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The Leader’s Training Course, or LTC, also known as Operation BOLD CHALLENGE, is held each summer at Fort Knox, Ky. The course exists to motivate and qualify college students to enter the Senior Army ROTC program on their campus. Check out LTC at http://leaderstrainingcourse.com.

The Leader Development and Assessment Course, known as Operation WARRIOR FORGE, is U.S. Army Cadet Command’s flagship training and assessment event that every Army Cadet must successfully complete before he or she can be commissioned as an Army officer. Check out LDAC at http://warriorforge.wordpress.com.

Taylor Coppolino signs drum heads before picking up her gift bag at in-processing at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Texas. The student at Whitewater High School in Fayetteville, Ga., is one of 24 high school seniors performing in the All-American Band's color guard for the All-American Bowl. Photo: Forrest Berkshire

Field Report

FORT WORTH, Texas – North Side High School Army JROTC Cadet Cristal Flores went to the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport hoping to thank soldiers as they headed back to Iraq and Afghanistan and give them the knowledge that they are appreciated.

Flores and dozens of other cadets, left the airport on Dec. 11 feeling inspired, proud and committed to serving their country.

“When I saw the troops leaving the airport to go back…at that moment, I thought of me being the one to leave the airport,” said Flores, a freshman North Side High School who hopes to pursue a military career after high school.

This is the second year North Side High School JROTC cadets have gone to the airport to greet troops returning from overseas and to thank troops headed back into dangerous locations,

including Iraq and Afghanistan. This year, the cadets passed out holiday cards made by students, teachers and staff at North Side High School in Fort Worth, Texas.

Many of the cadets said they were touched by the emotional reunions and goodbyes.

“At first it made me sad because there are thousands of people who grow up, join the Army, leave, and sometimes don’t come back,” said cadet Analyssa Lira, who is also a freshman at North Side High School. “They do that for the country they love. Nobody forces them to risk their lives for our freedom. These people are so selfless.”

Cadet Cynthia Gomez, a freshman at North Side High School, was particularly touched by “a woman crying looking at her husband who was holding their little daughter, who was no older than three years old. Right at that moment, I felt the sorrow and despair rolling off the parents.”

Other cadets felt hope and pride.

“I learned that we have to be thankful for our Soldiers who go into combat for us so we can have freedom,” said Cadet Nidia Rodriguez, a senior at North Side. “The best way we can show respect is to thank them.”

Lt. Col. Richard Crossley, Senior JROTC Instructor, said the trip to the airport is the “best community service project we have done, and one of the things we will continue to do.”

“To see the look on the faces of the soldiers and cadets…it was great,” Crossley said. “It means so much to the cadets and to the returning service members.”

The field trip fit nicely with the JROTC core curriculum, which emphasizes service to the community, honor and integrity. Also, it strengthens one of our core abilities: doing your share as a good citizen in your school, your country and the world.

“Part of the creed of JROTC is citizenship,” Crossley said. “If you don’t care about your community and giving, that’s not citizenship. Citizenship is about giving; it’s about serving.

“As a Soldier, I know what it means when you’ve been away to see fellow citizens standing there at the terminal saying, `Thanks for your service. We appreciate your sacrifice,’” Crossley said. “It was powerful for the kids.”

Cadet Zackry Chandler, a sophomore at North Side, said the experience stirred powerful and conflicting emotions within him.

“There was sadness because I watched the troops leave knowing some of them might not make it back,” Chandler said. “But I am grateful that I got a chance to say goodbye.”

The current and former commanding generals of U.S. Army Cadet Command pose for a photo during a gathering last week. Pictured are, left to right, retired Maj. Gens. Robert Wagner, Wallace Arnold, James Lyle, Stewart Wallace, Alan Thrasher and current commander Maj. Gen. Arthur Bartell. Photo: George Whitley

By George Whitley
U.S. Army Cadet Command

FORT MONROE, Va. — Five former commanding generals of the Army’s ROTC program returned here last week for an update on the organization they once led.

For Cadet Command’s current commander, it was an opportunity to receive feedback and ideas from his predecessors and trumpet recent successes.

“You are the brain trust of this command,” Maj. Gen. Arthur Bartell said. “I want to provide you with a view through our lens of what the command looks like today. I ask you to provide your views back through that lens to help us with the way ahead.”

The past commanders who attended the session were retired Maj. Gens. Robert Wagner, the first commander of Cadet Command from April 1986 to April 1990; Wallace Arnold, April 1990 to June 1993; James Lyle, June 1993 to June 1996; Stewart Wallace, August 1996 to August 2000; and Alan Thrasher, July 2003 to June 2005.

