30 November 2010 Cranstonn High School East JROTC Leadership Elective

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1 Cranston H.S. East Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps JROTC Thunderbolt Battalion Newsletter 30 November 2010 Cranstonn High School East JROTC Leadership Elective Volume 3, Number 1 In This Issue: Cadre/Commander Corner Corps of Cadet News Cadet Achievements Blasts from the Past Team Updates Website: Proceed to the Department Tab and then JROTC Dear Parents Your son or daughter has made a decision to participate in the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) Leadership Elective at Cranston East. The JROTC Program of Instruction is intended to build character and develop leadership ability in our high school youth. First and foremost, it is a curriculum based, classroom focused leadership elective with accreditation through the Association of Southern Colleges and Universities. Secondly, it is an extremely robust extra-curricular program involving community service, servicee learning, adventure training, leadership labs, several competitive teams, and much more. Program standards and cadre expectations for behavior, achievement, participation, and appearance are extremely high. It s not enough for a Cadet to just work and participate in the classroom. Success requires involvement in all facets of the electivee along with a willingness to develop and demonstrate leadership potential. Simply put, Cadets get out of JROTC what they themselves put into it. I look forward to an extremely productive and fulfilling year for the 22 nd Corps of Cranston Cadets. Through hard work and commitment I know the Corps will achieve and surpasss the mark set by their Cadet predecessors. John E. Murray Lieutenant Colonel, Aviation U.S. Army (Retired) CHSE JROTC Leadership Elective Senior Army Instructor: LTC(Ret) John Murray Army Instructor: SGM (Ret) Gerald Thifault Address: Cranston High School East JROTC Program 899 Park Avenue Cranston, RI (401) (401) Fax Mentally, Physically, Emotionally Strong Thunderbolt Battalion Commander I am Cadet Lieutenant Colonel Sovattana Eang, Battalion Commander for the 22 nd Corps of Cranston Cadets. I am looking forward to an exciting and productive school year with my fellow Cadets. This year the Thunderbolt Battalion is loaded with individuall talent and leadership potential. So far this quarter, the Corps has climbed Mt. Monadnock as well as conducted several service projects including cleaning the RI coastline, school restoration, and our annual Thanksgiving food drive. We build Character & Leadership Sovattana Eang Cadet / Lieutenant Colonel Thunderbolt Battalion Commander (10-11) Page 1

2 Cranston East JROTC Cranston Corps of Cadets News Battalion Leadership Battalion Commander C/LTC Sovattana Eang US Army Specialist Emmanuel Avila-Medina presents a flag of the United States to Cadet Lieutenant Colonel Sovattana Eang. The flag was flown over Camp Delta Joint Detention Group, Joint Task Force Guantanamo Bay, Cuba on 24 July 2010 in honor of the Cranston High School East Thunderbolt Battalion. Specialist Avila currently serves with C Company, 1 st Battalion, 143 Infantry (Airborne) of the Rhode Island Army National Guard. During his deployment Specialist Avila served as a member of the 115 th Military Police Company. Specialist Avila is a former standout member of the Cranston East Armed Exhibition Drill Team and helped lead the team to a National Championship victory in HQ Commander C/CPT Joseph Esposito Cadets Over Come Physical and Mental Hurdles to Conquer Mount Monadnock By C/SGT Christopher Rodas A Company Commander C/CPT Colin Vidos On Saturday October 2, 2010, the Cranston High School East Thunderbolt Battalion departed from school at 5:30 AM to hike on Mount Monadnock, the third most internationally climbed mountain, located in New Hampshire. Once the cadets arrived to Mount Monadnock, they were divided into 4 groups: White Team led by Andrew Pion, Red Team led by Natalie Robbio, Blue Team led by Colin Vidos, and Green Team led by Joshua Davis. The Cadets followed the white dot trail up to the top of the mountain which is 3,195 feet high. Due to rainy weather conditions on the previous days, Page 2

