The Michigan City High School Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (MCJROTC) stood their annual Command Inspection on April 23, 2013. The Regional Director of MCJROTC Region 3, Lieutenant Colonel Dennis Carruth, represented the Commanding General of the Marine Corps’ Training and Education Command. Cadets were inspected for personal appearance, general military subjects knowledge, and military close order drill.
Following the cadet events, the program’s administration and supply were inspected. The MCJROTC has approximately $150,000 worth of uniforms and equipment for which the two instructors, Major Tom McGrath and Master Sergeant Jeff Benak, are responsible. “The Marine Corps requires strict accountability of all of its gear,” said McGrath. “We proved to our Regional Director that we have tight control on all USMC items.”
The Inspection began with a power point command brief delivered by Cadet Major Paul Howard and Cadet Captain Paul Tobalt. The brief covered the strengths of the program that highlighted how active the cadets are with the drill team, rifle team, 2700 hours of community service, 40 parades and ceremonies, and the upcoming summer Cadet Leadership Camp and a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Camp. The inspection proceeded on to the personnel inspection phase, where 94% of all cadets registered for JROTC stood the inspection. The cadets did very well, with that phase, with many of them earning scores of 95 or higher.
The drill portion also went well. The majority of cadets drilling for the inspection had to be non-drill team cadets. The purpose was to not to see how proficient the drill team is, but if drill is being properly taught to the entire corps of cadets. Colonel Carruth was satisfied with the five different drill events- upper classmen armed and unarmed drill, freshmen drill, color guard, and sword drill.
Last year, Michigan City earned the Naval Honor School designation, putting the program in the top 20% of all schools nationwide. It was the first time that Michigan City had earned the award since the JROTC changed to centralized control at Quantico , VA, seven years ago. There are 228 Marine JROTC programs nationally. The Inspection is one aspect of consideration for the award, and Colonel Carruth stated that Michigan City is still competitive for that award.
The cadets will be attending a Leadership camp at the Boy Scout Reservation in Yellow Springs, OH in June and a STEM camp near Boston, MA in July. These camps are conducted at no cost to the cadets or the school. They will also be marching in the Michigan City Memorial Day and Summer Festival parades as well as the LaPorte 4th of July parade. Additionally, they will be doing community service in support of the MCHS prom, the local VFW, Brown Mackie College, and the Queen of All Saints Festival. The Drill Team will be conducting voluntary practices throughout the summer in preparation for next school year’s competitions.