Retired Maj. Gen. John T. D. Casey, who led the command from August 2000 to July 2003, and Montague Winfield, June 2005 to November 2008, were unable to attend.

One major success Bartell hailed was the command exceeding in 2009 its fiscal year commissioning mission for the first time since 2005.

“We have reached a total of 4,592 commissions for this year,” said Lt. Col. Rodney Roederer, chief of the command’s Operations and Analysis Division. “That exceeds this year’s goal of 4,500 commissions and tops last year’s total by almost 300.”

In 2005, 4,178 second lieutenants were commissioned through Army ROTC. Until this year, 2005 had the highest number of commissions in any of the last 10 years, command records show.

“In meeting this mission, we now face a new challenge for the future,” Bartell said. “The eligible pool of Cadets for our ROTC program is shrinking. Today, 75 percent of the nation’s 17- to 24-year-olds are disqualified for military service because of medical, moral or dependent issues. Of the 25 percent that are qualified, it is projected that only 7 percent of them will pursue a four-year undergraduate degree.”

Another success Bartell talked about was the high quality of today’s professors of military science the command has on its 273 campuses around the country.

“We have the best officers in the history of the program working with our Cadets right now,” he said. “The downside is we have problems with keeping our officers on campus for their full tour because of their high selection rate for command and other high-level assignments.”

Cadet Command faces a number of challenges in the future, Bartell said, the most significant of which is a mission increase of 12 percent.

The number of Cadets in the senior ROTC program today has reached a five-year high at a little more than 35,000, according to command officials. Of that, more than 15,000 are on some form of scholarship. Based on the current numbers, the outlook for Army ROTC is promising, Bartell said.

Another issue facing the command, which provides thousands of scholarships annually, is the rising cost of college tuition and fees for in-state students at four-year public colleges. Today, the cost for this school year averages $7,020, a 6.5 percent increase over the last school year.

Bartell also referred to difficulties in maintaining the current tempo of operations during the upcoming move of the headquarters to Fort Knox, Ky., during the next 18 months. He said the organization will overcome any hurdles and remain focused on the mission.

A worker carries a box filled with pieces of partitions that are being put up in Cadet Command Forward’s new building at 1003 1st Cavalry Regiment Road. Employees from the organization begin moving into the new space Jan. 5. Photo: Steve Arel

By Steve Arel
U.S. Army Cadet Command

FORT KNOX, Ky. — The new year begins with something of a belated Christmas gift for U.S. Army Cadet Command: a new home.

After some delays, employees from the command’s forward element at Knox move Jan. 5 into the refurbished structure at 1003 1st Cavalry Regiment Road in what represents the most significant portion so far of the organization’s BRAC transition.

Some 31 people in various divisions will settle into the new Cadet Command Forward headquarters that sits adjacent to Brooks Field, the post’s main parade field. The building eventually will house 96 people by next summer, including the deputy commanding general, whose position will move from its current base at Fort Monroe, Va.

“Now, seeing the furniture come in, it looks good,” said John Sogan, Cadet Command’s BRAC project officer at Fort Knox. “Cadet Command employees are going to get a quality facility.”

The two-story building for years was home to Fort Knox’s blood center until it closed a couple of years ago. Over the last 12 months or so, the building has been gutted and restructured to accommodate administrative operations.

Cadet Command had expected to move in early last summer, Sogan said, but that date got pushed back because of additional requested modifications. Among them were bringing bathrooms up to Americans with Disabilities Act compliance, adding data lines in walls and installing a unisex bathroom and break room in the basement.

Contractors are spending December moving in furniture and piecing together partitions that will create sectioned space for Cadet Command employees. The partitions, through which wiring and data lines will run to allow easy connections for employees, contain padded paneling that’s designed to deaden sound and provide some privacy.

The building itself is part of a three-building cluster — Buildings 1001 and 1002 are the others — that, by the end of Fiscal 2011, will house all Cadet Command headquarters personnel.

Sogan, who has worked on this initial move since being hired in March, said the project has posed considerable challenges at times. He has tried to head off potential issues and foster employee buy-in by meeting with division chiefs and deputies from all of the command’s directorates on everything from the setup of their areas to the design of workstations, all to ensure they have the space and equipment to operate effectively once BRAC concludes.

“There are so many different players, and I’ve been trying to keep them informed and make changes” as warranted, Sogan said. “It’s been a major undertaking.”

