1. Does anyone from the US know what the instructions are for soldiers when marching as to how to swing their arms. In the Australian Army we are instructed to bring arms to about 90degrees to the body. American soldiers always seem out for a dawdle to me rather than marching, so any answer to instructions would help.

2. US court cases on TV sometimes show the prosecution having first say at final summation and at others the defence. I know they are fiction but I was wondering if all states have a policy on this, ours in Australia is the defence always has last say.

I know I have too much time to waste thinking about these things but it keeps me away from drugs.

Ah, contraire to "time wasting", mountaingoat ! These are the sorts of qestions that butter the popcorn here at FunTrivia ! I was especially intriqued since (as an American, especially) I wasn't sure about the answers at all. The 'swinging of arms' might take a more thorough search but I did find this on Wikipedia in regards to the order of final arguments in court. As has been proven, time and again, Wiki is not always the most reliable card in the deck, but it sounds pretty much right (to my NOT legally trained self, at least):

Quote:

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The plaintiff is generally entitled to open the argument. The defendant usually goes second. The plaintiff or prosecution is usually then permitted a final rebuttal argument. In some jurisdictions, however, this form is condensed, and the prosecution or plaintiff goes second, after the defense, with no rebuttals. Either party may waive their opportunity to present a closing argument.

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Does that help? At all? I'll have a look for the "soldiers marching" details but that might be a bit more daunting. Or, more than likely, someone here will know without even having to look it up. Very eclectic pools of knowledge around here ...

1)In the US military we are instructed during drill practice to swing our arms forward at about a 45 degree angle. It is a little less when swinging your arms to the rear, and usually we are told to keep the rear swing "natural." This is usually between about 30 and 35 degrees.

2)In criminal cases, the prosecution opens the closing arguments, and then the defense offers theirs. But, procedural law holds that the prosecution is always entitled to the last word due to the fact that the burden of proof is (in theory) much, much heavier for the prosecution. So, after the defense has finished its closing, the prosecution has one more time, if they so wish, to stand up and address the jury again. The defense, after they've rested their closing, may not rebut the prosecution.

Thanks Bassman. Years of wondering put to rest.

In Catch22 Captain Scheisskopf wants his men's arms fastened to their thighs by an exact length of wire to prevent them from swinging beyond the regulatory distance. The length may be given but I forget. It is interesting that Scheisskopf becmae a General in the book.
A great read by the way.

In the Australian army, if someone can't swing their arms opposite to their feet they put him between 2 soldiers holding 2 broomhandles. He then grips the handles and it forces him to follow their lead. It sure looks funny tho. lol.

I think they experimented with the Pete Townsend Windmill Guitar Arm Swing for a while, but gave up on it. It generated a draft that kept pushing the column to the side.

They tried some different music to get better results. The best result was marching to, "Mama's Got a Squeezebox". Things really fell apart though when they tried , "See Me, Feel Me". It rendered the whole "don't ask, don' tell issue moot."

I always knew that someone named Scheisskopf was destined for stardom.