3 B Company Commander C/CPT Daniel Curran The Battalion Staff Chief of Staff (XO) C/MAJ Joselyn Alvizures Adjutant (S1) C/CPT William Naylor Cadets experienced very slippery condition above the tree line. Near the top of mountain, Cadets were able to see the Boston skyline in the distance. The Cadets spent two hours making their way to the top of the mountain where they posted the United States flag and ate lunch. They only stayed on the summit briefly due to the cold and windy weather conditions. During the descent, White Team, who had taken lead, became disoriented for fifteen minutes. As a result, the Corps of Cadets had to backtrack and find the main trail once again. By the time the Cadets had hiked to the bottom of the Mountain, many were sore and bruised. Seeing that the Cadets had hiked down faster than expected, LTC Murray looked at his watch and jokingly told the Cadets that we had plenty of time to climb the mountain; many groans were heard coming from the Cadets. The Cadets who successfully completed the hike will receive the Adventure Training Ribbon. Cranston East Continues Keeping the RI Coastline Clean By C/CPT Andy Le On Saturday, September 25, 2010, the Cadets of Cranston High School East JROTC leadership program once again took park in the Audubon Society of Rhode Island s annual International Costal Cleanup. The coastal cleanup was organized internationally by the Ocean Conservancy and locally by Audubon. The Cadets that volunteered for this event were led by the senior class of Cadets. At the clean up location the Cadets were divided into two groups which then walked in opposite directions along their designated coastal area to pick up trash encountered along the shore. The groups then documented what they found by tallying up each piece of trash onto a log sheet that was provided to the volunteers by Audubon. The battalion picked up a total of one hundred and fifty pounds of trash that littered the Goddard State Park shoreline. The most significant pollutants Cadets found were plastic and styrofoam particles from marina dockage and fast food. This would seem to suggest that fast food vendors and boat owners should stop using styrofoam since it takes a long period of time to decompose and is a danger to wild life and our environment. At the end of the coastal clean-up, the Thunderbolt Battalion held a relay race on a sandy beach, adding additional fun to the trip. S2 C/2LT Steven Capaldi Page 3

4 Changing of the Guard By C/CSM David Reis Operations Officer (S3) C/MAJ Andrew The Shoe Pion Recently the Corps of Cadet s Honor Guard under the direction of Cadet Command Sergeant Major David Reis assumed responsibility for the maintenance and up keep of the school s two flag poles. Through private and JROTC donations, the Honor Guard Unit replaced old tattered flags with new ones. In addition, the Vietnam memorial flag pole now flies a POW flag, while the school s main flag pole now flies a Rhode Island State flag. Supply Officer (S4) C/CPT Kevin Pamorada Pictured above: C/CSM David Reis and C/CPT Dan Curran hang donated POW and Rhode Island State Flag marking the transfer of responsibility. Veterans Day By C/SGM Emely Ramos Public Affairs Officer (S5) C/CPT Andy Le S5 Editor In Chief C/1LT Natalie Robbio On Wednesday November 10, 2010 the senior JROTC Cadets were requested to participate in the annual Veterans Day ceremony at the RI Veterans Administration Medical Center. Every year, retired veterans and civilians get together and honor those who fought and served for our Nation. The senior JROTC Cadets presented the colors and conducted a flag folding ceremony. Dignitaries on hand to observe the Cadets included; Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Congressman Elect David Cicilline, and Major General Robert Bray, Adjutant General of the RI National Guard. Pictured above: Major General Robert T. Bray posing with the senior class of JROTC Cadets. Page 4

5 JROTC Cadets Help With School Face Lift By: C/MAJ Joselyn Alvizures S5 Senior Writer / Photographer C/1LT Griselda Medina As participating members of the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) Leadership Elective, Cadets have always been required to conduct community service and service learning for the course. This year, both Cadets and students now have to complete community service towards their graduation requirements. So when the opportunity presented itself to both beautify the school and receive credit hours for the work, it seemed natural to participate in a project intended to improve the landscaping in front of the school. The work and material was provided by the Forest Hills Nursery, D&D Irrigation, Central Irrigation Supply, Turf, Inc., Narragansett Improvement, Northeast Tree, and Lowe s. Cranston East Army Corp of Cadets assisted with some of the labor. The project took three days to finish and was very successful thanks to the people who donated the supplies and provided the work to accomplish the task. Annual Thanksgiving Food By C/CPT Kevin Pamorada Drive Information Operations Officer (S6) C/MAJ Joshua Davis Every year around the holiday season, the Cranston High School East Thunderbolt Battalion holds its annual Thanksgiving food drive. This year the collected food items were donated to Cranston ss very own Comprehensive Community Action Program (CCAP). It was important to us that our efforts and food that we helped collect went to benefit our own community, said Cadet Joselyn Alvizures. As a Corps of Cadets and school, we proudly collected this food to help stock CCAP s food pantry for the upcoming holiday season. Approximately 1,000 pounds of food items were donated. Pictured above: Mayor Fung, Superintendent Nero, Principal Kelly, and CCAP Director of Social Services Joanne Gregory pose with Section I of the freshman JROTC class to display some of the food items collected. Page 5

