To showcase their achievements and leadership, ROTC held their Annual Military Inspection (AMI) at 9 a.m. on Jan. 28. AMI is for the JROTC Area 18 Manager, Bill Hughen, to inspect the battalion and give it a rating based on an informational brief, demonstrations of marching and performances by the drill teams.

The informational command brief is a presentation given by each member of the ROTC leadership, or staff. They talk about their achievements within and outside of the program, their goals for ROTC and their personal plans for the future.

“Usually my favorite part of AMI has been the parade,” Cadet Command Master Chief Shaun Followill said. “But this year it actually was the speeches we gave.”

The next part of AMI is typically all the cadets marching around the football field, but this year the parade was held in the competition gym because of the chance of rain. This change especially affected Cadet Seaman Milliean Cruz, who is the guidon – or person in front who holds the flag – for her class period.

“Since we’re doing this in the competition gym, I have to practice how little space I have and how to do it correctly,” Cruz said. “I’m kind of nervous, because guidon is pretty hard to do on the slippery floor, so the flag will probably slip from my hands. However, I’m hoping that I’ll grip the flag hard enough that we’re good.”

Another challenge with marching indoors comes from the tight quarters compared to the open space of the football field.

“I felt a bit bad about it being inside, due to the crampedness ruining some of the showing value,” Followill said. “However, I did like how loud our drill performances were since the wood paneling reverberated the noise.”

The cadets practiced for the event by marching in the gym, studying and checking each other’s uniforms and hair on the day of AMI. Despite the battalion’s extensive preparation, nothing can truly prepare the students for performing in front of a large crowd of parents. 

“My least favorite part of AMI is having to stand in front of all those people,” Cadet Seaman Apprentice Zoey Byron said. “Because they’re staring at us the whole time. They’re like, ‘I know everything you’re doing’.”

Although some cadets were nervous, Followill said that the battalion was “pretty good”, even though he would have preferred “more sharpness and knowledge of basic movements.” Apparently, Hughen didn’t share the leadership’s opinion.

“Bill Hughen let the key staff know during lunch how he graded us,” Followill said. “He said that overall our performance in every way was outstanding, especially the brief.”

It seems that the determination of the cadets to represent the battalion well was effective. 

“I’m hoping I can lead them with pride, with my chest up and high and showing them a leader,” Cruz said before the parade. “To lead them on to the rest of the marching line.”