UPCOMING UNIT EVENTS  

Memorial Day Service - muster at 9:00; service begins at 9:30

June 19-26 - Leadership Academy

June 27-July 2 Basic Leadership Training

July 2-3 - Bagging for Tips at Cub Foods in Trotwood 10:00-8:00
Cadets wear uniforms; incoming NS1s wear Northmont shirt
(see FORMS page for permission slip)

July 10 - Car Wash at Valero 10:00-2:00
Wear NJROTC shirt or Northmont shirt; NO SWIMSUITS

July 17 - Booster Parent Party (NO CADETS) at 4:00 at Kelly Lewis's house (1010 Meadowrun Road, Englewood)
Bring a covered dish to share and your own beverages

July 31 - Do It Best Cookout 11:00-3:00

Aug 3-5 - Freshman Orientation (0800-1200 on Aug 3 and 4; 0800-1400 on Aug 5)

Aug 14 - Englewood Fine Arts Parade - muster at 0830 at Rite Aid

Aug 21 - Dayton Dragons game at 7:00 PM (see FUNDRAISERS page for details)

Sept 11 - Annual Unit Family Picnic at Englewood Dam

Sept 25 - Cystic Fibrosis Walk at Troy Community Park - 10:00 AM

Oct 16 - Northmont Drill Meet 7:00 AM -4:00 PM

Oct 21 - Unit Poster Picture 4:30 PM

Oct 23 - Blood Drive at Kleptz YMCA 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM

Oct 23 - Unit Chili Cookoff Fundraiser and charity event for Cystic Fibrosis of Dayton 6:00 PM

Oct 30 & 31 - Bagging for Tips at Cub Foods in Trotwood (see FORMS page for permission slip)

RECENT UNIT EVENTS

Northmont Principal George Caras cuts hair for NJROTC

As a sign of solidarity following a challenge to the team to finish 10^th or better at Navy Nationals, Principal Caras agrees to let Don Jenkins of Englewood’s Jenkins Brothers Barbers cut his hair as the cadets have their hair cut, a “high and tight.” Way to go, Mr. Caras!

Northmont's Academic team places 1st in Area 3 (out of 125 teams) and 34th in the Nation (out of 1525 teams)!  Congratulations Academic team commanders c/ Dawson and Lowry!

Northmont Earns  7th Consecutive Distinguished Unit with Academic Honors

Congratulations to the Northmont NJROTC cadets and staff for an outstanding year and for earning Area 3 Distinguished Unit with Academic Honors.  This honor continues to be the benchmark for the unit as Northmont has won for the 7^th consecutive year. The cadets and staff are now focusing their attention on the upcoming Awards Ceremony and preparations for Basic Leadership Training and Leadership Academy held this summer.  

 NORTHMONT NJROTC HEADED TO PENSACOLA FOR NAVY NATIONALS AFTER DEFENDING AREA THREE CHAMPIONSHIP

Northmont High School’s NJROTC unit continued its dominance of the 2009-10 drill season, overpowering 19 other teams from Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and West Virginia to defend its Area 3 East crown in Grove City, Ohio, March 12-13, 2010. Facing a tough challenge from rival Central Crossing High School, the unit joined forces to take first place trophies in Unarmed IDR, commanded by Cadet Chelsie Lewis, Color Guard, commanded by Cadet Melinda Ashley, Unarmed Exhibition, commanded by Cadet Jacque Long, Armed Exhibition, commanded by Cadet Logan O’Shea, and Athletics, commanded by Cadets Krissi Dillon and Rasheen Ware. Their second place award in Unit Personnel Inspection, led by Cadet Jordan Eubanks, and third place in Academics, led by Cadets Henry Dawson and Barrett Lowry, and Armed IDR, led by Cadet Aaron “Big Giant” Newsom, helped catapult the team to first place overall against Central Crossing High School. Hamilton, Ebbertt, and Pike rounded out the top five.

NAVY NATIONALS TEAMMATES EAST AURORA AND NORTHMONT FINISH ONE-TWO AT PIKE INVITATIONAL NJROTC DRILL MEET
Northmont High School NJROTC traveled to Indianapolis wicked early Saturday morning to compete in the Pike Invitational Drill Meet against 13 other Area 3 teams in our fourth varsity meet of the year. Facing stiff competition from perennial rival Central Crossing along with nationally competitive East Aurora, Northmont’s Inspection and Unarmed Exhibition wins were enough to earn us the second-place overall trophy, finishing just behind the Tomcats.

Second place was a good enough finish that Senior Chief Jim Griffin allowed the cadets to eat on their way home after the drill meet.