6 Battalion Senior Non- Commissioned Officers Battalion Command Sergeant Major C/CSM David Reis Operations Sergeant Major C/SGM Emely Ramos Corps Cadets Honor CHSE Women Volleyball Seniors By C/1LT Jincy Phann (Girls Volleyball Team) Wednesday October 27 was the last volleyball game for the seniors of Cranston High School East women s volleyball team. They were surprised that over seventy JROTC Cadets, friends, and family and also Mayor Fung came together to cheer on the girl s varsity volleyball team. The underclassmen on the team gave a heartwarming speech and a skit for the seniors to rememberr their four years. The JROTC Honor Guard led by Cadet Kevin Pamoradaa presented our National Colors while Cadet Roxie Parra sang the National Anthem. At the end, the Cranston High School East girls varsity team beat Classical High School 3-2. Their record is now 7-7 and they are happy that they are going to the play-offs. Hope the seniors had a wonderful time at their senior night. Pictured above: JROTC Cadets in the back ground while Mayor Fung has his picture taken with the lady bolts. Cadet Achievements Battalion 1 st Quarter Honor Roll Congratulations to the following Cadets for earning Honor Roll distinction. Their hard work and commitmentt to academic achievement have earned them the United States Army Cadet Command Honor Roll Medal. Highest Honors: Melvin Morales High Honors: Andy Le Honors: Joselyn Alvizures, Joshua Davis, Sovattana Eang, David Reis, Evan Brown, Ricardo Figueroa, Ondina Vasquez, Page 6

7 Honors (Cont): Douglas Verduguez, Markirys Aracena, Helen Le, Jonathan Perkul, Anthony Poy, Joshua Rosario, Nicholas Rose, Romeo Sarum, Adam Habershaw, Cris Carmela Sena, Peter Theilig Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps JROTC Working to Motivate young men and women to become better students and citizens Thunderbolt JROTC Promotions The following Cadets have earned promotion as indicated Cadet Joshua Davis to Major Cadet Steven Capaldi to Second Lieutenant Cadet Nicholas Rose to Sergeant First Class Cadet Romeo Sarum to Sergeant First Class Cadet Scott Marcinko to Sergeant First Class Cadet Melvin Morales to Sergeant First Class Cadet Markirys Mickey Aracena to Staff Sergeant Cadet Cassidy Mills to Corporal Cadet Cris Carmela Sena to Private First Class Cadet Alexander Silva to Private First Class Thunderbolt Cadets of the Month Each month a JROTC Cadet is selected based on leadership potential, character, and work ethic to represent the Thunderbolt Battalion as the Cadet of the Month. These Cadets who distinguish themselves earn the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps Achievement Medal as well as the JROTC Cadet of the Month Ribbon. The following Cadets have distinguished themselves by being named Cadets of the Month for September 2010, October 2010, and December Cadet of the Month JROTC Achievement Cadet Ricardo L. Figueroa (September) Cadet First Lieutenant Ricardo Figueroa is a transfer Cadet from the Air Force JROTC program (PR-952) at Jardines de Ponce High School in Puerto Rico. At Jardines de Ponce, Cadet Figueroa was recognized as one of the top Cadets in his Flight. Currently Ricardo is a member of the Thunderbolt Raider team as well as a member of the school s Honor Roll. About JROTC Ricardo says, I m proud of myself and the JROTC Program because it helps me to become a better citizen, to work as a member of a team, and to overcome obstacles that cross my path. Page 7

8 Cadet Markirys Mickey Aracena (October) Team Schedules Cadet Staff Sergeant Markirys Aracena is a transfer Cadet from the Army JROTC program at Hope High School in Providence where she was a standout Cadet last year. Cadet Aracena is a member of the school s Honor Roll and has displayed a tremendous ability to lead others. She says, In JROTC I am learning not only leadership, but how to work together as a team. I plan to be a doctor to better help my community. Academic / Leadership Teams Qualification Rounds October 2010 Level I Competition 8-19 November 2010 Level II Competition 1-18 February 2011 Army Championships June 2011 (Washington D.C) Cadet Cassidy Mills (November) Cadet Corporal Cassidy Mills is a first year freshman Cadet in the Thunderbolt battalion. Cassidy has already proven herself to be a very capable leader and has been assigned as the Squad Leader for 1 st Squad, 1 st Platoon, Alpha Company. C/CPL Mills is also a member of the Drill and Color Guard team. JROTC Blasts from the Past Honor Guard Team Thursday 18 Nov 10 Providence College vs Morgan State, Dunkin Donut Center, bus leaves CHSE at 5:45 PM Wednesday 1 Dec 10 Providence College vs Northeastern, Dunkin Donut Center, bus leaves CHSE at 5:45 PM US Army Private First Class Christopher Blake, a 2010 CHSE graduate recently completed Infantry Advanced Individual Training with the United States Army at Fort Benning, Georgia. Christopher s initial duty location is Fort Knox, Kentucky where he is assigned to the 1 st Infantry Division. Christopher was recognized as the LET 4 Superior Cadet for the School Year. He was also Captain and a standout member of the East Drill and Raider teams, as well as the Battalion Plans & Operations Officer. Christopher is scheduled for deployment to Southwest Asia. Page 8

