The Nexus

It was 7 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 10, and Youngkun Weiss (12) was standing at attention. Having just arrived at Coronado High School, Weiss and about 15 other student leaders began preparing for NJROTC’s annual Basic Leadership Training, where he and the other Platoon Leaders, or “Red-Shirts”, would learn and practice how to command groups of cadets.

At 8 a.m., the cadets (freshmen and sophomores from Westview, Coronado and Mar Vista High Schools) began arriving.

Weiss and the other Platoon Leaders wasted no time and immediately began to take charge, rushing the cadets through a series of activities.

“I learned a lot about time management,” cadet Maris Laipenieks (9) said. “They kept rushing us. We would have five minutes to dress and we would have to not look anywhere else but at our food when we ate because there was a time limit. We couldn’t talk during meals.”

In addition to being led by fellow students, the cadets were also under the command of active-duty Naval officers, who presided over a morning uniform inspection.

“They didn’t talk; they screamed,” Weiss said. “They had three volumes: off, loud and louder. The inspection was actually optional for cadets, though; they could have opted out, but every single cadet from Westview participated.”

Throughout the day, the cadets participated in a wide variety of activities; they practiced marching, physical training and learned about survival skills by practicing with a 25-person survival raft in the school’s swimming pool. For lunch, they got to try authentic MREs (Meals Ready-to-Eat), which are commonly eaten by combat troops overseas, and are packed with much needed calories.

Later that afternoon, four Naval officers from the U.S.S. Princeton inspected barracks that had been organized by the cadets.

“The cadets would stand at attention while the officers inspected the barracks,” Weiss said. “If [the officers] saw something they didn’t like, even something minor, they would flip a cot completely over and the cadets would have to fix it again.”

In addition to using strict discipline to teach the cadets, the officers also taught them how to respect their superiors.

“I felt like I got a much higher sense of respect,” cadet Francis Garcia (9) said. “I would start saying to everyone ‘yes, sir’ or ‘no, ma’am.’”

At the end of an exhausting day, the students finally bunkered down in 20-person tents for night. Yet less than half an hour after lights out was called, the emergency alarm went off, signaling a surprise emergency drill.

“One of the things they were taught is to know where everyone in their platoon is at all times,” Weiss said. “The redshirts essentially ‘captured’ one cadet from each platoon, and the platoon had to account for that person. It was all about attention to detail.”

The following morning, the cadets were abruptly awoken by the officers and redshirts at 5:30, and proceeded to compete in a platoon competition to test what they had learned the previous day. After practicing more drill and physical training, the cadets were dismissed at noon after an awards ceremony.

Looking back, both the Platoon Leaders and cadets felt like the experience was a highly invaluable one.

“For all the freshmen who come next year I’d recommend doing it,” Garcia said. “It was a really good experience, and it was definitely the most packed 28 hours of my life.”