Schools
Viewfinder: South Gwinnett Comet Battalion
South Gwinnett High School's Army JROTC program hit the ground running in its first year. With just five months of training, the Comet Battalion has brought in trophies and awards from prestigious competitions. In this week's Viewfinder, we get a glimpse.
"We're having a blast. We're just two old guys having fun," retired 1st Sgt. Christopher Diaz said of heading up the new JROTC program at
Diaz and retired Lt. Col. Nathaniel Flegler instruct and train the Comet Battalion, composed of five different companies and 150 cadets at South Gwinnett.
The program, with only five months of training under their belts, has done the school proud.
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Flegler and Diaz are proud of what their cadets have accomplished in such a short time.
To date, the South Gwinnett cadets have formed a color guard that presented the colors at home games, parades, the Snellville and the
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In November, the Raider Team from South Gwinnett's Comet Battalion attended a national competition in Molena, Ga., with the then 3-month-old team earning 17th place out of 37 teams competing.
Last weekend, the cadets competed in the Parkview Invitational Drill Meet and brought home two trophies: one for third place in armed exhibition and another for second place in obstacle course.
Cadet 1st Sgt. Micah Bramlett earned second place overall in the obstacle course at the Parkview competition with a finish time Diaz calls "blazing."
According to Diaz, the group from South Gwinnett was the only Army JROTC present at the competition.
"For an Army unit to beat a Marine unit is amazing," he said.
The battalion has a website and a Facebook page where they document upcoming events and past successes.
