The Army Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps is known for teaching self discipline and leadership skills that cadets will be able to master and use as they evolve with the program. In the annual Pass-In-Review Ceremony, on Feb. 2 at Tropical Park, military commanders will have the opportunity to review the troops and their skills, which have been perfected over several practices. Within this ceremony, the Superintendent Dr. Jose L. Dotres will have an opportunity to see over all the JROTC organizations within Miami-Dade County, including Coral Gables Senior High School’s own Bravo troop.
When organizing the ceremony at the District Army level, Major Chavez and Master Sgt. Jones will be responsible for orchestrating all the units to be involved. They will control all the schools within the Army and answer directly to the brigade headquarters, as well as connect the district to the Army headquarters in Fort Stewart, Ga. Their role is to serve as the in-between personnel, making sure that district requirements are accomplished.
“For me, I believe it is very important that we are able to bring all the JROTC from within Miami Dade together. Sometimes we are not able to really see how the other units operate. But in this ceremony, we are all able to come out and show our differences but also come together collectively for a goal in common,” Master Sgt. Gibson said.
The first practice that took place in preparation for the event was the Key Leaders Rehearsal which took place Jan. 18. For the upcoming ceremony to go smoothly, it is the lead role personnels’ responsibility to remember practiced instructions.
“The Pass-In-Review ceremony is important because it helps us appreciate the Cadets of the year, as well as get attendance of all the schools that are in the fifth battalion. It’s important to show that the units can march, showing dedication and distinguished leadership in the battalion,” sophomore Jorton Cabrera said.
These directors were then instructed to their troops on the day of the next practice, the Full Dress Review, on Jan. 23 at Miami Jackson High. During full dress rehearsal practice, key leaders marched their troops to their spot with commands. Commanders aligned all the troops on the field in a organized manner, as they were brought forward one at a time. The Army level Majors in charge of the event walked around the troops and inspected their attire, posture and steadiness. They supervised every unit while the troop leader gave the command “parade rest“. Once this was complete, the announcer called out each unit to march around the whole field, and the process was repeated two or three times.
“Normally the Commander of Troops is the Commander of the whole school. We [represent] the whole school and our Commander here is Nathalie Castellon. She has run the JROTC program here in Gables, so I picked her because I knew she had the training to stand in front of all the troops in the district and successfully lead them through the ceremony” Master Sgt. Gibson said.
With all the preparations leading up to the final Pass-In-Review Ceremony ceremony, on Feb. 2, this ceremony will take place not only for the Superintendent and Commanders to look over the troops, but also for each unit to show pride in their school. It will allow recognition to cadets who spent hours learning commands and planning drills for their units all year round.
“[After] staying after school and practicing commands, the Pass-In-review will test my memory and public speaking skills. I had to practice yelling my commands until I felt comfortable and confident in my memory. I’m honored to be an awardee and commander of troops in this ceremony and [see] that my work has payed off,” senior Nathalie Castellon said.