But it’s just the first in a series of hurdles to prepare for Cadet Command’s transition to Kentucky, which is expected to be complete by fall 2011. Chuck Waggoner, Cadet Command’s BRAC manager at Fort Knox, said the work doesn’t get any easier.

“This is just the first building of the footprint,” he said.

As moving day for the first building nears, Sogan keeps in mind part of the BRAC mantra that states that employees who are being displaced will relocate to facilities that are either as good as those they leave behind, or better.

“In think we’ve met that with this facility,” he said.

FORT MONROE,Va. — Three Army JROTC programs captured the top prizes at the recent National Raider Challenge Championship.

Smith-Cotton High School in Missouri won the mixed division. Francis Lewis High School in New York topped the female division, and Paulding County High School in Georgia took the male division title.

The third annual two-day competition, held last month at the Gerald I. Lawhorn Scouting Base in Molena, Ga., featured a record 64 teams representing 35 high schools from around the country. Cadets participating were from Army, Navy and Marine Corps programs.

Smith-Cotton edged out Jenkins County High School of Georgia in the mixed division (teams consist of boys and girls), winning three of the five competition categories and finishing second in the other two. Campbell High School, another entry from Georgia, took third overall.

Cadet Earl Manuel, commander of the Smith-Cotton squad, said the victory was significant.

“This was a great experience for all the Cadets on the Smith-Cotton team,” he said. “We put Sedalia, Mo., on the map with this win.”

The team’s success stemmed from the Cadets’ drive, its coach said.

“Our Smith-Cotton team worked hard every day to become this year’s raider national champion,” said retired Sgt. 1st Class Thomas Bush, the team’s coach. “Our staff and the local community are very proud of the team and what they have accomplished.”

In the female division, this particular group of Francis Lewis High School Cadets had only been working together for a couple of months. Considering their inexperience, the win stunned the team’s coach, retired Master Sgt. Pete Rompf.

“Every night I’m laying in bed saying, ‘We won,’ ” he said. “I still can’t believe it. It was the biggest thrill for me since I’ve been here.”

Grissom High School of Huntsville, Ala., placed second in the female division, with Richmond Hill High School, of Richmond Hill, Ga., third.

Coming in behind Paulding County High School, of Dallas, Ga., in the male division were Francis Lewis High School, which was second, and Grissom High School, which took third.

The various events Cadets competed in included a physical fitness test, a 5K run, a gauntlet course which each team had to work its way through; a cross-country rescue and a rope-bridge obstacle.

Justin Gates, competition director from Sports Network International, which annually organizes the competition, called this year’s event “exceptional in every aspect.”

“We want to make the raider nationals something every school with a raider program will want to attend,” he said.

Full results and photos of the National Raider Challenge are at:
http://www.thenationals.net/raider-main.htm.

Alice Lam, part of the Patriot Battalion leadership, inspects a first-year Cadet’s uniform. Cadets wear their uniforms and are inspected each Wednesday.

By Steve Arel
U.S. Army Cadet Command

FRESH MEADOWS, N.Y. — Last spring, right after Francis Lewis High School won a national drill team title, first-year principal Musa Ali Shama reveled in excitement. Though a thousand miles away, he was as joyous as the JROTC Cadets hoisting their crown in Daytona Beach, Fla.

And he wanted to let the world know what his school, his students had achieved.

So he commissioned and erected a banner hailing the victory. This wasn’t just any banner. It takes up a quarter of the school’s façade, even dwarfing the Francis Lewis granite sign near the building’s entrance.

“We have no other banner other than the JROTC banner that says ‘national champion,’ ” Ali Shama said. “As a faculty and administration, we take a lot of pride in that. We know as adults the level of commitment it takes to achieve something like that. It’s a significant achievement not only for our school, but for the county of Queens, the city of New York and for the state of New York.”

With almost 700 Cadets, Francis Lewis’ JROTC program is the largest in the country. It’s also one of the most successful — having added a national Raider championship this fall — and, quite possibly, one of the most beloved.

Visitors to the school find JROTC’s presence inescapable. Besides the banner, the lobby is something of a shrine to JROTC. A flat screen display runs a loop that features images of Cadets in action and information on the program. Along a glass wall in the back, two poster-size blow-ups of front pages from a Cadet Command newsletter spotlighting the drill team victory are taped up. A 6-foot high spindle stand features a “scrapbook” where people can flip through month by month and see what Cadets have done over the past year. And a 20-foot-long, glass-enclosed case displays trophies and other items from the Patriot Battalion.