In addition to first-place finishes earned by Inspection, led by Cadet Jordan Eubanks, and Unarmed Exhibition, commanded by Cadet Jacque Long, Northmont earned second-place trophies in Armed Exhibition, led by Cadet Eubanks, and Armed IDR, led by Cadet Aaron Newsom, and a third-place trophy in Unarmed IDR, commanded by Cadet Chelsie Lewis.

Northmont also continued its dominance of Knockout, with three cadets earning medals in Unarmed Knockout and four cadets winning Armed Knockout awards. Cadet Barrett Lowry placed first in Unarmed Knockout, and was joined on the podium by Cadets Cody Petkus (3^rd) and Francisco Marte-Lopez (9^th), while Cadets Lucas Hanson and Taryn Tynes finished a thrilling one-two in Armed Knockout, to be joined by Cadets Brennan Dilts (8^th) and Petkus (9^th) for armed awards.

The cadets and their guests enjoyed a delicious dinner of prime rib, chicken, and vegetable lasagna, catered by Kohler Catering and served by the NJROTC Boosters. The senior staff led the usual pageantry of military ceremonies and toasts, including the White Table Ceremony to honor fallen sailors, soldiers, marines, and airmen, and the cake cutting ceremony, which recognizes the NJROTC unit’s oldest and youngest cadets, Chris Schwieterman and Deyonte Trammell. Following dinner, the cadets moved into the cafeteria to enjoy hours of dancing, with music provided by Red Hot and Rolling.

NORTHMONT NJROTC CADETS RELISH EAST COAST ORIENTATION TRIP

The forty-seven Northmont NJROTC cadets who traveled to New York, Boston,  New London CT, and Newport RI, the first week of February for their annual orientation trip not only returned with life-changing experiences, but also missed most of the bad weather back home.

After a day-long bus ride on Friday across the mountains of Pennsylvania and up the Atlantic, the cadets were happy to berth at Naval Station Newport, where they spent the next three nights.

Saturday morning, the cadets were excited to start their day visiting as much of NYC as they could see in the 8 hours they had planned.  However, the bus arrived at the barracks with a computer failure, and the trip would take on a new, rushed feel.  While Croswell hurried to get a new bus, the cadets watched the Officer Candidate School (OCS) cadets compete in their own drill competition among the other companies.  After the competition, the OCS cadet staff practiced for graduation, which, for them, was only a week away.  It was a great opportunity for the Northmont cadets to see what they have learned about Navy ceremonies being used in the active duty Navy. 

On the road by noon, the cadets arrived in Manhattan in time to see the Statue of Liberty and Ground Zero, then debarked at Times Square, where they got an eyeful, an earful, and a mouthful, leaving the cadets breathless and wanting more. Souvenir shopping and cupcake macking wrapped up a dinner at John’s Pizzeria, home of the world’s greatest pizza.

After a short rest back in Newport, the cadets headed to Boston on Sunday morning, where they spent a full day taking in the history of the American Revolution. Upon visiting the Bunker Hill Monument, Old North Church, Faneuil Hall Marketplace, and the Paul Revere House, the cadets were transported back in time, giving them a new appreciation of our history. Of course, no sailor’s visit to Boston would be complete without a visit to Old Ironsides, the USS Constitution. The day in Boston ended with a fun meal at the Hard Rock Café.

Monday started wicked early at the Navy training pool at Naval Station Newport. The cadets learned to turn their khaki uniform into a floatation device.  Separated into teams, the Navy swim instructors challenged the cadets to see which team could jump into the pool, one at a time, wearing their khakis; remove, inflate, and float in them; and then pass the khaki pants on to the next team member.  Once the contest was over, the winning team sang the National Anthem, which eventually all of the cadets and chaperones joined in singing.  After an hour-long swim call in the heated pool, the cadets returned to the freezing weather for a quick march to the mess hall for more of the Navy's excellent chow.  Then, the cadets drilled for OCS drill instructors, who gave them lots of tips to make them even more competitive when they go to Area 3.

Tuesday started with a tour of the Coast Guard Academy in New London, CT, located just up the Thames River from New York City. The nostalgic brick buildings and the way the whole campus clings to the steep hillside wowed the Northmont cadets.  Academy Midshipmen gave the cadets a tour of the campus, including the engineering schools, student rooms, athletic facilities, and the Coast Guard museum.

With the forecast of blizzard conditions in Ohio, the cadets left the east coast with butterflies in their stomachs. Lt Colonel Knotts and Senior Chief Griffin made contingency plans as the cadets crossed digits in hopes they could plow through the weather and make it home on time; they arrived an hour ahead of schedule and thoroughly enjoyed their snow day on Wednesday.

