FORT KNOX, Ky. (Oct. 15, 2010) - Soldiers from the 3d Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), 233rd Transportation Company and 19th Engineer Battalion volunteered to judge the 5th Annual Eagle Battalion Drill Meet at North Bullitt High in Shepherdsville, Ky. on Oct. 9.
The Sustainers judged Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps platoons, squads and color guards from five Kentucky schools on the originality, difficulty, precision and variety of movements.
Those who volunteered to participate in the event said they were extremely impressed by some of the drill team routines.
"With the precision and bearing that some of the kids displayed, I think that we could take them and place them with Old Guard Soldiers, and they could hold their own," said Sgt. 1st Class Arrick Jones, a Tampa, Fla. native and platoon sergeant with the 233rd Transportation Company.
He admitted that it was difficult to judge some of the more experienced drill teams that participated because they didn\'t do a lot wrong. Jones admitted to often having to restrain himself from showing emotion when a group performed superbly. He said many times he would just think to himself, "wow", when a team performed a maneuver really well.
"This competition was very difficult to judge at times because some of the groups were really good," said Jones.
The NBHS JROTC's leadership was pleased with the Sustainers professionalism and extended a welcome to attend and participate in events in the future.
"It was outstanding having these guys come out to judge our competition," said 1st Sgt. (Ret.) Mark Firestone, NBHS Army instructor and Shepherdsville, Ky. resident. "To have the level of noncommissioned officers in which we had there to evaluate was just super. The kids enjoyed having them here and they enjoyed being here as well."
The drill meet was the second event in which the 3d ESC's Soldiers have participated in at NBHS within the year. In April, ten Sustainers visited NBHS to share their Haiti deployment experiences with JROTC cadets during a community outreach event.
The 3d ESC has made a conscious effort to reach out to its surrounding communities since it stood up on Fort Knox. The command always seeks to thank the communities who took care of them during deployments to Iraq and Haiti.
Drill teams from NBHS, Bullitt Central, John Hardin, Grant and Pulaski County high schools participated in the event. The host school, NBHS, took 1st place overall for the entire event.
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