Local Cadet Corps among state’s best
You’ve seen them marching in local parades and helping at community events, and with their latest Superior Score on the State Annual General Inspection, the Lassen High School Cadet Corps is one of the top programs in the state — They’ve actually never received a score below Superior.
The local Cadet Corps chapter is the 7th Battalion in the 6th Brigade, and the program helps prepare ninth through 12th-grade students for leadership roles, success in college and the work force.
“The cadets were extremely excited to hear their score. They were shooting for Excellent and didn’t expect to get Superior, so that was the cherry on the cake,” wrote Commandant of Cadets and English teacher Rachel Vincent. “They have been working very hard on this. It is not something they can get together in a week; they have to have been doing the right things for the past 12 months. The inspection goes back 12 months.”
In celebration of the chapter’s continued success, the local cadets were surprised with an assembly Tuesday, April 9, honoring their achievements in the annual inspection.
“The assembly was amazing! Maybe even more so than the inspections results,” continued Vincent. “We had been waiting out in front of the school thinking we were getting a picture for the yearbook. So we meandered on in to the gym, having no idea what was planned. The Cadets Corps has never been recognized by their peer that way, so it meant the world to them!”
“The Annual General Inspection consisted of six categories, each containing eight subsections. Cadets were inspected on school and community service, unit discipline and drill, leadership, training, military and cadet knowledge and administration and supply accountability,” according to a statement from the chapter. “Our cadets scored Superior in every category, making them one of the top programs in the state. In order to receive Superior, which is the top score, the cadets must have scored at least a 28 out of the 32 possible in each section.”
Additionally, during the inspection, the Cadet Corps staff team put together and presented a PowerPoint to the highest-ranking officials in the California Cadet Corps.
“The presentation showed all of the evidence that the cadets met the requirements in each of the categories, except in the case of unit discipline and drill: For this, the Inspecting Officials tested the unit personally for marching, knowledge and military bearing,” continued the statement.
While the local chapter started four years ago, it was not the first time Lassen High School boasted a Cadet Corps program. According to the school’s website, LHS was actually one of the first schools to have the program in the early 1900s.
Currently, there are about 26 students in the program and they don’t have to be interested in the military to join.
“Any student can take the class, they just have to be willing to put in the work,” said Vincent.
She added the cadets do most of the work, and if the class is functioning correctly, it’s actually student led.
In addition, cadets can be promoted and demoted, earn special ribbons and serve on flag detail.
“It operates just like an army battalion would operate,” added Vincent.
While the local program has sent about 15 students to serve in various branches of the military, the class is designed to prepare cadets for leadership roles in the community and beyond — and that’s exactly what they are doing.