Members of the Francis Lewis armed drill team practice executing marching maneuvers as a platoon.

At Francis Lewis, Cadets are placed on pedestals by administrators, teachers and students. They, and the program as a whole, are considered assets to the school and to the community.

When a scuffle breaks out in the absence of adults, it’s usually a JROTC Cadet who breaks it up. When trash dots the hallways, it’s usually JROTC Cadets who pick it up.

No one tells them to do it. That’s just the way they have been taught since the program began in spring 1994: Be model citizens and leaders, even when no one is looking.

“The biggest mistake I ever made was underestimating kids,” said retired 1st Sgt. Richard Gogarty, Francis Lewis’ senior Army instructor. “You let them run with something, and they’ll get it done. … We’re turning out great citizens. They’re better at what they do, no matter what they do.”

Students enrolled in JROTC are familiar sites in the community. They march in parades. They clean local parks. They sing patriotic songs at retirement homes.

And they are stars in the classroom, with a program graduation rate just shy of perfect and a GPA that’s 10 points higher than the average Francis Lewis student.

“The students take the leadership skills they learn with them,” said Annette Palomino, Francis Lewis’ assistant principal. “JROTC makes them feel they’ve accomplished something, and they have. This program is the backbone of the school.”

—

It wasn’t always that way.

When the program started, some teachers in the school adamantly opposed its creation. They saw JROTC as a recruiting tool for the Army and felt it was an inappropriate tactic for boosting the service’s ranks.

Retired 1st Sgt. Richard Gogarty replenishes a vending machine operated by the JROTC department. Money generated by sales of goodies help fund various program activities.

Gogarty, one of Francis Lewis’ original instructors, set out to insert himself and JROTC into the school culture. He remembers telling fellow educators hello in those early days, only to be ignored.

Still, Gogarty overlooked the negativity and worked to educate others of the true mission of JROTC: to develop better citizens.

“I believed so much in what we were doing,” he said.

Arthur Goldstein was part of the opposition. But his view quickly changed, thanks to Gogarty.

Goldstein had a student in his English as a Second Language class, a JROTC Cadet, who was struggling with a book report, mostly because she didn’t understand the text. The Cadet explained her problem to Gogarty and pleaded for help.

Gogarty had never read the book and knew he couldn’t provide much guidance without reading the book. So, between instructing his classes and after hours, he read it and tutored the student on the book’s storyline.

The student earned a passing grade on the report.

“I’d never seen anybody do that, let alone a teacher,” Goldstein said. “I’ve been a fan (of JROTC) ever since.”

The first sergeant saw it another way.

“What good is someone who gets an A in JROTC and fails all the other subjects?” said Gogarty, who keeps tabs on all of his students by maintaining a book with the grades of each class in which they are enrolled.

Nowadays, when Gogarty and Goldstein see each other in the teacher’s cafeteria or elsewhere, Goldstein greets the first sergeant enthusiastically and with a smile.

So do others.

In fact, when other teachers and administrators encounter trouble students and students dealing with personal issues, they often turn to the JROTC instructors for guidance. They say the instructors, in having served in the military, are accustomed to handling difficult situations and adapting.

“They always turn (the students) around,” Palomino said.

—

Most Francis Lewis Cadets will go on to college. In fact, 20 of them have been accepted to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point since 2003.

But for the overwhelming majority of students, their ROTC experience will end at high school. Because many are not American citizens — and for a good number, English is not their first language — they are not eligible to receive a Senior ROTC scholarship.

But those students, including Cadet battalion commander and South Korean native John Shin, have no issue with that policy. They have relished the opportunity to improve personally and professionally through JROTC.

Shin, for instance, is in his fourth year with the program. He remembers as a freshmen being shy and reserved. Speaking in front a group, for him, required considerable motivation.

That’s when Shin spoke to a friend, a senior at the time, who told him about JROTC and the difference it could make — and had made for him. Today, Shin is a lieutenant colonel, the Patriot Battalion’s highest-ranking Cadet.

Jessica Chan shows Patricia Bonilla the proper technique for push-ups during an afternoon practice of the Francis Lewis female Raider team.

As commander, he is responsible for approving battalion actions and activities and works closely with program instructors. It’s a position that requires Shin to be outspoken and give direction publicly.

“As I got more and more into JROTC, I spoke more,” he said. “I had more confidence, and it brought me to this position. This program brings a person to the top, and brings out their potential.”

Francis Lewis’ first JROTC class totaled 155 students. One of those initial Cadets was a junior named Jennifer Lewis.

