The JROTC Red Soldiers Unarmed Drill team attended their sixth annual 5th Brigade Drill Championship at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center on Jan. 20. The competition consisted of four events: exhibition, inspection, regulation, and color guard. The Patriot Battalion cadets, led by three commanders, competed in many events against 27 schools.

Cadet Command Sgt. Maj. Albert Feliciano Otero commanded two teams, placing 14th in exhibition and 19th in inspection. The team needed to place 10th to pass on to nationals. Although they needed to place higher, Feliciano Otero was pleased with how his team performed. 

“We performed to the best of our abilities. I am very proud of how we executed our routine,” said Feliciano Orero, “Even though we didn’t place high enough, we tried our best. That’s all that matters.”

Cadet Lt Col. Apollo Antcliff commanded the “Helldog” color guard team, in which they placed 13th.

Antcliff explained challenges during the event, such as the tempo. However, there were also significant improvements. 

“We definitely grew from last year,” Antcliff said.

Cadet Capt. Gavin Mick commanded regulations, placing 17th, and was satisfied with how the group performed. 

“I say we did pretty good,” Mick noted.

Command Sgt. Maj. (R) Gabriel Camacho and Sgt. 1st Class (R) Karen Hudson, Army instructors for Veterans Memorial JROTC, were facilitators, instructing and passing on information, leaving it to their trusted student leaders to command the cadets. 

“Based on the effort put into the practices and the team coming together, the results were definitely what we expected,” Camacho explained.