Courtesy Photo | Now Airman 1st Class James Graves, 61st Airlift Squadron loadmaster, poses for an...... read more read more
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The ink was still wet on Airman 1st Class James Graves’ high school diploma when he shipped out to Basic Military Training in September of 2019.
But this was not the young Airman-to-be’s first introduction to the military. From 2015 until his graduation from Beebe High School in 2019, Graves was a member of Beebe’s Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) program.
Unbeknownst to Graves, both worlds would ultimately intersect, as the former cadet, now Airman, found himself serving as a judging official for his former JROTC team in a recent multi-state drill competition.
Inspired to join by an instructor at his high school, retired Maj. Jeff Cathey, Graves signed up for JROTC his freshman year and began the enlistment process to serve on active-duty in the Air Force before he finished his senior year.
“I would talk to Major Cathey about the Air Force and he would always tell me about his time as an aircrew member while enlisted,” Graves recalled. “He talked about how well it treated him and how good his life was in the Air Force, which really inspired me to join.”
Upon joining JROTC, Graves fell in love with the pseudo military environment and the structure present in the organization.
From then on he would spend many a blood, sweat and tear-filled hours working and practicing drill and color guard activities. He also took a number of leadership classes to better prepare him for what he could expect in his active-duty career.
He said no matter how much time it took up, it never took away from his love for the drill activities.
The opportunity to serve as a judge of his former JROTC detachment was a full-circle moment for Graves, as he was now charged with evaluating one of the very same drill competitions that he used to compete in.
The annual Badger Invitational Drill competition featured nine schools with participants hailing from Arkansas, Texas and Massachusetts, including local units from Cabot, Greenwood, Pine Bluff and of course Beebe.
Graves would judge the armed drill aspects of the competition – events in which cadets execute a series of coordinated and stylized drill movements with rifles.
Based on the size of the JROTC unit, the armed drill teams from each school consisted of anywhere between six to 10 cadets and were judged based upon factors such as how well the formation stayed together, how precise and crisp their movements were and how well they could stay in step with one another.
“Having been in JROTC for four years and being a commander of one of those drill teams, I realize how much time, effort and hard work they’re putting into their craft,” Graves said. “From that perspective, I was able to pick up on a lot of what they were doing [right and wrong] and I had a much better understanding of what was going on.”
Assigned to the 61st Airlift Squadron as a loadmaster, Graves is responsible for aiding in the proper loading, securing and escorting of cargo and passengers onboard the C-130J Super Hercules.
After he gains more experience in his career field, he hopes to join the Base Honor Guard where he can continue to push and challenge himself and follow his love for drill – undoubtedly fueled by the many lessons learned during his time in JROTC.
| Date Taken: | 03.09.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 03.09.2021 09:50 |
| Story ID: | 390901 |
| Location: | LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE, ARKANSAS, US |
| Web Views: | 38 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Full Circle: Little Rock Airman judges hometown’s JROTC drill competition, by Isaiah Miller, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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