{"id":9419,"date":"2023-05-08T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-08T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=9419"},"modified":"2023-05-09T06:50:02","modified_gmt":"2023-05-09T06:50:02","slug":"zama-middle-high-school-jrotc-cadets-recognized-at-end-of-year-ceremony","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=9419","title":{"rendered":"Zama Middle High School JROTC cadets recognized at end-of-year ceremony"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Navy Chief Joseph Fennessey looks on after helping promote his daughter, Liliana Fennessey, to the rank of cadet second lieutenant during the end-of-year ceremony for the Junior Reserve Officers\u2019 Training Corps cadets of Zama Middle High School\u2019s Trojan Battalion, held Friday at the school auditorium.
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\n Retired Lt. Col. Douglas Fields, left, the senior Army instructor for the Junior Reserve Officers\u2019 Training Corps cadets of Zama Middle High School\u2019s Trojan Battalion, presents an award to Cadet Lt. Col. Roman Romero, right, during the battalion\u2019s end-of-year ceremony Friday at the school auditorium.
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\n Sean Simpkins, right, smiles as his mother, Sarah Lin, right, helps affix his newly promoted rank of cadet second lieutenant during the end-of-year ceremony for the Junior Reserve Officers\u2019 Training Corps cadets of Zama Middle High School\u2019s Trojan Battalion, held Friday at the school auditorium.
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CAMP ZAMA, Japan \u2013 The Junior Reserve Officers\u2019 Training Corps cadets of Zama Middle High School\u2019s Trojan Battalion collectively earned more than 450 awards this year\u2014and their goal next year is to aim even higher.<\/p>\n

In addition to the cadets being recognized for their accolades, many of them were also promoted both in rank and position during the battalion\u2019s end-of-year ceremony held Friday at the ZMHS auditorium here.<\/p>\n

The ceremony capped off a year that included the Trojan Battalion winning the Far East Division II drill meet and placing third in a two-day marksmanship competition in January.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was overjoyed to see my comrades come up to the stage and be awarded for their hard work,\u201d Cadet Lt. Col. Roman Romero said. \u201cWe had a goal in front of us at the start of the school year, and it\u2019s great to see everything we\u2019ve accomplished and how successful we\u2019ve been.\u201d<\/p>\n

Romero, a junior, is a JROTC veteran, though this was his first year in the program at ZMHS. He will enter his senior year as the unit\u2019s new battalion commander after taking over for Cadet Lt. Col. Bryan Ponce.<\/p>\n

Ponce, who spent all four years in JROTC with the Trojans, helped his battalion earn the title of \u201cHonor Unit With Distinction,\u201d the program\u2019s highest achievement. Following his graduation next month, Ponce will attend Jacksonville University in Florida on a U.S. Navy ROTC scholarship.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been honored to serve in this leadership position and take advantage of the opportunities that have been presented to me,\u201d Ponce said. \u201cLearning so much from this program has changed, and will continue to change, my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Addressing his fellow cadets, Ponce encouraged them to continue helping the battalion to excel, particularly as they prepare next year for the JROTC Program Accreditation inspection, or JPA, a rigorous undertaking JROTC units must complete every three years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI challenge you all to take the work you have done this year and continue to work even harder next year,\u201d Ponce said. \u201cI feel confident in you all as leaders to take what you have learned … and put it all toward not only passing the inspection, but earning the highest score out of all of the programs.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Roman Romero, left, is promoted to the rank of cadet lieutenant colonel during the end-of-year ceremony for the Junior Reserve Officers\u2019 Training Corps cadets of Zama Middle High School\u2019s Trojan Battalion, held Friday at the school auditorium. Romero also took command as the battalion commander during the ceremony.
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The ceremony began with the cadets receiving the many awards they each earned in academic, athletic and military categories, as well as individual recognitions such as the Military Officers Association of America JROTC Medal, awarded to Romero, and the Superior Cadet Decoration Award, given to three cadets in their respective Leadership and Education Training levels, or LET.<\/p>\n

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\n Logan Jackson smiles after being promoted to the rank of cadet second lieutenant during the end-of-year ceremony for the Junior Reserve Officers\u2019 Training Corps cadets of Zama Middle High School\u2019s Trojan Battalion, held Friday at the school auditorium.
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\u201cI\u2019m glad to see that everyone\u2019s work paid off,\u201d Cadet Command Sgt. Maj. Emerson Moore, the battalion\u2019s new command sergeant major, said. \u201cWe spent so much time and work this past year to get to this moment, and I\u2019m just glad everything went really well.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ceremony also included more than 20 cadets receiving promotions. Parents were invited to the stage to help affix the new rank onto their son or daughter\u2019s uniform, while retired Lt. Col. Douglas Fields, the school\u2019s senior Army instructor, assisted.<\/p>\n

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Keith Joell, assigned to the 35th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, was at the ceremony to help promote his son, Cadet Cpl. Geovanni Joell, and said he was proud of him and the other cadets for stepping up and being leaders in their school.<\/p>\n

Geovanni is the latest to continue in his family\u2019s long history of military service. Just last year, Geovanni\u2019s older brother, Ke\u2019Shaun, joined the Army. Joell administered Ke\u2019Shaun\u2019s oath of enlistment on Camp Zama, the same place he enlisted from nearly 20 years earlier.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m proud of [Geovanni] that he was willing to take the step to join JROTC,\u201d Joell said. \u201cHe\u2019s in line now to go on to the ROTC program when he graduates and will become the first \u2018officer Joell\u2019 in the ranks.\u201d<\/p>\n

New cadet senior leaders were also promoted. The ceremony concluded with both the battalion and its Alpha and Bravo companies welcoming the new commanders, command sergeants major and first sergeants with a traditional passing of a flag known as a guidon.<\/p>\n

Fields praised Romero, the new commander, for his stellar leadership and dedication to the JROTC program.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving previously served as the battalion operations sergeant major, [Roman] is, without a doubt, the right person to assume command and lead this great organization,\u201d Fields said. \u201cHe has become an integral part of this organization and has the ability to lead it to even higher heights.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taking on the role of battalion commander is an honor, Romero said, and he is up to the challenge of helping the Trojans succeed during next year\u2019s JROTC Program Accreditation inspection.<\/p>\n

\u201c[The JPA] is going to be a very big challenge that everyone has agreed to work toward,\u201d Romero said. \u201cAnd when we reach success and we are able to claim \u2018Honor Unit With Distinction\u2019 again, it will be a very empowering for all the cadets to take with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moore, the battalion\u2019s new command sergeant major, attributed her unit\u2019s ongoing success to the cadets\u2019 leadership and teamwork. She said she has ambitious goals for the program going into next year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope to make the battalion better,\u201d Moore said. \u201cMore than that, I want to just keep making leaders. The world always needs more leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1 \/ 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption \u2013 Navy Chief Joseph Fennessey looks on after helping promote his daughter, Liliana Fennessey, to the rank of cadet second lieutenant during the end-of-year ceremony for the Junior Reserve Officers\u2019 Training Corps cadets of Zama Middle High School\u2019s Trojan Battalion, held Friday at the school auditorium. (Photo […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9421,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9419","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9419"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9419\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9427,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9419\/revisions\/9427"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}