9 Saturday 11 Dec 10 Providence College vs Alabama, Dunkin Donut Center, bus leaves at 5:45 PM Tuesday 21 Dec 10 Providence College vs sacred Heart, Dunkin Donut Center, bus leaves CHSE at 5:45 PM US Army Private Christian Delgado, a 2010 CHSE graduate recently completed Infantry Advanced Individual Training with the United States Army at Fort Benning, Georgia. Christian s initial duty location will be Fort Hood, Texas. Christian was a standout member of Drill and Raider teams. Wednesday 29 Dec 10 University of RI vs Northeastern, Ryan Center, Kingston, RI, bus leaves CHSE at 5:00 PM Tuesday 4 Jan 11 Providence College vs Pittsburg, Dunkin Donut Center, bus leaves CHSE at 5:45 PM the School Year. Senior ROTC Cadet Regine Felix, a 2010 CHSE graduate is currently a freshman at Norwich University and a member of the ARMY ROTC Corps of Cadets there. Regine is studying Chemistry and during her limited free time she plays for the Norwich women s ruby team that is currently ranked #1 in the Nation. Regine was a four year standout JROTC Cadet while at Cranston East and the Thunderbolt Battalion Commander for Saturday 19 Feb 10 Providence College vs Cincinnati, Dunkin Donut Center, bus leaves CHSE at 5:45 PM JROTC Team Updates Academic & Leadership Teams: This year s JROTC Academic and Leadership Bowls will begin in November with the Level I competition. While all Cadets conducting the qualification round in October will make the teams, only the top six scorers in each category are permitted to compete in the levell I competition in November. Those JROTC teams that score in the top 50% in the Level I competition will then move on to participate in the Level II competition scheduled for February The exam for the Level I Academic competition is comprised of 25% JROTC questions, 65% SAT/ACT questions, and 10% current event questions. The exam for the Level I Leadership exam will challenge Cadet understanding of Leadership theories as well as their ability to translate leadership tenets and theories to scenario-based questions. Page 9

10 Drill Team Drill Meet #1 Coventry High School 13 November 2010 Drill Meet #2 Rogers High School 1 December 2010 Above: Cadets Nicholas Rose and Romeo Sarum, both members of the CHSE Honor Roll, take the Academic and Leadership qualification exams. Drill Meet #3 LaSalle Academy Troy, NY 15 January 2011 Honor Guard Team: By C/CSM David Reis Drill Meet #4 Central High School Springfield, MA 29 January 2011 The Honor Guard team has another very busy year ahead. So far this year we have conducted the presentation of colors for all the home football games. We are also scheduled to present the colors at five Providence College basketball games and one University of Rhode Island game. Newsletter Staff Above: Cadets Kevin Pamorada, David Reis, Griselda Medina, Nicholas Rose, Joshua Rosario, and Steven Capaldi present the colors at center court at the Dunkin Donuts Center prior to the Providence College vs Northeastern basketball game on December 1, Public Affairs Officer Cadet/CPT Andy Le, BN S5 Raider Team: By: C/MAJ Andrew Pion Senior Editor Cadet/First Lieutenant Natalie Robbio Senior Writer/Photographer Cadet First Lieutenant Unlike in past years, the Raider team numbers for the season are on the rise. Pre-season practices of Physical Training (PT) and knot tying have been taking place on Thursday mornings at 6am to better prepare for the annual Raider competition at Stones Ranch in Connecticut next May. The Raider team under new captainship of Andrew Pion (C/MAJ.) and Helber Morales (C/CPT) hope to widely improve their scores from last year. The captains hope to improve team dynamics and Page 10

11 team talentt as we prepare for the annual Raider Competition. The Raider Competition which consists of Individual PT (push-ups, sit-ups, 2-mile run) ), tying a one-rope bridge, land navigation, and a 5K road march is a physically and mentally challenging event. Last year the team walked away with a third place finish in the one-rope bridge. This year we hope to widen our trophy display and come home with a First place land navigation and one-rope bridge trophy. Morale is on a high note and the mark has been set - We are ready. Go Bolts! The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy Above Left: Raider Team members use the one rope bridge to cross an obstacle. Above Right: Cadet Helber Morales knocks out push-ups while Cadet Colin Vidos looks on. Martin Luther King Jr. Drill Team: By: C/MAJ Joshua Davis All reproductions of this JROTC newsletter have been paid for using Federal, Cadet raised, and or donated funds. This year, the Drill Team consistss of both armed and unarmed platoons. The armed platoon consists of trick, regulation and inspection. The unarmed consistss of regulation and inspection. Right now, we practice on Tuesdays and Fridays before and after school. We already had one drill meet at Coventry High School and placed 3 rd in the armed inspection on Saturday November 13, We are working hard to improve our performance for the next meet at Rogers High School in Newport, R.I. Above: The armed inspection under the direction of C/LTC Eang prepares for competition inspection. Page 11