Steinbrenner Highschool’s JROTC Raiders are participating in a three-day long competition that consists of many different activities. JROTC, the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, is a federal program that is sponsored by the United States Armed Forces which means that it has a military background, and many tasks that are done are based on that.   

Each day of the event correlates with a certain branch of the military. Day one consists of challenges involving the Army, Navy, Air Force, and marines. Day two and three will have the “JROTC Nationals”. 

The competition is supposed to test your skill in various activities that will be performed during the event. Levi Fisher, a junior at Steinbrenner Highschool who is in the JROTC program, gives more insight on the event and talks about his experiences in the Raiders competition. 

 “The Army JROTC Raiders competition is a series of events which include practice running, rope bridging, tire flipping, and weighted runs,” says Fisher.  

“The state qualifier will take place on November 5th at Newsome High School, “explains Fisher. 

Proving your skills in the competition isn’t the only thing you can be awarded with. If you do the best in the competition, you will be awarded a trophy. Christian Tanguay, a 9th grader in JROTC, offers advice on the competition.  

“I would not too focused on the prize, I would be more focused on doing good on the competition” says Tanguay.  

While some people care about the prize, others don’t mind the prize and are just there to see how well they can do in the competition. 

The contestants of the event want to do the best that they can of course which means some people will have lower or higher expectations for themselves.  

“I think I will do good on the competition because I have experience in the activities.” said Fisher.  

The participants in the event don’t just have to worry about themselves though, the competitors they are facing is something else they must worry about. 

Members of JROTC that can’t participate until next year should still participate in activities to prepare for the event for when they can participate. Aiden Carevic, a 9th grader at Steinbrenner Highschool who is in JROTC but isn’t participating talks about the competition.  

“I think that the competition is cool and interesting, so I am looking forward to participating in it next year. I have already been practicing for the event so I think I would do alright”, says Carevic 

The JROTC program does sessions for their team to compete in for practice even if they aren’t participating. The state qualifier is soon and as students prepare for the event it seems they have less and less time to practice. Only time will tell on who will win, the ones who practiced the most will see the best results at the event.