In our FDHS AFJROTC program there are many activities that are offered, and while some are mandatory, cadets love them all. The cadets also need improvements in some of the activities and the program itself, but this doesn’t mean the activities are horrible. Some of the activities offered are Drill, PT, Raiders, Kitty Hawk, Drone Rocketry, and Saber. A little background on the activities; PT is physical training, which cadets do once a week. We run as well as have fun PT days where we play football, soccer, sharks and minnows, and dodgeball. Doing PT also consists of a one-mile run that cadets do every new quarter with a fifteen minute time limit. Simple drill commands are also a part of PT some days. Our other activities are the program teams like Drill, where cadets perform military commands with equipment (flags or rifles), and march. The Raiders are our athletic team. Raiders do push-ups, 5ks, and exercise obstacle courses. Kitty Hawk is our academic team, Saber is our sword team, and Drone Rocketry is our drone team. All these teams are great, but cadets think we should improve some of these activities.
One of the cadets of this program, Cadet Donaldson is a part of the Drill team and loves it. His favorite thing in drill is using the rifles. Cadet Donaldson also mentioned he loves assabition which is a specific activity in drill. Cadet Diaz is a part of Saber and Raiders and she mentioned that she “enjoys both teams, but she wishes Raiders would have more competitions.” Many activities are enjoyed, as Cadet Martin mentions he loves the reading activities in the program. Now, the Sergeant for the 9th grade wing, Sergeant Noltemeyer said he enjoys issuing freshmen their uniforms. He states that when he “issues and sees everyone wearing uniform correctly, he really enjoys it because it’s an accomplishment to them, the instructors, and the cadets, because they [cadets] started off not knowing how to wear it properly.”
With that being said, there are many activities within Drill itself. These activities consist of doing commands in marching, having a rifle or a flag, and executing certain commands with your equipment. But there are many groups for Drill such as, Color Guard, Armed Assabition, and Unarmed Assibition , etc. Now, those in Drill accomplish many things, like knowing certain commands before their class (flight) learns it, a special team’s ribbon, and more. Cadets can be on this team and not specifically perform for competitions. AFJROTC has a presentation team as well as a competition team for anyone’s liking, and on both teams, someone commands their squad and platoon they’re assigned too. Now, being a part of Drill, you also get a special uniform. You are issued striped pants and clickers for certain comps. You still wear the service coat, tie, ribbons, ranks, name tag, and blue shirt you are issued within your flight but cadets jazz it up with striped pants and will caps for comps.
Our two other active teams are Raiders and Saber. Those two teams are like the athletic teams of the program, although they both consist of different things. The Raiders are more of a sporty team. They do 5Ks, push-ups, mile runs, pull ups, bus pulling, all types of physical activities. Since Raiders also consist of many activities it’s broken up into A teams and B teams. Saber is a team that consists of swords. They compete by having to end up touching the other person on another team in a spot with their sword a certain number of times to earn points. Both teams require a uniform. Raiders wear army pants, boots, and their Raiders team shirt they get for being on the team. Sabers wear clothes with a padded white suit on top from head to toe.
Now, our other 2 most exciting teams Kitty Hawk and Drone & Rocketry. These teams are very different from each other. Drone & Rocketry consist of building and flying rockets or flying drones. Cadets study techniques and take months to come up with a technique to blast off a rocket. Their uniforms consist of their team shirts and tan pants. Then, Kitty Hawk consists of academics, mostly it’s a knowledge team. You have a presentation team and competition team. For the competitions, you take a test for a certain amount of time. Their uniform is their team shirt and tan pants.
As you can see there are a vast amount of programs to choose from in AFJROTC. There’s always a program that fits you and your personality. These activities within a team highlight the greatness of the whole program. If you join AFJROTC, you are allowed to do every single program for free, be a part of something for fun, and win competitions. Being a part of the team is exciting!