Adina Mayo – Mustangs Ahead
(LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL)- With COVID-19 keeping students out of school, the LRHS Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) program has had to come up with creative ways to continue to conduct routine activities like uniform inspection, weekly lessons and discussions, physical training (PT), and promotion boards.
On Monday, Apr. 6, the program conducted its first ever online promotion board using the conferencing feature on the Microsoft Office Teams app. Promotion boards are a way for leadership to assess their cadets’ knowledge of JROTC curriculum and acknowledge leadership capabilities.
Junior Jace Grayson, the program’s Command Sergeant Major (CSM), oversaw the preparation and execution of the promotion board.
“It was difficult to navigate the new territory, and we faced some technical difficulties,” stated Grayson. “We [the Battalion staff] had conference calls beforehand to get everyone on the same page while we were in the testing stages. In the end, the board was very successful.”
Freshman Samantha Rees, a Delta company squad leader, attended the board and got promoted.
“I was very nervous. I probably did five different things to calm myself down,” said Rees. “Although, once I got on the call, I felt less pressure than I would during an in-person board, so I calmed down.”
Junior Jessica Carff, a cadet in Alpha company, also passed the board.
“The setting is different, but still stressful. I got worried about my internet connection, the way I positioned the camera, and my volume,” commented Carff. “However, the fact that I was able to be in a comfortable environment made it a little easier.”
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