Quote Originally Posted by Myth View Post
Can someone explain to this poor foo' who hasn't been to the army the purpouse of the military cadence (running songs)?

Esprit de Corps? Discipline? Breathing training? Also, who does the singing? If it's the sarge, he must have some pretty huge lungs to be able to run 5 km while singing.
indeed, and adding to the oxygen processing capacity is part of it. wiki

It all stems back to the basic sense of "unit" that emerges from close-order drill. That sense of unit cohesion is still valued -- hence running in groups with cadence songs and the like -- even when close order drill is passé on the battlefield.