Grants JRROTC to compete in national event in Florida

Drill team commander Mark Teshama right and the members of the Grants High School Marine Corps ROTC A Squad Drill team prepare for their upcoming competition in Farmington. (Photo by Jerry Wilson/Independent)

By Jim Tiffin
Staff Writer

Brad Killough takes careful aim at a paper target Wednesday at Grants High School. Killough is a member of the Grants High School Marine Corp Junior ROTC shooting team. (Photo by Jerry Wilson/Independent)

GRANTS — The Grants High School Jr. ROTC will be competing in a national drill team event in Florida, April 29-May 1.

The team currently has 90 members, but only the 24 who compose the drill team and also provide members of the color guard will be traveling if funds can be raised for the trip, Gunnery Sgt. George Garcia said.

Garcia is one of two retired U.S Marines who provide training and teaching for the students. The other is 1st Sgt. Rich Matteson. Both are on the faculty of the high school.

The event is the National JROTC Drill Competition in Orlando, Fla. Grants will be competing against 142 schools that are sending 177 teams.

This is a combined event, for all the armed services, Jr. ROTCs, Army, Air Force, Navy and Marines, Garcia said.

Twelve males and 12 females from the 90-member unit will be traveling and the costs associated with this trip have not yet been totaled by Garcia who said the group needs money.

The Marine Corps is providing $6,000 for the trip, but taking 24 high school students along with military instructors and chaperones will cost much more, he said.

"Some of the larger high schools, like in New York , will be sending two to three teams to compete," he said.

There are three sections to the three-day event: Inspection, regulation drill and exhibition, Garcia said.

"The inspection portion is where students stand at attention, are inspected and asked questions. The regulation drill is how a unit moves from one location to another," Garcia explained.

"And, the exhibition is where we toss the rifles," he said.

JROTC is about staying in school and graduating with a diploma, Garcia said.

"We are just like athletics, the students must have a C average or they cannot participate. In effect, it's no pass, no play," he said.

Raising money for the trip will begin in earnest in February following a drill team competition in Farmington the end of January, Garcia said.

"We have been thinking about spaghetti dinners and a dance at the high school" for fund-raisers, he said.

Schools come from around the country, including Alaska, Hawaii, Okinawa and Puerto Rico, to compete in this event.

Garcia said this year he is losing eight seniors to graduation.

"The biggest misconception is that we are recruiters. We don't recruit," he said. "We act as a buffer between the recruiters and the students so that they know what they are getting into and that they really want to go if they enlist," he said.

Anyone wishing to help the JROTC by donating for the trip may contact Garcia or Matteson at 285-6013.

— To contact reporter Jim Tiffin call 287-2197 or e-mail: jtiffin@blackmesa-isp.net.