A few good men
JrROTC targeting national championship

ABOVE: Cadet Private Shawn Vigil stands at attention while Captain Corporal John Boyce does an inspection on Thursday, September 18 during a session with the Grants High School JROTC. BELOW: Cadet 2nd Lt. James Cain stands at attention during a Grants High School JROTC training session.— © 2008 Gallup Independent / Brian Leddy

Copyright © 2008
Gallup Independent
By Jim Tiffin
Cibola County Bureau

GRANTS — The JrROTC program in Grants has grown from about 90 cadets in the spring to 103 this fall.

Timo Molina, 17, a senior at Grants High School, was the sergeant major of the male drill team last year and one of the leaders of the cadets. He is now the corps commander as well as the drill team commander.
“I think this is the best drill team that we have had since I have been here this past four years and we are looking for another national championship,” Molina said.

The drill team won the national championship in 2004 in Florida.

This past weekend, the male and female drill teams competed against 15 other schools in Albuquerque and won.

“Why did they win? They won because of the dedication of the cadets and the amount of practice they put in,” 1st Sgt. Rick Mattson, one of the instructors and a retired Marine, said.

There are 42 “armed” and “unarmed” members of the two drill teams, 24 each. The armed members are the males who use rifles as part of their drill competition. The unarmed are the female cadets.

Last spring, Molina said he had three goals, he has now achieved one of them, cadet corps commander.

The other two are to graduate high school and enter the U.S. Marine Corps and make the military a career.

“I can see we are quite better than during the past four years,” he said.

It’s the little things

“Some of the leaders, including myself, went to a drill school camp in Texas in June, put on by the same people that conduct the national competition every year,” he said.
“They showed us how to watch for the little things and how to fix little problems, like putting orange tape on the top of the rifles,” he said.

Molina said when cadets are drilling and do certain movements with the rifles, the rifles should be all at the exact angle.

“When you are looking at them, they look like they are correct, but with the orange tape, you can see sometimes a few are at the wrong angle and then we can fix that,” he said.

The competitions are exacting and require the drill teams members to act in unison. Even turning while marching, they must be flawless.

Molina said he thinks the drill teams have a real chance to win the national competition again this year.

Mattson said there are seven competitions during the school year, prior to nationals, which are an invitation-only competition.

So, the drill teams must be invited this next spring before they can have an opportunity to compete and win.

Keeping grades up

Zachary Smith, 15, a sophomore, said he has been in the program for the past two years and loves being part of the cadet corps.

“I made it to the drill team, and I now know I have to keep my grades up to remain in the corps and on the team,” he said.

His mother, Marjorie Smith, who works at Taco Bell, said she was concerned two years ago when Zachary wanted to join the JrROTC because she did not want him in the military.

“He is now more respectful and has better grades, even though I always taught him to be respectful,” she said.
She said she was hoping he would play sports, but now is behind his decision 100 percent.

“It makes me proud that he is on the drill team,” she said, “but, it is still a learning experience for him and me.”

Zachary Smith said he used to be a “B” student but now is an “A” student.

“I want to be sure my grades are goods enough to stay in the program and on the drill team,” he said.

He also said he has learned to be more disciplined and that has helped him be able to be more organized and find time for studying.

He said many of his friends are not in the JrROTC but encourage him and support him.

The program teaches leadership, military history, ethics and the drill teams practice every day after school from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., Mattson said.

Fundraisers

During the school year the cadets will be conducting a number of fundraising events to raise money for the seven competitions and the anticipated trip to Florida to compete in the nationals.

Each of the state or regional competitions cost $320 as an entry fee, not including travel expenses.

Mattson said Wednesday that he expects the cost for the trip to national to be about $44,000 next spring.

The first fundraiser this year will be the Second Annual JrROTC Bake Sale by the drill team cadets scheduled for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Oct. 12 at Wal-Mart in Grants.

There will be all kinds of baked items including sugar free for those who are diabetic.

Information: (505) 285-6013