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Nevada High School AFJROTC program offers array of activities for cadets
The Nevada High School Air Force Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corp (AFJROTC) program has had a busy and successful year. The diverse program includes many moving parts and competing aspects which include a Drill Team, Raider Team, Marksmanship Team, Rocket Team, and JLAB Team.
Drill Team
Cadet membership in the Nevada AFJROTC Color Guard, Honor Guard, and/or Drill Team is highly encouraged. All members of the cadet corps who are in good academic and conduct standing are eligible to participate on a voluntary basis. Drill teams are a core part of the AFJROTC program as they are used to reinforce fundamental leadership objectives. The Nevada High School MO-071 Flying Tiger Drill Team is an extracurricular activity and the team's practices normally begin in October, with the first competition in December. The competitive season generally ends by mid-March. Members of the team will travel throughout the region to compete against teams from other area schools.
“Numbers wise, we went from our last year's drill team having 10 members,” stated AFJROTC Instructor Master Sergeant (retired) James Pete Quinlan. “This year we had 33. Last year, almost every one of them (cadets) were first year marchers. They call them 'rookie marchers.'” Quinlan noted that last year, the drill team was enrolled as rookie marchers at drill meets and this year they were enrolled against varsity teams. Despite this leap in competition level, Quinlan added that this year's team “won trophies – they were awesome.” He noted that the team competed against big schools this year, such as Leavenworth, Lee's Summit, and Blue Springs South. "They're all the big schools — so, we're going against 3A or 4A schools. Unlike football or basketball, that plays in their own class, we're in open divisions all the time."
Quinlan noted that schools like Leavenworth and Blue Springs South have over 300 cadets in their corps, with teams consisting of 40 members. "We're up there with these big schools and it's competitive — very competitive," he stated.
Rocket Team
The model rocketry program provides an opportunity for cadets to learn the basic principles of aerospace rocketry. During the program, the cadets get the opportunity to design, build and launch model rockets and perform in appointed team positions. Model rockets built use safe engines. Successful completion of program requirements makes cadets eligible for the model rocket badge. Last year, for the first time, the team competed in the American Rocketry Challenge. The American Rocketry Challenge is the world’s largest rocket contest with nearly 5,000 students nationwide competing each year. The contest gives middle and high school students the opportunity to design, build and launch model rockets and hands-on experience solving engineering problems. This team was led this year by Cadet Captain Tyler Vance.
"The rocket team is ready to launch in a week or two," noted Quinlan. "That's a national competition (American Rocketry Challenge). The last three years, we've entered the challenge. The way they do it is, they give you a problem to solve. Usually it is launching one or two eggs at a certain height. And then it has a certain amount of time to do it in — how long it stays in air until the time it parachutes out. This year's competition is one egg, but the rocket has to go in two different parts. Usually, it stays together — this has to parachute down in two different parachutes with the egg. And the egg has to be in tact."
Quinlan added that this competition is judged by someone who is not affiliated with the AFJROTC program. "The last couple of years, we had Jay Allen judge the event," he stated.
Raider Team
The Raider Team is a competitive team that focuses on physical endurance and conditioning. The most physically demanding extracurricular activity in AFJROTC. It consists of an eight to 10 member team and they do challenges such as the one rope bridge, the 5K run, the gauntlet, tire flips, and obstacle courses. This team was led this year by Cadet Captain Gabriel Adams.
Marksmanship Team
The marksmanship team is a team of people who do three-position air rifle shooting that is done with 4.5 mm (.177 cal.) air rifles with the targets placed at a distance of 10 meters. They get in the prone, kneeling, and standing position and fire at a target 10 meters away. This team was led this year by Cadet 1st Lieutenant Kaitlyn Micklich.
“Our marksmanship team is only three years old and our top shooter currently is a sophomore (Gabrielle Leonard),” Quinlan acknowledged. “Not only do you compete against other schools, but you're also competing against yourself. There are awards you can win — medals you can earn for improving. It's all done by scoring.”
JLAB (Academic) Team
The academic team participates in the Academic Bowl. One of the main goals of the JROTC Academic Bowl is to prepare students for state exit/graduation exams as well as college entrance exams, such as the SAT and ACT. Therefore, there is a mix of JROTC curriculum as well as English, math, and science questions in each level of the competition. This team was led this year by Cadet Gabrielle R. Leonard.
2022-2023 Cadet Staff
The cadet staff is tasked with managing all Corps activities and maintaining unit cohesion. The positions encompass every task a JROTC might have to undertake, including but not limited to: drill meets, field trips, military balls, fundraisers, and public affairs. The inclusion of a staff effectively makes the Corps autonomous, acting virtually independent of school assistance. The cadet led staff includes the following:
Corps Commander: Cadet Lieutenant Colonel Gabriel Adams
Deputy Commander: Cadet Major Tayven Davis
Cadet Assistance Program: Cadet Captain Kohen Wiggins
Logistics: Cadet Major Tayven Davis; Cadet Captain Elise Moreland; and Cadet Staff Sergeant Allison Olson
Public Affairs: Cadet Staff Sergeant Megan Greer
Recruiting: Cadet 1st Lieutenant Kaitlyn Micklich
Fitness: Cadet Staff Sergeant Megan Greer
Administration: Cadet Captain Quinton Crews
Personnel: Cadet Lieutenant Colonel Gabriel Adams and Cadet Captain Quinton Crews
Awards: Cadet Captain Elise Moreland and Cadet Staff Sergeant Cayden Fritts
Computers: Cadet Staff Master Sergeant Andrew Sandrock and Cadet Captain Kohen Wiggins
Transportation: Cadet Captain Kohen Wiggins
