 FEBRUARY 2025

Preparation for a Fond Farewell

It is with mixed emotions that we announce the retirement of Gunnery Sergeant D. D. "Gunny" Hanson at the end of this school year. Gunny has been a respected Naval Science Instructor in Nease NJROTC since October 2004. Over the years, he has left an indelible mark on our unit, the countless cadets he has taught and mentored, and the NJROTC community as a whole.

We are planning a special send-off, and we need your help! For more than 20 years, Gunny has dedicated himself to making our cadets and unit one of the top programs in the nation. Along the way, he has formed numerous relationships and created countless memories. We want to gather these moments to honor his contributions. Please send any photos, video messages, or notes of appreciation to gunnygoodbyes@gmail.com by May 4, so we can include them in Gunny's retirement celebration.

SAVE THE DATE! We will be celebrating Gunny's retirement on Saturday, May 10. More details about the party will be shared soon, so stay tuned!

Gunny, we are so thankful for you and hope the last few months of your incredible career with Nease NJROTC are just as remarkable as the years you've given to the program.

Spring Promotions

Spring promotions ceremonies are coming up fast! Make plans to attend, and be ready to help pin your cadet with his or her new rank! Promotions will be held at Nease High School in the football stadium. School clearance is not required, so extended family members who may not normally have school clearance are welcome to join. Promotion time is your cadet's normal class time on either February 27 or 28 at noted above. See you there!

CPO Meeting

Our next monthly CPO meeting will be held Thursday, February 20th at 7:45am in portable 40 at Nease. You must register by noon the day before the meeting to attend and you must be cleared by SJCSD to be on campus. Register HERE to be included in the meeting.

Sending Lots of LOVE

In the spirit of Valentine's Day, we want to take a moment to recognize the parents who donate their time, talents, and resources to help make our cadets and unit a success!

A huge thank you to the volunteers who assisted with the Night of Lights fundraiser. This major event wouldn't be possible without the parents who helped collect parking fees and direct traffic. Your efforts did not go unnoticed, and we are incredibly grateful!

To the parents who contributed to Cookies and Cocoa or donated items, we appreciate you! These socials are a wonderful way to celebrate our cadets, and we couldn't make them happen without your support.

Thank you to everyone who purchased Jaguar tickets through our special link! A portion of the proceeds goes directly back to the unit—your support truly makes a difference.

We also want to express our gratitude to those who participated in the Kendra Scott fundraiser. It was a fantastic event, and we hope to hold another one soon, so stay tuned for more details!

We know there’s a lot happening in the unit day in and day out, and your ongoing support is essential. Whether you've donated food, helped at events, or given your time in any other way, we are sincerely thankful for you!

Air Rifle Area 10 Championship

Our Air Rifle team competed in the Area 10 Championship in Waycross, Georgia on January 25. They had an outstanding performance capturing 3rd Place Overall! In addition, the team bonded with a visit to St. Mary's Submarine Museum and got to play in snow from the winter storm! Here's a complete list of our results:

TEAM AWARDS

Precision Overall: 3rd Place

INDIVIDUAL AWARDS

Precision Top Shooter: Cadet Jovel

Nease A Top Shooter: Cadet Arceo

Nease B Top Shooter: Cadet Peasley

CONGRATULATIONS to every member of this team and their fantastic season!

Area 10 Drill Regionals

On February 1st, the Nease Drill Team traveled to Coffee County High School in Douglas, Georgia, to compete in the Area 10 Regional Drill Championship. The competition gathered teams from across the region, each showcasing their precision and skill in drill, athletic, and academic events. With the stakes high—only the first-place team earning the coveted opportunity to represent the region at Navy Nationals—our cadets rose to the challenge. We are proud to announce that they excelled and emerged as the AREA 10 REGIONAL CHAMPIONS! A full list of the team's impressive awards are as follows:

