By Dalton Lambe

East Rowan JROTC

On Saturday, Oct. 22 the East Rowan JROTC Battalion conducted their annual LCPL Elrod Home Raider and Rifle meet with South Rowan High School. Cadets from East Rowan arrived at 7:30 a.m. to receive their orders and job assignments. A total of 23 schools attended the meet, competing in the rifle and raider competitions.

The commander’s call was at 9 a.m. to give the schools their orders of the day’s operations. The first event that the raider teams did was the Modified Army Physical Fitness Test (MAPFT). The MAPFT consist of push-up, sit-ups, a one-mile run and a 5k. All 23 schools worked their hardest to win each event. This event measures how fit the cadets are. It also is a great way for the cadets to work as a team. The raiders must encourage each other to do their very best. In the one-mile run and the 5k, raiders must stay together as a team or face penalties. Raiders needed to help and encourage each other so they could do their best.

They then went to the logistic relay or the litter-carry. In the logistic relay cadets would flip a tire before grabbing a five-gallon water jug and completing a belly-crawl obstacle. They then loaded the jugs onto a litter and sprinted to the end. At the litter carry, raiders had to carry a log on a litter and go through obstacles to get the best time. When they were done with all these events they were able to get food from the concession stand.

At the rifle range cadets competed for several trophies. They shot in three different positions: prone, kneeling and standing. The East Rowan JROTC rifle team won second overall in the rifle competition. Jacqueline Wright won first place in the standing position.

Overall the home Raider and Rifle meet was a huge success. The cadets at both East Rowan and South Rowan made everything run smoothly. At the end of the meet cadets received their awards. Mr. and Mrs. Elrod were there to help present awards. The meet is named in memory of LCPL Elrod who died in Iraq on Oct. 21, 2006. He was in JROTC while at East Rowan High School. This Raider and Rifle meet will continue to be a great way for cadets from other schools to participate in fun events that allow cadets to form friendships and strengthen teamwork.

The owner of the Hot Dog Shack, Jason Smith, donated the food. Gary, owner of Slice of Heaven, also donated pizza.