Kofa JROTC heads to nationals, competes among best 16 drill teams in United States
Kofa High School’s Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) Drill Team consisting of 33 cadets competed in the 3rd Annual Marine Corps Nationals Drill Competition at CYA Fieldhouse in Chantilly, Virginia outside of Washington, D.C. on Apr. 13, 2019.
The Drill Team is made up of three basic teams: Armed Regulation and Armed Exhibition rifle team, the Unarmed Regulation and Unarmed Exhibition team, and the Color Guard Team. The Marine Corps currently has 268 JROTC programs across the Nation including Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and even Japan. Arizona has seven Marine Corps JROTC programs with Kofa taking the top spot in the State and first place in Region 4 consisting of all states west of the Mississippi.
By reaching nationals, Kofa’s JROTC Drill Team is considered among the top 16 teams in the nation.
This is the second time in three years the Kofa JROTC Drill Team has made it to the national competition and is led and coached by Marine Instructor Sgt. Maj. Colen Laarman and Senior Marine Instructor, Maj. Todd Birney. The Color Guard Commander is senior Cadet First Lieutenant Yorshia Molina. The Platoon Commander for the Armed Rifle Team is junior Cadet Gunnery Sergeant Jonathan Silva, and the Platoon Commander for the Unarmed Regulation Team is junior Cadet Gunnery Sergeant Alexcia Gutierrez.
"This could not have been made possible without the support of our school and Principal, Mr. Sharp, our CTE Lead Instructor, Norm Champagne, and our district CTE Director, Lorie Honeycutt,” Sgt. Maj. Laarman said.