Once again, our Unit will host a "summer camp" for any of those students planning to participate in the Naval Science curriculum and be part of the NJROTC Program for the first time.  The camp will take place on the GHS campus beginning on Monday, August 3rd and ending on Friday (at or near noon for graduation) the 7th. The camp will begin mid-morning and end mid-afternoon each day. We will provide lunch, as well as, drinks (water/Gatorade/etc.) throughout the camp day. This experience will provide your child with a very good idea of what is expected in his/her first year and he/she will be able to meet not only potential classmates, but other – more senior – cadets in the Unit.  A letter will be sent to the parents of all incoming freshman that have registered for the Naval Science classes, informing them of the summer camp opportunity.  If there are questions, please contact the commander or chief.

We will send approximately twenty-five cadets to various leadership training camps over the course of the summer.  As many as fifteen cadets may be participating in the Basic Leadership Training Camp which is held in Port St. Lucie between July 28 and August 1.  There will be six, possibly seven cadets participating in the intermediate-level leadership training conducted at Admiral Farragut Academy in St. Petersburg between the 7th and 20th of June.  The Navy is hosting, and paying for, a new Summer Leadership Seminar which will be hosted by the Navy at the University of San Diego.  Two cadets have been selected for this fantastic opportunity.  Last, a Senior Leadership Seminar, the second annual training camp of its type, will be hosted at Orange Springs, near Ocala National Forest.  We will have between three and six cadets participating in this training.  The cadets planning to participate in each of these training events know who they are.  If there are any questions, please feel free to contact the chief or commander.

What a night!  "I can't believe all these people came to see us get awards!" two of the cadets said to the commander before the event started.  How nice is that to see our young cadets so excited to see not only that they were being recognized by people they knew, but  many the did not.  After the cadet procession and "Presentation of Colors," our principal, Mr. Steve Knobl and Dr. Lepley were recognized prior to Mr. Knobl saying a few very positive and powerful words to the audience.  Then, a number of community organizations, external to the school, presented awards for various achievements.  It is very much appreciated that organizations such as the American Legion, Military Order of the Purple Heart, Navy League of the United States, AMVETS, Military Officers Association of America, Reserve Officer Association, Military Order of the World Wars, Order of Deadalians, Non-Commissioned Officers Association, Sons of the American Revolution, Coast Guard Auxiliary, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonary, and more, for their support.

Chris Brown was awarded the "Cadet of the Year" distinction due to his unfailing dedication to the Unit.  Also, a "Change of Command" was conducted where the past Cadet Company Commanding Officer LCDR Karisa Vega turned over the Command to our new Cadet CO, LT Pierce Pondi.  The new "CO" then advanced and promoted several staff members to take over important organizational positions for the remainder of this year and the start of next.

We all would like to thank everyone involved, from our Principal to the parents and guests, all of whom made this a very wonderful and memorable event for our kids. 

Our annual Awards Night date has been changed due to a new schedule conflict.  The event will now be held on Wednesday evening, May 20th; same time and location (7:00 - 9:00 p.m. - GHS Activity Center/Gym).  All parents are encouraged to attend!  Incoming Freshman planning to participate in the Naval Science Curriculum and/or NJROTC before and after school programs are also welcome.

Our annual "Awards Night" will be held on Friday evening, May 22nd from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. in the school's gymnasium/activity center.  Numerous organizations from the surrounding community will be there to recognize the achievements made by the cadets throughout the year.  We will also be presented with our third consecutive "Distinguished Unit Award" The NROTC Area Coordinator will be here to present one of our cadets with an NROTC Scholarship worth $180,000.00!  Much more will take place during this evening of fun with the cadets.

After a wonderful military ball just one year ago, who would have thought it could get even better?  Last night, a large number of cadets, guests, parents and the instructors experienced one of the most dynamic and fun balls imaginable!  The event took place at New Port Richey's "Spartan Manor" on Massachusettes Avenue.  The food was great, the service exceptional, and the decorations (provided by our booster club) perfect.  Everyone, and we do mean everyone, danced to the music and participated in games provided by "Downtown DJ's" until 11:00 p.m., when - unfortunately - the event had to come to an end.  The cadets looked so great in their (males) tuxedos, suits or uniforms, and (females) in formal gowns!  We are so proud of these students and wish that all their parents would have had the opportunity to enjoy the event with us.

