On Thursday, December 21, 2017, four cadets from the Oak Ridge High School Navy National Defense Cadet Corps (NNDCC) headed south on I-75 from Knoxville, TN to Chattanooga, TN for a visit with veterans at the VA Chattanooga Clinic to deliver a warm holiday greetings from the cadets of the Wildcat Company. Cadet Jena Hogan, the event coordinator, had a vision of delivering Christmas cards to the brave men and women who have served in our Armed Forces, so she purchased supplies and on the day before school let out for winter break, over 45 cadets created Christmas cards with heart-felt wishes and appreciation. Cadet Hogan’s vision, sincere dedication and support for all veterans is commendable and was a major factor to why she was recently awarded the Cadet Achievement Ribbon from Commander Dial, the Area 9 manager. When asked why she did this, she stated, “it’s the holidays and we are supposed to be thankful for what we have and I am very thankful for what the veterans have done for us.” Cadets who participated in the event were Jena Hogan, Rhiannon Lucas, Evan Ochiltree and Jarred Julien. Each cadet returned to Oak Ridge with a renewed sense of pride and understanding of what it means to wear the uniform.
On Saturday, December 30, 2017, four cadets from the Oak Ridge High School Navy National Defense Cadet Corps (NNDCC) performed the Color Guard for the Knoxville Ice Bears Hockey game. This was the first time that Oak Ridge cadets have performed Color Guard for the Ice Bears. The Color Guard detail consisted of Cadet Lieutenant Rhiannon Lucas and Cadets Jena Hogan, Caleb McCullah and Jarred Julien.
On Tuesday, January 2, 2018, four cadets from the Oak Ridge High School Navy National Defense Cadet Corps (NNDCC), performed color guard for a men’s basketball game at the University of Tennessee in front of a crowd of over 15,000 spectators. The color guard consisted of cadets Alex Coones, Caleb McCullah, Aidan Simper and Sam Boley. The cadets did a phenomenal job and were highly praised from spectators as well as Oak Ridge staff members who attended the game.
