Carolina Forest’s NJROTC program had the opportunity to participate in an overnight drill meet this past weekend in Cary, NC. The odds were against CFHS’ program because CFHS was the only school from South Carolina, and they were competing with programs that regularly go to Drill Nationals. Yet the CFHS drill team persevered, and the team came home with third place overall for the drill portion, second place in the armed exhibition platoon, third place in the pushup challenge, along with many other awards. 

At the hotel, cadets were exposed to a mock room/uniform inspection performed by Capt. Boyle.  The purpose of this inspection was to ensure all cadets had the correct uniform items and were informed about the schedule for the upcoming day.  Once at Cary High School, CFHS cadets braved the cold and participated in all nine events, placing in many of them. The drill routines were run fully by cadets giving them the opportunity to showcase their strengths in leadership and drill knowledge. 

Nearing the end of the competition, CFHS cadets participated in an armed competition and an unarmed competition in which all schools in attendance participated. With over 50 cadets participating, cadets K. Heller, L. Spain, and J. Markey were able to place first, second, and third  in the unarmed knockout event. Cadet M. Naples received third place in the armed knockout and was the only CFHS cadet to place in this event.

The Cary H.S drill meet was a learning experience for CFHS’s freshman cadets and an opportunity for growth for the unit as a whole. The CFHS drill team is now looking forward to our upcoming Carowinds drill meet in April.