In the year and a half she was in the program, Lewis rose to the rank of staff sergeant and graduated a confident, motivated woman who used what she learned to help others, working today in New York providing legal assistance to youths in the criminal justice system. Lewis’ desire to develop herself personally and professionally rubbed off on her 14-year-old daughter, Kiera, a Francis Lewis freshman who gave up health and gym classes to join JROTC in early November.

“I admire my mom a lot and want to be as great a leader as she is,” said Kiera Lewis, who remembers seeing old images at home of her mother in uniform. “JROTC is a great start.”

Jennifer Lewis encouraged her daughter to join, but left the decision up to Kiera. The younger Lewis said she thought about not taking the class until her sophomore year to ensure she adjusted to high school life and to devote time to the school’s step team.

“Then it just clicked,” Kiera Lewis said. “I decided I’m going to make the time, and it’s going to make me better in the future.”

The transition already has been beneficial, she said. In just a short time, Kiera Lewis has seen a difference in herself. Most notably, she carries herself with more confidence and evaluates situations before she acts.

“I feel like a different person,” Kiera Lewis said.

Lewis was walking to school one day recently while in uniform when a construction worker stopper her. He asked if she was a member of JROTC. When she responded, the man smiled and said she was “doing a good thing.”

“It made me feel really good,” Kiera Lewis said. “I had to call my mom.”

—

Francis Lewis High School, in this Queens suburb, is New York City’s second largest high school and arguably one of the nation’s most diverse. With nearly 4,600 students enrolled, the school has nearly double the capacity it was designed for more than 40 years ago.

There are so many students, two school day sessions are held, with the first starting just after 7 a.m. and the second wrapping up just before 7 p.m. There are no lockers because there’s not enough room; students bring what books and material they need to get through each day.

The hallways are so crowded during class changes that weaving through the wall of people requires a degree of skill and keeping one’s arms tucked in front of the body or turning sideways to slide against the wall.

School enrollment has posed unique challenges for JROTC, too. Cadet strength, which peaked at 572 last year, vaulted this fall to 679 — roughly 15 percent of Francis Lewis’ total student population. Ali Shama attributes the rise to the life-lessons taught and the leadership skills JROTC instills.

Carlos Oliva, a first-year Cadet, positions his nametag on his Class A jacket prior to inspection.

And like the school itself, JROTC lacks space. The program’s supply rooms are two unused bathrooms with shelves built over and around the toilets and urinals because the program wasn’t allowed to remove any fixtures or plumbing.

The main supply area has a single short center aisle measuring about a body width and a half wide. To one side are boxes of black dress shoes stacked almost to the ceiling, and dozens of Class A jackets and pants hung on poles on the other.

That’s only a small portion of what the program owns.

With so many students and so little space, Gogarty devised a plan a while back to prevent further chaos at the end of the school year. As students turned in their uniforms, Gogarty immediately sent the massive batch of clothes to the cleaners, and he left them there all summer, not picking them up until they were to be given out at the start of the next school year.

Over the years, the program has had to purchase its own vehicle, travel trailer to haul equipment and storage trailers.

It even bought its own classroom furniture after instructors found that traditional desks still cluttered rooms on inspection days, even when pushed to the side. So each JROTC room has collapsible tables and stackable chairs.

“We’ve been doing this a while,” Gogarty said. “You get smarter every year.”

—

At the heart of the program, of course, are the students and the life lessons they learn.

With almost 700 students and only six instructors, significant responsibility for program operations rests with the students themselves, and in particular the Cadet leadership. Senior students push their subordinates, demanding as much from them as the adult teachers.

“It’s not easy being a leader,” instructor Master Sgt. Lawrence Badia told Cadets during a session on decision-making.

JROTC classes begin with each group receiving orders of the day from a class leader. When the Army instructor takes over, the student Cadet patrols the room, scolding other students for not paying close enough attention and reinforcing direction given by the instructor.

Wednesdays, the one day a week when Cadets wear their uniforms, are devoted to inspections. Battalion leaders scrutinize the uniforms and appearances of each Cadet. They ensure nametags are straight. They ensure brass is polished. They ensure clothing is lint-free. They ensure hairstyles meet prescribed standards.

They also quiz students on basic military knowledge. And leaders expect correct answers.

When a class of first-year students missed a series of questions at a November inspection, the day before a major test on the material, the Cadet officer-in-charge chastised the group.

“Do you all want to fail?” Cadet Lt. Alex Martinez asked. “Then you all need to study, no matter what. If you don’t have time, you need to make time.”

