The Nighthawks have hit the drill team floor and have started bringing home the trophies.

The drill team and color guard units of Westminster High School's Air Force Junior ROTC (AFJROTC) made their competitive debut on February 21st at Air Academy High School's State Drill Team Competition. The Nighthawks brought home two third place trophies - for "Unarmed Drill" and "Team Inspection". Three of the team members also placed in the exciting last-cadet-left-standing "Drill Down" competition.

On March 7th, Nighthawk drill and color guard teams again took on other JROTC squadrons from the region at the Falcon High School Invitational Meet. The team proudly brought back a first place in Unarmed Drill and a second place in Color Guard competition.

"The team has made amazing progress" states Air Force Lieutenant Colonel (retired) Clarence Jones, the unit's senior instructor. "With only five returning members, it promised to be a challenging year - but the team has answered the challenge with some fine performances."

The competitive season continues. The team travels to Loveland High School on March 14th, joining Air Force, Army, and Marine JROTC units from both Wyoming and Colorado in a well attended and very tough meet. The culmination of the drill team season comes on April 25th, with the largest of the meets - the Rocky Mountain Regional Drill Meet held at the Denver Coliseum.

The public is invited to these events, and there is no admission charge. Please come out and support the Nighthawks, or simply enjoy the foot stomping, rifle throwing, ultra-disciplined pageantry of JROTC cadets at their best.

For more information on these events, and information on Westminster's own AFJROTC unit, please log on to the Squadron CO-62 website at http://co-62.org, or contact Westminster High School at 303-428-9541.