Author: RICHARD THOMPSON

Two cadets from every JROTC program in St. Lucie County Public Schools participated in a saber guard drill for the entrance of the finalists for Teacher of the Year and School Related Employee of the Year at the school district’s Night of the Stars ceremony helt at Lincoln Park Academy. The two cadets from Port Saint Lucie High School were cadet Lieutenant Colonel Amanda Mabry and cadet Staff Sergeant Robert Hopkins. All the cadets that participated in the ceremony performed exceptionally well. Pictured is School Related Employee of the Year finalist Stephanie Ludwig, an ESE paraprofessional at Floresta Elementary School, … Read More

The Port St. Lucie High School Jaguar Battalion School presented the colors during the National Anthem to open the Jaguar Baseball Team’s first game of the season. Assistant principal April Rogers threw out the first pitch opening the game for the season. The Color Guard was led by Cadet Major Devynn Rhodes, who was accompanied by Cadet Second Lieutenant Tyler Lynn, Cadet Second Lieutenant Ashlee Seipel, and Cadet Staff Sergeant Allison Miakisz. These cadets displayed outstanding professionalism and have done an amazing job. We wish the best of luck to the baseball team as they journey on into their season. … Read More

Port Saint Lucie High School’s JROTC took first place in four out of five events, and placed second in the fifth, at the recent annual Treasure Coast Drill Meet hosted at their school. Participating were Okeechobee High, Fort Pierce Westwood High, Treasure Coast High, Fort Pierce Central High, and Port Saint Lucie High schools. The competition consisted of five events: Male Unarmed Squad, Female Unarmed Squad, Male Color Guard, Female Color Guard, and Mixed Unarmed Platoon. The Jaguar battalion took first place in each event except for the Female Color Guard, in which they placed second. Pictured is the team.

James Williams, a member of the Port Saint Lucie High School Jaguar Battalion, recently took first place in the Academic A-Team district competition recently held at St. Lucie West Centennial High School. The competition was designed similar to the television game show “Jeopardy.” Six schools with a five man team competed using their knowledge on academic subjects. Williams will now go to state competition in April at Disney World in Orlando. Pictured is cadet James Williams.

The Port St.Lucie High School Jaguar Battalion held its annual Military Ball recently at the Port St. Lucie Community Center. The Military Ball is an event in which cadets participate in a formal dining-out, followed by an informal dance. To begin the events, cadets and their guests proceeded through a receiving line and were greeted by the cadet leadership, led by Cadet Lieutenant Colonel Amanda Mabry and Cadet Command Sergeant Major Byron Cruz. After the receiving line, an array of speeches and toasts were made, and the traditional grog bowl ceremony took place. Once again, cadets had a safe and … Read More

The Jaguar Battalion of Port St. Lucie High School participated in the annual parade honoring one of America’s greatest civil rights leaders, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The Jaguar Battalion received many accolades from the spectators during the event. The battalion was led by Battalion Commander Cadet Lieutenant Colonel Amanda Mabry, followed by the battalion Color Guard, the battalion staff and the three companies with their professionalism. Through the dedication of the cadets and the leadership of the senior cadets, the Jaguar Battalion remained loud and proud throughout the parade. Pictured are the cadets during the parade.

Thanks to Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 8058, many students had the opportunity to enter a recent Voice of Democracy essay contest with cash prizes for the winners. Students who entered have a chance to win at various levels, excel to the national competition, and possibly win $30,000 along with an all-expense paid trip to Washington D.C. This year, the prompt asked, “Is the Constitution Still Relevant Today?” Port St. Lucie High cadet Second Lieutenant Mauricio Campos placed first locally and third in district competition, received $350 with a gold medal and a certificate. Mauricio appreciated the opportunity to … Read More

The Port St. Lucie High School JROTC Raider Team finished off their season strong by “surviving” their annual Raider campout recently. The Battalion Raider team spent a tough night out at Camp Ah-Ba-Lu-Fa in Fort Pierce. Throughout the overnight campout, the Raiders exhibited their mastery of survival skills, shelters, trap and fire building that they have learned throughout the season. The raiders are grateful for the outstanding survival class taught by Amanda Thompson from the Oxbow Environmental Center. The team enjoyed the campout and learned many useful survival skills. Pictured are the cadets at their campout.

Port Saint Lucie High School JROTC presented the colors for the Daughters of the American Revolution annual meeting recently. Cadet Captain Devynn Rhodes led the Color Guard presenting the U.S. flag, cadet Staff Sergeant Andrea Harrell presented the state flag, and cadet Corporal Lily Durst and cadet Lieutenant Colonel Amanda Mabry were the guards. Each of the students on the Color Guard were asked to tell the Daughters of the American Revolution what their roles in JROTC are and what their plans are after they graduate from high school. The Jaguar Battalion cadets appreciated the opportunity and were honored to … Read More

Cadets from the Port Saint Lucie High School JROTC program visited Palm Beach Atlantic University recently for their ROTC Leadership Day. The cadets participated in a scavenger hunt that helped them learn all about the campus, and leadership activities that were led by PBAU students. A PBAU administrator informed the students about enrollment criteria, grants, scholarships, and what PBAU has to offer them. There was also a panel of Vietnam veterans, ranging from a general to a junior enlisted, who told of their experience in the military followed by a question and answer session. The students felt that this was … Read More

The Port St. Lucie High School Jaguar Battalion recently conducted a combined Color Guard with the Treasure Coast High School Air Force JROTC. The Color Guard was led by Port Saint Lucie High School’s Cadet Captain Rhodes who presented the U.S. flag. Bearing the state flag was Cadet Pollino. The guards to follow were Cadet Lynn and Cadet Hopkins. Treasure Coast High School’s cadets Gillman, Shoemaker, Crewse and Love presented the POW/MIA flag and the service flags. The Port St. Lucie High School Color Guard and Treasure Coast High School Color Guard did a phenomenal presentation to remember veterans.

