Huge NJROTC drill meet held at Wheeling High School

Cadets from Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps units and military schools competed in one of the largest drill meets in Illinois, which took place at Wheeling High School Saturday.

The Wheeling NJROTC, in which all of the District 214 schools participate, has been hosting the Chicagoland Drill Meet since 2001. Jeff Morse, senior naval science instructor at Wheeling High School, said 700 cadets from 22 schools in three states participate in the drill meet.

There are six different team events, including unarmed and armed regulation drill, during which cadets perform moves according to military regulations. There is also armed and unarmed exhibition, where cadets get to be creative and add moves such as the spinning of rifles, and color guard competitions, Morse said.

Instructors from Naval Station Great Lakes, known as "Red Ropers" for the red ropes affixed to their uniforms, helped judge the drill meet.

"The hardest personnel inspections that they'll have as cadets are at drill meets," Morse said.

The Wheeling cadets marched in formation while following the commands of Drill Commander Seoyoun Park, a senior at Buffalo Grove High School, during the unarmed regulation drill. Since the Wheeling unit is the host of the competition, the cadets are graded but cannot place.

"They have to pay attention to detail," Morse said. "They have to be focused. They perform for seven minutes at a time."

There are approximately 120 students in the Wheeling NJROTC program, which is an elective class.

"It's open to anyone who wants to put in the time, but that means they have to practice a couple times a week," Morse said.