Navy SEALs Visit

On Thursday May 15, a group of Navy SEALs parachuted into the Linganore stadium. All ROTC students were invited to watch during their first period class, and a few others got wind of the even and came to the stadium, too: I was not able to attend because I was taking an AP test. Many students I have talked to were excited to watch and a few even got videos of the flybys and the SEALs. I hope we can get some of these videos uploaded to a website or computer so that I can link this blog to them. There were many ROTC students in my position who could not attend because of testing, and I would like to be able to give them access to the videos.

So What Happened?

Three SEALs that parachuted after the flyby. At first, there was nothing remarkable about the event. Then, one of the three let off a few smoke bombs of different colors that spiraled around him. My friend Holly said that was one of her favorite parts. After the SEALs landed, they were interviewed by the students. Not many students were there, but the SEALs were positive and answered all of the questions. Topics ranged from their Navy training to details about the planes.
I really wish I could have been there to meet the Navy SEALs. It would have been a great opportunity to talk to active duty men who sacrifice a lot to keep our country safe. For general information on the SEALs, their demonstration schedule, or to learn how to join you can visit the official website at http://www.seal.navy.mil/

If any of the students who watched have any stories they would like to share about the SEAL visit, feel free to comment on this post. I am sure that everyone would love to get your view on the event.

Academic Team Results

Yesterday afternoon I received the results from the Western Almanac NJROTC 2008 spring Academic Postal. These tests were sent off a few weeks ago and I am proud of the results. We had 5 people participate for our school and all of the participants had scores above 70 out of 100.

These scores gave us a total of 403, the highest score out of all the teams that participated. As the first place team, we will be receiving a plaque to display in our case. The second place team had a score of 325, nearly 100 fewer points than ours. The team in third place was a full 123 points behind with a score of 280.

The highest scorer on our team, M. Thews, has been awarded a medal for his achievement. His score was 84, but J. Romano and C. Higgins were close with their scores of 82 and 81.

T. Williams and D. French also participated and deserve mention for their scores of 79 and 77. If the Linganore Academic Team can keep up the good work, it won’t be long until they are known as one of the best teams in the state.

Academic Team

At the beginning of the school year, Tanner asked me to join the Academic Team. I was unable to join because I could not make it to all the practices. The team meets every Tuesday and Thursday from 2:30 to 4:00. I was disappointed because it would have been an honor to be working with another excellent group of ROTC students.

This year is the first year Tanner has run the team, and it has been a challenge for him. On every advisement day, I hear him reminding people about practices and encouraging the members to come. It is important for the team to meet and study for the academic tests they take because teams from all over Area 5 compete. Each team has the best students from their ROTC unit, and the competition is intense

If a person from our team places, he/she gets a medal the wear on his/her uniform. The medal is a symbol of pride and achievement in the ROTC program. Unfortunately, many of the fist year students (NS1s) do not understand this, as they have not been coming to study the material or take the tests.

The Academic tests cover all material learned in a ROTC course. This includes military and drill knowledge, sailing, first aid, history, and many other subjects. There are different levels for students who have completed additional ROTC courses. This makes the test harder, but also makes the achievement greater.

The Linganore Academic Team sends in postal scores. This means that the students take the test at school and mail their answers to the administrator of the test. It is then graded and the score is compared to the scores of other cadets who sent their tests. These postal scores qualify our team for further academic tests. If our team places in a postal match, we get to advance to other competitions.

I have not been able to find out from Tanner whether the Academic Team has won any awards this year. I do know that some NS1 tests have been sent off recently and should be getting scored. I hope the NS1s did well and can earn a medal to wear with pride!

Rifle Team

The rifle team is among the many groups associated with the Linganore JROTC. Commander Lane oversees the team, giving guidance and tips to the members. In his article for The Lance, Cdr. Lane gives detailed information regarding the technical aspects of the team. To see the article, visit: http://my.highschooljournalism.org/md/frederick/lhs/article.cfm?eid=16758&aid=214783

The team is still small, but Kyle, the team captain is hoping new recruits will join for the coming school year. In addition, he hopes that everyone who joins at the beginning of the year is committed to doing their best and dedicated to the team. Dedication is important because at the beginning of the school year, there were about 15 cadets at each practice. As the school year went on, the numbers dwindled. Most recently, practices have had only three or four cadets. This has slowed the team progress.

Despite small practice numbers, individual members have been showing improvement. In the last match, the team had some members place in the top five. Kyle was only two points away from advancing to the national level. This disappointed him a bit, because the day of the match was an “off day” for him. His scores were well under what they could have been. I don’t think he should feel too bad, though, because this is still an achievement and shows that the Linganore Rifle Team has the qualifications to compete with the best in the nation.

Kyle achieved his status through hard work and commitment. Luck may have helped another member of the team, who has shown skill, despite the fact that his practice has not been consistent. Daniel won first place in offhand shooting, a form that is hard to master. As a senior, it is a shame that his aptitude was not tapped previously. It will be difficult to find someone who shows such promise. I can only hope that future members will feel pride in their developing skills and dedicate more time to the team.

Even with only two years of development, their reputation is growing. The father of a seventh grader contacted Commander Lane to get more information on the ROTC program. This student is going to join a recreational shooting team this summer. If he joins the program and the rifle team as a freshman in two years, it would be an asset and a fantastic experience to have him be a part of the group.

