Senior Brittaney Baker and junior Jesse Barks stand at attention while Area Five Manager Captain Robert Gumpright inspects junior Travis Flippen’s uniform.
by Dejah Winston and Kayla Hatcher
They practiced their salutes, shined their shoes and took their uniforms to the cleaners before their annual Area Manager Inspection, and for 12 consecutive years, the NJROTC cadets proved they are in tip-top shape.
The AMI is a full-day event of individual cadet inspections, teacher observations, a student officer briefing with Captain Robert Gumpright, a review of the inventory, a check of the computer software and a debriefing with Principal Tracie Omohundro.
Captain Gumpright, the Area Five Manager in charge of 60 NJROTC programs in Virginia and Maryland, conducted the AMI in the gym in December. He visits Varina every other year for inspection, which counts toward the unit’s area ranking. He inspected all 130 cadets in all three ranks of the platoon and gave each a rating based on uniform, behavior, marching and knowledge of the military.
Lieutenant Commander Lance Teillon said the inspection allows the government to see how NJROTCs are spending federal money.
“Right now on a very large scale, the government is shutting down some of the units. We are fine, but I think it is a shame because I feel that it is the best program that the kids can be a part of because of what we teach them,” Lieutenant Commander Teillon said.
The cadets practiced for the AMI with Lieutenant Commander Teillon and Chief Frank Rodriguez for two weeks during directed study. They worked on techniques such as marching, facing movements and sounding off.
“You don’t do well at the AMI without practicing. We try to move 130 kids around that gym in an orderly fashion; it is hard to do to,” Lieutenant Commander Teillon said.
Prior to inspection, each officer and cadet had to take personal responsibility for their jobs. Sophomore Cadet Ensign and Supply Officer Kendra Appleby had to inventory uniforms and make sure the supply room and classrooms were clean. In addition to fulfilling her responsibilities as an officer, Kendra was a regular cadet who participated in the inspection.
“I received a four out of a five which is very good, and I am proud because I worked very hard,” Kendra said.
Senior Executive Officer John Campbell and senior Commanding Officer Brittaney Baker had to make sure each cadet performed with their best effort during practices.
“The cadets could have improved on the discipline of not moving the whole time and being on their feet,” Brittaney said.
With a record of past successes at AMI, Lieutenant Commander Teillon said that he wants to make sure NJROTC continues to succeed even after its 19 seniors graduate.
“There’s a positive and negative to the seniors graduating. The positive is that we’ll train lower ranks to be better. The negative, however, is that we lose a lot of experienced cadets,” Lieutenant Commander Teillon said.
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