Teamwork test
24 JROTC cadets travel to Paisley, Florida to participate in Cadet Leadership Challenge
photo by Sarah Dreyer
The repelling tower is a wall where cadets repel off a wall or zip line. In order to pass JCLC, cadets have to repel off the wall.
Most students spend the last few half days of school either taking exams, at home on their phone or watching Television, but not these 24 JROTC cadets, who spent May 23-25 at Camp La No Chee, a Boy Scout camp, located in the middle of nowhere with no reception or wifi. The only thing these cadets had was their peers, the many insects and Fred the bear, a bear that resides in the camp.
Along with these 24 cadets, other schools participated, like Astronaut, Deltona and Heritage high schools, forcing all cadets to socialize with other cadets outside of school.
When cadets first arrived, they were split into four groups, known as companies. There was Alpha, Bravo, Charlie and Delta companies. Each one was supervised by either Army, Marine, or Navy Recruiters who volunteered their time to help the cadets work in a team. The objective of each company: to earn Honor Company by working together as a team; and Charlie Company won Honor Company
“I loved interacting with new people and working with them,” sophomore Ian Dauber said.
Some of these activities included a repelling tower, ziplining, swimming, canoeing, archery, the raider recon, the one-rope bridge and sports activities, such as kickball and tug-a-war.
The Raider Recon was a one-mile run, containing obstacles courses like flipping a truck tire, lifting and carrying a tree trunk and jumping over 6-foot tall walls. During all this, three cadets had to carry a 30-pound ruck-sac.
“I pushed myself to the limit and learned that teamwork was everything in that run,” freshman Michael Ramsey said. “We could not have completed that run if it wasn’t for teamwork.”
The activities cadets favored the most were the repelling tower and ziplining.
“There was just this rush you get when you’re zipping across,” sophomore Saniya Henderson said. “You get to see nature and everything looks beautiful from up above.”
There were also times where cadets could relax, and these were the times where late night snacks were served. During snack time, music played in the background and many cadets danced to popular songs, like the “Cha Cha Slide,” “Cupid Shuffle” and “Wobble.”
Due to Tropical Storm Alberto raining out camp La No Chee, JCLC had to end a day early, however that did not stop cadets from making most of the time they had during those two and a half days.
Sophomore Jeremy Simants describes how JCLC was fun, but wished for that last day to have more fun.
“We were always doing something,” Simants said. “We barely ever sat down, but those few times that we did, they were nice.”
A major part of JCLC that every cadet agreed upon was the importance of teamwork.
“JCLC taught me that teamwork is everything, you can’t do just anything by yourself whether it was cleaning your tents or running a mile as a team,” Ramsey said. “Working with my squad showed that we can get a lot more done and be a lot more productive and if one of us falls, we never leave them behind.”
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