Ayuyus hosts 22nd CNMI MSU JROTC Military Ball

Kagman High School’s JROTC Ayuyu Battalion successfully hosted this year’s 22nd Annual CNMI Multiple School Unit Military Ball on Saturday at the Saipan World Resort’s Royal Taga Room.

About 300 cadets and JROTC instructors from Saipan, Tinian, and Rota attended the annual formal event. Schools in attendance included Saipan Southern High School, Rota’s Dr. Rita H. Inos Jr./Sr. High School, Tinian High School, and Marianas High School.

Joining in on the celebration were Education Commissioner Dr. Rita A. Sablan, Board of Education chair Herman Guerrero, and Board of Education Rota representative Denise Tanya King.

The night’s theme was “Good leadership is good citizenship.”

Kagman High School Senior Army Instructor MSG James Burke said the purpose of the ball is to unite the five PSS battalions and celebrate their accomplishments and future goals for the CNMI.

“All of the school’s accomplishments are off the scale. The students are up against tremendous talent and for them to represent the CNMI in the mainland very well shows people who we are,” he said.

CNMI JROTC teams have garnered both national and local recognition in drill competitions in the past few years. Recently, Saipan Southern High School and Kagman High School cadets made it to the finals in the JROTC Leadership and Academic Bowl Level III championship competition, besting over a thousand other JROTC school programs. Additionally, the Manta Ray battalion also came out third in the U.S. Army Cadet Command JROTC National Drill Championship.

These accolades, among many others, are something that Commissioner Sablan said “proves that the JROTC program never fails.”

“It has always prevailed in so many ways and passed on a lot of great skills and talents,” she told audience members. Sablan thanked the cadets, school officials, and parents for continuing to support the program.

Sablan noted that although the JROTC program is not intended to mold students into becoming “a military person,” data has shown that 30 percent of students who join the program later pursue a career in the military.

KSPN 2 News director Bob Coldeen was the keynote speaker. He told the cadets to think of society as a basketball team. “You need all kinds of differences to make a good team. Someone who is tall, someone who can shoot, someone who can pass, someone who can come off the bench. A team needs lots of different parts to make one complete whole.”

Coldeen added: “Not everybody can be a leader. But everyone can be a good team player. That’s where citizenship comes in. Your world starts with you.”

He reminded students to invest in all aspects of their health—mentally, physically, and spiritually.

The night also treated students to a first class buffet, cultural performances, and a raffle drawing.

A cadet from Tinian said JROTC has helped her become more disciplined and knowledgeable of how to deal with real-life situations.

She said, “I do not plan to join the military, but JROTC helped me become a better leader.”

Kagman High School cadet Paolo Reyes said he was happy to see the big turnout at the event. Reyes, a junior, was one of the many students coordinating last weekend’s event.

“It is my first time to host this kind of event. I joined JROTC when I was a freshman and I encourage others to do the same. The program changed my life,” he told Saipan Tribune.

Beda Mundo, a graduating senior from Rota, expressed similar sentiments. The 17-year-old student plans to graduate from college and join the military.

“This program has greatly impacted my life and made me a better citizen for my country and island. I plan to come back to serve just as our instructors have,” she said. “JROTC has paved the way for realizing my educational goals.”

Concluding the ceremony was the recognition of 40 senior cadets who will be graduating from high school this year.

The CNMI PSS JROTC program was established 23 years ago and has since seen many students become successful adults and become service members.