SMSgt Jeremiah Griego, USAF (Ret)
Jeremiahgriego@lowndes.k12.ga.us
Aerospace Science Instructor
JROTC Promotional Video (1).mp4Cadets Participate in Memorial Day Activities
Cadets from GA-081 participated in Memorial Day activities to honor our nation's fallen heroes. They helped local community and veteran's organizations place American flags at veteran's graves at Sunset Hill Cemetery in Valdosta, as well as performed the flag raising and wreath placement during the Lake Park Memorial Day ceremony at Tom's Pond in Lake Park. We honor our fallen soldiers, airmen, sailors, and marines on this 2024 Memorial Day.
VEX Robotics Team Wins AFJROTC National Champion Title!
All of Lowndes High School celebrates our GA-081 AFJROTC VEX Robotics Team winning the title of AFJROTC National Champions! Our VEX team, composed of cadets Drain, Rothas, Wang, and J. Jones, qualified for the second year in a row to attend the JROTC VEX Championship in Dallas, TX. While there, they were awarded by personnel from AFJROTC Headquarters with the Top Air Force team award! Congrats to our team!!!!
Drill, Color Guard, and PT Teams Compete at Space Coast
Cadets from the LHS GA-081 AFJROTC traveled to Melbourne, Florida, for the annual Space Coast Invitational Drill and Physical Fitness Competition. Our teams enjoyed a team dinner the night before, and then competed all day in drill, color guard, and physical team events. This drill meet marks the end of our drill competition season, but we can't wait to return in 2025!
Cadets Selected for 2024 Flight Academy!
Six Cadets will attend this summer's Flight Academy Program! Once again GA-081 leads the way in Flight Academy selects, with six chosen to participate, and one cadet selected as an alternate. Each cadet will spend 8 weeks this summer learning to fly, with the possibility of earning their FAA Private Pilot License, all expenses paid by the US Air Force. We're very proud of our new set of future aviators!
Air Rifle Team wins Air Force All-Blue Postal!
The GA-081 Air Riflery Team won both the new shooter and veteran shooter categories of the All-Blue Postal match. Aditionally, the Air Riflery team qualified for the first time for GHSA Sectionals! Congratulations to our Air Riflery team and coach MSgt Schmidt!
The members of GA-081's Raiders, Varsity Air Riflery, Drill, and Color Guard Teams took part in a team building day on Friday, October 27th. They visited HAWK's BATTLEGROUND in Greenville, FL, and enjoyed a challenging day filled with laser tag battles. It was an amazingly fun day for all, and great camaraderie was built!
On Wednesday, October 25th, 9th and 10th grade cadets from GA-081 visited the 347th Rescue Group at Moody Air Force Base. They received HH-60W and HC-130J mission briefings, toured an HH-60W static display, interacted with Pararescue equipment, and took flight aboard an HC-130J! The cadets had a great time, and appreciated the hospitality of Team Moody, the 23d Wing, and the 347th RQG...Thank you!
On Friday, October 20th, upper class cadets from GA-081 visited the Maule Aircraft factory in Moultrie, GA, as part of their Science of Flight curriculum. The cadets were greeted by the president of the company, who gave them a great tour of the manufacturing facility. Students learned about the design and manufacturing process for these amazing back-country aircraft. Afterwards the cadets enjoyed a delicious MRE for lunch! Thank you Mr. Brent Maule for the great tour!
On Monday, the new incoming JROTC cadets particpated in a three day introduction camp. They worked on team building and learned the basic JROTC skills such as drill, the clubs and extracurriculars, along with classroom set and uniforms! Thank you to all of the cadets and upperclassmen who participated and we cannot wait to start this year with you!
Welcome to GA-081, Lowndes High School AFJROTC. Join us for our "New Cadet Camp" from Monday to Wednesday, 31 July to 2 August, 2023. You'll learn about JROTC, meet your cadet leaders and instructors, get acquainted with your fellow cadets from throughout the county, and see what JROTC has to offer for you. This will be a fun three days and will help you prepare for the first day of school (at least you'll know how to get to the bus!).
Wear comfortable athletic clothing within school district guidance: laced running shoes with socks, shorts no shorter than 3" above the knee, shirts must have sleeves and not expose the belly area.
Please use the school’s main entrance on Norman Drive (with the lighted sign), and ask to be dropped off by the flagpole in front of the school. There will be cadets there to greet you. We'll see you then!
