THOMASVILLE — Seventeen cadets from the  Thomas County Central High School Army JROTC program recently completed their annual JROTC Cadet Leadership Challenge (JCLC) summer camp at Georgia Military College in Milledgeville, GA. JCLC is a week-long summer camp for Army JROTC cadets designed to develop leadership, teamwork, and discipline in a hands-on military environment. Cadets are placed in leadership positions within companies and participate in events like adventure training, STEM activities, and team-building exercises.

The camp was composed of over 250 cadets from 18 Army JROTC programs in south and central Georgia and included over 40 cadre, chaperones, and support personnel.  Training events included Land Navigation, High Ropes Confidence Course, Obstacle Course, Leader Reaction Course, Drownproofing and canoe course, as well as physical training, basic drill and intramural sports.

The highlight of the camp was the orientation flights in two CH-47 Chinook helicopters, supported by the Georgia Army National Guard. According to TCCHS Senior Army Instructor Lieutenant Colonel Kevin D. “Buzz” Ingram, the flights were definitely a memory cadets would not forget.

“The planning and coordination began in the fall, so it was a great feeling to see all of the effort pay off once we executed the flights,” Ingram said.

Not only did TCCHS cadets get a taste of military training, but many earned top honors across several events. Senior Maureen Brutus was a member of the championship volleyball team, and Junior Jaylen Mitchell earned top honors as a member of her company’s platoon drill team.

Senior Savannah Dodd earned first place in her company for the Cadet Challenge, a physical fitness assessment consisting of 5 events that measures upper body strength, core strength, and cardiovascular endurance. Cadet Dodd was the highest scoring female in her company and the third highest female overall at camp. Other students earning top honors in this event included Junior Jasper Munden in the Curl Up for his company, completing 65 – the second highest of any cadet at camp. Senior Yasbeidi Ramirez and Junior Christina Gonzales earned top honors as the highest scoring females for the Curl Up event, tying with an impressive 57 each.

TCCHS Junior Christina Gonzalez demonstrated the most dominating performance by any single cadet in the history of Camp Bulldog at GMC. Not only did she earn top honors in the Curl Up event, but she was also the highest scoring female in her company on the Cadet Challenge and the overall  female champion for the Cadet Challenge, scoring 285 of 300 points. She was also the top Basic (LET 1 and 2) Cadet in her Company. Cadet Gonzalez was selected to represent her company at the Cadet Board and earned top honors as the overall best Basic Course Cadet at JCLC. These awards make her the most decorated cadet to graduate Camp Bulldog.

“My goal going into camp was to get top female for the Cadet Challenge because that’s what I did [at TCCHS],” Gonzalez said. “ And then I definitely knew I wanted to be on the board to try to get the trophies [as well].”

Her reaction to winning the awards was met with confidence and relief.

“I was definitely holding my breath the whole ceremony, because I wasn’t sure if I got it,” Gonzalez continued. “Actually hearing my name get called was a relief that I actually did it. I was definitely proud of myself and was thinking how I wish my mom could have been there to see it and how she would be happy that I came home with all [the awards].”

This is the second year in a row that the TCCHS program has had a cadet earn top honors. Last year, Aidan Poppell earned the title of top cadet at JCLC.

The TCCHS cadets will use their experiences when they return in the fall as they contribute to the continued success of the TCCHS Army JROTC program.

“We are very proud of this group and look forward to seeing them grow over the next year and make our program even better,” Ingram stated.