The Michigan City High School (MCHS) Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (MCJROTC) conducted a leadership camp at St. John’s Military Academy in Delafield, Wisconsin from June 5th-9th. The camp’s objective was to improve on leadership skills that had been developed during the academic year, in a field environment. MCHS planned, organized and conducted the camp, which was also attended by cadets from Indianapolis Ben Davis, Romeoville, IL, and Portage high schools. Among the activities were rappelling, negotiating high wire obstacles, archery, land navigation, water survival, improvised raft building, paintball, and more. The camp was conducted at no cost to the student or MCHS. The Marine Corps funded the camp.

“It is great to see these young men and women, many of whom were pretty introverted when they started in our program, develop into take-charge leaders,” said Senior Marine Instructor Major Tom McGrath.

Although the four schools have different demographics, Master Sergeant Jeff Benak, the Marine Instructor, said that the cadets had one thing in common. “All of these kids really want to be successful in life. They know that, regardless of what career they pursue, they want to be a leader in that field.”

The cadets will continue to support events in Michigan City over the summer, including the Kiddie parade on June 24th, the Patriotic parade on July 1st, and the Michigan City Citywide Back to School Rally on July 29th. Cadets will also be working on their military drill skills to be competitive for next year’s military drill meets. The goal is to qualify for the National Drill Championship in Washington DC in April. Like the Leadership Camp, that trip would be funded by the Marine Corps.