By PAM SCHIFF

Saturday, April 2 was a special night for the 125 cadets of the Cranston High School East JROTC program.

Not only were they honoring the school program’s 27th year and accreditation, but they also celebrated the 100th anniversary of the JROTC program itself.

“Every three years, every JROTC unit undergoes an inspection process from Cadet Command. It is a rigorous time period where they evaluate our service learning projects briefing, individual cadet work … We have an in-ranks inspection of the entire battalion, a color guard inspection, a drill inspection, and a unit goals briefing as well in the matter of two days,” said Camila Molina, battalion leader.

In addition to all those rigors, the cadets who were juniors in the spring of 2015 actually started preparing last spring.

“We conducted our inspection this past October, but we began to work on it starting last May as juniors. This year the process differed from every other year because of regulation changes and we were the first school to be inspected. We earned 198 points out of 200, which brought our unit from a merit unit – the lowest ranking unit – to earn honor unit with distinction, the highest level ranking a JROTC program can have. It is also one of the highest scores in the nation,” Molina said.

According to Lt. Col. John Murray, program director for JROTC for the past eight years, the score is among the highest not only in the nation but in the world, since there are JROTC programs in Guam, Japan, and other nations.

“In fact, our enrollment is up – we are a quality leadership program,” he said.

The evening followed a tight military schedule, actually running ahead of its timetable.

Bagpipes signaled the start of the evening’s festivities. Guests and cadets were invited to the receiving line to be greeted by Cadet Maj. Qi Wen Chen, Molina, Murray, Heidi Murray, Cranston Public Schools Assistant Superintendent Norma Cole, Cranston Mayor Allan Fung, and Sgt. Maj. Gerald Thifault.

Following the presentation of colors by the Honor Guard, the master of ceremonies, Cadet Matthew Pion, introduced Fung.

“I am so proud to be here, and welcome the cadets. We are here to recognize not only their hard work and dedication, but the staff and faculty who work with them. It is a special night also celebrating the 100th anniversary of JROTC. We must always remember that the uniform was worn by generations before us, those who laid the path. I thank you for making not just Cranston, but our state and world, better places,” he said.

The mayor then presented a special proclamation to Molina.

After Pedro Saravia recited the cadet creed and Donovan Figeroa presented the invocation, there were 10 special toasts made – including to the president, the Army, 100 years, the mayor, the city’s schools, the faculty, the cadets, and their families.

A traditional part of the military ball is the making of the “grog,” a drink that consists of a dozen different ingredients meant to signify important aspects of the cadet experience. Some of them included saluting past and current cadets, the athletes, and the diversity of the cadets.

When it was time for the meal, Molina had a representative from each of the 13 tables come to the front of the room. Each cadet had to perform a task in order for their table to be selected to eat. Some of these tasks included quoting Murray, popping balloons in their armpits, free-style rapping, and providing imitations of Assistant Principal Chris D’Ambrosio, the cartoon character Pikachu, and others.

After everyone was fed, there was a special cake-cutting ceremony. The cake was designed to look like a cadet uniform and it was decorated to honor the 100th anniversary.

Molina used a ceremonial saber to cut three special slices of cake. “Because we are a Gold Star Honor Unit of Distinction, we present these special slices to those who represent the cadets of yesterday, today, and tomorrow,” she said.

The first slice was given to social studies teacher Thomas Cowell, a retired Navy captain, representing the past. Science teacher Deborah Truchon represented the present, and D’Ambrosio the future.

Murray offered his remarks to the audience.

“There is no goal that is unachievable by the Cranston High School East JROTC. When I took over command in 2008, the program was a patient on life support. No one has any idea the amount of work [Thifault] and I have put into this program,” he said.

Murray told the female cadets that the pilot testing they did for skirts as uniforms will become routine, and the U.S. Army will be buying their shoes next year.

“This program does not work without cadet leadership. We can tell where to be, but you make it happen as to how to get there. This graduating class of 2016 is the best I have seen in my eight years. And, truthfully, I’m concerned for the class of 2017. There are very big shoes that you need to fill,” he said.

Murray gave a special acknowledgement to Molina.

“Congratulations and thanks wholeheartedly for the great leadership she has shown … You cadets owe her a lot,” he said.

Murray spoke of all the accomplishments over the past year.

“Our annual coastal clean-up efforts with the Ocean Conservancy and Save The Bay remove hundreds of pounds of trash from Greenwich Bay.  Our annual Thanksgiving food drive resulted in 1,993 food items, which is 1,603 pounds being donated to the Comprehensive Community Action Program food pantry. Our ‘Burpees for the Brave’ fundraiser raised $1,200 for the Rhode Island VA Medical Center,” Murray said.

He went on to praise the cadets for their work.

“The people see the results. No one sees the work. All our projects exceeded expectations. No one knows how many hours went into the planning. The level of coordination needed,” he said. 

Awards were presented to the armed color guard team, as well as the unarmed regulation team.

Molina presented the accreditation gold star with Cadet Command Sgt. Maj. Isabel Pabon to Cadet Pfc. Kendell Melendez and Cadet Pfc. Eric Testa. They are both freshman, and they are the next class who will be evaluated by cadet command and go through that accreditation process.

A special memory slide show of the cadets was presented showing all the different projects and activities they had participated in over the course of the year.

To close the evening, members of the class of 2016, the senior cadets, were called up for a special senior dance.

Cadets included Ruizdael Lopez-Castillo, Qi Wen Chen, Hecmar Delgado, Xing Qing Dong, Bianca Harrington, Ryan Klekot-Jenkins, Camila Molina, Ambar Olivares, Isabel Pabon, Sabrina Parau, Matthew Pion, Samantha Rastella, Stan Scripsack, George Valerio, Thea Vargas, Vanessa Vargas, Katherine Vicente, and Vivien Yau.