Clovis Junior ROTC takes spoils at drill meet

CLOVIS — A cadre of local high-achievers took their talents to new heights last month in the Rocky Mountain state, returning triumphantly with the spoils of competition.

After venturing to the cloud-capped peaks of Colorado Springs, the Clovis High School Air Force Junior ROTC drill team came home with several first-place awards from the National Invitational Drill Meet.

Groups from about 15 different schools across the country competed April 29 at the U.S. Air Force Academy, according to Maj. Alan Fields (retired), who has led the high school’s program since 2012.

“They probably had 20 judges walking around the formation and making sure they execute every move perfectly,” said Fields. “If any little detail is wrong, they eliminate them. They’ll give some trick commands and give commands out of order, so (the cadets) have to know their stuff and be listening.”

A Clovis Municipal Schools press release detailed group awards in five separate categories: first place in Armed Drill and Unarmed Inspection, second place in Armed Inspection and Color Guard and third place in Unarmed Regulation.

The competition took place in typically snowy Colorado conditions. Sophomore James Burroughes, 16, recalls it “snowed a foot” the day of event, and cadets had to march through it in full drill attire.

Sophomore Kelby Zuercher and Junior Corde Mailman earned first and second places, respectively, in the “individual, head-to-head Drill Down competition against 200 cadets,” said the press release.

“I’ve never seen that happen with any school.” said Fields. “These are really tough to win once, but both of these individuals have won these at other meets before, so that tells me that for these two it shows a high degree of skill.”

Mailman, 17, will be the JROTC group commander as a senior next year, leading anywhere from 100 to 120 cadets. She is now in the application process for the U.S. Air Force Academy and hopes to become a C-130 pilot — quite a transformation from the self-described shy and quiet freshman who joined the program a few years ago to follow her older sister and father.

“I really loved it,” said Mailman. “That's what really brought me out of my shell. I started trying to get myself out there more.”

Mailman took to the program with zeal, assuming more and more responsibility among her fellow cadets with each new year. She says the secret to success is in caring.

“I like to think it’s genetic, because of my dad and older sister,” said Mailman. “But in all actuality I think it comes from applying yourself...You just have to have the right attitude.”

The cadets stay busy year-round, practicing twice every school day and occasionally on Saturdays.

“It’s like band or football or something, except the season doesn’t end,” said Fields.

JROTC typically attends five or six competitions out of town each year, but this year the program focused more on STEM activities instead, said Fields. In October, the cadets placed third in the High Altitude competition of the 2016 Near Space Challenge at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.

“These are basically the weather balloons, and we put a bunch of instrumentation on it, and we collect data and track it using hand radios and GPS and other things,” said Fields.

“The ROTC folks are doing a great job down there,” said Clovis High School Principal Jay Brady. “ROTC does amazing things, and it’s more than what people really realize. They reach into a lot of different areas other than the military.”

In addition to its various competitions, JROTC puts in approximately 2,500 community service hours per year with trash cleanup, visiting senior centers or volunteering the color guard.

The program will celebrate its 50th anniversary at Clovis High School this September, said Fields.

“We’re kind of in a rebuilding stage this year,” said Fields. “We maybe had 30 percent of the team when we started (the school year).”

By April, the group was able to send 19 cadets with a nearly-even gender ratio to participate at the Drill Meet in Colorado. The team closed out their school year-programming this month with an awards ceremony, and looks forward to a variety of camps, courses, and other events during the summer.