NJROTC Family Picnic

CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS—The annual Flour Bluff NJROTC family picnic took place on August 24, 2024. Each cadet in the program was invited to bring friends and family to enjoy food while getting more aquainted with one another. The SeaHawks (Unarmed Drill Team)'s commander Senior Trinity Martinez is appreciative of the event saying, "I think our family picnic had a great turnout. It was great seeing new faces and having a lot of the new cadets there to experience what our program is gonna be like this year."

The picnic was veryo successful, with a total of 210 cadets, their parents, and friends. Those in attendance also had a chance to watch each drill team demonstrate a condensed version of their routine. Trinity Martinez also stated, "The unarmed and armed drill teams performed a little demonstration of what drill is like, and we're hoping that will allow new cadets to ask questions and show interest in the teams we have to offer."

This event provided the opportunity for the parents to look into the NJROTC's booster club. The club consists of the most involved parents of cadets that participate in teams. Kimberly Dubuque is the parent of cadet and Senior, Kailey Parks, and the booster club president. When asked to talk a little about the booster club and how it is run, she elaborated on her involvement with the program, "I've been a part of the booster club for 2 years now, and it really is an amazing experience. I love being there for the kids. I think the kids really make the program everything it is."

Along with the booster club volunteers, the FBNJROTC instructors are the people that orchestrtate everything all year long. When it comes to traveling and planning, Chief Warrant Officer 5 (CWO5) Hulse is the conductor of this train. CWO5 Hulse is a retired naval officer who served 33 years in the U.S. Navy, he expressed how important planning is to each trip stating, "A great deal of planning had to go into each trip, like approval from district administration, and managing finances."