Northmont Color Guard Team A, commanded by Cadet Fleming, narrowly edged our own Team B, commanded by Cadet Ashley, for the first place trophy. Northmont Unarmed IDR, led by Cadet Lewis, and Armed IDR, led by Cadet Newsom, handily beat their basic drill competitors to win first place in both events. Northmont’s two Exhibition drill teams, led by Cadets Long and O’Shea, each scored an amazing 390 out of a possible 400 points to clinch our domination of the drill competition.

 
NORTHMONT VARSITY DOMINATES DRILL TO WIN MID-OHIO DRILL MEET

Northmont High School NJROTC dominated the drill competition at Grove City on Saturday, 30 January, to defeat 14 other JROTC units in the Mid-Ohio Drill Meet. The varsity team backed up its strong showings in our previous drill meets by taking first place in all drill competitions, along with top-fives in athletics and air rifle.

Strong performances by the Athletics team, led by Cadets Ware and Dillon, and Air Rifle team, commanded by Cadet Fisher, helped catapult Northmont over perennial rivals Central Crossing and Hamilton, along with Rhodes, who had strong showings in academics and athletics.

This win, along with our successful AMI, has energized the Northmont team. After our orientation trip to the Northeast this week, we will travel to Indianapolis to compete at Pike High School in late February, where we will strive to defend our number one standing.

The day’s events were capped off by Knockout competition involving over 400 cadets. Cadet Lopez took first place in Armed Knockout, and Cadet Stiver took sixth place in Unarmed Knockout.

Congratulations to the Northmont NJROTC cadets and their instructors, Lt Col Knotts and Senior Chief Griffin.

GOVERNOR STRICKLAND SIGNS HOUSE BILL 290 INTO LAW

Thanks to all parents, cadets, and community supporters who helped get this legislation passed!

Northmont NJROTC Impresses Area Three Commander in Annual Military Inspection 

Congratulations to the cadets, cadet staff, administrators, and Naval Science Instructors Lt Colonel Knotts and Senior Chief Griffin for a job well done in this year's AMI.

Northmont NJROTC welcomed Commander George Clifford, Area 3 Commander, to its Annual Military Inspection on 20 January 2010.

The cadets made an impressive showing, taking 15 Circle-Ten honors for outstanding in military personnel inspection.  The staff followed the personnel inspection with program inspections of the administrative records, managed by cadet Tynes and supply records, managed by cadet Hart, both which passed with high marks. 

Lastly, Commander Clifford sat down to lunch with the senior staff for a brief of the cadets' goals, both personally and for the unit.  He is impressed by how many of the unit's goals have already been accomplished and continues to be impressed with the high level of  support Northmont's NJROTC receives from the NHS staff and administration.

NORTHMONT NJROTC CADETS HELP LOCAL FAMILIES AND VETERANS THROUGH HOLIDAY COMMUNITY SERVICE ACTIVITIES

Northmont NJROTC cadets donated over 1000 toys to the Marines' annual Toys for Tots campaign. Collection bins were also set up at the Kleptz YMCA, La Petite Academy, and CVS Pharmacy in Kettering. Representatives from Toys for Tots, along with Newscenter 7, were at Northmont High School on Monday, December 14 to collect these donations.

On Thursday, December 10, 29 Northmont NJROTC cadets and 3 chaperones traveled to the Instant Tax Services warehouse off Harshman Road to help sort toys to be handed out to Miami Valley families for Toys for Tots. The cadets separated the toys into age groups, packed toys for each family, and then restocked tables. The cadets had a great time while getting a week's worth of sorting done in four hours.

ANOTHER STRONG VARSITY PERFORMANCE AT PURDUE

The varsity drill team traveled to Purdue University for the Black and Gold All-Services Drill competition.  The event involved  7 Marine Units , 4 Navy Units and 1 Army Unit from Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio.  Northmont posted first place in Unarmed Platoon IDR, led by Cadet Lewis; and in Armed Squad IDR, led by Cadet Winston; and second in Armed Platoon Exhibition, led by Cadet O'Shea.  They also finished fourth in Armed Platoon IDR and Color Guard.  This gave the team enough points to finish Second Overall behind Seneca MCJROTC from Louisville, Kentucky.  Cadets Petkus, Pelfry, and Brown medaled in Armed Knockout.  Purdue University's NROTC, led by Gunnery Sergeant Gonya, hosted a first-class event that was enjoyed by cadets and parents alike. 

NORTHMONT DRILL MEET

Sixteen JROTC units from northern Illinois to West Virginia competed in the Northmont Drill Meet on Saturday, October 17. Hamilton High School Navy JROTC won first place overall. Pike High School Navy JROTC in Indianapolis earned the second-place trophy, and Zion Benton High School Navy JROTC in Zion, IL, took home third place overall.

Individual event winners were Stebbins High School Air Force JROTC (Color Guard), Zion Benton (Inspection), and Hamilton (Armed and Unarmed IDR).

