Northeast Lauderdale High School’s Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (NJROTC) has put other units around Mississippi on notice.

These cadets are among the elite groups in the state and others will have to gauge their level of skill and ability against what they have accomplished. The Northeast Lauderdale unit, with Lt. Cmdr. Steve Hardin and Senior Chief Kent Malone as instructors, have returned from the Mississippi All Service Drill Championship with hardware in hand. Of the 81 units statewide, 18 units participated in the state event, which was held at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi.

Northeast Lauderdale NJROTC represented the Eastern Region in this year’s Mississippi All Service Drill State Championship.

“Making it to the state championship is quite an accomplishment,” Malone said.

It was in Starkville where the unit won the Eastern Regional Drill Championship against stiff competition, including last year’s state champions Neshoba Central High School. They placed first overall, first in Color Guard, Unarmed Exhibition, Unarmed Regulation and Armed Exhibition, as well as placing second in Personnel Inspection and Armed Regulation.

Success comes after many hours of drill practice, according to Unit Commander Cadet Ensign Dustin Hover.

“We started practicing at the beginning of July, actually,” Hover said. “We have three practices a week, which includes Saturday mornings. We practiced at least two hours per session and that is the reason for our success.”

• Darbie Smithson is a member of Northeast Lauderdale High School’s Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (NJROTC).