The Port St. Lucie High School Jaguar Battalion Color Guard performed a flag folding ceremony at Mariposa Elementary School recently. The Color Guard Team was led by Cadet Major Mason Propst presenting the U.S. flag with Cadet Byron Cruz presenting the state flag. Guarding the colors were Cadet Amanda Mabry and Cadet William Benagh. They presented and posted the colors, followed by a demonstration on the ceremonial folding of the national flag while explaining the meaning of each of the thirteen folds. The Jaguar Battalion concluded the ceremony with a question and answer session by the Color Guard Team for … Read More

The Port Saint Lucie High School Jaguar Battalion recently participated in a Dreamfest held by Discovery Church at the Port Saint Lucie Civic Center. As part of the ceremony, the church honored veterans by having the cadet Color Guard present the national flag while members of the church sang the National Anthem and America the Beautiful. The four cadets that presented the colors were Cadet First Sergeant Arlene Mabry pictured holding the national flag, Cadet Staff Sergeant Tyler Lynn holding the state flag, and Cadet Staff Sergeant Robert Hopkins and Cadet Sergeant First Class Jose Cumba standing as the guards. … Read More

The Port St. Lucie High School Jaguar Battalion recently participated in a Veterans Day ceremony at Veterans Memorial Park. The cadets stood along the side of the park in formation to show respect and support for this ceremony. Several of the cadets, led by c/LTC Amanda Mabry, performed TAPS, which is a silent armed drill. Two cadets also participated in the presenting the colors. It was an honor for the Jaguar Battalion to participate in this year’s ceremony.

The Port St. Lucie High School JROTC Raider team recently competed in the District Raider meet. Forty-five teams with eight cadets per team from 16 schools competed in five physical and academic events. The raiders’ male A-Team placed second overall in the 3-mile run with a time of 19:26. Mixed team placed second overall in the cross country rescue course. c/CPT Devynn Rhodes placed third overall in the individual female P.T. test with a total of 51 push-ups and 86 sit-ups. Congratulations to all of the Jaguar Battalion Raiders for competing in the Area III Raider Meet and thanks to … Read More

The Port Saint Lucie High School Jaguar Battalion recently participated in an orienteering team competition where they took second place. After the competition, the cadets headed to a camp out where they climbed up a 74 foot high canopy walkway.

Port Saint Lucie High School held its annual senior pinning recently at the Port St. Lucie Civic Center. The Jaguar Battalion presented the colors as part of the opening ceremony. The Color Guard displayed a wonderful presentation of the colors. C/CSM Cruz led the Color Guard presenting the national flag, C/SSG Pollino presented the state flag, and C/CPT Benagh and C/PFC Renderos stood as the guards. principal Bridgette Hargadine spoke eloqently to the seniors to remember for their last year at the school. Congratulations to all the senior Jaguars of 2013 that were pinned at the ceremony. Pictured is the … Read More

The Port Saint Lucie High School Jaguar Battalion hosted the annual Treasure Coast Raider Meet at Port Saint Lucie High School recently. Participating schools included Port Saint Lucie High School, Ft. Pierce Central High School, St. Lucie West Centennial High School, Ft. Pierce Westwood High School, Okeechobee High School and Treasure Coast High School. Treasure Coast High School has an Air Force JROTC unit, St. Lucie West Centennial has a Navy unit, and the remainder are Army JROTC units. The Jaguar battallion won first place overal, Treasure Coast High School won second place overall, and a tie for third place … Read More

The cadets of Port Saint Lucie High School Jaguar Battalion recently helped sponsors of a triathlon event at Club Med in Port St. Lucie. The cadets arrived at 5 AM to prepare for the day’s event, and helped guide and motivate the participants throughout the course. The triathlon was divided into two competitions, the Olympic and the Sprint. Thierry Rouillard, a Certified Race Director who organizes races all over the state of Florida, in particular was very impressed with the performance and professionalism demonstrated by the cadets. He requested Port St. Lucie High School’s Jaguar Battalion to support the next … Read More

The cadets of Port Saint Lucie High School Jaguar Battalion showed their support and paid their respects to missing and captured veterans at the annual POW/MIA ceremony hosted by the Chapter 556 of the Vietnam Veterans of America recently. The cadets formed an Honor Cordon at the entrance to the ceremony. Cadet Captain Devynn Rhodes, Cadet First Sergeant Arlene Mabry, and Cadet Corporal Ryan Culbreth participated in the ceremony by lighting the candles for the missing men and women from Desert Storm and Afghanistan. They lit the candles as the names of the missing from Florida were announced. The Jaguar … Read More