Military Ball

Everyone+gathered+around+to+take+a+group+picture+before+ball+had+started.

Jaidyn McCleary

Everyone gathered around to take a group picture before ball had started.

Jaidyn McCleary, Writer

The Military Ball was a wonderful experience for the people who participated in the event. The JROTC students had the opportunity to bring a guest if they wanted to. The ball lasted a full five hours from 5:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. All the girls wore their best formal dresses. Most of them wore strapless dresses or spaghetti-strapped ones that went down to the floor. The guys wore their JROTC uniforms; however, most couldn’t tidy up their uniform before the inspection had started. The parents got to stay for a little bit to talk with their children and take pictures of them with all of their friends in their outfits. The event was a wonderful night; the room was full of laughter.

They got the time to talk and socialize before it was time to eat and announce who had to drink the grog. The grog was a drink for the cadets to drink if they did something that they weren’t supposed to do before the night had started—for instance, if they were fixing their uniform or showing up late. All the students hated the grog but thought it was funny to watch when the other cadets drink it just to quickly spit it out. When the students were called up to drink the grog labeled “toxic,” they could  taste  one ingredient: fish sauce. Most of the ingredients that were in the grog were a whole bottle of fish sauce, alphabet soup, one grape Kool-Aid packet, sparkling water, pop rocks, and a whole bottle of hot sauce.

Haley McColl (10 grade) said, “My favorite part of that night had to either have been the dance part or watching the students drink the grog. It was funny to watch them suffer through it.” During the dance, Alyssa Sample (12) made balloons for everyone to throw up into the air or to just play with as well. Many students that night loved the dancing portion, but most loved the grog part more. Toniah Magill (10) said, “My favorite part of the night was when I got to dance with my friend Kelsey Reese (10) and the sparring match that had happened before the night ended.” Autumn Musket (11) also said, “My favorite part of the night was when I got to dance with my boyfriend, Hunter Stafford (11).”

The night was a wonderful experience for all the first-timers who just joined JROTC this year. Many of the freshman students enjoyed what was planned and how they all treat each other like a family. There was so much laughter that the room was just one giant ballroom full of little kids again. All the JROTC cadets worked hard to set up the ball. Everyone wanted to make the night perfect for each other and to have a good time.