‘I’m very proud of our cadets:’ Impressive awards for Lanett High cadets at JROTC camp

Published 9:00 am Friday, June 16, 2023

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Students from Lanett High School were awarded certifications in robotics and the top cadet award from Bravo Company at the 2023 Junior Cadet Leadership Challenge (JCLC).

“I’m very proud of our cadets’ leadership, resilience and resolve,” said Ltc. Chris McKinney. “There was a lot of development occurring during JCLC.”

Six Lanett High School cadets attended the JCLC, a JROTC summer camp, in Muscogee County from June 4-9. Around 200 cadets from multiple counties participated in the event. Students were broken up into five companies of about 60 cadets. 

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“It is an opportunity for the cadets to showcase all the things that they’ve been learning in JROTC throughout the year,” McKinney said. 

Throughout the week, the students completed obstacle courses, land navigation training, Army Combat Water Survival Test and repel training, repelling from 40-50 feet. 

During the week, the students also participated in simulations at Fort Moore, formerly Fort Benning, in Columbus. 

At the end of the week, LHS student Je’Niyah Glaze was the Top Cadet awardee from one of the five companies at JCLC. She was named the Best in Bravo Company Advanced Level. 

Another student received a certification in robotics.

Recently, cadets Ariel Hall, Ameria Ziegler and Jaelin Truitt were awarded National ROTC scholarships of $140,000 each. The trio will be attending Tuskegee University in the fall. 

“They have four or five days to show what they’re made of and show they’re capable of the things they’ve learned and then incorporate those into the activities,” McKinney said. “I’m very proud of the leadership, resilience, and resolve of our cadets from Lanett High School as they participated in JROTC. I think they’re all better for it.”

In June, another Lanett High School cadet will be attending the Air Rifle Marksmanship camp at Smiths Station High School. 

For the first year, three cadets will also attend the National Flight Academy for an immersive, experiential learning opportunity. The students will apply STEM principles and run flight simulations on the world’s largest simulated aircraft carrier.