By Karen Perez, OP-ED Editor | January 19, 2024
January 13, 24 marks the second competition for Carson High School’s MCJROTC program. Four different teams competed in this competition. Two different teams of color guard as well as unarmed and armed drill teams participated.
Drill Team:
This year's Drill Team Commander who helped carry his drill team to victory at the Desert Hot Springs competition is Aaron Elizalde, a junior cadet second lieutenant (C/2nd Lt.) in the MCJROTC program. He's been in drill for three years and has learned and gained leadership qualities that allowed him to become Drill Commander as well as Company Commander (CC) for period five’s Echo Company.
"I wanted to become a drill commander because it would help me with my secondary goal of becoming a CC, which it did,¨ C/2ndLt. Elizalde stated. ¨Also, I had a lot of fun winning competitions and wanted to create a team that I helped fathered [who are] known to win a lot and for being the best."
C/2ndLt. Elizalde commanded the Unarmed Drill Team at this weekend's competition and made his mark by winning two trophies. He won 1st place for Drill Team Regulations, which is the actual marching portion, as well as a 4th place trophy for Drill Team Inspection.
As commander of drill, C/2ndLt. Elizalde placed C/2ndLt. Jayden Saldivar, a junior, in his second in command for the Drill Team and as commander for the Armed Drill Team. C/2ndLt. Saldivar is also not only the second in command for the drill team but also was placed as CC for Delta Company (4th period) because of the amount of potential he displayed and for being a great leader in his first year of the program. As a second year member, he has already gone up in the ranks and made his mark.
C/2ndLt. Saldiver commanded the Armed Drill Team, which marched with air rifles. This team did not win any trophies in this competition, however, the commander and his team are hopeful for the next few competitions that remain.
Color Guard:
In this year's Desert Hot Spring Competition two different MCJROTC Color Guard Teams participated and won trophies. These teams are made up of a right and left rifleman, and two cadets who carry the colors (flags), one being the United States colors and the other the MCJROTC colors- in total this team is a four-man team.
This year's Color Guard Commander is C/2ndLt. Emory Light, a senior. He's been in the program for all four years in high school and was allowed to become the Commander of the Color Guard in the program because of his abilities and capabilities of being a remarkable leader. Like the Drill Team Commander and his second, he is also a CC for Charlie Company-the 3rd period class.
C/2ndLt. Light commanded his color guard which is made up of a four-man team. He and his team took home two trophies at this year's competition. C/2ndLt. Light team Yankee won 1st place for Color Guard. C/2ndLt. Elizalde also took the win for being the left rifleman for this team's Color Guard, which is one of the two teams he's in.
This year's Desert Hot Springs Competition was a big win for the JROTC teams, and we wish them all the best for their next few competitions coming up!