The twenty three best NJROTC units in the Country competed in the Navy National Championships in Pensacola FL on April 13 and 14. Pearl River Central earned the right to represent the South Central Region by coming in first at every regional drill meet that they competed in. PRC’s NJROTC took ninth place in the Nation. Competing with units of 400-500 Cadets with numerous full time Naval Science Instructors the 65 Cadet unit of PRC distinguished itself with every aspect of its performance. To fully understand the magnitude of their accomplishments you must know that there are 616 NJROTC units and 77,000 Cadets nationwide. The performance of PRC’s 65 Cadets could only be compared to a 1A division Football team beating almost all of the 5A teams in the country. The incredible achievements of this unit has consistently brought great publicity and credit to Pearl River County.  From California to New England cadets know of and recognize their unbelievable accomplishments. This is the forth year in a row that they have been the Best in the entire region of Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, and the panhandle of Florida. Each year they have distinguished themselves at Nationals.

Every individual on these ten teams has performed at extremely high levels in order to achieve this level of performance. It is difficult to single out individuals on such teams sports but there are many who are known throughout our nation. Jenny Hope, Alex Habighorst, Danielle Walters and Luke Rester are among the very best at academics. Together with the rest of their fifteen Cadet team they reflect positively on the education accomplishments of the entire state of Mississippi. The Color Guard members of Cody Jordan, Alex Dawsey, Jeremy Stewart and Augdon Barletto mesh together like a well oiled machine into one of, and usually the best unit in the country. Our Push-up and sit-up team always scores among the best nationally with individual recognition given to Crystal Woods, Ryan Smith, Michael Everett, and Dominick Graf. The Armed Basic teams led by Alex Dawsey who always distinguishes himself in every aspect of his competition events. Augdon Barletto leads the Unarmed Exhibition team and has developed an incredible drill routine that entertains all with precision and difficulty. Amanda Davis commands the unarmed basic team and can always be counted on to train and lead them to national recognition. Moreover she is a part of almost every team and every aspect of competition. Her “behind the scene” efforts make this team a winner and her shoes will be hard to fill when she graduates this year. If there was a NFL type draft of ROTC Cadets she would most definitely be among the very first chosen in this country.

NJROTC is federally funded to teach “citizenship” to our future leaders. PHC Jeff McClure USN (ret) has developed this unit for the past six years and is the secret weapon that quietly leads them to greatness. The skills and disciplines that the Cadets learn and cultivate spill over into every aspect of education and life in general. If a Cadet can master the skills to be the best in the nation in their competitive teams it gives them the self confidence and Know how to conquer all aspects of life. These PRC Cadets will continue to shine, achieve and bring acclaim to Pearl River County for a very long time.