POW/MIA Vigil
Our annual Prisoners of War/ Missing in Action (POW/MIA) Bataan Death March had an amazing attendance from returning and first year cadets. We had a total of 70 cadets, out of which, 61 cadets completed their 13 laps. Those cadets will earn their Bataan Death March Memorial Ribbon. We held the vigil at Turkey Brook, where we kept the POW/MIA Flag moving for 24 hours. We started on Friday, 15 September, 2023 at 1600 hrs and ended our vigil at 1600 hrs the next day, Saturday, 16 September. We had a great turnout of determined cadets for our vigil this year, and several cadets attended this respectful event for the full 24 hours that it was going on. Many cadets finished their full 14 miles around Turkey Brook, some going above and beyond to show their support and remembrance of the people who are Prisoners of War and Missing in Action. A particularly ambitious, first year cadet from Bravo Flight, c/AB Aryan Botello, did a full 28 laps around the vigil path over the course of the 24 hrs. Others who did not complete their laps still came to respect those whom they were remembering for those 2 days. During the vigil, Chief, along with c/A1C Cassandra Scherr, c/Capt Jaceylin Mooney, and c/A1C had the honor of reading names of the service members who are still missing in action from 2300 hrs - 0000 hrs. They read out ranks, names, branch of service, and their POW/MIA location. Family Picnic
The MOAFJROTC hosted their 7th annual Family Picnic in 2023, on Saturday, 9 September. As always, there was an amazing turnout of not only returning but also new first year cadets. There were at least 5 AFJROTC alumni cadets at the picnic as well, including (but not limited to), Maria Grieco, Dylan Mathura, Tatiana Mejia, Daniel Mooney, and Bryan Thomas. During our extremely hot, but fun, day of ROTC, we had food, drinks, corn hole, wiffle ball, and much, much, more. We all chipped in for our amazing food selection. We had different kinds of pasta salad, a wide selection of chips and drinks, and grilled hot dogs and hamburgers. The first year cadets and the returning cadets have reported that they had a good time. This was an outstanding first experience to build this year's AFJROTC family. Roxbury PEAK Kickball
On October 8th, 2023, members of the MOHS AFJROTC played an exciting game of kickball with members of the PEAK program. Bedell’s Brutes just edged out their opponents with a 26 to 21 victory! The play began with a coin toss thanks to c/Capt Lleras providing a challenge coin. The game proved to be wrought with great plays and coordinated efforts by both teams. The PEAK players forced the cadets to play an intense defense - creating single and double plays to slow down the offense. PEAK members did an incredible job and a good time was had by all! Everyone is excited about the rematch scheduled for the Spring of 2024! New York City Veterans Day Parade
Sixty-four Mount Olive’s Air Force JROTC (MO AFJROTC) cadets demonstrated leadership and character by participating in the 2023 New York City Veterans Day Parade on 11 November. They proudly marched down 5th Avenue and showed off their skills learned in class, drill, and color guard. During this march, they made flight commanders, parents, CMSgt Bedell, and each other, all very proud. The cadets performed excellently, and represented the MO AFJROTC well by remaining in standards in the uniform they dedicated their time to for the entire trip. When we completed our portion of the parade, we all gathered at Bryant Park and enjoyed the rest of the parade building friendships and dancing to the parade's marching band. The cadets were able to make lasting memories and enjoy each other's company, as well as sharing the experience of traveling with each other out of state, and seeing other high school cadet-led programs in the “Big Apple.” Thanks go out to the parents and AFJROTC Booster Club for attending the parade and cheering us on, as well as paying for lunch. The cadets ate at either McDonald's or Chipotle, with McDonald’s being the most popular choice that day. While the cadets enjoyed their meals in front of the New York City Library, they watched the parade and showed their amazing customs & courtesies by respecting the flag with a sharp salute and cheering for the veterans. Great job NJ-20172! Drill Competition
Drill Competition 2023 Throughout the day, cadets were tested with the following activities: Unarmed Inspection, Armed color guard, Armed drill, Unarmed Color guard, Unarmed drill, First year drill The Unarmed Inspection was led by Cadet Ona: Supervisors looked over the uniforms of the participants, questioning them on the knowledge of their achievements through their ribbons, the meaning of their ranks, how familiar they were with the squadron, and how they prepared their uniforms. Overall, the cadets performance was excellent, and they received all positive feedback from the supervisors. Armed drill, Led by Cadet Magidson: Cadets marched with rifles as they were tested with difficult commands. They mastered their abilities to quickly react to these commands. Before beginning the event, cadets were anxious about how well they would perform, but quickly warmed up due to the group's determination to place well in the event. Armed Color guard: Led By: Cadet Johnson Color Guard responded incredibly well to difficult commands such as their wheels and were able to easily correct slight errors, such as, getting off step, with ease. They represented the American and Air Force flags and the MOAFJROTC amazingly with the skillful acts that they displayed. Unarmed drill: Led by: Cadet Ona: Little to no errors were made as cadets marched throughout their sequence. Cadet Ona did an outstanding job at commanding them with perfect synchronization. Feedback was received from the judges that they performed immaculately. One of the supervisors stated that “this was the best team I have seen today”. First year drill: Led by: Cadet Ensinger: The first years had been practicing extremely hard for this event, and even managed to get in another practice prior to participating. Cadet Ensinger commanded very well, and made all of Mount Olive proud. Cadets performed a great sequence and were given much praise by their superiors. Then came time for the knockout game, and the award ceremony, where Mount Olive brought home first place for best unarmed drill, as well as second place for the best unarmed commander. We are all very proud of all of the drill team cadets and color guard teams for their achievements, not only as a group, but also individually. Wreaths Across America
Cadets participated in the Wreaths across America event, where they handed out wreaths to be put onto fallen veteran’s graves. An opening ceremony took place where Noah Lopez gave a speech. Cadets were given snacks throughout the event and got to meet many veterans as well! Airsoft Stryker Event
Cadets were invited to an indoor airsoft arena with equipment provided and structures to maneuver around. They had a blast with high paced fun and many good laughs with friends. Afterwards pizza and drinks were provided and all cadets left with smiles and fond memories. |
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