Marine Junior ROTC Cadets Train at the Range

By Mike Cutrera, Lead Instructor/Event Organizer

In the best tradition of the Corps, 45 Marine Junior ROTC Cadets from Abraham Clark High School in Roselle braved the cold morning drizzle to come to ANJRPC’s Cherry Ridge Range on May 17th to train in the safe and proper handling of AR-15 rifles. As an added bonus, several cadets who had attended this class in prior years had the chance to practice with the M-1 Garand.

Throughout the day, the young shooters showed the same discipline that led their 30-cadet drill team to a national championship at the 2003 National High School Junior ROTC Drill Team Championship in Daytona, Florida. The Abraham Clark team became the first to win the championship in only its second trip to the nationals. The school’s program was founded in 2001 and entered national competition for the first time in 2002. “It’s like an expansion team going to the World Series,” said one of the volunteer instructors. “These kids are great!”

“This program teaches you discipline,” said Cadet Major Gina LaFleur, the student leader of the unit. “Everyone in this group has to perform. It’s not like many other student activities where you can just show up for meetings.” The cadets have also learned valuable lessons in leadership and problem solving, including how to raise funds to support their activities. The experience has built the group’s confidence.

“This is the military,” said Cadet Pfc. Mathias Sala. “They yell at us. You have to be able to take it.” He added that some students who began in the program dropped out, but for those that stayed, the accomplishments were well worth it. His sentiments were echoed by many of the other cadets throughout the day.

From the first year the program was founded, Marine Ret. Major Gregory Penczak and Master Sergeant Kenneth Wiggins have been bringing the Junior ROTC to Cherry Ridge, where NRA-certified instructors from the Association and the New Jersey Marine Corps League provide firearms training.

The first part of the day consisted of a classroom session on safe firearm handling, and a detailed introduction into the operation and functioning of the rifle. Students were also shown how to properly shoot from the prone position. By 11:00 AM the cadets were out on the 200-yard line. They split into two groups—one starting on the firing line and the other working the target pits.

On the firing line, the concentration was intense as the students worked on placing their shots, checking out the results and seeing how their groups compared with others. The first rotation lasted until 12:45 when the group broke for lunch. In the afternoon, the pit crew came up to the firing line while the morning’s shooters worked the targets.

It was hard work at either the firing line or the pits, but hard work is something the cadets at Abraham Clark take in stride. During the year the drill team meets for practice every weekday 6:00 AM—the only time the gym is available. On Saturdays, they meet at 7:00 AM. Both Major Penczak and Master Sergeant Wiggins spoke about how proud they were of the group’s determination and all that the cadets have accomplished.

In addition to the group’s championship, two individual cadets distinguished themselves at the nationals. Cadet Will Mendez finished first out of 1200 cadets to win the “Last Man Standing” competition in unarmed drills. He also finished third in the armed drills. Cadet Akira Ali was second out of 48 cadets in the unarmed commander competition.

Besides the drill team’s triumph, there’s another success story—a positive one about young people and firearms. “These are dedicated, disciplined young people who are doing something positive with firearms,” said Stan Gurski, a teacher at Abraham Clark, an NRA-certified instructor and President of New Jersey Arms Collectors Club.

After the afternoon round of shooting, there was a short awards ceremony at the clubhouse where the best male and female shooters and the top three 2-cadet teams received Marine Corps flags. The cadets thanked everyone at Cherry Ridge, and marched back to the bus—but not before they asked how soon they could come back!

The Association wishes to thank those whose hard work and dedication made this day a success: Gary Anderson, Amaury Blasco, Stan Gurski, Joe McLaughlin, John Nicolai, Michael Paul, Chris Quinn, Arthur Remolino, David Samsky, Monika Skidmore, Sam Skidmore, Jerry Sychocki and Vincent Veneziano

Back to Activities and Outreach