JASPER CADETS HOST DRILL COMPETITION
It was like a war at the Jasper County High School Stadium recently. The field was swarmed by Junior ROTC units representing the Army, Navy and Marines as they competed in the second of three meets of the LowCountry Drill and Rifle Team League. When the smoke cleared, the cadets representing Bluffton High School were the overall winners with first place finishes in four events and placing in the top three in all nine events. Wade Hampton High placed second overall with Barnwell claiming third place.
Schools entered squads, platoons, color guards and individuals in drill competition that included execution with weapons as well as unarmed.
The host Jasper County High School unit scored in the top three units in three of the competitions. Jasper has 118 cadets in their Marine Corps Jr. ROTC unit, 70 males and 48 females. Many of those were on duty greeting visitors, assisting with parking and operating a concession stand. They are trained by Lt. Col. Walter Wierzbicki and Gunnery Sergeant Anthony Cuevas.
Six Marine Drill Instructors from Parris Island Marine Corps Recruit Depot served as evaluators under the direction of Master Sergeant Andre Smallwood. The Army National Guard provided hot dogs and chips for all competitors.
The Young, the Proud, the Marine Junior ROTC
They should be proud. The Jasper County High School Marine Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps has had a very successful year of service and training under Cadet Captain Savannah Ballard and Cadet First Lieutenant Joseph Young, student commanding officer and executive officer.
The color guard was often seen as they proudly marched or presented the colors at events throughout the county as well as at the state capitol. They appeared at football games, parades, school functions including meetings, assemblies and the graduation, but were particularly proud to be invited to present the colors at the capitol in Columbia for the Lt. Governor’s Reading Contest awards.
The entire corps was honored for its community service. The cadets could be found monthly visiting and helping residents of the Ridgeland Nursing Home and hosted senior citizens at the Thanksgiving assembly and luncheon. They were even more visible and won state honors for their highway cleanup in the state’s Adopt-a-Highway program when they were named Jasper’s volunteer group of the year.
The unit participated in the Lowcountry Drill/Rifle Team League that included rival schools such as Allendale-Fairfax, Wade Hampton and Bamberg High Schools.
The cadets underwent rigorous training and inspection and visited both Camp Lejeune and the Marine Corps Recruit Depot at Parris Island. Both visits included and orientation but the Lejeune trip included weapons firing, the confidence and obstacle course training, land navigation and an orientation to military working dogs. At Parris Island, the cadets observed morning colors and a recruit graduation. They then received an orientation and trained on the rappel tower.
Executive Officer Young was awarded a full ROTC scholarship in April. Jasmine Virola was recently named to receive a scholarship from the Hilton Head Area Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America while Damien Swinton was awarded their Leadership Medal and a savings bond.
They are young, they are proud. They are Marine JROTC cadets, trained by Lt. Col. Walter Wierzbicki and Gunnery Sergeant Anthony Cuevas.
Leadership, Team Building For Corps Cadet Leaders
DAHLONEGA, GA—Five cadets from the Marine Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps at Jasper County High School have completed a rigorous summer training program at the Military College of Georgia, North Georgia College and State University.
Cadets Olantuji Cunningham, Joshua Chalmers, Tiffany Sanders, Damien Swinton and Kion Wilson were part of a leadership, evaluation, assessment and development program that trains unit command groups for in leadership and team building in preparation for the upcoming school year. The encampment covered all services at schools throughout the southeast.
Though there was classroom work to develop problem solving, time management and organization skills, the cadets were then challenged to utilized that training with field exercises that truly tested their leadership and team building abilities.
Lt. Col. Walter Wierzbicki, the Senior Marine Instructor at Jasper County High School, accompanied the school’s command group to the four-day encampment. Gunnery Sergeant Anthony Cuevas prepared the students for the rigors of the camp with some intense physical education workouts prior to their departure.
The Military College of Georgia at North Georgia College has been nationally recognized for the development of this JROTC Leadership, Evaluation, Assessment and Development program (J-LEAD) designed to push the cadets to new limits and accomplishments.
