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Wednesday, Apr. 7, 1999

NJROTC team hoping for the drill of victory

Flour Bluff High unit takes off for national competition

By STEPHANIE L. JORDAN
Staff Writer

   George Ramon, his face devoid of expression, twirls a rifle with lightning speed and accuracy, making the 10-pound weapon look as if it weighs no more than a powder puff.
   But the 17-year-old Flour Bluff High School student remembers holding it for so long that the 1903 Springfield drill rifle felt as if it weighed 50 pounds.
   Kristi Borges' thin legs have had red marks for months.
   But the petite 14-year-old said she doesn't feel the pain she felt last summer when she first started hitting them with a sharp slap while practicing formation routines.
   The thousands of hours the teens spent in the parking lot behind the high school will pay off, team members said, if they can win another national championship.
   The team departed this morning for the National Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps Competition at Great Lakes Naval Base in Waukegan, Ill. If they win this year it will be the school's third consecutive victory, a first for the annual competition.
   And a year's worth of practices, two hours after school, Monday through Thursday, will pay off for the team, NJROTC members said.
   "Our bodies just automatically move because we've done these things so many times before," 16-year-old Crystal Medrano said. "We've dedicated ourselves to this from the heart."
   And the Flour Bluff team has a lot of that, said Cmdr. Armando Solis, naval science instructor at the school.
   "This is a gang, and we're trying to do something positive," Solis said. "It doesn't matter if they join the military after this or not. These are just really, really good kids and after this they will continue to do well."
   The competition begins Friday morning and will conclude Saturday evening.
   The group of 40 students will be judged on several academic subjects, drill, physical fitness and the color guard presentation. There will also be a uniform inspection and the students will be questioned on current events, the government and military structure.
   "Some schools are really, really good at one event," Solis said. "But you can't win if your team is one-dimensional. We're lucky that we have kids that are smart, physically fit and disciplined.
   "The drill is the hardest," Solis said. "Athletes are going to naturally gifted. Smart kids know how to study, but the drill requires constant practice to perfect the routines."
   And spending a lot of time on the routines had some drawbacks. The close-knit group squabbled occasionally, some said.
   "But not for long and not without working it out in the end," said 18-year-old Otis Todd Jr. "Because in the end we're a team. And we have to work together to win. There's pressure in keeping up the title, but I'm looking forward to it."
   Staff writer Stephanie L. Jordan can be reached at 886-3724 or by e-mail at jordans@caller.com
   

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  © 1999 Corpus Christi Caller Times, a Scripps Howard newspaper. All rights reserved.