On Friday, April 21, from 10-12 p.m. our Air Force Junior ROTC collectively worked together to present their annual ceremony, Pass In Review. This corps motto, Audet Ducere, which means, “Dare To Lead” really is shown throughout their whole presentation from every cadet and leadership members of ROTC. This presentation elected a new Corps Commander, showed the marching presentations also known as a jody from every flight, and announced Flight Of The Year. We saw performances from different clubs within this unit, showing the skills they have adapted over the year.

We started off this hot morning with all of the parents of the cadets and judges from military personnel, taking their seats on the stadium bleachers. Then the opening ceremony started, first narrated by cadet, junior Nihir Koshy. Then, came a drumline presentation, leading all of the cadets and leadership from all flights to march out in their respective areas. This powerful opening with the drumline truly started this presentation off with a bang. During this, AFROTC’s Colorguard performed the Presentation of the Colors, a performance of presenting the flags. Then, the national anthem was beautifully sang by the Highland Harmonics, which was led by Ms. Bethany Uko, who conducted this heart-warming harmony. As the AFJROTC saluted to this song, it was soon the beginning of a courageous, brave, and dedicated journey.

Soon came the welcome remarks from Master Sergeant Alvin Johnson and Lieutenant Colonel Ian Fryman, the teachers and administration of the highlander AFJROTC unit, who proudly present their organization. Then came the powerful Change Of Command, an emotional but strong ceremony where the current Corps Commander, senior Hiral Choudhary, released her command, and passed the flag to the new Corps Commander, junior Acira Tawakley. This means that the highest leadership position member, Choudhary, officially lets go of her position and gives it to with full trust to Tawakley, showing that she will be the new leader of the unit. Tawakley shares her excitement for her achievement and said, “I am very excited for getting Corps Commander and I have a lot of plans for AFJROTC this upcoming year.” This is a proud moment for parents, yet emotional for a new start and ending for students. Soon, came the performance everyone was waiting for.

Now was the Armed and Un-Armed team demos. These were presented by members of the club, who worked all year to build their breath-taking skills. Armed Drill Team was commanded by Tawakley, who presented an astonishing show of members flipping and tossing extremely heavy rifles in the air through beats and timing. Soon came Un-Armed Drill Team, which presented a rhythmic march, as if they were dancing. This showed true skill and effort as they changed position and marching spots incredibly fast. Then came the anticipated Jody Competition, some strong and some hilarious marching presentations of every flight in ROTC. It shows their personality as a team, and is a show of how their flight is better than the others. The overall object was to win the Jody Competition, which Bravo Flight much deservedly won through their strong and dedicated jody.

Next, we saw who won Flight Of The Year, through their dedication and hard work work throughout their whole year with ROTC. This is a very important award for the whole flight which was given by a plane flown by sophomore Graham Labass, who commands Aero Club which is a club that specializes in aviation planes and drones. As principal Mr. Michael Hall picked up the small paper with the winning flight, he gave it to Mstg Johnson who finally announced that the award of Flight Of The Year goes to Charlie Flight, a courageous flight that is made for big greatness though they are small. Finally came Senior Recognition and Closing Remarks, and lastly when Mstg Johnson instructs Choudhary to dismiss the ROTC unit, “one last time,” which brought tears to many, as her exceptional dedication to her unit was extraordinary, as she commanded the core for the whole year with the leadership by her side. She is a small but mighty individual who will surely make it big.

Finally, the flights were dismissed and the audience were given the chance to enjoy some tacos from Epic Tacos, a food truck. This whole ceremony showed multiple times the dedication and hard work of every cadet as they stood in the blazing heat. A few even fainted but still pushed with bravery and strength. Soon we saw input from Tawakley’s perspective on her thoughts of Pass In Review. She said, “I really liked the thought, as well as the effort and creativity from everyone. It was a step-up from the previous year and lives up to our motto as the years go on.” We also see insight from junior Rebecca Hise, who is one of the leadership members of AFJROTC. Hise said, “At ROTC we have a good mix of professionalism and fun as well, and Pass In Review is a great example of that.”

This celebration presentation not only showed their work over the year, but they also celebrated the new beginnings they will encounter in their next year as well as celebrating the last year for the seniors of this batch. AFJROTC really dedicate to stand by the saying, that true greatness lies on the fringe of fear.