ANDERSON — A team of 25 cadets in Anderson Community Schools’ Naval Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps is competing this weekend in a regional competition drawing hundreds to display their mastery of military precision.
“They’re very good this year,”Lt. Commander Daniel Outcalt said as he watched team members rehearse maneuvers in the Wigwam before departing for competition. Anderson’s NJROTC company has placed fourth overall in two prior competitions, he said.
“We’re looking forward to doing well” at the regional competition for Great Lakes states this weekend at Central Crossing, Ohio, Outcalt said.
The event involves five competitions — two of which include executing all 70 drill-maneuver commands. “If they get one of them out of order, it will mess the whole thing up,” Outcalt said.
He said other drill programs the unit will display show off the unit’s creativity.
Students who participate in NJROTC say the program helps build leadership skills and instills discipline.
“When I was younger I knew I wanted to join the military,” said Anderson’s NJROTC Company Commander Tracy Davis. A senior, he’s been in the program since he was a freshman.
In August, he will ship off to San Diego for basic training in the U.S. Marine Corps. His time in NJROTC will allow him to enter the service as a private first class — a rank above that of most enlistees.
Davis and the other cadets know a thing or two about military ranks — and the chain of command from the White House down. They also study general orders and naval history. They will be tested on their knowledge of these as part of this weekend’s regional competition.
As Davis talked about his company, the cadets were ease. The rigid precision gave slack to high schoolers breaking the silence with laughs and animated small talk.
“We’re a little bit chatty sometimes,” Davis smiled. When the cadets are in formation, “They’re not allowed to talk, move or twitch without the company commander allowing it.”
Cadet Lt. Derrick Pierce and Cadet Master Chief Petty Officer Alyssa Jarrett agreed that leadership lessons learned from NJROTC were something they could not get in other school programs. Both anticipate a military career: Pierce, a senior, has enlisted in the Army and Jarrett expects to participate in the Air Force ROTC program at Purdue University before a possible military career.
“I did everything this class offered — everything,” Pierce said, noting that he’d left a mark on the program by placing 68th out of 3,500 rifle shooters at a national competition.
Jarrett is also involved in a Civil Air Patrol program. She got involved in NJROTC during her sophomore year, though not without a bit of the ribbing that can take place between service branches.
“I was against the Navy, honestly,” she said. “But I got into it, and I liked it. And I got Brownie points for my resume.”
While most of the cadets have military ambitions after their high school days, some do not. But Pierce said they can still learn lessons from the program.
“We’re not here to recruit you,” he said. “We’re just here to teach you how to be an adult — a responsible citizen.”
About NJROTC
Here are some facts about the Naval Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps program at Anderson Community Schools.
Cadets: About 125, from Anderson Community Schools and other districts.
Grades: 9-12.
Location: Ebbertt Education Center, Wigwam Complex, 1229 Lincoln St.
Noteworthy: Anderson’s NJROTC program is one of just six in Indiana.
Contact Dave Stafford: 648-4250, dave.stafford@heraldbulletin.com
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