Military Drill Team Shows Off the Other Side of Excellence

Last year, Bethel Regional High's Junior ROTC drill team gave audiences in Florida a taste of their home's traditional dance, and took first place in the nation doing so.

For the first time this year, the squad plans to bring their newly-renowned military precision to the largest Native dance festival in Alaska.

After two years of placing in the national championships in Florida, with a win in the exhibition category in 2002, the cadets will get to show a large Bethel audience what all the fuss has been about.

The team has become famous in recent years for incorporating traditional Yup'ik dance movements into their close-order drill routines. This affinity for their own unique heritage - a majority of the cadets involved in the program are Native - has caught the attention of audiences across Alaska and the country. It has also shown the cadets in the light of a 3,000 year-old tradition.

Just in the past month before the festival, the team's exhibition team took first place at the final state drill competition for the third time in a row. They also placed in regulation drill this the first year that they have entered that category.

A matter of days before taking the state title, the program was designated an honor unit with distinction by U.S. Army inspectors from Fort Lewis, Washington. When they don their uniforms at the upcoming festival, the cadets will bear an insignia worn by only the finest high school ROTC teams in the country.

The team's dance movements are an expression of who they are. Like many other culturally-influenced performers, Bethel High's drill team has existed in two worlds at once.

One of those worlds has already proclaimed them number one.

The Bethel Regional High School JROTC drill team leader is Cadet Captain Wallen Olrun Jr. 2002 National High School Drill Team Champions and tapes are available for sale in room C18. Support KYUK and the only Native Drill team to win a National Championship. The team is leaving Tuesday April 29, 2003 for Daytona Beach, Florida to compete in the 2003 National HS Drill Team Championship.

For more information contact or visit:

Major Carl Bailey
Bethel Regional High School
1 Ron Edwards Memorial Drive, P.O. Box 700
Bethel, AK 99559
(907)543-2767
E-mail:drill@thenationals.net
www.thenationals.net

The BRHS JROTC Drill Team will perform Friday at 8:20 p.m., Saturday at 5:00 p.m.