Warhorses, Tigers JROTC teams compete

On October 21, 2022, local JROTC Battalions showcased their skills at one of the first Lowcountry Drill and Color Guard Competitions since the pandemic.

The Warhorse JROTC Battalion at Barnwell High School (BHS) and the Tiger JROTC Battalion at Allendale-Fairfax High School (AFHS) competed alongside Denmark-Olar High School, Woodland High School, and Bamberg-Ehrhardt High School.

"Our cadets are very excited that we've been able to resume these types of extracurricular activities. For the past two years due to COVID related restrictions, we were unable to conduct these types of events," said Sergeant First Class (Retired) Jerry Smith, one of the JROTC instructors at Barnwell High School.

“All the schools feel the same impact due to COVID,” said Senior Army Instructor JROTC Chief Jeffery Gordon at AFHS. “COVID hurt, a lot of our resident experience went out the door.

A lot of these students are ninth graders and I just hope they stay with us.”

JROTC Battalions at both AFHS and BHS are made up of new members this year, making competitions such as this a first-time experience for many.

“Our competition teams are made up of mostly freshman first-year cadets that have only been drilling for about six weeks, but they are beginning to notice their improvement and growth and walked away from this competition really excited about the future," said BHS instructor Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Marvin Brown.

Tiger JROTC Battalion cadets such as ninth graders Misha Grayson, Zy’Nahriah Rhodes, and Rebecca Powers plan to stick with the program throughout their time at AFHS, and are happy to be involved.

“It’s fun, and it's not a strict class. There are lessons about anger management, respect, and etiquette,” said Cadet Powers.

Although it was the first competition for many cadets in the Tiger Battalion, Sergeant Major Norman Fisher felt “they really went out there and performed.”

The competition consisted of the following events: Color Guard, Platoon Drill without Arms, Platoon Drill with Arms, Squad Drill without Arms, Squad Drill with Arms, as well as Platoon, Squad, and Individual Exhibitions.

A JROTC competition has many components, some of which are life lessons rather than practiced exhibitions.

"These types of events help improve the Esprit de Corps and motivation of the cadets in our unit,” said LTC Brown. “The extracurricular activities are the reason students join our program.”

“It helps them to communicate and talk to other students outside of their comfort zone, so we teach them to network with other students,” said SGM Fisher.

Chief Gordon finds competitions to be “a way to bring all our communities together and reinforce the values of the program; character and leadership development.”

AFHS Cadet Rhodes felt “overall we did pretty good for freshmen,” of her Battalion’s performance at the competition. Cadet Rhodes stepped out of her realm of experience and led a drill event in which she took home first place.

“We just practiced until we got it, and we won first place,” said Cadet Rhodes.

The Tiger Battalion placed second overall in the competition. They placed first in the Drill Ceremony, second in Exhibition, and third in Color Guard.

The Warhorse Battalion placed last overall and are looking forward to growing the experience of their team throughout the school year.

Woodland’s JROTC cadets came in first place overall.

The Tiger Battalion Commander is Cadet Lieutenant Colonel Camron Williams, and the Color Guard consists of (L-R) C/1st LT Arianna Priester, C/MSG Lokeya Robinson, C/MSG Trinity Mikell, and C/SSG Ramona Magee.

The Warhorse Battalion is led by Cadet Lieutenant Colonel Tameriah Hutto, a senior who has plans to attend the University of South Carolina on a Army ROTC Scholarship, and ultimately serve her country as an Army nurse.

"Tameriah is a well-rounded scholar, athlete and leader. The cadets under her command are fortunate to have her as an example of excellence, commitment to duty, and leadership,” said LTC Brown. “Her positive attitude is infectious and her work ethic is unmatched. I look forward to seeing all of the wonderful things that will come her way in the future!”

“These cadets here, that’s our future,” said SGM Fisher.

Cadet Rhodes, Cadet Grayson, and Cadet Powers all are considering a career in various branches of the military after graduation, but have their sights set on other options as well.

"When we look at the young talent that we have in our Warhorse Battalion, SFC Smith and I frequently comment that the future is very bright for our program, the high school, the Barnwell community, and our nation,” said LTC Brown.