Participation involves daily rifle drill instruction and practice. As with all other Corps activities, poor academic performance results in suspension from participation. The team began when the freshmen were moved from the main campus to deal with the overcrowding and hazing issues that followed World War II and the return of war veterans to the A&M campus. The freshmen were moved to the Riverside Campus Annex and lived in the dorms of the retired Bryan Air Force Base twelve miles from campus. They were bussed to class each day, but primarily lived in isolation from the rest of the Corps. Out of boredom, the freshmen organized themselves into the Freshman Drill Team and made their debut performance among the jeers and laughter of their upperclassmen. By the end of the performance however, the team received a standing ovation. The Fish Drill Team is open to any freshman in the Corps who is willing to accept the challenges of being on the team. At the beginning of each season, the team consists of about 150 Fish Drill Team candidates. However, by the end of the first semester the number of candidates has usually dwindled down to about 40. The Fish Drill Team competes in precision drill competitions around the United States each year and represents the Corps of Cadets and Texas A&M. They have won numerous national championships, including five consecutive national titles at the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C. from 1968 to 1972. The national precision drill championship hosted at the National Cherry Blossom Festival was discontinued in 1974. With the absence of a national drill meet, the Fish Drill Team continued winning. The team won 16 consecutive Texas State Champion titles. In 1997, the team was put on hiatus for four years due to leadership concerns and issues, most notably hazing of students. The team was reinstated in the spring of 2002 with the Class of 2005. However, the Class of 2006 was the first team to compete since reinstatement, taking 2nd place at the national competition. Since then the Fish Drill Team has won the overall national title every year, except 2009 when the team placed 2nd, including their most recent win at the 2020 Mardi Gras Drill Meet hosted by Tulane University NROTC. The Fish Drill Team portrayed the United States Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon during the opening segment of the 1992 film "A Few Good Men". Formed in 2012, the Corps of Cadets Marksmanship Unit (CCMU) is the Corps competitive shooting team, partaking in competitions throughout the state of Texas and across the country. They compete in a wide variety of shooting fields, including the following: SASP, 3gun, Trap and Skeet, and USPSA.