Members of the color guard position themselves under a skylight to unfurl their colors. The opening in the ceiling provides the only space for the squad to uncase and raise its colors.

With only 44-minute periods, there is little time to waste in the classroom. Teachers use books to guide their classes, but they frequently defer to open discussions and hands-on activities for the greatest instructional impact. The thinking is students get more from a segment of instruction by doing rather than by simply listening.

When retired Master Sgt. Peter Rompf saw a woman passed out in the road after slamming her bicycle into a car door as the driver opened it one early November morning on his way to school, he decided to get a dummy and other props for a class on treating a casualty.

“You could run into that anywhere you go,” said Rompf, who stayed with the woman, already being helped, until an ambulance arrived. “As they get older, they need to actually know how to do this. Forget about the multiple choice and true or false. You’d hate to be in a situation and say, ‘I wish I knew how to do this.’ I thought a kid probably wouldn’t know what to do.”

Much of the battalion’s focus is keeping students involved, inside and outside the classroom.

Francis Lewis teachers, by contract, are required to work six hours, 40 minutes a day. The typical day for JROTC instructors begins around 7 a.m. and ends after 6 p.m. Same, too, for most Cadets.

Though a number of classes for students end around 3 or 4 p.m., they spend two hours or more in JROTC extracurricular activities.

Besides the renown drill teams, the program also has male and female Raider squads, an honor guard, a drum corps and even a choir. On any given day, some 300 students stay after school to participate in JROTC extracurricular activities.

But competing regularly, whether locally or nationally, comes at a price. The school is unable to fund the program’s trips, so the department annually raises $60,000, which is used for airline tickets, hotels, meals and other expenses.

“The school tries to help, but there is little money for that,” Gogarty said. “We either whine about it or do something about it.”

That means, besides everything else, Cadets are also involved throughout the year in various fund-raisers, selling car wash tickets, candy and other items. The department even has a vending machine loaded with goodies that students throughout the school can access. The machine is so popular, instructors usually end up having to stock it twice a day.

The opportunity to participate, though, is something students appreciate.

Glen Higgins, a sophomore, has marched in three parades as a member of the drum corps. He said being visible in community events gives him a sense of pride and confidence.

“I feel important,” he said. “It feels good to be part of something that’s the best.”

Back at school, being part of the program makes the expectations of him by others greater.

“My teachers expect more out of me,” Higgins said. “If I mess up, some kids say, ‘You’re in JROTC. You should know better.’ You’re held to a higher standard.”

—

Inside the JROTC classrooms and offices sit a slew of trophies. There are some for wins at the local level, there are some for wins at the state level. There are, of course, seven national titles since 2007 — two for drill, two for academic competition and three for the “Raider” team, a sport similar to Ranger Challenge in Senior ROTC.

It’s hard to tell just how many trophies there are, without taking serious time to count them all. But the program has earned so many over the years that there’s no longer space to keep them. So to make room for new ones, Gogarty has started giving some away — 60 last year alone — to Cadets as they achieve various milestones within the program.

The national championships are staying put, he said. They represent the pinnacle of Francis Lewis’ success.

On the drill floor, the Patriot Battalion has long been a dominant force and the best in the eastern half of the country. In fact, the school’s armed and unarmed squads have won the last four Eastern Region crowns. And those victories haven’t been close.

Francis Lewis has followed up its success with national wins in demilitarized arms in 2009 and in 2007.

Justin Gates, competition director for the national drill meet held each year in Daytona Beach, Fla., gets a chance during the year to see dozens of high school teams in action and often visits those schools. He has traveled to Francis Lewis High School a couple of times and has heard people at drill meets wonder out loud about the program’s competition success.

Gates said many people often mistakenly see Francis Lewis as the recipient of favorable calls or as the beneficiary of top-rated training facilities and a school district with deep pockets. The reality, he said, is the program’s success stems from dedication to the sport.

“These people who think they have all this handed to them or by sheer magic don’t understand,” Gates said. “They do it out of hard work. … They don’t accept just being good enough in anything.”

Mother Nature and the school’s physical constraints squeeze Francis Lewis’ ability to practice as most any high school squad. Because not all students are out of class by 3 p.m., practices begin with less than half the team. Cadets run through routines as much as possible, with most everyone in place by 5 p.m.

But by that time, it’s already dark outside. And even if there is a glimmer of light, it’s too cold to work outdoors.

