MARINE CORPS JUNIOR RESERVE OFFICERS TRAINING CORPS
North Forsyth High School
3635 Coal Mountain Drive
Cumming, Georgia 30028
1100
CEMK
21 Sept 10
From: Senior Marine Instructor
To:
Parents of Drill Team Members
Subj: DRILL TEAM PARENT INFORMATION LETTER # 1 2010
You have probably noticed that your cadet is spending less time at home and
more time at school. This is because of the Drill Team’s practice schedule. Although we
are only starting the seventh week of school, this year’s team has made more progress
than previous teams because of the dedication, commitment and hard work your cadets
are displaying. I do not want to jinx the team, but they are looking better, earlier, than any
team in the past.
I would like to inform you of the activities I foresee for the Team in the upcoming
weeks. I have asked the cadets to keep you aware of our practice schedule and other
commitments, but just in case they forgot, I will provide upcoming dates and times to
you. I will also have a section on the school web site (under curriculum/MCJROTC/Drill
Team) that will contain pertinent information.
Drill Team is unlike most other school activities--- most organizations have
feeder programs (football players start developing organized skills as early as 8 years old,
baseball has “T-Ball, Band has middle school music programs, etc….) No one teaches
close order drill until high school. For this reason, we have a pretty stiff learning curve.
Some cadets pick up proper drilling techniques easier than others. In our competitions,
just like a sports team, we are limited to having a certain number of cadets on the field at
a time. I need everyone to be prepared to practice, but I can only “play” a certain number
of cadets for any specific event in a competition. Drill proficiency, attitude, bearing,
appearance and dependability will determine which cadets I select to compete in a drill
meet----everyone on the team is invited and expected to attend a meet, but some will not
actually perform (just like being on a JV team.) Everyone is on the team, but not
everyone is ready to be a “first string player.” Proficiency is developed over time.
Specific Upcoming Events
Daily Practice: As a general rule, we will practice every school day afternoon (MonThurs) from 1600-1815 (4-6:15pm). The exception to this will be on days that we have
early release, or some other event that would preclude having a meaningful practice. As
competition gets closer, we may have to schedule practice on Friday (depending on our
level of accomplishment.) I will ensure that practice is over by 1815 (6:15pm). Your
time is valuable and I do not want you to have to wait extra minutes for your cadet. We
will start on time and end on time!
American Legion Regional Drill Competition: 6 Nov 2010 in Montgomery, Ala.
We will leave school on Friday afternoon, 5 Nov and travel to Montgomery, Alabama
for the American Legion Regional Drill Competition. I plan to stay at the hotel we used
last year (The Days Inn 2526 Zelda Road) It is clean, safe and convenient. The next
morning, Saturday, 6 Nov, we will participate in the competition at the Garrett Coliseum
in Montgomery. In past years 30-40 schools from every JROTC branch (Army, Marine,
Navy and Air Force) have been at the event, so it is an all-day affair. Unfortunately, we
will not know the schedule of events until the week of the competition (Last year the
schedule was not determined until the day before we left---- I will pass on our schedule,
and post it on the web site, just as soon as it is given to me. There is nothing I can do to
get it early from the competition organizers.) For planning purposes, I will use JROTC
funds to cover the cost of the bus (around $2,000). I will ask the cadets to pay for their
motel rooms (four cadets per room) and for their food while they are on the trip. They
will need $20.00 for the room (they can pay this anytime before we leave on 5 Nov) and
they will need sufficient money for dinner on Friday night, and lunch and dinner on
Saturday (the motel has a complimentary breakfast, so we save a few dollars there---we
will use fast food restaurants for our meals). Additionally, there are several souvenir
stands at the competition (T-shirts, dog tags, etc) so, your cadets might want to bring a
few dollars for these items (t-shirts are around $15 or less). I would think that $75 would
be sufficient to cover all expenses (room, meals and a t-shirt).
For those who would like to attend and spend Friday night with us, I have reserved a
limited number of rooms for parents. The cost is $63.00 per room. (Please send me the
money---first come-first served, or you can call 334-207-4569 to make your own
reservations.) Montgomery is just a four hour drive from Cumming, so it is very feasible
to leave early on Saturday morning and drive over, thus avoiding the rush hour Atlanta
traffic (and associated frustrations) on Friday evening. Cadets have always done better
when they have a friendly crowd watching them---we appreciate your support!
Marine Corps Birthday Ceremony: On the evening of 10 November (Wed night) the
entire Cadet Battalion will hold a ceremony to commemorate the 235th Birthday of our
Corps. Portions of the Drill Team will perform that evening before the ceremony.
Veteran’s Day (11 Nov): We have been asked to participate in the Cumming Veteran’s
Day Ceremony. Based on available time, we might also travel to Dawsonville to be in
their parade as well. As this is a school day, I will only take the cadets who are doing
sufficiently well in their classes to be able to leave school. Grades are too important, and
each class period they miss is lost academic time.
