Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Robert Jordan | Southern Nash High School Air Force JROTC cadets during their field training exercise...... read more read more
Subscribe
BAILEY, N.C. - Joseph Setera has the dream high school assignment, do everything in his power to disrupt class. Along with several like-minded students, 20 minutes to prepare, the complete support of his father and a desire to make about one half mile of woods into an Army style training lane during the JROTC mobility field exercise held in Bailey, North Carolina, Nov. 19, 2014.
Setera is a Cadet Colonel in Southern Nash High School’s Air Force Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) Program. He leads the opposing force his fellow cadets will encounter under the watchful eye of his father, Army Sgt. 1st Class John Setera, a North Carolina National Guard veteran.
“It was quite stressful but went really well,” said Cadet Setera.
The exercise is a chance to use the skills and discipline the program teaches in a military-style training environment.
“I think we are the only JROTC program in the state that holds this mobility exercise and with the help of the National Guard we do it every year,” said retired Air Force Master Sgt. Jay Wedding, a leader with the program.
Class begins with the briefing including roles and responsibilities. Setera’s opposing force cadets play the part of heavily armed insurgents, operating in the countryside. They are hidden somewhere in the woods of the 82-acre campus. The training scenario is to patrol the area, make contact with the local population and drive any opposing force back.
Cadet leaders organize their squad with students assigned to security teams armed with mock rifles that look and weigh the same as the real thing. Others act as medics, search teams or other roles as detailed by the squad leader.
It is not as easy as it sounds. There are multiple challenges awaiting the cadets. Other students play the part of civilians on the battlefield. If treated well they may side with the patrol but if treated poorly they may join the enemy. The ambushes along the trees, paths and streams are well hidden but a careful eye can find an exposed wire or other clue. There is not a role-playing insurgent behind every tree or simulated Improvised Explosive Device (IED) around every corner, but there are enough to make the class unforgettable.
“Only JROTC gets to do this, it is a lot of fun and I am glad I joined,” said Megan Vaughn, a first year student in the program.
| Date Taken: | 11.19.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 11.21.2014 02:06 |
| Story ID: | 148434 |
| Location: | BAILEY, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 112 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, NC Guard Soldiers aid Southern Nash High School JROTC Cadet Training, by SFC Robert Jordan, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
