Wednesday, Pearl River Central High School’s NJROTC program was recognized as the 2015 Navy League Most Improved Unit in the nation at a ceremony in Pensacola, Florida.
PRC NJROTC Senior Naval Instructor Col. Todd Ryder said there are 616 units in the nation and each year the Navy League selects a most improved and most outstanding unit to honor.
“It’s really quite an honor and not something we expected,” Ryder said. “This is not just a reflection of the current year, but a 3-year period of growth.”
Ryder said many factors are considered, including participation and physical fitness.
“They look at classroom and extracurricular activities participation,” Ryder said. “One of our goals is for every cadet to participate in community service projects and competitive activities such as drill, marksmanship and orienteering.”
The PRC NJROTC participates in many community service projects, including picking up trash, color guard performances, volunteering at Manna Ministries and leading the PRC High School’s Relay for Life team.
“During the 2014-2015 school year, our students completed almost 5,000 hours of community service,” Ryder said. “We also host events at the school such as our 9-11 ceremony and Veterans Day program.”
Improvements to physical fitness standards are also taken into consideration, Ryder said.
“We had one cadet who made tremendous physical advances during his two years in NJROTC,” Ryder said. “He went from 320 pounds to 185 pounds. He now deadlifts 485 pounds and is in competitive physical condition.”
The NJROTC program has a 75 percent retention rate now, Ryder said. Each year, more eighth graders are showing an interest in JROTC, he said.
“I’m so humbled and excited for the cadets,” Ryder said. “They are the ones who pull the line and made this happen. We have an unexplainable confluence of kids who represent the best our community has to offer. I can’t wait to see what happens next year. I do not believe this will be our finest hour, there’s more to come.”