By Matthew Michalek
Staff Writer
December is upon us and with it comes the JROTC Drill Competition. The JROTC Drill Team consists of  over 30 cadets ranging from freshman to seniors. These cadets competed on December 10 and took  home numerous drill trophies.
Drill or, as most people know it, “marching” is a fundamental component of JROTC. It consists of marching to cadence and performing specific movements in formation. This formation is in the shape of a rectangle and is organized into three lines. According to Cadet / Major Michael Siironen, drill is, “…a mixture of marching and precision movement.”
According to Cadet / Sergeant Major Zena Traganza, the team  practiced for ten weeks now and was excited for the competition. She continued, “…we won overall in our last event, the Cadet Picnic, and the cadets became even more excited and motivated to win.”
Siironen said the competition was within UC High’s brigade, which consists of UC High, San Diego High, Hoover High, Lincoln High, Kearny High, Morse High, Madison High, Crawford High, Point Loma High, Serra High, Patrick Henry, Scripps Ranch High, and Mira Mesa High.
As for what is required to be skilled at drill, Siironen said, “A high sense of discipline, and the ability to listen and react.”
Siironen explained that he is responsible for leading Squad Drill, while Traganza leads Platoon Drill. According to Siironen, “Platoon Drill is three squads executing a drill card specific to them, while Squad Drill is the first squad of the three that make up the platoon. We perform similar movements but as a single squad.”
Siironen went on to explain that each event is graded based on a specific card. Siironen stated, “A drill card is the list of the sequence of commands that have to be executed by the group.”
According to Traganza, “There are 23 cadets on the platoon Drill Team, but with all of the different competitions including Best Drilled Squad, Best Drilled Individuals, and our two Color Guards, there were over 30 cadets competing.”
This year’s winners of BDI (Best Drill Individual) are Freshman Cadet / Private First Class Dillon Carr tying for third place, Sophomore Cadet / Lance Corporal Michael Simancas also tying for third place, Junior Cadet / Sergeant Mannie Amoguis tying for first place and Senior Cadet / Sergeant Major Zena Traganza in third place.
“This is the first year we had summer practice, so the cadets were motivated right off the bat,” Traganza added.
“The team is doing well, the basics are down and so  it was just refining the movements. We expected to be in the top five for all events,” said Siironen who then said, “There were five events, Squad Drill, Platoon Drill, Varsity Color Guard, LE-1/ First Year Color Guard, and Best Drilled Individual.”