Redmond HS JROTC sweeps competition
Dr. Nicole MacTavish, Principal of Redmond High School, announced today that Redmond High School JROTC, led by MGySgt Mike Trammel USMC (ret) and Robert Wendel, Lt. Col., swept the Cascade Mountain League JROTC Drill Competition held this weekend at Lebanon High School.
JROTC cadet Haley Zook, Cadet 1 st Sgt., stated, “I was pretty stressed, but very excited to put everything together. It felt amazing to be able to go out there in front of everyone – to get the applause and stomping of the feet when we were exiting.”
The JROTC Team took 1 st or 2 nd Place in all of the drills in which they competed:
1 st place Armed Drill Inspection
1 st place Regulation Armed Drill
1 st Place Exhibition Armed Drill
2 nd Place Unarmed Drill Inspection
1 st Place Regulation Drill
1 st Place Exhibition Drill
The win was especially meaningful for the team as they have worked through significant logistic difficulties as Redmond High School facilities are in the midst of a major remodel.
MGySgt Mike Trammel USMC (ret) stated, “Starting the year, we didn’t have an armed exhibition because we have such a new young team, and because the gym was not available for training due to the gym floor being refinished. But we decided on Tuesday that we would put one together. We practiced it the first time on Friday night. Then, when we performed it Saturday, it all came together. All of those early morning practices paid off!”
Cadet Faith Irick, the Cadet Admin Officer, stated, “It was a little bit stressful but we all pushed through together. For the armed exhibition it was really amazing that we put it together in 3 days!”
“I’d never seen eyes that big when we told everyone we just started on Thursday!” added Cadet Ben Tolke, the JROTC Executive Officer. “It was pretty stressful, but when it all came together it was really satisfying. I didn’t know how it was going to turn out, but it was awesome.”
Because of the high number of points accumulated in the 6 team events, individual accolades also went to two RHS JROTC students:
1 st Place Armed Drill Team Commander went to Cadet Ben Tolke, Cadet Executive Officer
2 nd place Unarmed Drill Team Commander went to Abby Henry, Cadet Company Commander
In addition, the Redmond JROTC Color Guard placed highly:
Color Guard Team #2 placed 1 st
Color Guard Team #1 placed 6 th
Redmond JROTC also stood out in Marksmanship when the team made the podium as a team for the first time, placing 5 th . Cadet Katlyn Belcher represented Redmond well in individual competition when she was thrown a curve ball and made to compete in a higher division but still managed an individual 3 rd place finish in Marksmanship.
Individual recognition also went to 3 cadets who earned top-ten recognition in Physical Fitness:
Cadet Faith Irick was the 1 st Redmond High School female ever from Redmond JROTC to place in the top 10 for the females.
Cadet Carlin Sibley was the 1 st Physical Fitness team member to make the podium with a 6 th place finish for males.
Cadet Ben Tolke took 1 st in the individual Armed Exhibition.
While at the competition, the Cadets rose at 5:30 AM each day and did not get to bed until after 11 PM. Despite the grueling schedule and keen competition, Redmond High School JROTC persevered and swept the competition.
Cadet Staff Sgt. Sharon Harmon, summed up her experience at the competition: “When it was over I felt relieved. During preparation it was stressful, but during competition we pulled together as one team.”
