On Nov. 1, Cardozo’s NJROTC program attended the first competition of the school year at Freeport High School, taking home 1st place overall.
Cadets competed in nine categories: Code Breaking, Varsity Unarmed Regulation, Varsity Armed Regulation, Varsity Color Guard, New Cadet Color Guard, New Cadet Unarmed Regulation, Unarmed Exhibition, Armed Exhibition, and Physical Fitness, and placed in almost all categories.
For weeks, cadets have been reporting to school at Cardozo from 7 a.m. and staying until 5 p.m. to practice routines and skills. Through this hard work and dedication, the NJROTC program brought home gold with first overall out of six other NJROTC units.
“It feels amazing that their hard work and dedication paid off and they were able to see the results of their effort that they put in over the last month,” said Riddhi Chauhan, the program’s Commanding Officer.
“Hearing our school’s name called again and again for first place felt amazing and boosted morale and then hearing, ‘in 1st place, the champions…Benjamin N. Cardozo,’ was an amazing memory for the new cadets and a great way to start off the year,” Chauhan added. “I am super proud of my NS1s who came to Freeport whether they competed or just came to cheer on their peers. All of them did great.”
First year cadet, Cadence Chun, and commander of the new cadet unarmed platoon, also had a memorable experience. “The first competition was really stressful, but when we actually went to compete in the gym, it just felt like another practice,” Chun said. “It was also my first time commanding a platoon and it was really fun.”
There was a lot of pressure because if I mess up my platoon will mess up,” Chun said. “With a lot of practice we were able to do good. I’m really proud of my platoon and I hope we can do even better in the next competition.” This competition was a major achievement for the unit, as it was the first time all Naval Science levels competed in their own categories.
Naval Science Instructor, Chief Chen, also reflected on how the first year cadets showed up to the competition. “Starting with the first year cadets, they competed as the unarmed platoon and placed 1st overall,” he said. “Additionally the second year cadets competed on the Varsity unarmed and they placed 1st overall as well. The NS3’s (third year cadets) were competing in armed drill and placed 2nd. And for physical fitness, we came in number two.”
“I think the Freeport Drill Competition was a really important one because it allowed us to show the depth of our competition teams,” Chief Chen said. “Every year-group had its own team of cadets that were competing in certain categories and as we continue to grow the program, this opens the opportunities for the incoming freshmen cadets to be competitive.”
Congratulations to Cardozo’s NJROTC program for bringing home first overall. The following awards were given to the program:
- Varsity Unarmed Platoon Regulation: 1st Place
- Varsity Armed Platoon Regulation: 2nd Place
- New Cadet Unarmed Platoon Regulation: 1st Place
- Varsity Color Guard: 1st Place
- Armed Exhibition: 1st Place
- Unarmed Exhibition: 1st Place
- Academics: 1st Place
- Physical Fitness/Athletics: 2nd Place
