The day of January 17th, 2019 was very important for William M. Raines Viking battalion. It was the day of the JROTC Program for Accreditation. This event was very important because it shows how the Viking battalion helps its community outside of the school. A retired command Sergeant Major known as Mr. Fox had arrived at the school at 7:45 a.m. The Battalion Commander, Command Sergeant Major, and Executive Officer had walked Mr. Fox to the Viking battalion. This event had taken months of planning with the S-1 Mclendon, First Lieutenant Arthur Jordan, and Darius Mack.


The other remaining staff had contributed by presenting in the continuous learning briefing. The continuous learning briefing had taken 10-15 minutes and was presented by Battalion Commander Jermanè Henderson and staff. The service learning briefing come by Sergeant Darius Mack. Both briefings took a total of 30 minutes; afterward the cadet portfolio and Mr. Fox interviewed 15 cadets. He asked questions on how the battalion impacts the cadets lives outside of school and what changes they could make.


 Afterward, the interview with the cadets of color guard had an inspection that asked questions about the flags and hand placement, along with post-colors. The questions of motions and when to present arms. Mr. Fox also asked questions on how many steps to even it’s time to post colors.  After the event took place the drill inspection started and the pressure was intense. The Inspection started with First Sergeant Dyer calling the platoon and giving them the command to ”Report In”, and the drill team executed a total of 21 drill commands. After the drill inspection, each cadet was treated to lunch and the range echoed with the discussion of what the results would be.


 The inspection has come to an end and the cadets were waiting impatiently for the results. Mr. Fox had papers that showed the points for each group the drill team, color guard, portfolio, and cadet interviews that concluded at 2:03 p.m. The Viking Battalion passed their first inspection, and were rewarded honor unit with distinction the first time in over 30 years, the Viking battalions next inspection will be held in 3-4 years. Thank you to the cadets of the battalion and the staff that put the hard work in place to make this happen and the leadership that were shown during the inspection.