Cadet News Articles

Blythewood JROTC Rifle Team Defeats West Ashley NJROTC Rifle Team

In an undisputed contest, scoring 1011 points, Blythewood AJROTC defeated West Ashley

NJROTC. With the win, Blythewood AJROTC is in ninth place overall and sixth place within their

Army JROTC conference. They currently have a 3 - 1 record. Blythewood AJROTC was led by

Katelyn Yates who shot a 265. The remaining contributing members were Collin Flores, McAyla

Clarke, and Faith Mull. Blythewood AJROTC is from Blythewood, SC, and is coached by LTC

Charles White.

West Ashley NJROTC currently has a 1 - 3 record. After the loss they are in sixth place within

their Navy JROTC conference. West Ashley NJROTC is from Charleston, SC, and is coached

by Art Ladler.

Next up Blythewood AJROTC will compete against Joliet West AJROTC from Joliet, IL. Joliet

West AJROTC currently has a 4 - 0 record. These two teams are competing in the

Distinguished Division of the Orion National Air Rifle League. Sponsored by the Orion Scoring

The System, the league is a national team league for high school teams and junior rifle clubs. The

league has two parts. An 8-week regular season going on now, followed by a single game

Conference Title Game for the top two teams in each conference.

In each game, the teams compete in what is known as a Three-Position Air Rifle match. The

the match is modeled after Olympic Rifle competitions but adapted to high school-age athletes.

Each athlete will shoot 10 shots in three different shooting positions, prone, standing, and

kneeling. Each shot is worth a point

Holiday Wishes 2020

Every year, Blythewood High School participates in an event known as Holiday Wishes. This year, Blythewood participated in a canned food drive in partnership with Christian Assistance Bridge (CAB) located in Blythewood, SC. CAB’s mission is to end hunger within the community with the help of donations and volunteers.

Blythewood High School always encourages students to help one another and do good in the community. On November 30th, 2020, BHS began collecting items for Holiday Wishes. JROTC always participates in Holiday Wishes as the Mission of JROTC is “To Motivate Students to be Better Citizens.” Inherent in that mission is selfless service. The cadets are taught to do good without looking for something in return. As such. Each of the three companies in the Bengal Battalion set a goal for each student to donate 6 can goods which equated to 640 items for the Battalion.

Over the course of three weeks, the Bengal Battalion exceeded their goal and collected a total of 1,330 cans. Ms. Macy Hunter, the Student Activities Coordinator was extremely happy with the JROTC’s participation in the canned food drive. “The Bengal Battalion did an AMAZING job!” The Bengal Battalion as well as Blythewood High School will be looking forward to next year’s Holiday Wishes event and hopes to exceed this year’s collection.

2021 Battalion Leadership Article

Every year, the Bengal Battalion Army Instructors, LTC Charles White, and SFC Frank

Bell selects a group of distinguished cadets to serve as the Battalion Top 3, Battalion Staff, and Company Top 3. These cadets have displayed exceptional leadership, dependability, and enthusiasm throughout their continuous-time in the Bengal Battalion JROTC program. The

Bengal Battalion Top 3 for the 2020-2021 school year are c/LTC Jasmine Garrett,

Bengal Battalion Commander; c/MAJ Robert Wilkins, Battalion Executive Officer; c/CSM Seth Goodrich (far right), Command Sergeant Major. Serving on the Battalion Staff is, c/SSG Annika Stears, Adjutant Officer; c/CPT Issaac Moore, Operations and Training Officer; c/SGT Kamila El-Amin, Supply and Logistics Officer; c/SFC Aubrey Farr, Public Affairs

Officer; c/SFC Jaylen Childs, Website Manager. The company leadership is in direct contact with subordinates and will greatly influence cadets to become leaders and be involved with battalion activities. Representing Alpha Company is, c/CPT McAyla Clarke, Company

Commander; c/1LT Justin Wolff, Executive Officer; c/1SG Kellie Wyder, Company First

Sergeant. Representing Bravo Company is, c/CPT Dominick Laibly, Company Commander; c/SSG Izu Emetu, Executive Officer; c/1SG Myia Murray, Company First Sergeant. Finally, representing Charlie Company are c/CPT Caleb Smith, Company Commander; c/CPT Jacob Gavel, Executive Officer; c/1SG Victor Essien, Company First Sergeant. The cadets have already put the battalion on the path to a successful year and are looking forward to seeing new leaders flourish!

Roadside Clean-Up

On Saturday, February 20th, the Bengal Battalion cadets held their second successful Roadside Clean-up event. Over 50 cadets cleaned up the trash from Blythewood Road all the way to Farrow Road. We hold this event to teach our young cadets the meaning and importance of Selfless Service, one of the Army Values. The Bengal Battalion reaches to spread change and better the communities around them. Our Battalion Top 3 and all of the Battalion Leadership Staff came to the event to help support the battalion and instill in younger cadets the leadership skills needed in the JROTC program. We are so proud of the cadets who earned their community service ribbon as well as thankful for those who chose to take part in this event again. We are grateful that we were able to help our community this semester!

Bethel Hanberry Book Reading

On Monday, February 22, Bethel-Hanberry Elementary School’s Social Studies Committee hosted a reading program to recognize African Americans who had published books. The Bengal Battalion JROTC program participated in the reading program as 16 Cadets and one instructor read to students at Bethel-Hanberry in support of their Black History Month program. The JROTC cadets participated in the reading program as a community service project earning a school support ribbon. Mrs. Canzater, the program coordinator at Bethel-Hanberry, said the program was a huge success and the teachers and students enjoyed listening to stories and having the cadets read to the classes. Isaac More the Battalion Operations Officer said this was a joy to read to younger students and he was excited to have so many cadets volunteer to support the program and look forward to supporting more events with Bethel-Hanberry. The cadets were thrilled they had the opportunity to practice selfless service. The cadets read two books written by Bertha White and Tracy Smith (A Quilt For Avery and My Sunday Best).

Doko Parking

On Saturday, March 13, Blythewood’s JROTC program assisted the Greater Blythewood Chamber of Commerce with parking for the Rib-Off event at DOKO. Thirty-six cadets from the Bengal Battalion helped direct cars to parking spots, to maintain organization, to facilitate citizens to quickly locate a park. The cadets enjoyed getting out in the community and especially meeting and greeting families as they looked forward to enjoying the Riboff. This opportunity allowed the Bengal Battalion leadership to organize and supervise cadets in a community support event while benefiting others. The cadets earned a volunteer ribbon and even got a chance to enjoy some great food and socialize. The Battalion Commander, c/LTC Jasmine Garrett, Executive Officer, c/MAJ Robert Wilkins and, S-3 c/CPT Issaac Moore attended the event and commented on how proud they are of the cadets and that they are thankful for the opportunity to showcase the cadets. The Battalion Commander applauded the cadets for their hard work and dedication.