East Coweta MCJROTC Drill Meet (13 Nov---the week of 6-13 Nov will be VERY
BUSY for us). This drill meet is on a Saturday. We will leave school around 0630 and
should return around 1700 (5pm). East Coweta is around 75 miles south of NFHS—you
are welcome to attend.
Other Competitions:
---MLK Invitational Drill Meet in Nahunta, Georgia the weekend of 15 Jan 2011
---Parkview MCJROTC Drill Meet
---American Legion National JROTC Drill Meet in Montgomery, Ala. on 5 Feb 2011
---Southeastern Invitational Drill Meet at north Georgia College (probably in March--exact date to be determined)
---Coal Mountain Drill Meet (we sponsor this one) in Late Feb/early March.
Other activities: Opportunities exist for the Drill Team to perform throughout the year.
Once the drill routines are solid, cadets can demonstrate their skills at school functions:
(1) Possibly after football games (The bands own the halftimes, so we would have to go
after the game—this would be a good opportunity for the cadets to become accustomed to
performing in front of people); (2) During basketball half times; (3) local parades; (4)
Elementary school demonstrations; (5) Additional Drill Competitions; etc. Once the
team has their drill routine established, they can stay very active---it just requires
dedication and a high level of commitment.
Uniforms: Drill Team cadets are issued additional uniforms. They will usually wear one
of the Marine Corps Blue Dress uniform options when they are in public. These
uniforms have been specifically fitted for your cadet and it is their responsibility to
ensure the uniforms are properly cared for, to include having the uniform dry cleaned
before a competition. They must return the uniform after Drill Team season is over.
Expenses: The Marine Corps provides a limited budget for the operating expenses of our
MCJROTC unit. Due to fiscal cutbacks, the budget is not as large as it was in previous
years, and I have been told to expect a 20% cutback for this year’s budget. For this
reason, the unit holds periodic fund raising activities. We just completed a fund raising
drive in which we sold calendars for $15.00 each (each one had well over $200 in
values/discounts if used). We asked each cadet to try to sell at least seven. The Drill
Team uses a large portion of the profit raised by the unit fund raising activities (we will
spend over $6500 on busses alone this year---add to that the $600 we have to spend on
new rifles and the over $300 we will spend on rifle repairs, and we have a pretty serious
amount of money going to the Drill Team), yet we had many Drill Team members who
did not sell a single calendar. We have never made fund raising projects mandatory, nor
have we ever left a cadet behind because they did not have sufficient money for a trip. I
understand that $75 is a great deal of cash for some and I will not deprive a kid of the
experience of being on the Drill Team if they can not afford it--- I will ensure their
expenses are covered if necessary--- However, I do expect the cadets who are using the
largest portion of our unit profits to at least try to sell whatever product we are selling.
Attitude and Behavior: Because the Drill Team is very visible, I expect team members
to always represent the highest levels of personal behavior and respect for others. Simply
said, if I can not trust them, I will not take them on a field trip. Likewise, because we
spend so many hours practicing, I expect them to develop and demonstrate the necessary
self discipline to complete their academic work on time and to pass their subjects. I do
not gladly accept the excuse, “I have a big project that is due tomorrow” as a reason for
missing a practice IF they have known about the project for several weeks and were just
too lazy to do it in a timely manner. A portion of the MCJROTC curriculum is designed
to help them learn to plan ahead and to set priorities---when they wait until the last
minute to complete a task; it just shows that they are not demonstrating the skills that I
know have been taught.
Contacting me: I welcome the chance to talk to you about your cadet and our program,
anytime you feel the need. I only ask that we hold our discussions after Drill Team
practice or during my planning period (just like an athletic coach, I feel the need to be
with the cadets during practice. It is hard for me to give you my full attention and execute
my responsibilities to them at the same time.) You can call or email me to arrange a
meeting or for a discussion:
Email: mkelly@forsyth.k12.ga.us
Office Phone: 770-781 6637 ext 160645
Classroom Phone: 770-781 6637 ext 160650 (note: I do not answer the phone during
class time---please leave a voice mail message and I will return your call)
Home Phone: 770-623 3662 (please call my home only for really important matters that
can not wait.)
Planning Period times: 1200-1345 (every day except Wed)
I look forward to continuing to work with your cadets.
Semper Fidelis,
C. E. M. Kelly, Jr.
Major USMC (Ret.)
PLEASE HAVE YOUR CADET THIS RECEIPT TO RETURN TO ME (I want to
make sure you get this letter)
My cadet __________________________________ gave me the Drill Team Parent
Information letter #1-10.
_____________________________________________
Parent’s Signature
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Date