So Cadets are relegated to practicing in the cafeteria, since the gym is in use until the final bell rings just before 7 p.m.

The lunchroom provides some space, but it’s not ideal. Cadets find themselves constantly having to maneuver around columns as they march. Tossing rifles into the air is out because the ceiling, made of metal plates, is just 8 feet high.

The ceiling limitations also prevent the four-member color guard from running through its complete sequence. Skylights that reach several more feet above the main ceiling provide some

Retired 1st Sgt. Richard Gogarty, the senior Army instructor for Francis Lewis High School’s JROTC program, stands outside the school where a banner promoting the drill team’s national championship last spring.

space for the group to work on unfurling its flags and saluting with colors. But to march around in formation, they only carry the bottom portion of their staffs that come within a couple of feet of the ceiling.

All that’s why the teams also practice for several hours on Saturdays, when they can sometimes use the more spacious gym.

Because of the challenges, “when we win, it makes it all the more sweet,” Gogarty said.

Despite the obstacles Cadets face each year, he sees the keys to their success as simple: planning and preparation.

“It’s not winning those competitions that really matter, it’s the preparedness they learn,” he said. “If they prepare for something in life or college the way they prepare for these things, that’s why they’re winners. Everyone is always trying to find out why our drill team is so good or why our Raider team is so good. They’re like, let me video tape them or see them do push-ups. They’re missing the obvious. We practice.”

—

Gogarty says his greatest disappointment would be seeing a student fall short of his or her potential after graduation. He gets reinforcement from several of his former Cadets who attend St. John’s University, just a couple miles down the road from Francis Lewis.

They come back to the school, some of them a couple of times a week, to talk with current Cadets about post-high school opportunities and to offer further encouragement.

One of those is Marc McMenamin, a scholarship freshman with the senior ROTC program at St. John’s who passes along lessons learned and encourages non-JROTC students to join. A four-year Cadet at Francis Lewis, the former honor guard commander has used his experience at Francis Lewis to excel in college.

“It made me a leader and put me way above people who didn’t come to this program,” McMenamin said. “At times, I think this program is harder than what I’m in now.”

His experience in JROTC, he said, shaped his life and put him on a positive path. McMenamin tells other students that if they dedicate themselves, the program will set them up for lifelong success, too.

After serving as an Army office, McMenamin wants to someday be the secretary of defense — a goal he doesn’t consider too lofty.

“I like being a leader,” he said. “I have ideas I think will change the way the military functions. Francis Lewis teaches you to shoot for the top.”

Which is where those at Francis Lewis expect the JROTC program to be. Palomino, the school’s assistant principal, has traveled the last two years with the drill teams to Daytona Beach. She plans to be back there again in May, at her daughter’s urging, despite her daughter expecting to play in a collegiate softball postseason tournament at the same time.

“It felt as close to the Olympics as I could get,” Palomino said of her experience last spring. “Winning the nationals brought tears to my eyes.

“It’s amazing the impact six people can have on 700 students. Anyone who walks into Francis Lewis knows about JROTC. If they were to leave, it would destroy the culture of Francis Lewis. The love they have for these kids is infectious, and I’m infected.”

Brig. Gen. Arnold Gordon-Bray, deputy commanding general for U.S. Army Cadet Command, participates in a bell-ringing service Wednesday as part of Veterans Day activities on the campus of Indiana University Southeast in New Albany, Ind. During the event, Bray (center) highlights the service of New Albany resident and veteran Normal Miller (left) and Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Mansfield, an Army ROTC military science instructor at the school. IU Southeast is a partner school of the University of Louisville. Photo: Steve Arel.

North Georgia College and State University’s Justin Middleton performs a function check on a Squad Automatic Weapon at the weapons station of the 1st Brigade Bold Leader Challenge at Fort Knox, Ky. At the station, Cadets were given four disassembled weapons they had to identify, assemble, perform function checks on and report any faults.

By Forrest Berkshire
U.S. Army Cadet Command

FORT KNOX, Ky. — North Georgia College and State University claimed the top prize Saturday in the inaugural U.S. Army Cadet Command 1st Brigade Bold Leader Challenge.

The competition pitted 10 teams from Reserve Officers’ Training Corps programs at six senior military schools in a marathon 15-mile military skills competition that tested physical endurance and teamwork.

The competition began Friday with two marksmanship events at the post’s rifle ranges.

But it was Saturday when their physical limits were tested. The teams had seven hours to traverse 15 miles across Fort Knox’s rolling hills. Scattered along the route were 10 stations where Cadets were given various tasks to complete, such as crossing a stream on a one-rope bridge, navigating an obstacle course and crossing an incline wall. Also along the route, the teams were given navigation points to locate.