From July 24 to July 26 a number of cadets learned about teamwork and leadership through the form of PT and team building exercises. Including working out with some of the Army recruiters to playing kickball together. They set goals and planned the upcoming rookie camp for the incoming freshman. They are very excited for the year and are optimistic about leading cadets into the new school year.
From 5 to 9 June, 2023, four GA-081 cadets participated in a CyberCamp at. This CyberPatriot camp was hosted by the Marine Corps JROTC unit at CCHS, and our cadets were able to learn about cyber defense, ethics, and protecting computers from intrusion and attacks. To culminate the week, the cadets had a 3 hour competition against the other participating teams. The participating cadets were cadets Ashley Arizmendi, Braydon Daw, Jacqueline Wang, and Kennedi Williams.
Congratulations to another one of our cadets for earning a military scholarship! We are so proud of Cadet Colin Sebastianelli! He plans to use the scholarship at the Valley Forge Military College in Wayne, Pennsylvania. We wish you the best!
Cadet Sanoi Burke Earns Scholarship
Congratulations to Cadet Major Burke for being awarded the Marine Corps ROTC scholarship! She plans to use the scholarship to attend Kennesaw State University. We wish you the best!
On Saturday, 11 February, 2023, the cadets of GA-081 visited the Jacksonville World of Nations Festival as part of our Global Awareness / World Cultures curriculum. The cadets visited booths from all over the world, watched music and dance shows put on by each country, shopped, and ate delicious food from countries ranging from Peru, to Japan, to Italy! It was a great fun and educational day, and some of the cadets even put their cultural awareness to the test!
On Monday, 6 February, 2023, GA-081 received an AFJROTC headquarters inspection by Mr. Robert Atkins, Region 5 Director, and the Vikings received the maximum rating of "Exceeds Standards", exceeding the standard in 21 out of 32 possible categories. Cadets provided a mission briefing to Mr. Atkins, held a mass formation and inspection, and assisted Mr. Atkins in reviewing the unit's regulatory compliance. Mr. Atkins complimented the unit for its high standards and achievement. Three cadets, Sydney Rothas, Emily Marcatos, and Jacqueline Wang received individual recognition by Mr. Atkins as "Top Performers" for their help in preparing for the inspection and overall excellence!
The LHS AFJROTC Air Riflery team has won the Georgia All-Services JROTC Air Rifle Sporter Category Championship for the second year in a row! The team coach, MSgt Schmidt, accepted the 1st Place trophy at the Georgia JROTC Instructor Conference in Macon. In addition, the top three athletes in this category were all LHS cadets, with cadets Connor Stott, Kadence Fruth, and Cody Holt coming in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd respectively.
LHS AFJROTC Team 383F, cadets Jerry Lindsey, Jaxson Drain, and Abby Harvey, received the VEX Excellence Award at the regional VEX competition on 1/21/23. This is the highest award possible at any tournament. This award considers not only the performance of the team, but diligence and persistence during all matches, the strength of autonomous and driving skills, engineering notebook, and strong team interview skills. This award has secured the team a chance to compete at the GA State VEX Championship on February 10-11!
After a two year Covid-induced absence, the GA-081 tradition of the Bowling Lock-In returned on 13 Jan 2023! Cadets enjoyed the hospitality of the Moody AFB Bowling Center from 10:30 pm until 5:30 am, having a great time socializing with each other, bowling, attempting to escape the facility's "Escape Room", avoiding the lazers in the lazer maze, and playing arcade games. This is one of the oldest traditions of GA-081, literally spanning decades. We're glad to be back, and thanks to the outstanding support from Team Moody for making this happen!
Cadets Spencer Ruepp and Mitchell Drain have both been selected for the J-100 Character In Leadership ROTC Scholarship! This scholarship will provide full tuition and fees at a university with an AFROTC program, along with a book stipend, personal stipend, and $10,000 per year towards housing costs. This is the third year of this amazing scholarship which recognizes the top 100 AFJROTC cadets in the nation, and each year a GA-081 cadet has been selected! Cadet Ruepp plans to attend Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and cadet Drain plans to attend Norwich University.
Thanks to the hard work of students in Mr. North's engineering class, and a generous grant from the AIAA Foundation (American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics), GA-081 now has its own wind tunnel! This wind tunnel will be used for the science of flight, dual enrollment private pilot operations class, and by the Aerospace Club, to investigate basic aerodynamics. Our JROTC unit approached Mr. North, who was the Georgia Air Force Association STEM teacher of the year in 2021, and his class used this as a design and build project during the first semester of 2022. Thank you to Mr. North and his students for their hard work and making this project a reality!
