By Jane Hakiymana.
The Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps or JROTC held a promotion ceremony Wednesday, October 5 during eighth period in the auditorium, where Cadet Airman Basics got promoted to Cadet Airman and received their first uniform strike.
“Cadet Airman Basics shows that they can march, and do some basic drill movements,” Lieutenant Colonel Robert Davidson said. “They memorize our cadet creed, are passing all their classes, and have at least an 80 in our class.”
The promotion ceremony was organized by the JROTC students, Davidson and Chief Master Sergeant Thomas Sokolnicki, with the permission and assistance of the theater teacher, Kyle Martin. It is the only promotion held in a ceremony, as the other promotions occur during class time. The JROTC cadet enlisted ranks go from Cadet Airman Basic to Cadet Chief Master Sergeant and the cadet officer ranks go from Cadet Second Lt to Cadet Colonel (which is the commander).
One of the promoted cadets was freshman Hannah Bryant, who is interested in joining the military after high school and wants to get a feel for a military environment before she dives right into it.
“My role right now as an ROTC cadet is to follow the directions given to me by our Flight Commander, a student, and Colonel or Chief (both teachers) and to help put up the flags,” Bryant said. “Another part of my role is wearing my uniform on Wednesdays and last but not least, bringing and showing respect to my family, teachers, and peers.”
Davidson one of the JROTC instructors, alongside Chief Master Sergeant Thomas Sokolnicki, began instructing eight years ago. Before Davidson was a JROTC instructor, he served in the United States Air Force for 21 years, primarily as a B-1B Weapon Systems Officer.
“About when I hit my 20-year point, Colonel Dunlap, the previous instructor, sent a message over to my squadron commander, saying, hey, if anybody’s interested in doing this, come take a look,” Davidson said. “ I thought I’d like to be a teacher, so I came, talked with Colonel Dunlap and Chief Washinski, sat in on some classes, and said, “Hey, I’d like to do that”.
The JROTC students are currently planning for the Veterans Day parade on Nov 5 held in downtown Abilene. JROTC also plans to have a joint military ball with the JROTC at Cooper, a trip on a C-130 flight, a yearly curriculum in action trip, along with many other trips intended to give the students an ROTC-like experience.
“We need more students, so if you want to have a good time, you’ve got to follow some rules, we have more rules than the average, but I think it’s fun,” Davidson said. “I’m not a recruiter, I’m not trying to get people in the military. Chief and I are just here trying to make better citizens and productive citizens after high school.”