Each station held its own unique challenges.

For instance, at the litter carry station, eight Cadets were designated to carry a wounded comrade through a zig-zagging lane of cones. The catch: All of the carriers were blindfolded and had to rely on the wounded Cadet to direct them by voice. If anyone among the carriers spoke, or if they tripped or if they knocked over a cone, they were assessed penalties that counted against their total time for the course.

At another station, called simply the scenario, Cadets came across a trailer set up as an enemy headquarters. They had four minutes to search the room for any useful intelligence, making sure they placed items they disturbed back the way they were found. Not until the end of the course, several hours later, did they learn they would be tested on what they found with a five-question test.

But while the stations tested their skills, it was the course itself that tested Cadets’ endurance.

“The course today was just grueling,” said Chris Lee, the team leader for NGCSU’s winning team.

About 10 miles into the course, Lee was pulled aside by cadre at the weapons assembly station who were concerned about him. His face was flushed and breathing hard.

The medic at the station asked him if he needed to be evacuated to the hospital as a heat casualty. Lee fought to stay with his team, accepting an IV of fluid but continuing on with his team after the event was completed.

Lee said there were some strong individuals on his team who carried the day.

“It was those individuals that stepped up and pulled it out in the clutch,” Lee said.

Lee said he couldn’t tell after he and his fellow Cadets finished the course whether they were in the running for first place.

“There were so many variables we couldn’t count,” he said. “And the penalties (at the stations) were crazy.”

The North Georgia Cadets weren’t the only ones who found the terrain taxing.

“We weren’t expecting the hills,” said Alex Adkins, a member of the Virginia Military Institute’s team. “Those aren’t a joke.”

VMI finished third. Virginia Tech’s Team 1 was second.

“This whole thing is about fortitude,” Col. David Hubner, commander of 1st Brigade, told the Cadets at the awards ceremony. “It was a gut-check.”

The course was designed to be tough for a reason, Hubner said. It was closely modeled after the Sandhurst competition held annually by the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Cadet Command is invited each year to send eight teams, one from each brigade.

As the winner of this year’s Bold Leader Challenge, North Georgia will represent 1st Brigade at Sandhurst April 10.

“We want to go up there and beat West Point at their own game,” he said.

More photos from the event are online at Cadet Command’s Facebook and Photo Gallery sites.

http://www.facebook.com/cadetcommand

http://armyrotc.smugmug.com/Army-ROTC-News/Challenge

Cadet Shamai Larsen is congratulated by Col. Mark Mitchell, commander of the Fifth Special Forces Group.

Field Report

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – All the camera flashes seemed to catch Shamai Larsen off guard. The Austin Peay State University Army ROTC Cadet stared at the floor as Col. Mark Mitchell, commander of the Fifth Special Forces Group, pinned the Legion of Valor Association’s Bronze Cross of Achievement on her uniform.

“I am truly honored to be here to get the chance to see Cadet Larsen,” he said.

On Oct. 1, she became the first APSU student to ever receive the Bronze Cross of Achievement Award.

“This award, presented only to eight Cadets nationwide out of 4,500 in the class of 2010, is given for overall excellence in Army ROTC, spanning academics, ROTC performance and extra curricular activities,” said Lt. Col. Greg Lane, executive officer of the school’s ROTC battalion.

Larsen is a member of the Army’s Green-to-Gold program, meaning she entered APSU from an active duty enlisted military career to earn the college diploma she needs to become an Army officer. She has a 4.0 GPA in the College of Health and Human Performance and she is a runner on the women’s cross country team and indoor and outdoor track teams.

The Legion of Valor Association is composed of the recipients of the nation’s two highest combat awards – the Medal of Honor and the Army’s Distinguished Service Cross, the Navy Cross or the Air Force Cross. The association’s Bronze Cross of Achievement is one of the highest honors an Army ROTC Cadet can achieve.

Larsen had no idea she was the recipient of this prestigious award until her name was called during Thursday’s impromptu award ceremony. A room full of Cadets applauded as she made her way uneasily to the front podium. Photographers crowded around her and snapped pictures while Mitchell presented her with the award.

“I’m really nervous right now,” she said. However, Larsen quickly regained the leadership skills that helped her earn this award. She looked up and faced her fellow Cadets seated before her and said, “I do hope this motivates some of the junior Cadets just to try and do your best in ROTC, because it does pay off.”