Thirteen cadets from the Lowndes High School Air Force JROTC have been selected to attend this summer's Air Force Flight Academy Program. This program will pay for each cadet's round trip travel, lodging, meals, and flight training towards a Private Pilot's License at a college or university with an aviation program. The estimated value of this scholarship is over $22,000. The Air Force selected just 200 cadets world-wide, and Lowndes High received the second largest number of nominations from all schools. One cadet was also selected as an "alternate" to attend if one of the primary selectees is unable to do so. Selected were cadets Avery Childers, Skylar Degner, Jesse Hedgelin, Aliyah Herman, Parker Jones, Rory Kosel, Jerry Lindsey, Louis Ludwig, Kalyn McDonald, Dylan Radulski, James Ray, Sydney Rothas, and Madison Williams. Cadet Colin Sebastianelli was chosen as an alternate. Congratulations to them all!
On Monday, 31 October 2022, the cadets of GA-081 were honored to host Ms. Grace Jo, a North Korean defector and human rights activist. Ms. Jo escaped from North Korea along with her mother and sister after much suffering while growing up in North Korea. She shared her inspirational story of survival, as well as speaking about the failures and brutality of the communist government of North Korea. She was kind enough to entertain questions from the cadets, other high school students, and even fellow cadets from our nearby AFJROTC unit at Thomasville High School who joined us for the presentation.
On Thursday, October 20th, cadets visited the Museum of Aviation in Warner Robins, Georgia. They learned about advancements in aviation from the early days to modern times, visited the outdoor airpark, took part in Virtual Reality flights, and even enjoyed a delicious MRE lunch!
On Friday, October 14th, our two StellarXplorers teams - the "SpaceVikings" - blasted off on their first national practice round. They put on a "stellar" performance and will compete in the first national competition round on October 27th. Good luck SpaceVikings!
On Saturday, 8 October 2022, The Lowndes High AFJROTC Viking Raiders traveled to Perry High School to compete in the state-wide Perry Panthers Raiders meet, and we're extremely proud to announce that they finished 2nd among all 14 teams! Led by cadets Rylen Mercer and Sanoi Burke, and coached by MSgt Harbach, our Raiders competed in group run, obstacle course, fitness challenge, sand bag relay, and cross country rescue events. This is only our first year of Raiders competition, and in our two meets so far we've placed 1st of 9, and 2nd of 14! The All-Services State Championship at Dahlonega is next!
On Friday, October 7th, three CyberVikings teams participated in the national practice round of the CyberPatriot competition. The teams spent 6 hours acting as cyber security technicians finding and fixing computer and network computer threats in Windows, Windows Server, and Linux systems, as well as conducting a networking quiz and virtual network set-up. The first national round of competition will take place on October 14th!
The cadets of Lowndes High School AFJROTC once again took to the streets of Hahira to lead the annual Honey Bee Festival parade. Over 30,000 people attended this annual event, which is one of the highlights of the south Georgia community. Cadets also volunteered the day before the parade to help the community set up for the event.
Lowndes High AFJROTC Cadets have been taking flight over the past few weeks as they prepare to apply for the prestigious AFJROTC Flight Academy Program. All of the cadets participating in these flights are enrolled in the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Dual Enrollment Private Pilot Operations course, which covers the requirements for an FAA private pilot ground school. Additionally, these cadets are also engaged in a physical fitness preparation program, and are members of the JROTC rocketry and Small Unmanned Aerial Systems group. Each cadet will receive at least 3 hours of flight instruction prior to applying for the Flight Academy. Good luck to the cadets in their Flight Academy applications!
Our Lowndes High School AFJROTC's new Raider Challenge team won their very first competition against nine veteran Army JROTC units at Thomas County Central High School. This new 13-member co-ed team participated in obstacle course, group run, cross country rescue, and rope bridge events. They will compete next at the Perry Panther Raider Meet on October 8th. Congratulations to the Viking Raiders!!!!
Welcome to GA-081, Lowndes High School AFJROTC. Join us for our "New Cadet Camp" from Monday to Wednesday, 1-3 August, 2022. You'll learn about JROTC, meet your cadet leaders and instructors, get acquainted with your fellow cadets from throughout the county, and see what JROTC has to offer for you. This will be a fun three days and will help you prepare for the first day of school (at least you'll know how to get to the bus!).
