The Junior ROTC program at Leavenworth High School is respected for its honor guards. But its Raider team doesn’t have the same notoriety, the program’s senior Army instructor said.
But retired Lt. Col. David Black thinks a new member of the JROTC staff will help elevate the Raiders to the same level as the program’s other teams.
Retired 1st Sgt. Wayne Cogdill has joined the staff at Leavenworth High School after working with a JROTC program in Clinton, Mo., where he said the Raider team enjoyed significant success.
“I think it’s an honor to be here, to be an instructor with this program,” he said of Leavenworth.
Black said the Raiders compete in activities that are very physical. But the activities also require technical skills.
He said Raider activities include building and crossing a rope bridge as well as land navigation tasks.
“Our Raider team has been kind of an average team,” he said.
Black said he hopes to have the Raiders go to a national competition.
“We probably won’t be able to do it this year,” he said.
This week, Cogdill has been working with students who want to be part of the Raider team during the upcoming school year.
“They need to have confidence in themselves,” he said.
The students have worked with ropes and knots. They’ve also had a three-mile run.
Cogdill planned to continue practicing with the students next week.
In the past, a student was selected at the end of a school year to serve as the cadet commander of the Raider team for the following year. But this year’s commander has not yet been chosen. Black said Cogdill will be making the selection in the next couple of weeks.
Black said the Raiders also will be issued navy blue berets to wear with their JROTC uniforms.
“This is something that is going to set them apart,” he said.
The Raiders’ first competition will be next month in Clinton, Mo.
