On December tenth, the Port Angeles Naval Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (NJROTC) competed in various competitions of fitness and skill against all other Reserve Officer Training Corps in the region. Thanks to strong leadership and hours of meticulous training, the cadets in Roughrider Company (The official name for our school’s unit) brought home a bevy of awards. In an amazing feat, our school’s teams placed in every single competition and even had a few cadets receive personal honors!

The events that the NJROTC program competes in are sports just like football or basketball. However, the four large group events that are the main portion of an official competition or “comp” as it is known shorthand, takes a military discipline that the cadets strive to achieve both at school and abroad. There are also two smaller events that Roughrider Company took 1st place in and then to add to the glory of victory is the fact that not one, not three, but SIX individual cadets earned shiny medals for personal achievement.

As to specifics, our school’s JROTC sent its group of well trained cadets up against ten other JROTCS from across the state at Washington High School in Tacoma in four different events: Drill (marching), Color Guard (the flag ceremony that takes place before every assembly), Physical Fitness (pushups, sit ups, etc) and Air Rifle (shooting targets). The NJROTC also participated in Individual Armed Exhibition Drill and Dual Armed Exhibition Drill, both challenging events, but when the judges added the points Port Angeles came out in first for both events!

The first event that deserves recognition is Drill, or more specifically Armed Drill in which large platoons of cadets march in perfect time while carrying special drill rifles. As for numbers, eighteen cadets form PAHS’ JROTC program’s Drill team, which meets every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning before school. That’s right, while the rest of us are asleep or watching reruns of Mythbusters, the young men and women on the drill team are hefting eight pound rifles, marching in perfect alignment, taking orders and looking spotless in the mandatory uniform all before breakfast! It is no wonder why at this latest competition Roughrider Company took home the 2nd place plaque.

There is a sense of honor one gets from representing the ideals of a nation just by performing an elegant ceremony. This is the basis of the Color Guard, a team formed by four cadets, two on the outside escorting with drill rifles, and two carrying the national and school colors, more commonly known as the American and school flag. The Port Angeles NJROTC has two separate Color Guard teams with four people each who train every Tuesday and Thursday, also before school! At the latest competition, both Color Guards placed, one in 3rd place and one in 5th place, that’s good considering there were 10 other schools also trying to bring home a title!

Anyone who has talked to someone in the ROTC program here at school knows that they love Physical Training or PT, which is like PE only 20% cooler. Therefore it only makes sense that there is the Physical Fitness team, where those who love the feeling of adrenaline and the smell of deodorant can compete against others in pushups, sit ups and a one mile run. The PT team meets every Monday and Friday after school where they train just like other athletes on our campus. As per regulation, there are two teams for competition purposes with three members of one gender and two of another. By the sweat of their brow the Port Angeles NJROTC PT teams received 3^rd and 6th places. It is a challenge just to have one team place, but Roughrider Company has two!

Rounding out the set of excellence is our school’s Sporter Air Rifle team, a group of 8 to 9 people with eagle eye vision and steady fingers who test their skill against other teams. Lined up in various shooting positions, the Air Rifle teams send tiny metal ordinance whizzing down the firing range hitting targets two inches in diameter! Similar to the other teams in the ROTC program, there are two separate Air Rifle teams which meet Tuesday and Thursday after school, but the commitment each member has sometimes gets the team on the range for a bit of practice just to give them an edge. In true Port Angeles fashion the Air Rifle team took both 1st and 6th place during this last competition.