In the dim and quiet hour of three a.m., gleaming medals swivel from a dark, shuffling silhouette.
The shadow was the Cadet Commanding Officer (C.O.) senior Lauren Schwenk, who woke up in the dark to tie her hair into a tidy bun, secure for the big day. Just like their C.O. Schwenk, dozens of cadets and officers were also awake before dawn. It was December 14, the first drill meet of the year–a 12-hour day for the Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (NJROTC) unit.
Every year, many of Liberty’s NJROTC participants commit to competitive teams for one of the six events: Air Rifle, Unarmed Drill, Armed Drill, Color Guard, Physical Fitness, and Academics.
Many members, such as Team Commanding Officers, juniors Allison Abel and Cassandra Harris, don’t just commit to one event, but four out of the six.
The drill participants started training in mid-September to prepare for the drill competitions that go until the Conference Championships in March.
Everyday before school at 6:45 a.m., commanding officers show up punctually to run practices. After school until 4:30 p.m., each team practices together a few times a week on an assigned day.
“If you’re not committed, it rubs off on the rest of the team, because you set the example, and they become lazy,” Air Rifle C.O junior Luke Carlson said.
“Our coaches are there every single morning with us, helping correct our movements and making sure we’re practicing outside of school,” Schwenk said.
In addition to those NJROTC training sessions, the drill team members also train individually with discipline. Note Physical Fitness team members like sophomore Oscar Arnaiz who benefited from cross country and individual core training.
“My favorite part is seeing the whole routine come together and everyone nailing it,” Unarmed Drill C.O. Ashita Asapu said.
“Getting those personal medals that we can wear on your uniform is very rewarding,” Academics C.O. and Cadet Admin Officer Rachel Kollarmalil said.
The Academics competition consisted of 50 trivia questions. The study and review that goes into it benefitted previous Academic 2nd place winner Kelvin Tran in SAT testing and classwork.
“Honor and courage,” Tran said. “It’s a huge commitment to have it, but it’s very successful if you really try. It’s what ROTC taught me. If you were good enough and you tried hard enough, you would get the spot you wanted.”
The training sessions not only brought an impressive history of victory for Liberty’s NJROTC but valuable experience.
“This program is my favorite program ever,” Abel said. “It helped me become a better leader and take more responsibility, but it also showed me how to follow through other people, how to accept constructive criticism, and how to better myself through them.”
“We’re constantly stepping up our game this year to hopefully be conference championship winners,” Schwenk said. “Us getting first place at all of our drill meets is the reflection of all the hard work that we put into the teams.”
