The Michigan City High School (MCHS) Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (MCJROTC) competed in a military drill meet at Ft. Wayne Concordia High School on Saturday, March 2nd.   The meet was very competitive with many of the best Army JROTC schools from Chicagoland drilling, along with Marine powerhouse schools Indianapolis Ben Davis and Louisville Fern Creek. Concordia is an Army JROTC school, and all but one judge were Army soldiers. MCHS earned a 4th place trophy for Color Guard out of 20 teams, as well as being very competitive in Armed and Unarmed Regulation, Armed Exhibition, and the Personnel Inspection.

“This is the best we have drilled this year,” said Senior Marine Instructor Major Tom McGrath. “Our cadets have really made great strides, as they demonstrated by holding their own against the best of the best.”

Master Sergeant Jeff Benak, the Marine Instructor, is very optimistic about next year. “We anticipate having a strong freshmen enrollment, based on our presentation to the 8th graders. Since we are only losing one senior, I think that we will be competitive to earn a spot for the national championship in Washington, DC, which is our goal.” If MCHS does qualify for that trip, it would be done at no cost to the student or MCHS. It would be completely funded by the Marine Corps.

The cadets will be supporting MCHS as we host the Regional and Semi-State boys basketball tournaments on March 9th and 16th. The cadets will also be marching in the Michigan City St. Patrick’s Day parade on the 16th, as well as helping to set up for the Laporte County Garden Show March 15-16.