The combined junior ROTCs from Glynn Academy and Brunswick High got together at Epworth by the Sea on Saturday night for the two schools’ first ever combined military ball.
More than 80 cadets were among the crowd of 100 that enjoyed dinner and dancing at Epworth by the Sea. It was carried out in formal military style as the cadets wore their dress uniforms as did their leaders, Maj. Clint Houchins, who leads the Marine Junior ROTC at Glynn Academy and Navy Master Chief Petty Officer Mahendra Jatindranath, who leads the Navy cadets at Brunswick High.
Houchins credited Jatindranath for conceiving of and organizing the event.
Jatindranath told The Brunswick News it was a matter of economics with the number of cadets lower than in years past. With the joint ball, both corps of cadets saved money, he said.
It was also a chance to get the two groups together in a friendly, social environment, he said.
“We’ll always have the football rivalry,’’ he said, but the ball helps keep that in control for the two groups that believe in service to their country.
Besides that, he said most of the cadets know each other.
Among the 100 who attended were cadets’ parents who worked hard to organize the event, Jatindranath said.
The ball had all the trappings of a formal military event. A combined Marine and Navy junior ROTC color guard presented the colors and the cadets stood somberly with their hands over their hearts during the singing of the National Anthem. After dinner, Charles “Buck” Bennett, a retired lieutenant colonel in the Georgia National Guard, who was activated for several combat tours, delivered the address to the cadets.
Then there was music and dancing.
NOTE: This is the first joint military ball with Glynn Academy and Brunswick High, and the first NJROTC ball since 2018.