Alaska Air National Guardsman volunteers as JROTC drill judge

ANCHORAGE — Alaska Air National Guard Tech. of the 176th Medical Group Clinical Services Sgt. Cynthia Campbell volunteered as a drill judge for a statewide JROTC drill competition held Feb. 17.

According to a recent press release, drill teams composed of Alaskan high school students enrolled in JROTC programs practiced a choreographed set of drill movements rehearsed over the course of months in preparation for the competition.

Campbell indicated that she saw a sense of camaraderie among the cadets as they worked hard toward a common goal.

“I love the uniformity of it and the family of it,” Campbell stated in the press release. “That’s one of the reasons why I decided to join the military after high school.”

According to the press release, Campbell participated in an Army JROTC program at Southern High School in Louisville, Kentucky. This is where she gained an interest in "perfecting the art of military drill." When she saw a volunteer advertisement for the upcoming state competition, she saw an opportunity to come "full circle" and serve as a judge.

“I was in the state competition for drill when I was in high school 20 years ago this year. My team won state when I was the commander. It was a fun experience," Campbell stated in the press release.

Acting as a judge required numerous responsibilities such as memorizing important information from the Army drill manual that covered events like color guard, regulation drill with and without arms, and the decidedly non-regulation exhibition drill with and without arms.

Campbell indicated that could relate to the cadets' "pre-performance jitters."

“The nerves are all the same,” Campbell stated in the press release. “We saw cadets shaking, catching themselves messing up because they have to remember all of the movements.”

West Anchorage High School's JROTC program bested 13 other schools to win this year's competition in addition to the coastal championship, winning color guard, regulation with arms, individual exhibition and dual-cadet exhibition.

North Pole High School JROTC won first year color guard, East Anchorage High School JROTC won regulation unarmed, Eagle River High School JROTC won first year regulation unarmed, Bartlett High School JROTC won exhibition without arms, and Service High School JROTC won exhibition with arms.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com