Over the weekend of October 4 and 5, Liberty’s NJROTC performed 560 hours of community service working security shifts at Salmon Days. Salmon Days is one of Washington’s biggest festivals, and was started in 1970 to celebrate the return of the salmon to the local hatchery. On the weekend of Salmon Days, cadets from Liberty’s Patriot Company manned 112 posts over four shifts.

The three types of posts are traffic control points (TCPs), rovers, and headquarters. TCPs monitor intersections and ensure cars don’t drive through the festival, which swelled to about a quarter of a million pedestrians over the weekend, according to Senior Naval Science Instructor Captain John Deehr.

Rovers walk around, check on TCPs, and help out when needed. Headquarters is operated by the cadet staff, who ensure things run smoothly.

“We’re the eyes and ears of the Issaquah Police Department because they can’t have – they don’t have enough police to monitor, you know, the entire festival,” Deehr said.

Cadets help keep festival-goers safe by blocking off roads and redirecting traffic. Once the clock strikes nine, no one – not even vendors – are permitted to drive onto festival grounds.

There are difficulties and benefits to working a shift because it takes a skilled leader to direct the vehicles in potentially stressful situations. “It helps you grow as a leader, and as a person, and as a follower,” Cadet Lieutenant Commander Allison Abel, the Cadet Commanding Officer of Patriot Company, said.

As Naval Science Instructor Chief Matthew Spears pointed out, Salmon Days teaches communication.

“That’s another big piece of this – learning to open your face and talk, and having the confidence to talk and to speak up, not just with giving directions, but so you can be heard,” Spears said.

Speaking up is one perk of taking a shift. Another is learning how to be observant.

“It gives them experience in monitoring a situation, and making sure that you’re, like we say in our general orders, always on the alert, because you never know when something’s going to happen,” Deehr said.

Working a Salmon Days security shift can be tricky for cadets. Standing for five hours, dealing with difficult people, and giving directions to the bus stop is intimidating for many.

Despite its challenges, however, it is also incredibly rewarding.

As Abel said, “It’s also really fun, because you get to talk to other people and cadets you’ve never really gotten to know before.”