In the Military there is a long standing tradition that you do not march soldiers over a bridge in step. When marching and approaching a bridge the command of Route Step, MARCH is given. This command keeps the soldiers marching in formation, but every soldier is allowed to march at her/his own step. Although this is widely practiced in the Army, I found very few who knew the reason why.

What could have possibly prompted this tradition?

I'm not much into Physics, but I'd guess that everybody stomping their feet in unison could produce vibrations that could loosen or wreck the bridge.

Posted by Old Original Oskar! on 2005-04-16 14:50:05