Last Saturday you may have noticed a variety of young men and women sporting an assortment of uniforms in the vicinity of the Armory. No, there wasn’t a fashion show or an exotic clothing sale going on. The uniforms were worn for the annual RPI Drill Meet and Military Excellence Competition. The event was co-hosted by the Air Force and Navy ROTC detachments of RPI and featured 14 participating colleges from across the country, who competed in a variety of challenging events. The themes of the day included tradition, honor, teamwork, and discipline as Air Force cadets and Navy midshipmen battled it out for the chance to be number one.
“The purpose of the Drill Meet is to bring together schools from across the country to compete in events rich in camaraderie, discipline, and teamwork,” said Cadet Matthew Siletzky. “The Drill Meet and MEC provide all of us aspiring military officers an opportunity to celebrate our future professions and most importantly of all, an opportunity to show our support for this great country.” Siletzky and Midshipman Justin Eckhoff served as the principal organizers for the entire competition. The competition began with an opening ceremony featuring Midshipman Janina Hill singing our national anthem. During the opening ceremony, every competing team gathered in formation on the main floor of the Armory. “The opening ceremony really helps to remind us that beyond the doors of this competition we are all on the same team working to defend our country and the freedom that our Constitution represents,” remarked Cadet Jim LaDuke.
After the opening ceremony had concluded, the day’s competition began. Some of the events included Flight and Armed Inspection, Two Person Trick, Armed Trick, and Color Guard. In Two Person Trick and Armed Trick—two of the most popular events—rifles weighing several pounds are hurled through the air in dazzling displays of strength, coordination, and agility. The most competitive event, however, was the Color Guard competition, which consisted of 11 teams performing a standardized routine.
Institute President Shirley Ann Jackson came out to witness some of the more intense events. The judges for the competition consisted of six Air Force non-commissioned officers from Stratton Air National Guard Base and two Marine recruiters from Watervliet. Running concurrently with the drill competition was the Navy ROTC’s MEC basketball tournament. The MEC tournament took place in the ’87 Gym and consisted of five teams from schools including Penn State University, the University of Maine, and Rensselaer.
Rensselaer fared well in the awards presentation at the end of the day’s events. Air Force cadets and Navy midshipmen of RPI racked up an astonishing total of nine awards. Five of those awards were for first place honors in a competition where there were only 11 first place awards won. “I’ve never seen RPI cadets take home as much hardware as they did today,” said Captain Andrew DeRosa of the Air Force ROTC Detachment. Because DeRosa is both an RPI alumnus (Class of ’97) and a graduate of RPI’s Air Force ROTC Detachment, he has the unique vantage point of having seen many previous Drill Meets dating back several years. “This year’s Drill Meet was twice the size of any I’ve seen,” said DeRosa as he spoke of his high hopes for next year’s competition. This was also the first year for the MEC which only looks to become bigger and better in the years to come. “Overall the competition was a huge success,” said Siletzky.
So the next time you see Air Force cadets or Navy midshipmen on Tuesday, take a little RPI pride in the knowledge that they represented our school well in a competition against formidable opponents at Rensselaer’s Drill Meet and MEC. But take even more pride in the knowledge that the cadet or midshipman may one day risk his life to defend freedoms that this great nation was built on.
