Kaiserslautern High School hosts annual march to combat veteran suicide

Photo By Airman 1st Class Dominique Ingram | Izzy O‘Keefe, a cadet Tech. Sgt. from the Air Force Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program at Kaiserslautern High School, calls cadences during the Veteran’s Awareness March, Nov. 16, 2023, at Babers Stadium, on Vogelweh Air Base, Germany. The schools raised approximately $45,000 in donations for veteran aid organizations and JROTC programs. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Dominique Ingram)  

GERMANY

11.17.2023

Story by Airman 1st Class Dominique Ingram 

AFN Kaiserslautern

On Nov. 10, 2023, cadets from the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps at Kaiserslautern and Ramstein High School commemorated Veteran’s Day with a march at Kaiserslautern High School on Vogelweh Air Base, Germany.
The rivalry between the two Department of Defense Europe Activities schools is amplified by the eight miles that separate the campuses.
Five cadet flights integrated between the two schools for the march, while a sixth flight was a consolidated leadership flight.
“Their Alpha flight was marching with our Alpha flight,” said Air Force Lt. Col (Ret.) William Conley, the senior aerospace science instructor of JROTC at KHS.
For the veteran’s march, the competitive spirit that ignites both schools calmly subsided.
“We talk about rivalry a lot,” said KHS Cadet Chief Master Sgt. Libby Bergeron. “Even though there can be a negative side to rivalry, you get higher turnout, higher drive, and more donations whenever you combine.”
Although Conley instructs, many JROTC initiatives are led by the cadets.
“The Color Guard came out at 7 a.m. to practice, knowing the march started at 10 a.m. They were out in the rain, and they wanted to make sure what they did was a good job. That is exactly what they delivered,” emphasized Conley.
The color guard led the way for the opening lap. Instead of an animated start to the march, a quiet tribute began. The entire opening lap was a held in a moment of silence to honor the twenty-two service members who take their own lives every day.
“The day was all about the veterans, and how we support them. All of us are dedicated to serving others,” Conley elaborated.
As a token of support for the twenty-two lives taken per day, twenty-two percent of the proceeds were donated to support veterans in organizations such as Homes for Vets and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
“We spread awareness by going around base housing and spoke to every single house on our base housing,” said RHS Cadet Lt. Col. Jenna French. “We told them about the cause, and asked if they wanted to donate,” French detailed.
Community interactions from the cadets helped increase donations. These efforts by the cadets to engage with the community extended after school hours, into their personal time.
“The cadets volunteered to group up after school,” said Air Force Master Sgt. (Ret.) Matt Atkinson, a RHS JROTC instructor. “They knocked door-to-door in the rain. We had freshman all the way to seniors that did not know each other but were meeting up anyways to ask for donations,” Atkinson outlined.
The schools’ faculty matched the efforts from the JROTC units.
“The faculty let us put posters all over the building. We had faculty that marched with us. They let us promote what we do throughout the school,” Atkinson recapped.
Although the cadets are not enlisted members of the armed forces, the military still can impact their mental health.
“The cadets are 15 to 16-year-olds that are getting taken out of one school and put into another school because mom or dad has to deploy or PCS. It really has an impact on their mental health. Thankfully, we have amazing resources at the school to provide the necessary support to these young men and women,” Conley said.
The efforts from the schools resulted in over $45,000 in combined donations for foundations supporting veterans and furthering leadership opportunities for both JROTC units.

• Date Taken: 11.17.2023
• Date Posted: 11.17.2023 07:54
• Story ID: 458023
• Location: DE