TEAM AWARDS

Meet Overall: REGIONAL CHAMPIONS

Athletics Overall: FIRST PLACE

Academics Overall: FIRST PLACE

Drill Overall: FIRST PLACE

Personnel Inspection: FIRST PLACE

Unarmed Exhibition: FIRST PLACE

Armed Exhibition: FIRST PLACE

Armed Basic: FIRST PLACE

Push Ups: FIRST PLACE

Curl Ups: FIRST PLACE

16X100: Second Place

Unarmed Basic: Second Place

Color Guard: Third Place

INDIVIDUAL AWARDS

Academics: Cadet Collins, 2nd Place

Cadet Shanbhag, 3rd Place

Push-Ups Male: Cadet Gear, 4th Place

Push-Ups Female: Cadet Hendricks, 1st Place

Cadet Jovel, 3rd Place

Cadet Lewis, 5th Place

Curl-Ups Male: Cadet Collins, 1st Place

Curl-Ups Female: Cadet Lewis, 1st Place

Cadet Walton, 2nd Place

Cadet Hendricks, 3rd Place

Cadet Newman, 4th Place

Next stop: Navy Nationals, which will take place from April 3-6 in Pensacola, Florida! More details to come.

Congratulations to our Drill Team on their outstanding performance, and best of luck as you gear up for the NATIONALS!

Drill Team Results - Wakulla 1/11/25

Our Nease Drill Team competed on January 11th at the Wakulla Drill Meet at FAMU. Despite the frigid weather, our cadets' performance was on fire! Our team placed FIRST OVERALL! Here are our full results list:

TEAM AWARDS

Meet Overall: 1st Place

PI: 1st Place

Academics: 2nd Place

Athletics: 1st Place

Armed Exhibition: 1st Place

Unarmed Exhibition: 1st Place

Armed Basic: 2nd Place

Color Guard: 1st Place

INDIVIDUAL AWARDS

Push-Ups Male: Cadet Gear, 1st Place

Cadet Rodrigues, 2nd Place

Cadet Thompson, 5th Place

Push-Ups Female: Cadet Lewis, 1st Place (Tie)

Cadet Lotinsky, 1st Place (Tie)

Cadet Wagner, 1st Place (Tie)

Cadet Jovel, 2nd Place

Cadet Pitches, 3rd Place

Curl-Ups Male: Cadet Kennedy, 1st Place

Curl-Ups Female: Cadet Daniels, 1st Place

Cadet Hendricks, 2nd Place

Cadet Newman, 3rd Place

Our team also toured FAMU's Naval ROTC and learned about the program's opportunities. Congratulations, Cadets!

Order Your Nease NJROTC Yearbook

Ordering is open for our 2024-2025 yearbook! We are so grateful to be able to have our own yearbook designed exclusively for our unit! It's a great keepsake for the year. You can choose a hard or soft cover, and you can also create custom pages to be included for your cadets! Order your copy here: YEARBOOK.

Special thank you to Kelly Gear for her time and dedication to creating our yearbook this year. Please continue to send her pictures to include from any event this year to neasenjrotcyearbook2425@gmail.com.

Yearbooks are usually distributed during BCT in August.

CPO Updates

Thank you for attending our November meeting! We are so grateful for your participation! Take a look at our JANUARY MEETING MINUTES.

If you haven't yet, please visit our Booster Store to become a booster member, and purchase spirit wear, cadet items, and yard signs. All proceeds are to support the efforts of the Nease NJROTC program. Your contributions help to supplement the costs of drill meets, competitions, picnics, and other unit-wide events.

Read below for all the events on deck and stay informed through our NJROTC Booster Website, the Parent Facebook Page, and follow the Community Facebook and Instagram Pages!

Cadet Shop

Does your cadet need a new unit T-shirt or polo? We have them on hand and ready for purchase. Buy your items through the website and bring the receipt to the instructors for distribution. ORDER HERE

Upcoming Events

Friday, February 14

No School

Monday, February 17

No School

10:00a Nease NJROTC Cadet and Family Day at Topgolf

Thursday, February 20

7:45a CPO Meeting

Saturday, February 22

Drone Competition @ Fleming Island HS

Thursday, February 27

Spring Promotion Ceremonies