Wear comfortable athletic clothing within school district guidance: laced running shoes with socks, shorts no shorter than 3" above the knee, shirts must have sleeves and not expose the belly area.
Please use the school’s main entrance on Norman Drive (with the lighted sign), and ask to be dropped off by the flagpole in front of the school. There will be cadets there to greet you. We'll see you then!
Kitty Hawk Honor Society cadets of GA-081 participated during the 2021-2022 academic year in the JROTC track of the American Red Cross' International Humanitarian Law (IHL) Youth Action Campaign (YAC). Their efforts were celebrated during the annual YAC Summit in Washington DC from 21 to 24 July, where they were recognized as the JROTC track winners of this year's campaign. Representatives from the Air Force Staff Judge Advocate at the Pentagon presented team members with individual medals, and a trophy and certificate for the unit. This is the first year that all branches of JROTC participated in this Red Cross program, and the first time an Air Force JROTC has won the top prize.
From 13 to 18 June, 15 cadets from GA-081 attended a Cadet Leadership Camp (CLC) at Georgia Military College in Milledgeville, Georgia. Cadets participated in team-building, confidence courses, rapelling, orienteering, physical training, sports, and STEM activities during the week.
On May 3rd, 2022, it was announced that the Kitty Hawk Honor Society cadets from Lowndes High School won the 2021-2022 American Red Cross JROTC International Humanitarian Law Youth Action Campaign (YAC)! This is a nationwide contest between all JROTC branches, and it is the first time an Air Force unit has won this national-level award. GA-081 will receive a trophy in recognition of this award, and 7 cadets will get to travel to the YAC Summit in Washington DC! The American Red Cross YAC team held a video conference with the cadets to share the good news.
Congratulations to Cadet Tara Crow for earning the University of North Georgia Military Scholarship! This scholarship will cover all tuition, fees, books, room and board costs, as well as uniforms for the UNG Corps of Cadets over the next four years, a value of over $85,000! Cadet Crow will study nursing while at UNG and upong graduation will serve as an officer in the Georgia National Guard. We're all extremely proud of Cadet Crow!
Over Spring Break 8 cadets traveled to Spain to explore the interaction of history, cultures, and religions that have shaped our world. Cadets visited the Royal Palace in Madrid, the ancient city of Toledo, Roman ruins in Malaga, the Alhambra Palace in Granada, and the site of Christopher Columbus' tomb in the cathedral of Seville.
Avery Adkins, from Lowndes Middle School, is the winner of this year's GA-081 American Red Cross IHL Youth Action Campaign Comic Contest! The contest asked students from all three of Lowndes County School System's Middle Schools, to draw a 6-frame comic story of "Captain IHL" saving, preserving, or teaching people about the value of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. "The American Red Cross’s International Humanitarian Law (IHL) Youth Action Campaign empowers youth and young adults, ages 13-24, to learn about international humanitarian law—the body of law that governs armed conflict." Avery chose to draw Captain IHL defending the ancient Egyptian city of Thebes from destruction by a super villain. Congratulations to Avery for the amazing work!
Last Saturday, March 12th, GA-081 Celebrated their annual Mil-Ball tradition. Cadets ate, danced, talked, and even participated in the tradition of the grog.
Seniors and our Honored Guests were also thanked for their contributions to GA-081!
The Lowndes High AFJROTC Drill Team performed spectacularly at the Space Coast Drill meet on Saturday, February 28, 2022, in Melbourne, Florida. There were 19 schools competing, from Miami to the south to us in the north (we were the only Georgia team there this year), and our cadets came home with two second place trophies in Armed Regulation Drill and Unarmed Exhibition Drill; both teams were commanded by cadet Faith Cockren.
Congratulations to cadet Blake Jaramillo for winning an Army ROTC college scholarship! Cadet Jaramillo has chosen to attend the University of North Georgia, a senior military college, and join the corps of cadets at UNG. Upon graduation cadet Jaramillo will be commissioned as an officer in the US Army. Congratulations to Blake!
Last Saturday our drill team took home several trophies from our Lowndes Drill competition. These include:
2nd Place Armed Regulation
3rd Place Unarmed Regulation
3rd Place Unarmed Exhibition
c/Maj. Cockren Outstanding Commander
Way to go to our Marching Vikings!
