Ramona High School’s NJROTC cadets who have been winning awards throughout the school year will celebrate their success on Sunday, June 1.
The Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corp Awards Night is set for 4 p.m. in the high school’s Performing Arts Wing, 1401 Hanson Lane. ission is free and the event will conclude with a potluck dinner.
Scheduled a few days before Ramona High’s graduation ceremony on June 5, the Awards Night will feature 15 organizations presenting NJROTC students with awards, said Program Cmdr. Rick Jordan.
Jordan said he is proud of the roughly 100 cadets in the Ramona High program. Not only did they place high in several competitions, they also completed 2,600 hours of community service this school year, he said.
The cadets performed color guard duties at ceremonies in addition to ing the Ramona July 4th Family Picnic & Fireworks Show, the Ramona Chamber of Commerce’s Ramona Country Fair and Tacos and Beer Fest.
“NJROTC is the face of Ramona High School in the community,” said Jordan, who brought several cadets to the May 8 Ramona Unified School District school board meeting. “We probably volunteer at more community events than any other organization on campus.”
One of their top awards was placing first in the Neptune Olympics aquatic competition held in September at Silver Strand State Beach in Coronado.
Ten Ramona High cadets competed against students from 12 other schools in Southern California in paddle board and two-person kayak contests in addition to a group swim of six cadets.
“We’re a landlocked unit but we can beat units down on the beach,” Jordan said.
Ramona cadets also excel in marksmanship. They currently rank as the best Navy team in California and 12th best in the nation, Jordan said. The NJROTC Area 21 champions competed at the Navy Marksmanship Nationals in Anniston, Ala., in February.
If the Ramona team had placed eighth or better, they would have advanced to the All-Service Nationals in Ohio in March.
“We made it there last year but fell short this year,” he said.
The Ramona students traditionally perform well in marksmanship because they practice with high-level pellet guns on a state-of-the-art shooting range with electronic scoring system on the school campus, Jordan said.
Additionally, 35 Ramona cadets competed against 15 schools in a Drill, Athletic and Academic Competition held in Santa Ana in February. Ramona’s team placed 12th out of 15 contestants, he said.
“We were just happy to qualify,” the commander said. “The best drill teams in the country are in our little area so we have stiff competition.”
Ramona cadets performed better in the Marine Corps JROTC Raider Challenge in April at Fallbrook High School. The cadets won second place while competing against 10 other schools in contests such as building a rope bridge, moving heavy tires and running through mud holes and obstacle courses while carrying heavy backpacks.
The Ramona NJROTC’s Drone team, comprised of a pilot, co-pilot and engineer, competed in four drone competitions and won second place at a contest in Point Loma last month.
Ramona NJROTC Commanding Officer Sabrina Carey said the goal of the program is not just to prepare students to enter the military, but to help them the workforce and become productive of society. Cadets learn not to lie, cheat or steal and how to have “integrity through actions, not just words,” she said.
“We do our best to people around us,” said Carey, while speaking to the school board on May 8. “And we have fun. It’s not just a hardworking program.”
The program has had several extracurricular activities, including the ROTC Ball at the Ramona High campus in April, a No-Talent Talent Show, Halloween party and family Christmas party.
Excursions have included a trip on the USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) that departed San Diego for San Pedro for the Los Angeles Fleet Week last May, and a trip on the guided missile destroyer USS Pickney (DDG-91) in November.
Carey said one of the incentives for ing the ROTC program is that students who complete three years in the program and graduate boot camp can earn the rank of E-3 instead of the entry level E-1 rank.
“Nationwide, about 40 percent of students who participate in the program all four years will go into the military,” Jordan said. “This year we have three seniors going into the military.”
