The GA-51st Air Force Junior ROTC Drill Team from Tift County High School brought home the State Championship trophies Saturday as the Devils Honor Guard competed at the Perry State Fairgrounds against the best Air Force drill teams in the state. Among the team’s awards was the “Best of the Best” award.

According to a press release sent by Sgt. Darrell Purvis, one of the instructors for the drill team and an ROTC instructor, when the trophies were presented, meet director Air Force Col. Lightfoot declared that Tift County’s Unarmed Exhibition routine performed by the Devils Honor Guard was “the best he had ever seen.”

The Devils Honor Guard — 35 TCHS students who practice for hours every week — received the State Championship Trophy for Unarmed Exhibition, Unarmed Regulation and the Overall Best in State Drill Team.

Cadet Col. Donald Adkins was selected as the best Drill Team Commander in the state of Georgia. Adkins and other members of the team now travel to Macon Friday to compete in the Air Force National Championship drill meet.

Adkins, the TCHS senior class valedictorian, has received an appointment to the United States Air Force Academy. He said Tuesday that this year is his third as a student of the school’s ROTC program and he, as the team’s Chief of Drilling and Ceremonies, is in charge of “organizing all the teams and making sure everybody knows what to do to win state championships.”

“This is the first time in years that we have won the overall,” Adkins said. “We have won seven state championships in the time the current seniors have been with the team.”

ROTC is an elective at TCHS, and the drill team is one of several clubs and organizations offered to those in ROTC programs.

“Students can take the class but they don’t have to be on the drill team,” Adkins said.

Being on the drill team requires “a lot of dedication,” Adkins said. The week of a drill meet, the team practices daily from 7:15 until 7:45 a.m. and then again in the afternoons. All other weeks, the team practices mornings and evenings Tuesdays through Thursdays. Usually the team practices on a drill field located behind “D” parking lot at the school.

“We’ll practice anywhere we can find a flat surface,” Adkins said.

The idea — whether it is preparing for unarmed or armed exhibition drills or marching — is to continually improve “precision and unity,” Adkins said.

“We work so hard at perfecting precision and unity because of the way you are watched and judged,” Adkins said. “One small imperfection affects everyone greatly.

“It’s very competitive. Unpolished shoes could take you from first to seventh place. It takes a lot of effort and responsibility on the individual team members not to let everyone down. It’s teamwork.”

Adkins wanted to make sure that the whole drill team was credited for successes and not just Purvis, Major Mark Miller (another ROTC leader and instructor) and himself.

Adkins said Purvis and Miller keep up with the drill team member’s grades to ensure they are making adequate academic progress. He said having more responsibility and a tighter schedule because of participating on the drill team has helped him.

“It makes you plan your day a lot better,” Adkins said. “It does give you more structure and keeps your grades up.”

Adkins said keeping up with school work and ROTC involvements also makes him appreciate his free time more.

Other members of the team include: Quarvarrius Bennett, Jeremy Brown, Israel Bryant, Sarne Bush, Alexandria Byrd, Jizzette Castaneda, Kayla Connell, John Davis, Alberto Diaz, Anthony Fall, Krysti Fletcher, Cady Gordon, Michaela Harrell, Aldo Ibarro, Ashley Johnson, Crystal Kennedy, Jasmine Lane, Andrew Marta, Amy McStott, Sara McStott, Joel Medina, Tiffany Pittman, Jonathan Redmon, Sophia Ross, Tyler Selph, Evan Sheorn, Christina Springer, Jehovanny Tapia, Erika Thompson, Alexandria Turner, Matthew Walden, Michael Walden, Shellie Webb and Caitlin Williams.



To contact senior reporter Angie Thompson, call 382-4321.