Members of MacArthur High School’s Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) received rings Tuesday as reward for winning the Overall State Championship 2023.
The battalion won not only the Best in Army, for the second time in a row, they also won the Overall State Championship, where they had to compete against teams from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines. Hence, a reason to celebrate.
“I am pleased and proud and very happy for them,” Senior Army Instructor Maj. Craig Redfearn, who leads the Highlander Battalion, said. Together with Command Sgt. Maj. Jesse J. Batts Jr., he awarded the rings to the students.
The kids designed the rings all by themselves, he added. The ring combines several elements, such as the Oklahoma symbol and the JROTC emblem. And, of course, “we added a little bling to it,” Redfearn said.
“I’m very proud,” Amaya Brown, 18, one of the cadets, said, adding that she was not only proud of her and her team, but of “all the teams.” She plans on joining the National Guard as well as studying biology with emphasis on plant science at OSU.
For Redfearn, the ceremony also was important because “people don’t always get the recognition they deserve,” adding that JROTC was overlooked and forgotten about many times. But although JROTCS isn’t as popular as major sports, winning a state championship is something that many students never achieve, Redfearn said.
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