Raiders:
Raider Competition or "Raider" as it is more commonly known is a very popular athletic competition held within Junior ROTC programs around the United States from all services. It is the Junior ROTC equivalent of the Army ROTC "Ranger" competition in college, only far less dangerous but very challenging as well! The events are held outdoors primarily in state parks, school facilities, scout camps, military facilities or other large expansive wooded areas. The better competitions have plenty of parking and sleeping areas for spectators and participants on-site, as well as concessions and other amenities to make the event fun for all.
Drill Team:
Exhibition: Exhibition drill consists of a performance of a group of cadets (either a platoon or a squad, depending on the number of cadets on the team). The performance contains marching and the spinning/exchanging of demilitarized rifles throughout a performance of six to nine minutes. This performance is judged based on the sharpness of the movements, along with its creativity. Richmond Hill has two exhibition teams: male and female. The male team deals with heavier rifles in a separate competition bracket. The female exhibition also generally forms an unarmed regulation team.
Color Guard: Color Guard is unique among the drill team in that it operates the entire year. During first semester, they present the colors (state and American flags) during the National Anthem at football games, and do other events as necessary. During second semester, they compete alongside the other teams apart of drill. Color Guard is judged based on the precision of their movements according to a sheet of commands given and practiced before a competition, just like the regulation team. Each color guard performance consists of 4 cadets: two carrying flags and two carrying demilitarized rifles.
Regulation: During regulation drill, cadets on each team march around a given area, following a predetermined list of commands. The armed regulation team handles demilitarized weapons as a part of their sequence, while the unarmed team does not. This performance is also judged by sharpness of movement and discipline, but there is more rigidity in the grading of the competition, as it must follow the commands on a given sheet.
JLAB:
JLAB is a quiz bowl where cadets answer questions relating to their teams. The Wildcat Battalion has two JLAB teams: the Leadership team and the Academic team. The Leadership team answers questions relating mainly to JROTC curriculum: questions about leadership, financial literacy, and basic military knowledge. The Academic team answers questions relating to academic subjects like math, science, history, etc. There are four people per team, with two alternates.
The competition season starts in November, in which there is a month to take the Level 1 test. Every member of the team, including alternates, can help take the test. If the score on the test is high enough, the team passes on to Level 2. The procedure is the same for Level 2 as it was for Level 1. If the team makes it to Level 3, which takes place over the summer, they go on a trip to Washington DC to compete at the national level.
