Kingsway Navy JROTC Color Guard makes headlines and lands in the South Jersey Courier Post by Chris Lachall/USA Today Network Atlantic Group https://www.courierpostonline.com/picture-gallery/sports/high-school/football/2024/09/07/h-s-football-camden-defeats-kingsway-30-0/75117914007/

On 7 February 2024, Lieutenant Teresa Hicks conducted Kingsway Regional High School´s first-ever AMI for the Navy JROTC program. This was an annual review carried out by the Area Manager to make sure every NJROTC group was functioning and upholding the Navy's criteria. This official examination includes a thorough administrative examination, checks on individual uniforms, and a Pass-In-Review event. It was reported by Lieutenant Teresa Hicks that Kingsway´s NJROTC cadets were doing an extraordinary job and surpassed expectations, especially for a new program. 

On 30 May 2024, the Kingsway Regional High School Navy JROTC unit hosted its 1st annual awards night, capped with the change of command ceremony.  Throughout the school year, cadets are challenged in many different facets of life and leadership, and these traits are what gets these young adults recognized by outside organizations. In total, 15 organizations presented 20 awards, 2 grants, and 1 scholarship. Cadet Company Commander Bianca earned the only scholarship which was worth approximately $120,000 over 3-years, to attend the US Army ROTC at Virginia Tech. 

At the conclusion of the program, the cadet core performed a change of command ceremony where the unit witnessed the rising of three exceptional cadets. Cadet CPO Michaela Obiri selected as Command Senior Enlisted Leader, Cadet Ensign Evan Neal  selected as Company Executive Officer (XO), and Cadet Lieutenant Junior Grade Luke Dodelin selected as Company Commanding Officer (CO). Bravo Zulu cadets!

As the 2024 school year comes to a end, new cadets arrive to the program. The Freshman Orientation for these new cadets.....

August 15, 2023, Kingsway NNDCC saw its first Core-of-Cadets walk through the doors for Basic Leadership Training. This has been a vision of Superintendent Dr. James Lavender for over a decade. In July 2022, Dr. Lavender received authorization to start up a Navy National Defense Cadet Corps (NNDCC) program. He and his team began educating the Dragon community about the program and its benefits and recruiting the rising 9th-12th grade Dragons. In February 2023, Dr. Lavender hired his first program director, Senior Chief David Schuster, USN (Ret), to build, grow, and lead the program to success. Senior Chief Schuster is a veteran of the Naval Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (NJROTC) and was most recently with a program of nearly 600 Cadets in the program, earning Distinguished Unit with Honors for 13 consecutive years. In June 2023, Senior Chief Schuster was introduced to the eager future cadets and their families. On August 15, 2023, the first Core of Cadets walked through the North Entrance and began their Basic Leadership Training (BLT) in the East Cafe. With assistance from Colts Neck High School NJROTC, Kingsway's Core-of-Cadets went through three days of intense training. On August 17, 2023, Kingsway's Cadets performed an official NJROTC Physical Fitness Test and Academic Test, a Uniformed Personnel Inspection, Knockout Drill Competition, and capstoned by a Pass-in-Review.  

It is not easy to make the decision to join a prestigious organization such as the Naval Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (NJROTC). That decision is even harder when you elect to be an early adopter for a program in a school of 2,000+ students. But these early adopters are not just students, they are young men and young women, they are young gentlemen and young ladies, and they are Cadets! These cadets began their journey to becoming something larger than themselves. 

From August 12 to August 15, 2024, Kingsway´s NJROTC program ran its Basic Leadership Training on its own for the first time. Cadets spent four days going through a challenging training course learning and experiencing many different aspects of the program such as basic drill, marching, physical training, and NJROTC curriculum.

The JROTC program is a growing family, and as it gains more cadets, it is key to get to know one another. Building connections is a necessity for a strong program. One way cadets get to know one another better is through team-building activities. These are activities where all cadets, no matter if they´re senior cadets or new, participate in a variety of group tasks. These tasks are focused on improving communication, building trust, and teaching everyone how to work together. 

On September 6, cadets presented all service flags to honor all service members in our community.

Cadets dedicate their time to cleaning our communities park trails.