Trevor Burnside, military college student: ‘It’s your duty to serve your country in its time of need’

Trevor Burnside knows that doing the small things right leads to doing the big things better.

In this week’s Enterprise podcast, Burnside describes the sound of each member of a platoon pulling forward the bolt on their rifles at the exact same time.

“You can only hear one sound … It is awesome,” he said.

Burnside recently competed with the Shock Platoon of Norwich University at the Mardi Gras Drill Competition hosted by Tulane University in New Orleans. His squad got perfect scores and placed first both in the Color Guard and Squad Basic competition.

He’s in the Shock Platoon, Burnside said, because it gives him a sense of discipline and order.

“If you can’t do a right face correctly, you’re not going to be able to go through and lead a group of people. If you can’t hold yourself accountable to not move when you’re told to not move, you’re not going to be able to go through under pressure … to focus and lead people,” said Burnside.

He concluded, “Do the small things right and then you do the big things better.”

Burnside, who graduated from Berne-Knox-Westerlo in 2019, knew from a young age he wanted to be in the military. Both his father and uncle served in the Air Force. He spoke with a recruiter at the age of 16.

He is a member of the Corps of Cadets at Norwich, leading a military lifestyle. Founded in 1819, Norwich University – The Military College of Vermont is the oldest private and senior military college in the United States.

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