Springfield’s Adam Rieger Places Second In State During The JROTC Program’s Leadership Camp
BY KAREN BERGER — MIRROR REPORTER
Springfield High School student Adam Rieger is second in command – both in the school’s JROTC program and, after competing with the best from 17 Ohio schools, in the state.
Springfield is one of 22 Ohio schools with a JROTC, or Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, program.
During a four-day leadership training competition near Cleveland last month, the soon-to-be-senior answered a barrage of questions on chain of command, drill and ceremony, and topics from manuals.
“He’s the No. 2 leader out of 230 of the best in the state,” said Springfield instructor Col. Jim Coomler.
Rieger was chosen to represent Springfield on the leadership board because he’s the executive officer of the program.
“He’s attuned and used to being in charge,” Coomler said.
Springfield’s program prepared him well for the competition, Rieger said.
During the weekend, Rieger was placed in charge of one of four 45-cadet teams, which rappelled a 75-foot wall, worked on a confidence course and tested how many cadets could balance on a board.
“Someone or everyone would have to take charge,” he said of the balancing competition, which his team won by managing to keep 15 on board.
Cadets also competed in military marching – which was his duty at Springfield last year. Not all JROTC programs put as much emphasis on drill and ceremony as Springfield, said Rieger, who had 30 minutes each morning to prepare his team, which placed second.
During the training, a mix of cadets from inner cities to rural areas were mixed into the barracks. Many of them became friends, Rieger said.
“This was a lifetime experience. To meet the other top cadets was a great honor,” Rieger said.
The Springfield JROTC program is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year and has been named an Honor Unit of Distinction for being among the 10 percent in the country.
Created in 1916, the JROTC is a national program sponsored by the U.S. Armed Forces. Students learn basic military skills while developing personal responsibility, teamwork and self-discipline.
The JROTC color guard marches in community parades and focuses on service to others.
“We try to help the kids understand that they have to give to be an American,” Coomler said.
Cadets also focus on leadership and citizenship.
“In chemistry lab, you mix chemicals. In leadership lab, students learn by both following and leading,” Coomler said. ”Adam has practice leading at a higher level.”
Getting to that point took time, said Rieger, who described himself as a “brat’ in eighth grade when he was visited by cadets in uniform. He was impressed by the cadets’ shining brass, he admitted, and their demeanor.
“It has built me as a person of character,” said Rieger, who as second in command is in charge of 150 cadets, the cadet staff, the officers and the military ball – including controlling the budget and choosing crowns and sashes for the ladies, he laughs.
During the spring military ball, he had to overcome his unease with public speaking.
“If I can do that, I can do anything,” he said.
Rieger would like to go to college on a cross country or ROTC scholarship or both, or join the Army Airborne.
Many Springfield JROTC members – almost 4,000 in the past quarter century – have been valedictorians or members of the Top 10, Coomler said.