Colquitt County ROTC students taking advantage of new opportunities

Published 1:00 pm Monday, January 30, 2017

MOULTRIE, Ga. — The Colquitt County High School Marine Corps Junior ROTC program began offering new opportunities for its cadets and a number are already taking advantage.

The Colquitt County ROTC, under the direction of Lt. Col. Paul Nagy and Gunnery Sgt. Emmett Bryant, has long enabled its cadets to participate in color guard, drill team and marksmanship programs, provide community service and take educational field trips.

But last summer, eight Colquitt County cadets spent a week at the National Flight Academy in Pensacola, Fla.

In addition, Sylvia Comer attended Girls State at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro and Joseph Manning went to Boys State at Riverside Military Academy in Gainesville.

All three programs gave participants a week-long experience.

Another group of five cadets is currently preparing for a CyberPatriot competition that will begin next fall.

Also, next summer, the local unit will enter a team in the Marine Corps Knowledge Bowl.

“We’re not drilling as much,” Nagy said. “But we are still shooting. We’re still at the football games.

“But we’ve got a new boss in Quantico who oversees the program. And he’s got a new approach.”

The Marine Corps paid the entire cost to send the eight cadets to the National Flight Academy last summer.

Those selected to attend were Teddy McCorvey, Kobe Kenney, Amber Moore, Jay Pitts, Nolan Howren, Austin Ponder, Joseph Manning and Master Yates.

The National Flight Academy, which is aimed at seventh- through 12-grade students, is adjacent to the National Naval Aviation Museum.

The participants stayed for six days in the four-story, 101,000 square-foot facility and experienced what is described on the academy’s website as “theme park-style thrills surrounded by advanced technology, flight simulators and virtual reality games.”

The NFA also features the virtual aircraft carrier Ambition. Each deck is designed to simulate a modern aircraft carrier.

The mission of the academy is to “inspire students who subsequently return to their schools and seek out the more challenging courses in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.”

Students are exposed to aerodynamics, propulsion, navigation, communications, flight physiology and meteorology. Teamwork and leadership skills also are taught.

Although none of the eight Colquitt County students expressed an interest becoming a pilot, all were enthusiastic about the experience.

Nagy said the local ROTC program will continue to send a contingent to the NFA each summer.

Comer and Manning learned about the functions of government last summer. American Legion Boys State and American Legion Auxiliary Girls State teach those who attend how government works and help develop leadership skills. Participants run for office, learn public speaking, create bills and participate in running a working government.

Nagy said that the students who will attend National Flight Academy and Boys and Girls State this summer have not yet been selected. The Boys and Girls State representatives must be rising seniors.

Yates, Pitts, Howren, Kenney and Jose Galvan make up the CyberPatriot team that meets for an hour once a week under the direction of Cheryl Youse to prepare for a competition that begins next October.

CyberPatriot is the National Youth Cyber Education Program, which administers the National Youth Cyber Defense Competition.

In the competition, high school and middle school teams are put in the position of being IT professionals and must manage a network in a small company.

The teams are given cybersecurity problems and must put together a solution within six hours.

Teams are entered in state and regional competitions, with the best earning all-expense paid trips to Baltimore, Md., for national competitions.

The CyberPatriot program was started by the Air Force Association to steer students to careers in cybersecurity or other science, technology, engineering or math areas.