The Michigan City High School Marine Corps JROTC Drill Team competed in a military drill competition on Saturday, February 23rd, at Pike High School in Indianapolis. The team competed in every event at the meet that included armed and unarmed basic platoon drill, armed and unarmed exhibition drill, color guard, and unit personnel inspection. 18 schools competed in the meet, with many of those being schools that compete in the Navy National JROTC championship in Daytona, Florida. 31 MCHS cadets competed in the event.
Although the Wolves did not take home any trophies, the cadets who commanded the different units said it was a good experience. “We want to be the best, so the only way to do that is to drill against the best,” said Cadet Captain Paul Tobalt who commanded the armed platoon, color guard, and personnel inspection platoon, as well as drilling in the unarmed platoon and armed exhibition events.
“I thought we had drilled better than the score sheets recorded, but they are the judges, and that’s what matters,” said Cadet Lieutenant Cody Joseph, who commanded the unarmed basic platoon, armed exhibition platoon, and was the guide for the armed platoon. “We’ll go back to work on our discrepancies at Monday morning practice, starting at 5:45 am. Even though it is early in the morning, I’m looking forward to improving so that we can win our next meet.”
Cadet Sergeant Major Mike Callahan, who commanded the unarmed exhibition and was a squad leader in the armed and unarmed platoons, liked the way the cadets in his unit drilled. “I have mostly first year cadets in my unit, so I am proud of the way they responded in such a competitive meet.”
Major Tom McGrath, the Senior Marine Instructor, said that he shared the cadets' disappointment at not placing in the meet, but remained optimistic about future meets. “Most of our movements that we were marked down on were attention-to-detail type of mistakes. We will correct those and be ready for our next meet at Romeoville, IL on March 23d. Beyond that, I am very optimistic that we will be challenging to win these very competitive meets, because we only lose one senior. Everyone else will be returning ”
In addition to the drill meets, the drill team provides color guards for numerous events for the school and community, to include all basketball games. They will provide a color guard for the four nights of the sectional tournament (February 26, 27, and March 1 and 2) and for both the semi-final and final games of the regional tournament (March 9th). The regional tournament is sandwiched around the Michigan City St. Patrick’s Day parade, for which the JROTC will provide a marching platoon and color guard.