Photo By Joseph P Cirone | Cadet Lauren Devlin of the King George High School (King George, Va.) Naval Junior...... read more read more
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WASHINGTON – The support given to youth programs by Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling (JBAB), including its Navy Ceremonial Guard mission partner, leads to better outcomes in school and brighter futures, according to students.
Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (NJROTC) Cadet Juan Lovos, said of his participation in the program, “It has enabled me to pursue increased responsibility; it’s helped me get good grades.”
“It serves as an inspiration if you want to do better in school and it presents a widespread set of opportunities for scholarships, it’s really great,” he continued.
Lovos, a student at Bell Multicultural High School in the District of Columbia, was one of many high school students from the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia, who recently visited JBAB to take part in the 15th annual NJROTC Drill Competition.
Tre’yana Elliott, also an NJROTC cadet at Bell Multicultural High School, said, “It influences me in amazing ways. I’m more of a leader and more disciplined. This helps me and puts me on the path. It does a lot.”
“It has done quite a lot for me. I have learned to concur my fears. You become part of a brotherhood, have fun, meet new people and learn new things that can help you later in life,” said Bell NJROTC Cadet Frank Alvarado.
Cadet Arthur Carleo, an NJROTC member at the John F. Kennedy High School in Silver Spring, Maryland, said, “NJROTC has made me more organized. I recommend it for the fun of it or for a future career in the military.”
Fellow Kennedy NJROTC cadets expressed similar thoughts.
Cadet Kevin Melgar said, “NJROTC has helped me improve my responsibility and accountability; and it opens up many doors for the future. “It’s a great experience, I highly recommend it. You get once in a lifetime opportunities,” Cadet Adrian Cruz stated.
King George (Virginia) High School NJROTC Cadet Lauren Devlin said, “It has increased my confidence to an extreme amount.”
Linganore High School (Frederick, Maryland) NJROTC Cadet Brady Brockdorff of Mt. Airy, Maryland, said, “It starts the journey from boy to man.”
“Everyone should join, even if by curiosity, like I did. You make a bond with everyone around you,” stated Kennedy Cadet Jose Salgado.
Kennedy NJROTC Instructor, retired Navy Chief Operations Specialist Sharon Rogers, said, “It teaches the cadets the leadership skills they will need for the future. The teamwork and camaraderie they develop – there is none like it.”
For some cadets, the influence to join the school-based program starts at home. “My sister was an NJROTC member,” said Bell’s David Lee. “I like that it trains people and helps them become better.”
In preparation of the annual Navy Ball, JBAB hosts an NJROTC drill competition to determine the best NJROTC color guard. The winning color guard presents the nation’s colors at the Ball, which is attended by the Chief of Naval Operations and many other military and non-military leaders.
The competition is judged by members of the Navy’s elite Ceremonial Guard.
“Every time we do this event, the NJROTC instructors from the different schools are impressed with the quality of the judging performed by the members of the Navy Ceremonial Guard,” according to retired Navy Lt. Cmdr. James Ogawa, senior naval science instructor at Osborne High School in Manassas, Virginia, and the co-coordinator of the event.
While the competition scores are being tallied, the Ceremonial Guard’s Silent Drill Team performs a demonstration for the NJROTC cadets and their instructors.
Ogawa said, “Watching the Ceremonial Guard perform color guard duties and the demonstration provided by the silent drill team, enables the instructors to watch and try to emulate that in their own units.”
Bowie (Maryland) High School NJROTC Cadet Jesse Lopez said, “I think it is a great honor to perform here at JBAB on the very same decks that the world’s best Navy Ceremonial Guard use and for us to have an opportunity to learn from them.”
Cadet Spencer Daily of LaPlata High School’s NJROTC unit said, “Having this competition here at JBAB is really important. This is where the Navy’s Ceremonial Guard trains and being here in the same place is really an honor.”
“Performing at JBAB is amazing. While this base is around where I live, I’ve never been on it,” Elliott observed. “I pass by JBAB many times when I’m going to my sister’s job and I think one day I’ll be on this base performing military duty, so to be on it now is great,” Lovos reflected. “I’ve never been here before, so it is amazing,” said Lee.
“Competing here at JBAB is really an honor. For me it’s a familiar place, my father is in the Army and worked here,” LaPlata Cadet Jadalynn Haia said. “JBAB is also a familiar place for me. My brother is a Marine here” fellow cadet Samantha Stewart, reported.
Retired Navy Capt. Frank Winkle, the senior naval science instructor at Bell, said, “It’s great holding this event at JBAB, it gives my students the opportunity to be in the environment of both the Navy and Air Force Honor Guard units.”
Bell Cadet Frank Alvarado said, “Being able to compete at JBAB is one of the key moments of my life so far.”
“There is a lot of learning going on here. The Ceremonial Guard may not know it, but they have a large audience of very appreciative people of what they do. We very much appreciate what JBAB does to ensure the success of this event each year,” Ogawa concluded.
| Date Taken: | 10.06.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 10.06.2014 10:54 |
| Story ID: | 144366 |
| Location: | WASHINGTON, DC, US |
| Web Views: | 122 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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