Fostering esprit de corps, the Bruin Battalion has five platoons, each with their own name and motto. Each platoon conducts healthy competitions amongst each other to earn the coveted honor platoon uniform arc, but at the end of the day they are all members of the Bruin Battalion!  

To capture the Honor Platoon title, cadets are evaluated in the following four areas:

• Academic - 25%
• Leadership Knowledge - 25%
• Physical Fitness - 25%
• Platoon Discipline Rating - 25%

Platoon	Name	Motto	Mascot
1st Platoon	Immortals	"Aeternus"
2nd Platoon	Centurions	"Veni, Vidi, Vici"
3rd Platoon	Spartans	"Molon Labe"
4th Platoon	Vikings	"Till Valhalla"
5th Platoon	Reapers	"Mess with the best, go down with the rest"

Image Credits:

• Main image - photo taken by Gregg Zelkin
• Platoon images - retrieved from www.freepik.com
• Raiders JROTC - created by Captain Guardo
• All other images - retrieved from army.mil

Cadet Captain Kyle Lovejoy took first place in the Virginia Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) Enhanced Cadet Award. He won first place for the state of Virginia for his essay. The essay requirements is to write a 500-700-word essay on the topic "How JROTC has prepared me to be a better citizen of the United States of America". Cadet Captain Kyle Lovejoy received his award at the State Capitol building in Richmond Virginia on 12 February 2022. He received a ribbon and $300 monetary award from the local Virginia chapter. He will also receive an additional $1000 award from the State Society. The state will also forward his package on to the national award committee to be considered for the national award. 

Cadet Captain Kyle Lovejoy He deserves recognition as this accomplishment highlights our student's abilities, our program effectiveness, school, and county! 

Additional information about the SAR award and organization 

The National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) awards the ROTC Medal to foster the principle of the “citizen-soldier,” exemplified by the Minutemen of Revolutionary War days. This award is presented by an SAR Chapter, State-level Society, or the National Society to ROTC or JROTC cadets who are selected for having a high degree of merit with respect to leadership qualities, military bearing, and general excellence.  

SAR members are direct descendants of those patriots that achieved the independence of the American people, and the objectives of the organization are intended to perpetuate a more profound reverence for the principles of the government founded by our forefathers. Such were the ideals of Captain Alden Partridge, who is considered the founder of the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program in the United States. Partridge founded the ROTC because his father, Samuel Partridge, a soldier of the Revolution, had concern for the newly founded United States and its lacking a development resource for qualified military officers. SAR supports all programs that encourage historical research, foster true patriotism, and maintain and extend the institutions of American freedom. It strongly supports the United States ROTC and JROTC as exemplary programs of these ideals. 

For ROTC or JROTC units with fewer than five hundred cadets or midshipmen, one ROTC or JROTC Recognition medal will be awarded each year. For larger units, one medal may be presented for every five hundred students enrolled in the unit. In cases where a school has more than one ROTC or JROTC unit, each unit is counted separately. The Silver ROTC Medal is presented only to students in a college or university ROTC unit and no recipient may receive it more than once. The Bronze JROTC Medal was authorized in 1965 and is presented only to students in secondary school JROTC and no recipient may receive it more than once.   

The winner of each state-level society competition will be entered into the National JROTC Recognition program. The winning cadet at the national society level will receive his or her award at our annual SAR Congress. The award will be the National JROTC Medallion and an award of $4,000. The 2nd Place award is $2,000 and the 3rd Place award is $1,000. 

JROTC Celebrations

UPDATE: Leadership team placed top 15 in the Nation and our Academic team placed 1st in the Nation!

Through all the obstacles students have faced over the last two years, LBSS Army JROTC cadets have risen to the challenge through their participation in the 2021-2022 JROTC Leadership & Academic Bowl (JLAB). The cadets from LBSS have proven their ability to overcome and succeed despite those obstacles.

After advancing through two intense phases of online competition, the LBSS Army JROTC Leadership Team, composed of Emma Hrabak, Sonya Erickson, Kamilla Welborn, Andrew Ugincius, Dominick Pecoraro, and Pierce Steinke, will compete in The 2022 U.S. Army JROTC Leadership Bowl Championship to be held on the campus of The Catholic University of America, June 19-23, 2022. The Academic Team, composed of Antonio LaNave, Kyle Lovejoy, Keaman Chang, Thomas Dawson, Beemnet Tesfaye, and James Ford, will compete in a Championship event in Washington, DC. The 2022 U.S. Army JROTC Academic Bowl Championship will be held on the campus of The Catholic University of America, June 24-28, 2022. This event is sponsored by the U.S. Army Cadet Command and is conducted by the College Options Foundation.

LBSS Army JROTC Leadership Team earned top scores out of 1,371 Army JROTC Leadership Teams that competed from around the world! The LBSS Army JROTC Academic Team earned top scores out of the 1,942 Army JROTC Academic Teams that competed from around the world! The Leadership Team is one of only 40 Army JROTC Leadership Teams in the world to advance to the final competition. The Academic Team is one of the only 32 Army JROTC Academic Bowl Teams in the nation to advance to the final competition, which includes an all-expense paid trip to the Championship event in DC.

During the two fast-paced preliminary rounds, The Leadership Team was tested on their knowledge of current events, leadership values, leadership skills, and financial literacy. The Academic Team was tested on their knowledge of core curriculum such as math, science, and language arts as well as current events, citizenship, leadership skills, and financial literacy. Financial literacy videos are sponsored by the USAA Educational Foundation and provided to all cadets. Questions from the videos were included in Levels I and II of the online competition.

The JROTC Leadership & Academic Bowl is a nationally recognized competition created exclusively for JROTC students. By participating, cadets learn the values of citizenship, academic competition, and college opportunity. The competition creates tremendous opportunities for JROTC cadets by allowing them to demonstrate leadership and academic abilities.

College Options Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to enriching the academic development of high school students and assisting them in their preparation for higher education. Using academic competitions, college exam study guides, college admissions tutorials, and personalized counseling, College Options Foundation has assisted the nation’s JROTC cadets worldwide for nearly two decades.

Congrats to the Leadership team who placed top 15 in the Nation and our Academic team who placed 1st in the Nation.  Check out the competition video here!