2022 NJROTC Nationals Champions - Pace High School
by U.S. Navy Lt. Michael Miller
April 12, 2022

Pace High School from Pace, Florida claimed the title at the 2022 Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (NJROTC) National Academic, Athletic and Drill Championship onboard Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola April 1-2. The 27 NJROTC units, representing 15 states from coast to coast, were challenged on their athleticism, tested in academics and evaluated on the drill deck during the competition held at the Naval Air Technical Training Center’s (NATTC) Chevalier Hall.

“It is truly an honor for me to be here, especially after the last two years of virtual competitions due to the pandemic," said Rear Adm. Peter Garvin, commander, Naval Education and Training Command. "Looking out at all of the incredibly talented young men and women in attendance is amazing and I have rock-solid confidence in our nation’s future. I know the energy and enthusiasm the last couple of days, months, but most importantly the last couple of days has been particularly high.”

“I couldn’t be more thrilled with the teams that qualified this year for this fantastic event,” said retired Navy Capt. Tim Daseler, NSTC Deputy Commander for NJROTC Operations. “There was such an amazing buzz coming out of the event this year due to 2019 being the last in person competition.”

An awards ceremony was held at the National Museum of Naval Aviation after the competition was finished with participation plaques going to all 27 schools as well as trophies for each category including overall trophies to the top five units.

This year Pace High School piled up 5,757 points to capture the title. Troy High School, from Fullerton, California came in second with 5,485 points. Nease High School, from Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida finished third with 5,463 points. Green Run High School from Virginia Beach, Virginia was fourth with 5,334 points and Gaither High School, from Tampa, Florida, rounded out the top five with 5,264 points.

The personnel inspections, color guards and the drill events at the competition were judged by retired Navy and Marine Corps Naval Science Instructors from various NJROTC programs.

In addition, Sailors from the Navy Recruiting Orientation Unit at NAS Pensacola judged the curl-up and push-up portions of the competition.

Of the nearly 600 NJROTC units, 27 qualify for the national competition annually.

Other NJROTC units participating in this year’s Nationals included: Centennial (Las Vegas, Nevada) High School; Shawnee Mission North (Overland Park, Kansas) High School; Patrick Henry (San Diego, California) High School; Colts Neck (New Jersey) High School; Norview (Norfolk, Virginia) High School; Calvert (Maryland) High School; Zion-Benton (Zion, Illinois) High School; Willard (Missouri) High School; Floyd Central (Floyds Knobs, Indiana) High School; Catawba Ridge (Fort Mill, South Carolina) High School; South Effingham (Guyton, Georgia) High School; Navarre (Florida) High School; J.W. Mitchell (New Port Richey, Florida) High School; East View (Georgetown, Texas) High School; Bayside (Palm Bay, Florida) High School; Rockport-Fulton (Rockport, Texas) High School; Chambersburg (Pennsylvania) Area Senior High School; Peachtree Ridge (Suwanee, Georgia) High School; Myrtle Beach (South Carolina) High School; Chester W. Nimitz (Houston, Texas) High School; Cary (North Carolina) High School; Wheeling (Illinois) High School.

NJROTC is a citizenship development program that instills in high school students and in U.S. secondary educational institutions the value of citizenship and service to the United States.

In addition to regular classroom instruction, NJROTC cadets participate in a number of extra-curricular activities throughout the school year and during the summer months that are designed to stimulate learning by hands-on experiences and to reinforce the program’s curriculum. Cadet extra-curricular activities include community service projects, drill competitions, academic competitions, visits to naval installations, and Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) training.

The NJROTC, or Citizenship Development, program is currently under the direction of Rear Adm. Jennifer Couture and her Naval Service Training Command (NSTC) staff, headquartered onboard Naval Station Great Lakes, Ill.

NSTC oversees 98 percent of initial officer and enlisted accessions training for the Navy, as well as the Navy's Citizenship Development program. NSTC also includes Recruit Training Command (RTC), the Navy's only boot camp also at Naval Station Great Lakes, the Navy ROTC program at more than 160 colleges and universities, Officer Training Command (OTC) Newport, Rhode Island, and Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (NJROTC) and Navy National Defense Cadet Corps (NDCC) citizenship development programs at more than 600 high schools worldwide.

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