Cadet Maj. Meraley Fugate prepares to lead his Drill Team during its evaluation.

WARSAW — Warsaw Community High School’s Army JROTC Department received its first-ever formal JROTC Program for accreditation inspection on April 25. Army JROTC units are evaluated every four years by U.S. Army’s Cadet Command from Fort Knox, Ky. This inspection is administered to all JROTC units to ensure units are adhering to AdvancED Standards for Accreditation regarding cadre instructional proficiency and Cadet learning.

There are three ratings a unit can receive:  Honor Unit With Distinction by scoring 95 percent overall proficiency, Proficiency by scoring between 70 and 94 percent and Unsatisfactory by receiving a score below 70 percent.  WCHS’s Army JROTC Tiger Battalion earned a score of 96 percent, resulting in the unit earning the“Honor Unit with Distinction status. Only 15 percent of Army JROTC programs nationwide earn this top rating.

Army JROTC units that earn the Honor Unit with Distinction status have the opportunity for its cadets to apply for an appointment to our nation’s military academies: U.S. Military Academy in West Point, U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., U.S. Air Force Academy, and the Coast Guard Academy with a JROTC “Honor Unit with Distinction” nomination. Maj. Friedrich Josellis, the WCHS JROTC Senior Army Instructor can write nominations for Cadets who meet the prerequisites for these service academies.

Cadets and senior leaders within the Tiger Battalion were graded on the following:

• The Battalion staff briefed the Army inspector about their “Continuous Improvement” project.
• Drill and Color Guard teams executed a series of prescribed movements and maneuvers.
• Other Cadets briefed the Army inspector their “Service Learning Project.”  The WCHS JROTC helps put together Boomerang Backpacks the entire school year.
• Cadet and Instructor were evaluated.
• WCHS Army JROTC “Unit Report” which notes in-detail the unit’s activities through the school year.