This past weekend 24 of Ben Eielson High Schools finest competed at the Interior Drill Competition hosted by Lathrop HS Army JROTC. I am proud to say that these young men and women who gave up most of there Saturday and started out at the ungodly hour of 6:30 A.M. came away from the competition feeling very good about themselves and also carrying 4 fairly large trophies.

The First year cadets (who were very nervous competing in there first ever competition) beat up on three other teams and pulled out a Third Place finish. They proved themselves very worthy to call themselves Ravens and continued to carry on our tradition of excellence and the BEHS Motto; “Small, but Mighty and Proud”.

Our Regulation Drill team also pulled off a Thrid Place showing and missed out on First place by a mere 4 points. Not bad for the smallest school at the competition, in addition they fielded one of the largest teams on the drill pad.

The Armed Exhibition Drill Team also brought home a Third Place Trophy by completing some of the most difficult and exciting movements of the day. Unfortunately due to there size (Four Man Team) they took a big hit in penalty points for not fielding a complete Ten Man team. Well done gentlemen!

The biggest excitement and surprise of the day was the First Place award presented to our Unarmed Exhibition Drill Team. This group of dedicated cadets wowed the crowd with there precision and sometimes hilarious marching movements. They were a crowd favorite and the judges responded by giving them top honors for there routine.

The cadets now have a long month of practice, before they head down South to begin competition in the Anchorage area on January 19, 2008. They are up to the challenge and look forward to competing and once again bringing home the hardware.