NRS Cary has the Final Say at Cary Classic Drill Meet.

Photo By MarQuan Stith | Public Affairs Officer MarQuan Stith takes a photograph of NJROTC Student at Cary High School, during Cary Classic Drill Meet.  

CARY , NC, UNITED STATES

03.11.2023

Story by MarQuan Stith 

Navy Recruiting District Raleigh

Cary, North Carolina- The annual NJROTC Cary Classic Drill Meet took place at Cary High School on March 11, 2023, and recruiters from Navy Recruiting Station (NRS) Cary were invited to be judges. This drill meet has been held for over 20 years and has gained interested from schools all along Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

“Having Navy recruiters as judges is a huge motivator for the cadets”, Said Commander Erickson. “The cadets understand that active-duty Navy service members know drill and when they get constructive criticism from the judges, they take the information to heart”.

In order to be successful, the cadets must lead, work as a team, practice and execute under pressure. These events provide the cadets the opportunity to show off what they have learned and practiced throughout the year. Not only did these events require them to be crisp in movements, precision, alignment and “snap and pop, for the drill portion, but they also must show off how physically fit they are in the field events.

The cadets went through different stations during the drill portion of the meet which included:

1) Regulation Platoon Armed/ Unarmed
2) Exhibition Platoon (or Squad) Armed/ Unarmed
3) Regulation NS-1 Platoon (First year cadets)
4) Color Guard
5) NS-1 Color Guard
6) Regulation Squad Armed/ Unarmed

In the field portion of the meet, they had to display their strength and endurance through the following events:

1) 8 x 200 Relay
2) 16 x 100 Relay
3) Sit-ups
4) Push-ups

The cadets have trained and prepared themselves for this time to shine in front of their parents, peers, instructors and judges, and for the right to be called champions. There were a lot of fierce competitors amongst the 13 different high schools that were in the attendance. There were a few invited guests from NRS Cary to be judges, which included, STG2 Ledgerwood, EN2 Garcia Reyes, BM2 Sencil and OS2 Nebe. These teams were battling for over five hours to see who would come out on top.

“It means a lot to see these kids come out here to show off their skills”, said EN2 Garcia Reyes. “I was once in JROTC just like these kids, so I know the pressures that they are under to perform well. Not only does being a judge make us visible to these kids and show that we support them, but it also gives these kids a face that they can recognize. It is important to be active in the community when it comes to recruiting and this will only help us obtain the mission”

Cary High School has the only Navy JROTC in the area and NRS Cary works hard to keep the relationship with them and stay involved with the program that is currently ran by Commander Erickson. After a long and hard found Saturday, the results were in and the champion for this year’s competition was Union Pines High School.

“The Cary Classic has a reputation of being one of the oldest and most consistent drill events in Area 6 (North and South Carolina)”, said Commander Erickson. “Having active-duty Navy judges at every drill meet reinforces the reputation that the Cary Classic is one of the most fair and legitimate drill meets in Area 6”.

• Date Taken: 03.11.2023
• Date Posted: 03.14.2023 15:17
• Story ID: 440375
• Location: CARY , NC, US