The competition season for the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps armed drill team from Kentwood couldn’t have ended any higher — literally.

The team clinched the championship title at the state meet March 16 with an element where team members created a staircase with their rifles that Chris Salois, a senior at Kentlake and commander of the team, then climbed.

“That was the first time I experienced that a team got a standing ovation,” John Shaner, one of the JROTC teachers at Kentwood, said. “They got two.”

Salois credited the hard work of his teammates with being able to pull off the move, and an undefeated season.

“It’s not just up to me, it’s the team in general. With the team it’s all about what happens in the platoon…I may have the leadership but it’s the team’s dedication.” Salois said. “That move we call Stairway to Heaven, we had two weeks to practice. It was a tough two weeks, I even came up with a plan B but I said, ‘screw it.’ I wanted to do something big.”

The team competed in half a dozen competitions this year according to teacher Ken Paul.

“This team this year is astonishing,” Paul said.

The drill team meets as a zero hour class before school five days a week — learning, practicing and perfecting drills. For the team, precision and attention to detail are crucial.

The JROTC program at Kentwood is open to students from across the Kent School District and currently is made up of 122 students from Kentwood, Kentlake and Kentridge.

The program includes classroom instruction and physical conditioning and students can choose to participate in one of two drill teams, a marksmanship team and a physical strength team.

While students learn about the structure of the military, land navigation, basic drills, military justice and physical conditioning, the program is ultimately about leadership, character development and teamwork Paul said.

“We get a lot of kids with a lot of different skill levels and backgrounds,” said Paul. “The personal improvement of each person is remarkable.”

The program emphasizes leadership so much that fourth year students are actually the ones running it — each student is assigned a position and collectively they are in charge of organizing activities, running meetings and helping to teach the younger students. Individually they must meet the requirements of their assigned position.

“(It’s) not just information, but them being able to execute it,” Paul said. “Not just a race to the top for themselves but to bring up the younger kids.”

For Salois, who will pursue a career with the Marines after graduation, JROTC gave him a place to belong and a chance to challenge himself.

“I think of it more of a test of my endurance,” Salois said. “I’ve been thinking about joining the military since I was in elementary school…I needed something, I don’t really play sports…The first semester I felt at home with the unit.”

Students who participate in JROTC aren’t committed to joining the military after high school, some do ROTC while studying at a university, some go directly into the service and some decide to pursue other paths.

Regardless of what students decide to do Paul said the point is to give them leadership and other skills that they can apply anywhere.

Zachary Anwar, a senior at Kentwood and the cadet commanding officer, said that one of the things he has appreciated most about JROTC is the opportunities for learning it has given him.

“It’s a family,” Anwar said. “You’re in high school but you’re also in something else. You get to learn things in the class that you don’t learn in any other class.”

The dedication and intensity of the program creates a camaraderie among students and their teachers.

“These are my two favorite teachers at Kentwood,” said Jessica Hanna, a Kentwood senior and the cadet executive officer. “They’re mentors more than teachers.”

For Madeline Fakharzadeh, a Kentwood senior and squad leader and team commander for the unarmed drill team, the challenges and growth she has experienced in JROTC have been the things she has come to appreciate most.

“I like the concept of taking you down and building you up from there.”

To view the armed drill team’s championship performance click here.

Reach Katherine Smith ksmith@covingtonreporter.com or 425-432-1209 ext. 5052.