Thomas County Central High School Army JROTC Drill team marches to a competition beat that improves continuously. The team wrapped its competitive season and gave its all at the 6th Brigade Georgia State Drill Championship March 26.
Although it did not leave state champs, the team gave a strong showing for a program only in its second year – with nine of its 16 cadets new to drill this year – against numerous established, successful programs.
“The amount of dedication and precision it takes to be a winning team is underestimated,” Sgt. 1st Class Jason Dinkins, who leads the team and co-teaches TCCHS JROTC classes, said. “The cadets put in plenty of additional time and effort to get to that top level of competition.”
This year was the first one since 2019 to include an in-person state championship, making it TCCHS’ first year to compete at this level. Its color guard placed 24th out of 35, regulation armed squad 27th out of 32, regulation unarmed squad 26th out of 36, and regulation unarmed platoon 13th out of 30. The team’s showing in the unarmed platoon category is particularly significant: TCCHS bested several strong contenders who won state titles in other categories.
“The team's performance in regulation unarmed platoon is a very big deal,” Lt. Col. Kevin Ingram, who supervises the TCCHS JROTC program, said. “In nearly all cases, the same nucleus of cadets compete in all categories, so for our kids to defeat Ringgold, Liberty County, Grayson, and Adairsville in this specific category while these same schools won state in other categories is a major step in the right direction. To keep it simple, our cadets demonstrated they can compete with the very best in the state.”
TCCHS won the Area 2 Drill Region Championship earlier in March in three events: color guard, regulation armed squad and regulation unarmed platoon. It also placed second in regulation unarmed squad. This is an improvement over year one’s results when the drill team won the region championship in regulation armed squad and was the runner-up in regulation unarmed squad and color guard.
“I feel that the drill team’s accomplishments are very prominent, especially for a small program that is only in its second year,” Sgt. Trip Wilson, 14, said. “This feat means a lot considering how we were when we started out practicing and how much progress we made in such a short time.”
Drill team began when TCCHS restarted its JROTC program in 2020. It consists of cadets who compete in various events, including color guard, armed squad, unarmed squad, unarmed platoon and armed platoon.
“Drill team is an essential addition to any JROTC program because it takes what is already taught in the curriculum during class to a whole new level,” Dinkins said.
Drill team events feature cadets who perform sequences per U.S. Army regulations. The commander memorizes approximately 50 commands and marches their unit according to the specified sequence. To gain top marks, squads must perform without error.
“The teams are graded based on precision, how well their uniforms look and overall military bearing,” Dinkins said.
Smaller in its first year, the team almost doubled this year.
“Last year, there was only enough interest to compete at the squad level,” Dinkins said. “This year, we were able to augment that and compete at the platoon level as well as the squad and color guard level. We have seen much improvement from last year’s team. The returning cadets were able to take recommendations and improve on an already well-performing team.”
Second Lt. Zachary Lee, 17, a sophomore and second-year member, expressed pride in the team’s accomplishments.
“Winning the region was a big milestone for the drill team,” he said. “It is exciting to see us advance to the state competition and see all of the progress that we have made this year. Seeing the looks on everyone's face [after] hearing that we won first place – knowing that our hard work didn’t go to waste – is the most pleasing thing.”
Junior Jackson McCorkle, 17, is a battalion operations officer. He enjoys the drill team and holding a leadership position.
“To be on the drill team requires a significant amount of discipline on the cadet's part, as they not only represent the school and unit in competition but often find themselves participating in other public events in such a way that influences the public perception of the program,” he said.
Wilson most enjoys the work drill team requires.
“Drill is about everyone as a whole, and every individual is required to act with discipline and precision,” he said. “In the words of Lt. Col. Ingram, ‘One plus one equals three.’”
Ingram led the team last year, but he handed the reins to Dinkins this year.
“The addition of SFC Dinkins leading the drill training is a much welcomed one, and his experience and expertise will serve the team well,” Ingram said.
Dinkins retired from the U.S. Army in 2016 after 20 years of service. He spent most of his career as a UH60 Blackhawk helicopter mechanic, but his other positions include maintenance supervisor, platoon sergeant and quality control noncommissioned officer in charge. Dinkins’ career stationed him worldwide with notable posts at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii and the 82nd Airborne Division at Ft. Bragg in North Carolina. Also, he served several tours overseas, including in Iraq, Afghanistan, Egypt, Germany and Bosnia.
Dinkins’ wife Susan is from Cairo, so he was familiar with the area when he heard about the job posting at TCCHS.
“Additionally, I knew the program was new, so I was excited to be able to help Lt. Col. Ingram build the program from the ground up and make it the best program in South Georgia,” he said.
Pfc. Tybria Staten, 15, said having Dinkins as their instructor helps the team succeed.
“Sgt. 1st Class Dinkins wants all of his cadets to be great and drill team cadets to succeed and win competitions,” she said.
Wilson agrees, citing strong leadership as an aspect that makes their drill team so successful.
“Without the leadership, we certainly would not be as good as we are currently and would have never made the progress that we have,” he said.
Also new to TCCHS Army JROTC Drill team this year is the exhibition drill cadets unit that competes in dual and individual events. It’s Lee’s favorite team event.
“Exhibition is a variant of drill that involves complex marching sequences that usually deviate from drill used in ordinary parades,” he said. “It is my favorite because of the complex movements and how not everyone can do it; it takes a lot of eye coordination and focus.”
Staten said her favorite team event is platoon.
“Platoon is when you have two or more squads executing drill movements with other squads formed in the same formation,” she said. “This is probably my favorite because I get to watch other cadets do their best and perform at a high level.”
Wilson enjoys competing overall.
“Competing is my favorite part of drill because we all get to compete, hang out and talk, and get medals or trophies,” he said.
Lee notes that cooperation and connection are the keys to the team’s success.
“What makes this drill team so successful is that we cooperate with each other and listen to what everyone's complaints are,” he said. “Then we fix what we were messing up and keep working until it is presentable. Our connections with each other also have a major effect on our success.”
Dinkins believes his cadets make their successes happen.
“The group of cadets we have this year have been extraordinary,” he said. “They have stepped up to the challenge of bringing together a team that has dominated our region this year. A majority of the team is first-year cadets, and they have really bought into the whole program and the extracurricular activities we offer. Without that level of motivation, we could not be as successful.”