After months of early morning practices and hours of working together, the Roberto Clemente Community Academy Drill Team competed in the City Wide JROTC Drill Meet held at Harlan High School. This has been a challenging year for the team, as they have faced many obstacles and challenges. The competition is comprised of the following categories: Platoon inspection, in which the cadets are asked questions while their uniforms are inspected; Platoon Drill, in which the cadets are given a series of moves they must execute to standard within a certain area; Platoon Leader, in which a cadet in charge of the Platoon Drill who gives the commands to move the cadets in a prescribed area and order; Individual Drill with a Rifle, in which the cadets do precision moves with a rifle.
This was a tough competition with multiple schools from all over the city competing to advance to the next level. The Clemente team was competing in the Challenger Division and was working to move up to the Master’s Division. With their hard work and commitment, the team did extremely well. They placed 3rd Place in Platoon Inspection and 5th Place in Platoon Drill.
“This is the best group I have seen compete in the 12 years I have watched this competition,” said Sargent First Class (SFC) Lonnie Lewis, an instructor at Clemente in the JROTC program. “They came into this competition confident and focused.”
The cadets are still waiting to see if their overall score moves them up to the next division, but everyone is confident about their performance.
“I felt really good about today,” said Cadet Command Sergeant Major Cunningham, the leader on the day of the competition. “Everybody gave their best and no matter how it turns out we are coming back even stronger next year!”