The Michigan City High School (MCHS) Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (MCJROTC) earned awards at the Eisenhower High School military drill competition held in Blue Island, IL on Saturday, April 11th. Since it was the Saturday of Spring Break, and also the day of a boy’s track meet, the Wolves were at reduced strength, missing half of the members of the team, most of them starters. Still, MCHS earned third place finishes in armed exhibition, armed squad, and personnel inspection. The armed exhibition squad was commanded by Cadet Gunnery Sergeant Cameron Wilcher, and the armed squad and personnel inspection squad were commanded by Cadet Gunnery Sergeant Jalen Stockley. Additionally, Cadet First Sergeant Hayley Feidner earned two medals and Cadet Gunnery Sergeant Wilcher earned a medal in individual competition.
Major Tom McGrath, the Senior Marine Instructor, stated how well the younger cadets stepped up to replace the missing cadets. “This was a good event for our younger cadets to gain actual game experience. For some of them, it was their first time competing in a drill meet, and they performed well.”
Master Sergeant Jeff Benak, the Marine Instructor, commented on the dedication of the cadets. “For these cadets to come off of their Spring Break to practice during the week and then do the meet on Saturday really says a lot about how committed they are to our program and their desire to improve.”
This was the eighth drill competition in which the cadets had participated, a school record. They also earned the most awards of any drill season, to include being the overall winner of the Romeoville, IL drill meet on March 23, when they had their full team in attendance.
Although this was the last drill competition, the cadets will be busy in the next few months. They will be supporting the school and community in a number of events, to include track meets, the Michigan City Memorial Day parade and ceremony, and the high school graduation. Cadets will be preparing to attend two summer camps. The first will be a leadership camp at the St. John’s Military Academy in Delafield, WI, June 8-13. The second will be a Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Camp at The Citadel (the Military Academy of South Carolina), Charleston, SC, July 5-14. Both camps are conducted at no cost to the cadets or Michigan City Area Schools. The camps are principally funded by the Marine Corps, with augmentation from veterans groups and the MCJROTC Booster Club.