Commander Dirk Hebert visited GHS NJROTC on March 28th for it's biennial AMI.  Briefly, the inspection was nothing but flawless!  The commander inspected financial accounts and cadets' knowledge of operations throughout the entire Unit.  The cadet staff provided him with a "State of the Unit" slide show presentation, a snapshot of Unit achievements and progress throughout the year, that left him with a very positive impression of the program and its cadets.  The commander left stating that he expected this Unit would be among the top-of-the-top in Florida in very short order.

Congratulations to the NJROTC Academic teams that participated in the Secretary of the Navy's "National Academic Exam" in early March.  Our commander was notified by phone and email on Thursday afternoon that Gulf's #1 team scored the highest of any of the 1534 teams that participated, and are the "2009 NJROTC National Academic Champions!"  This is the first time - in history - that a Florida team has won the title.   (The NJROTC program was approved by Congress in 1964 and its first Unit activation/participation in 1966.)  Winning team members include Cheryl Jennett, James Weber, Aaron Heusted, Matthew Harmaz and Cody Boyet.  The test included a myriad of questions from material covered in the four-year curriculum of the Naval Science program, and more.  Topics include, but are not limited to Social Studies/History, Science, Economics, Politics, Government, Health and Nutrition, Ceremonies and Drill, Leadership and Current Events.  Please congratulate these newly crowned CHAMPIONS!!!"

The GHS NJROTC annual "Miltiary Ball" will be held on Friday evening, April 17th at the Spartan Manor on Massachusettes Avenue, New Port Richey.  This traditional event will start at approximately 6:30 and end at 11:00 p.m.  This is a "black tie" event whereby males should wear either a tuxedo or two-/three-piece black (or dark) suit with white (or light) shirt, and females a formal dress/gown (nothing strapless or above the knee!).  If necessary, a cadet may wear his/her Service Dress Blue uniform, but this is only authorized for Cadet Chief's and Officers.  Cadets who do not have a suit/gown, or cannot find the means to obtain the same should speak with the Commander or Chief for a solution.

Last years event was a FABULOUS success and many of the students/cadets are very anxious for this one!  The menu is wonderful, the music and dancing dignified - yet fun, and all sorts of door prizes will be provided.

Tickets for the Ball are $20.00 per person and available now.  Only 150 tickets are available for cadets, parents and instructors.  Don't be late; you'll miss out.

Numerous email messages were received today thanking the GHS cadets and instructors for organizing, hosting and operating this rather large event.  Thirteen teams from around the state started arriving at 6:45 a.m. on Saturday morning in preparation for a full day of competitive activities.  After approximately seven hours of intense "fun" competition, more than 800 competitors and supporters boarded their buses - tired, well-fed, trophies in hand and smiles on their faces.  "What a great event!" was touted by many participants and their sponsors.  Congratulations to our cadets, from the CO who led the overall effort to the cadet recruit who was (seemingly) forever cleaning up the grounds.  Great Job to all!

A HUGE thanks go out to Carrabba's (US 19, Port Richey) and Wing House (US 19, New Port Richey), both of whom so graciously donated lunch for the more than thirty instructors who brought their teams to Gulf for this event.  All the instructors were VERY impressed with the meals provided.  We will be visiting both of these restaurants - as customers - in the future as we were so pleased with their products.

We also want to thank our Booster Club parents and family members who were a tremendous help with the concession, ticket sales, hospitality room, and so much more!

A special thanks, too, to our great principal, Mr. Steve Knobl who addressed the audience and presented trophies to the overall winners.

Congratulations to Central High School NJROTC for winning the contest, Riverview for placing 2nd, Spoto for placing 3rd, Ridgewood for retaining the Pasco County Travelling Trophy, and the other teams, all of whom were winners.

SNSI/NSI