On Jan. 25, 2025, Cardozo’s NJROTC unit went to the Area Two Championship held at Colts Neck High School in Colts Neck, NJ. This was a major achievement for the unit because it was their first time qualifying for the championship. The unit qualified for the tournament based on their previous performances at other drill competitions throughout the school year.
Cadets arrived at Cardozo at 0515 and departed at 0550. Once they arrived at Colts Neck they were given their rooms and told to get ready. The unit participated in Academics, Unarmed and Armed Basic Drill, Unarmed and Armed Exhibition Drill, Color Guard, Drones, Unit Inspection, Physical Training, and Knock-Out Drill at this event. This competition was majorly for the upperclassmen with junior cadets only competing in Drones and Physical Training.
The first portion of the competition was Academics which consisted of a 25-minute 50-question test on history, naval facts, and science. Cadets had two days to study and work on their knowledge. This was many of the cadet’s first time being on the academic team.
Immediately after Academics came Unit Inspection. Unit Inspection was mandatory for all cadets who were competing at the championship. The inspection consisted of five squads and the commander. Each squad was inspected by a different service member from either the U.S. Navy or the U.S. Marines.
Next up was Color Guard, Unarmed and Armed Drill. Cadets went to Cardozo during Regents week to prepare and get much needed practice. First up was Unarmed Drill, which consisted of the commander, 12 cadets, plus an guide-on. After Unarmed Drill was Color Guard, which consisted of the American flag, Navy flag, right rifle and left rifle. The team that competed was a new team that had never competed together before.
After Color Guard came Armed Drill, which like Unarmed, consisted of the commander, 12 cadets and an guide-on. While Armed Drill was occurring the Drone event was happening as well. Drones had an excellent showing placing 2nd overall with the teams flying time being 104.33 seconds.
Next came Unarmed and Armed Exhibition Drill. Both teams were required to have 13 cadets including a commander. This was the first year Cardozo cadets ever did exhibition in the form of a platoon, before this cadets only did two cadet teams for exhibition.
Lastly came Physical Training and Knock-Out. Physical Training consisted of cadence push ups, sit ups and shuttle runs. A total of 21 cadets competed in Physical Training, with the highest curls up from our school going to C/MCPO Lynora Brown with 145 curl ups and the highest push ups going to C/LT-CDR Oliver Cordero with 62. After Physical Training came Knock-Out, where all cadets from the competition were commanded by service members and given various drill movements to perform.
Once Knock-Out was completed, it was time for the awards ceremony. Cardozo came out 5th overall out of nine schools. This was a huge accomplishment because the unit in year three of competing was beating teams that have been competing for decades.
Awards:
- 2nd place: Drones; Commanded by c/CPO Brandon De Leon
- 5th place overall.
Congratulations to Cardozo’s NJROTC unit on making it to the championship, now the goal is making it happen every year.