Contact Commander Lane if you are interested in this opportunity. henry.lane@fcps.org

Leadership Academy

For one week in the summer, select ROTC cadets attend Leadership Academy. The Academy is similar to an intense, highly competitive summer camp. It is designed to train cadets who will take charge of their units. This year I have been selected by Master Sergeant and Commander Lane to attend Leadership Academy. They are confident that I have the academic standing and physical fitness to succeed in the Academy. I'm honored to be selected, but I'm training now to make sure that I am definately physically ready.

In order to prepare for the challenge, I have been training with two other cadets who are going to Leadership Academy. Each day, we run 2-3 cross country miles and do the “Daily Seven.” The Daily Seven is a routine of push ups, curl ups, leg lifts, and other exercises to develop muscular strength and endurance.

In the two weeks since I started to train, I have seen improvement in all areas. The Daily Seven has become easier for me, so I have to increase the repetitions of each exercise to continue to improve. Two miles still pushes my limit, but I can run longer than I have ever been able to run before.

The first day of training, 1.5 miles was difficult for me to run. I thought I was going to have to stop running earlier than my partner because I was so out of shape. I only made it to my goal because my partner was right there beside me, telling me I could do it. He told me that “It isn’t so far. Just keep running a little longer, and the rest of the mile is downhill.”

His encouragement challenged me to go further than I thought I could and proved that half of the training is mental. If I believe that I can accomplish the task, I will be able to do it. By the end of the school year, I expect to be able to run an easy 3 miles, which will improve as I continue to train in the weeks leading up to Leadership Academy.

Next year, I will be the Administrations Officer. I take care of all of the paperwork for the activities associated with JROTC. I hope this leadership experience will prepare me beyond the physical to be a leader of my peers.

Drill Team

The first thing many people ask me about drill team is: Why would anyone want to be at school with a dozen other cadets at 6:00 a.m.? They don’t understand how I can wake up at 4 and still have energy for the rest of the day. My answer is simple—drill team is fun, and perfecting the routines gives me a sense of pride.

What is drill team like?

At the beginning of the year, each cadet commander gets a national drill card. This card contains the marching routine (both unarmed and armed) that will be graded at the drill meets. We practice each routine until all of our movements are coordinated. This takes a lot of work—about a half an hour a day for each routine we practice. The platoon is graded on how sharply and correctly we execute our movements and whether every cadet performs the action at the same time. If our platoon is good enough, we will come home from the drill meet with a trophy.

What I find really cool is that even though we are not allowed to talk while practicing our routine, we have gotten to know each other through the way we march (and of course, talking while not practicing). Each person has learned the strengths and weaknesses of the platoon and can adjust his/her performance to minimize the weaknesses.

What makes drill fun?

Once we have mastered the standard drill cards, the drill team starts to practice exhibition drill. This is the most exciting part for me because we get to spin the rifles. It is also one of the hardest drill skills to master. So far, only one cadet is experienced enough to consistently spin well. He is patiently teaching to rest of us and always challenges us to become as good as he is.

For me, the hardest part of spinning the rifles is actually letting go of the rifle so that it can spin properly. The first few times, I hit myself in the knees and the face. No permanent damage was done (thankfully), and I certainly learned a new respect for the people who can spin a rifle well without getting hurt. I have mastered the right handed spin, and I am now working on my left handed spin.

In the last few weeks of practice, the drill team has started to develop our own exhibition routine. It is short now, about two minutes, but we are working hard to make sure it looks good. It is our goal to be the best drill team in the area, so we work hard and put a lot of effort into all of our routines—even the standard drill.

How are we doing?

We've had a few regular meets, but no trophies. Right now, we are too inexperienced, but we are getting better with every competition. There are no more meets this year, but we're practicing for next year when we'll be more seasoned.

Misconceptions about the JROTC PRogram

It never ceases to amaze me how little many people know about the JROTC program. Once, I met a person who thought the program was designed by the government to brainwash students into joining the military. Nothing could be further from the truth, but I never convinced him. Most individuals aren’t so extreme, but I would like to address some of the misunderstandings here.

Joining Requirements:
A lot of people think that if a person joins the JROTC program, that person has to serve in the military. There is no such requirement. Many cadets that I know joined the program because they already had a military interest, but not all of them are going to join the military. There are many benefits to everyone, including learning leadership and having a lot of fun. I had an idea that one avenue for my future might be a military career. JROTC has given me an opportunity to explore without a commitment.

What do we do?
I have heard from some people that JROTC looks boring. If all a person sees is the marching, that can be a valid assumption, but there is so much more to the program--especially here at Linganore. The whole cadet corps is involved in group activities like the military ball (in my last post) or going to a field meet. The camaraderie in our group is wonderful. I have become friends with so many interesting people that I would never have had the chance to talk to without being in the group. During the week, we learn military history, military etiquette, drill (with and without rifles), physical training and leadership activities.

Who are our instructors?
Master Sergeant seems to scare a lot of people. I will admit that he can be very imposing, especially if he has caught a cadet doing something wrong. On most days, he is extremely personable and will even joke with many of the cadets. Commander Lane always presents a calm and reserved demeanor, which often leads people to assume he is a boring teacher. With JROTC, he is passionate and animated. Both men are brilliant leaders and mentors. We are all very lucky to have both Master Sergeant and Cdr Lane as our instructors. Master Sergeant is the coach of the track team (both boys and girls), and he has motivated many students to join track. Commander Lane leads the rifle team, which has won individual and team awards throughout the region.

Hopefully this has cleared up many of the misunderstandings about the ROTC program. I believe that if people really understood the program, we would have more students who wish to join this esteemed program. I am sure the whole cadet corps would welcome the chance to expand the reach of our program.