The GA-081 Air Riflery team won 1st place in the sporter category of the 2021-2022 Georgia State JROTC Air Riflery match! In the same match cadets Nevin Miller and Kadence Fruth were recognized as the best shooters, and cadet Connor Stott placed first in the first-year air riflery athlete category. This is quite an accomplishment for our young team. Congratulations!!!
Coach Schmidt accepts 1st Place Trophy at Georgia JROTC Instructor Conference
Cadet Nevin Miller
Cadet Kadence Fruth
Cadet Connor Stott
Congratulations to cadet Makalee "Gray" Patterson for winning the J-100 AFJROTC Scholarship! This is an amazing accomplishment given that only 100 AFJROTC 12th grade cadets world-wide are awarded this full tuition 4-year college scholarship. The scholarship also includes $10,000 toward college housing costs per year. Cadet Patterson intends to pursue a degree in engineering at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, FL, where this scholarship will be valued at well over $200,000 over her four years of study. Upon graduation cadet Patterson will be commissioned as an Air Force officer and hopefully have an amazing career as an Air Force pilot. Congratulations, all of GA-081 and the Lowndes community are extremely proud!
Just in time for the holiday, cadets from Lowndes High School held a stuffed animal toy drive for the Children's Advocacy Center (CAC) of Lowndes County. Cadets ended up collecing and delivering 53 stuffed animals to the CAC, which will be given to children that receive services as survivors of abuse.
The 2022 Flight Academy Program results were released on Friday, 12/3/2021 and all 8 cadets that GA-081 nominated to this program were selected to attend! These young Vikings will receive 8 weeks of intensive flight lessons at a university with an aviation program this summer, hopefully leading to them earning their pilot's license. The value of this scholarship is estimated at approximately $22,000 per cadet, and includes all transportation, meals, and lodging.
They are:
Sanoi Burke
Elizabeth Giles
Jonathan Grindstaff
Alexander Johnson
Ethan Mace
Rylen Mercer
TreShuan Ojeda
Steven Ruepp
The Air Force chose only 200 cadets from all US and international units this year, so they are in a very elite group. Congratulations to all of them!
Cadet Mercer Cadet Burke Cadet Giles Cadet Ojeda
Cadet Ruepp Cadet Grindstaff Cadet Johnson Cadet Mace
On 18 November, 2021, 71 cadets from Lowndes High School AFJROTC visited the 347th Rescue Group at Moody AFB. They were treated to a Guardian Angel equipment and capabilities demonstration by the 38th Rescue Squadron, and HH-60W helicopter static display and mission briefing by the 41st Rescue Squadron, and an HC-130J flight by the 71st Rescue Squadron! Thank you to all the personnel at Moody AFB and the 347th Rescue Group that made this amazing day possible!
GA-081 is starting a Raiders program! This team is training to compete in the physically demanding Raiders competition, including events such as obstacle courses, litter carrying, rope bridge crossing, and long endurance runs. The team is just forming this year, and will start competing in the 2022-2023 school year. Good luck Raiders!
This year's Flight Academy Program applicants have been busy taking to the sky in preparation for the application process. Each cadet is receiving 3 hours of flight training and hoping to make the cut for this demanding and highly selective program. They'll learn in early December if they have been chosen to attend 8-weeks of intense flight training this summer and possibly earn their FAA Private Pilot's certificate. Good luck!
As the cadets explore Space this year, they are learning about the dangers to spacecraft, among them frictional heating during atmospheric entry. Cadets got to design, build, and test experimental heatshields to protect their "eggtronaut". Some survived, others...well they'll live on in our memories :)
Our GA-081 Color Guard presented the colors at the annual James Eunice Foundation "TCT7 Swin". According to the foundation, "The TCT7 Swim is a non-profit event. All proceeds benefit the James Eunice Charity Fund, which has donated over $500,000 to the community through local charities and 506 scholarships to graduating seniors from over 25 area high schools across south Georgia and north Florida." GA-081 is proud to be a small part of such a huge event!
final rotc recruiting video.avi
Lt Col Peter Dominicis, USAF (Ret) MSgt Matt Schmidt, USAF (Ret)
peterdominicis@lowndes.k12.ga.us (229) 245-2260 matthewschmidt@lowndes.k12.ga.us
Senior Aerospace Science Instructor Aerospace Science Instructor
MSgt (First Sergeant) Gil Harbach, USAF (Ret)
Aerospace Science Instructor
