In recent years the Jolly Rogers have performed at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, MS, Madison Square Garden in New York, NY, Mardi Gras in New Orleans' French Quarter, Washington, DC, and many other special occasions by invitation. 

The performing "block" of the Jolly Rogers is a highly disciplined group of 8-to-16 men and women. Each member of the exhibition platoon carries the M-14 rifle  fixed with the M-6 bayonet, the same weapon issued to the rest of the Brigade of Midshipmen. It weighs approximately 11 pounds in its performance configuration, to include the weight of a fixed bayonet. The Jolly Rogers is the only exhibition platoon that utilizes M-14 rifles in place of M1903 or M1 rifles. 

Each member of the team trains daily in order to memorize and perfect the entire performance routine so that they may execute it without any verbal commands. The team is midshipmen-run, utilizing no coaches nor support personnel, offering unique leadership opportunities and placing an important emphasis on tradition and a strong sense of pride in evolving the performance routine.