Knockout was won by Zion Benton cadets Moore (armed) and Mehtala (unarmed).

The Northmont High School Navy JROTC NS1 cadets participated with the other schools' varsity teams in preparation for the Piqua High School JROTC NS1 Drill Meet on October 31.

Homecoming 2009
More than 90 Northmont NJROTC cadets participated in NHS Homecoming events the last weekend of September. A majority of our cadets marched through Thursday night's downpour to lead the Homecoming parade through Englewood.

At the football game Friday night, the Color Guard (Cadets Ashley, Dawson, O'Shea, and Tynes) presented the nation's colors before kickoff. The highlight of Homecoming festivities was the Homecoming court sashaying under the NJROTC Sword Arch, commanded by Cadet Long, with Cadets Hart, Gobar, Lee, Petkus, Dilts, Crow, and Jackson executing the honors.

Elvis Dinner Show

Saturday, September 19, Northmont NJROTC and Operation Show Our Love co-sponsored the Elvis Dinner Show at the Brookville VFW. The place was packed with supporters, who bid on numerous baskets (assembled by Fundraising Officer Kelly Lewis and her team); ate dinner provided by Pizza Hut; and then enjoyed the live entertainment provided by Elvis. Over $4000 was raised for NJROTC and OpSOL. Raffle prizes included a flag flown over Iraq and a two-night stay at Marriott in Orlando. A representative from Congressman Mike Turner’s office brought a flag that had been flown at the U.S. Capitol to be auctioned.

Special thanks go to Kelly Lewis and Cheryl Hart, who worked long hours getting donations for the fundraiser. To see which local businesses donated to the Elvis Dinner Show fundraiser, see the Program Sponsors page. Be sure to patronize these businesses and thank them for their support of Northmont NJROTC.

Open House

Northmont High School held its annual Open House the evening of Thursday, September 10. Northmont NJROTC cadets worked at the Open House, helping to guide parents to their children’s classrooms as a community service activity.
 

Unit Picnic

OSU Clean Up

More than 50 Northmont NJROTC cadets and 16 parents met SNSI Lt Col Knotts and NSI Senior Chief Griffin at Northmont High School at 4:00 AM on Sunday, September 13 and then carpooled to Columbus to clean up Ohio Stadium following Saturday night’s OSU-USC football game.

This is the unit’s third year participating in the clean-up fundraiser to help cadets earn money for unit activities; we finished the clean up in record time (thanks to the beautiful weather on Sunday!) and, after eating breakfast at the stadium, we returned to the high school shortly after 10:00 AM.

NORTHMONT NJROTC ROCKS 2009 NAVY NATIONALS

Senior Chief Jim Griffin, naval science instructor for Northmont High School NJROTC program, is walking with a new spring in his step following the unit's recent trip to Pensacola , Florida .

Northmont NJROTC unit, led by senior naval science instructor Lt Col Ken Knotts, spent April 15-19 on the Gulf Coast to compete in Navy Nationals, NJROTC national championship. The Navy Nationals competition pitted the 25 top Naval JROTC units against each other in athletics, academics, and drill events. Northmont placed 14^th in the nation, tying for 5^th in Unit Personnel Inspection and taking top tens in Color Guard and Unarmed Platoon Basic Drill. This top-15 showing places Northmont in the top 2% of NJROTC units in the nation and continues the recently named Distinguished Unit's tradition of competing at the highest level.

Concluding the two-day event was the knockout competition. Over a thousand cadets poured onto the drill deck, and when it was over, five of the top ten cadets left standing in the unarmed knockout competition were Northmont cadets Aaron Newsom, Logan O'Shea, Thomas Patterson, Evan Fleming, and Rasheen Ware. Additionally, individual armed knock-out medals were awarded to cadets Ramsey Crow and Lucas Hanson. Cadet Melanie Collins placed eleventh in curl-ups out of 200 female competitors.

Every year the competition gets tougher and every team is better prepared than they were the year before. The top teams come back to Pensacola every year, stronger, faster, sharper than ever.

Northmont has been to Navy Nationals for five of the last six competitions, and one reason Senior Chief Griffin has a spring in his step is that of this year's thirty-eight competing cadets, thirty-three cadets are returning to the unit next year. This is good news because it means the Northmont unit will be able to bring a seasoned team to Pensacola next April if they qualify for the national championships.

This year's team has become increasingly united as they have worked toward their goal of making Northmont a real presence at Navy Nationals. “None of this could have been possible without the superior leadership of commanding officer Taylor Corcoran and her senior staff: Drew Chestnut, Brittany Long, Thomas Patterson, and Nikki Tucker," noted Senior Chief Griffin.