Once a month, I spend my weekend at the Marine Corps Reserve Center at Lambert Airport. This drill, as we call it, is an obligation I am required to fulfill as a Cadet in the United States Naval Sea Cadet Corp.

We do a variation of things at drills, but marching, learning Naval and Marine Corps history, doing P.T. (Physical Training)  and practicing for Flagship are our primary activities.

Flagship is a yearly competition for all the Sea Cadet units, composed of a number of Navy-oriented events like firefighting, shooting and knot tying.

During the summer, we attend summer trainings. These trainings are generally 9 to 14 days long and focus on a specific job in the Navy or Marine Corps.

I’ve been to Recruit Training (it’s like boot camp) in Lavina, Tenn.; Basic Corpsman (Medical) Training and Petty Officer’s Leadership Academy in Naval Station Great Lakes, Ill.; Submarine Seminar in Naval Station Bangor, Wash.; and Naval Intelligence Training in San Diego, Calif.

If anyone is interested in joining, please contact me at [email protected]

You can also find more information on the Official Sea Cadet website. or on the website of the local Sea Cadet unit in St. Louis.