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Thursday, April 4, 2002
ROTC team off to defend title

By Sara Lee Fernandez
Caller-Times
   Flour Bluff's 5-time national champs go to Pensacola, Fla.
   Excited chatter filled the air behind Flour Bluff High School on Wednesday as the five-time national Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps champions prepared for the long trip to Pensacola, Fla., to defend their title.
   They will know the results of their efforts when the awards are announced Saturday afternoon.
   "The team is dedicated," said Jill Bintliff, the 16-year-old commander of the Unarmed Drill Unit. "It feels really good to be a part of a team. Not just because we win, but because we are so close."
   Jill's mother, Pat Bintliff, said she has seen her daughter mature while being a part of the program.
   "I am in awe," she said.
   "Not just of my kid but all of the kids."
   For Karen Heist, president of the squad's Booster Club and mother of Armed Drill Unit Comdr. Steven Heist, the hard work is worth it.
   "I'm so proud of all the kids," she said as she waited for her son and the other teen-agers to board the bus.
   'A little nervous'
   The Flour Bluff units have won the national competition for the last five years, something no other unit has accomplished.
   Knowing the deep commitment to excellence can be a little intimidating for freshmen coming into the program.
   "I was a little nervous at first," said 15-year-old Ronald Murawski. "But I settled into it. It was more than what I expected. It is a lot more work, and I didn't expect to meet a lot of people."
   Karen Heist said members of the unit practice long hours, on top of maintaining their grades in school. And a lot of times the units are overshadowed by what is considered by many as the more traditional spectator sports, such as football and basketball.
   The competition is more than just performing a drill. Each squad must compete in a formal presentation, physical training and academic divisions.
   The squad scoring nearest to 5,700 points takes home the first-place trophy.
   As in the case of last year's title win, Flour Bluff was pushed ahead of 23 other top teams by its academic scores.
   'Brains and brawn'
   The academic squads take an hour-long exam that covers everything from naval history and military strategy to astronomy and the weather.
   "They have brains and brawn," Karen Heist said.
   Leslee Basse, a 16-year-old who has been on the squad for two years, said that when she first joined, it was because her mother made her.
   But after a few months with the other members of the team she began to change her outlook on a lot more than just the program .
   "It gave me direction," she said. "Now I'm determined to go to the Naval Academy."
   She and most of the other squad members said the themes of courage, honor and commitment make them see past themselves.
   "It's not about you; it's about the team," Leslee said.


Contact Sara Lee Fernandez _at 886-3767 _or fernandezs@caller.com

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