Parks Guard
Parks Guard Rifle Drill Team, or PG, was founded in 1948 as an Air Force Rifle Drill team representing Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology, a college of Saint Louis University.
History
Parks Guard was officially founded as a Parks College Student Organization in 1948, but records have shown that it was fully active prior to its establishment. Parks Guard may have first formed as a necessary color guard unit that represented the United States Army Air Corps ROTC program for military ceremonies. The military tie to Parks College is not to surprising because World War Two was in full swing and most, if not all, aviation schools had some sort of military presence; also being the first federally certified aviation program made Parks College an ideal training area for both civilians and military engineers and aviators.
For 64 years, Parks Guard has represented Parks College—the first aviation college in the United States—making it one of the oldest organizations on the campus. Parks Guard is a varsity Class "A" Rifle Exhibition Drill Team composed of students from the St. Louis area. Parks Guard is regarded as one of the strongest teams in the country and annually receives invitations from across the nation to compete. Several factors have led to this outstanding recognition: the team's unique style of marching (the slow 40-step per minute cadence), difficult rifle tosses, and the degree of self-discipline each member has as a result of the program's intense introductory training.
Historically, the majority of Parks Guard alumni have gone on to serve their respective military services; mainly Army, Air Force, and Marines. This is because those three services had a presence around the St. Louis metropolitan area where Parks Guard resides. The Parks Guard alumni vary in rank. From the enlisted ranks of those three services to even as high as Colonels and General Officers. Two things remain the same for all Parks Guard alumni, both civilian and military, and it is the strive for perfection and the bonds they share.
Modern Day
Parks Guard currently shares no affiliation with any specific officer accession training programs or military branches and has seen a rise in civilian membership as a result. Instead, it is simply recognized as a Chartered Student Organization (CSO) by Saint Louis University and Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, which allows it to maintain the broadest possible membership base and received the largest possible budget for expenses. However, it is still composed of students participating in military programs due to the discipline, attention to detail, physical fitness and knowledge of drill and ceremonies that it provides, which proves quite applicable in military settings.
Most recently, Parks Guard earned a first place trophy at the Villanova University Invitational Drill Meet (VUIDM) held by Villanova University in 2010 for its Platoon Exhibition routine and notably placed higher than the United States Naval Academy's Jolly Rogers, another highly regarded rifle exhibition team. In 2011, Parks Guard earned a third place trophy at the Southern California Invitational Drill Meet (SCIDM) held by the University of Southern California (USC) within the Four-Man Exhibition event.
Disclaimers
Parks Guard is only affiliated with Saint Louis University and Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. Parks Guard claims no affiliation to any other extraneous organization(s) utilizing any of its logos or artwork, whether or not they present it in different forms, or claiming affiliation to Parks Guard.