No snow, winter competitives a go

By NORINE ROWE
NAS Patuxent River Public Affairs Department

PATUXENT RIVER NAVAL AIR STATION, MD— Despite a temporary setback due to snow, Leonard Hall Junior Naval Academy went forward with its Winter Competitives event March 7 in the Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 23 hangar here.

Each winter, midshipmen from this small, private school in Leonardtown descend upon NAS Patuxent River for a competition in which students pit their drill team skills against one another. With a squadron hangar as the setting and jet fighters as the backdrop, students strut their stuff in front of a row of guest inspectors as family members cheer them on.

Hosting the event was the Program Executive Office for Tactical Aircraft Programs, which sponsors a Navy education partnership with Leonard Hall. Guest speaker and senior guest inspector was Rear Adm. James Godwin, program executive officer for PEO(T).

“This event provides a tremendous opportunity to see these young folk do their best,” Godwin said. “I look forward to seeing what they have to show us tonight.”

In addition to emphasizing the Navy’s core values of honor, courage and commitment, Godwin underscored the importance of responsibility, accountability and respect. He also recommended to students and their parents a book titled “Wild at Heart” by John Eldridge.

“This book will be a great benefit to parents who have not fully realized where they are with their young people, especially young men,” Godwin said.

Godwin also commented on the students’ improved performance since he has been attending the drill competitions.

“I’m amazed at how much better these young people get each year,” Godwin said. “It’s been a joy to see them reach the point they’re at.”

Also speaking at the Winter Competitives was Suzanne Youngson, headmaster of Leonard Hall school.

“This is without a doubt our favorite competitives of the year because of the location, the formality and the overwhelming support from our friends at NAVAIR and especially PEO(T),” Youngson said. “Our midshipmen put a lot of heart and soul into these events.”.

Preparing for the Winter Competitives was especially grueling this year for Leonard Hall students due to unusually cold temperatures, snow and sleet.

“I watched the students practice for hours out in the freezing, cold weather with numb hands,” said Irv Kempf, a teacher at the school. “I just think it’s awesome and unusual to see kids these days put so much effort into something that requires so much time, teamwork and sacrifice.”

Among those serving as guest inspectors was Capt. Scott Stewart of NAVAIR’s Air-to Air Missiles program office, who helped coordinate the event.

“I think the neatest part of this event is to see the pride and joy in the parents’ eyes,” Stewart said.

While inspecting students in the middle school division, Stewart said he came across one midshipman shaking like a leaf. When Stewart asked him if he was nervous, the student replied, “Yes, sir!” When Stewart asked why, the student replied, “Because I’m new here, sir!”

Stark terror aside, many students got a thrill out of the competition.

“It was kind of like Christmas morning, to see the look in the midshipmen’s eyes when they came up to get an award,” Stewart said.

In addition to the personnel inspection and drill competition, students also received academic and other special awards. One was junior Ashley Oosterink, who earned a community service award after donating her 14-inch pony-tail to a program that provides wigs for children who have lost their hair due to cancer treatments.

“After my hair was gone,” she said, “I was in a total state of shock. I cried for an hour-and-a-half.”

Her long mane took years to grow, but was just too long and thick to pin up under her midshipman’s cap, she said, so, just before entering the school a month ago, she decided to donate her hair to the “Locks of Love” program.

“The good thing is that I look at my little sister and ask myself, ‘Would I do it for her if she needed it?’ And my answer is, in a split second, ‘Yes, I’d go bald for her!’”

As one of the newest students at Leonard Hall, Ashley had never been to a drill competition before.

“This is the coolest thing in the world. It’s like watching a dance,” Ashley said. “Everything is so precise, but it all flows together at the same time. It’s amazing to watch.”

In just a month’s time at Leonard Hall, Ashley’s attitude toward school has also made an amazing turnaround.

“My grades have come up dramatically, and I actually like doing my homework,” Ashley said.

And to what does she attribute this change in attitude?

“The people here are really friendly,” Ashley said. “They accepted me without needing to know anything about me.”

“We couldn’t do it without PEO(T),” said midshipman Neale Slater, the school’s battalion commander. “They provide us with tutors, guest inspectors, and character development lecturers. It’s nice to know that if you need something, PEO(T) is always there.”

-USN-

Photo by Norine Rowe
Leonard Hall midshipmen perform drill maneuvers during the Winter Competitives drill competition. Squad 2 led by Midshipman Ericka Campbell won the senior division, and Squad 2 led by Midshipman Mike Payne won the middle school division.

Photo by Norine Rowe
Leonard Hall parent Kenny Aicher adjusts a chin strap for Seaman Apprentice Wade Mahaffey, a freshman member of the Leonard Hall Junior Naval Academy Drill Team, as he prepares to perform before judges and family members during the school's Winter Competitives held March 7 in the VX-23 hangar at Patuxent River Naval Air Station.