"The cadets have already accomplished quite a bit this year," explained Lt. Col. McCarthy. "There was a summer orientation before school started, a field trip to Shinnecock Coast Guard Station, Color Guards, parades, Basic Leadership Training, a physical fitness test and community service events. There are a lot of people who come together to make this program work,” he concluded, “and we want to thank the administration for its support, and the parents for being there for us."

Cadets participate in a variety of activities, such as drill competitions, physical fitness outings, military orientation trips, and social events like their military ball.

Service/News

Overview

HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF THE UNIT

The N.J.R.O.T.C. Program at Riverhead High School began in 1974 as a satellite unit from Southold High School. In 1976, the Riverhead N.J.R.O.T.C. received its own charter and broke away from Southold. In 36 years of existence, the Riverhead N.J.R.O.T.C. Unit has become well known throughout the ten northeastern states of area four.
     The unit has earned numerous unit and individual citations, awards, and trophies at area and national armed and unarmed drill, academic and athletic competitions. Riverhead High School NJROTC has earned the Chief of Naval Education and Training (CNET) Distinguished High School Unit award for 2001/2002 and 2002/2003. In 2004-05, Riverhead NJROTC once again won the CNET Unit Achievement Award; as well as being named as the most improved unit in the area and 3rd most improved in the nation for school year 2004-2005. In 2005-2006, Riverhead earned the Distinguished Unit Award for being one of the top 15 out of 54 schools in Area 4. In 2009-10, even though they did not meet the size requirement of 100, they were given the Distinguished Unity Award for being one of the top units in Area 4. Several of the RHS cadets have earned ROTC scholarships after graduation.

News & Awards

NJROTC WINS DRILL MEET AT N. ROCKLAND
four in a row!

(March 18, 2013) The Riverhead NJROTC Drill Team remains undefeated this year after its 4th consecutive victory on Saturday at the North Rockland Area 4 Northeast Regional Drill Competition.

"This was the largest Drill Meet of the year so far with 13 schools from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut vying for top honors and proved to be the toughest test to date for the Blue Wave Drill Team," stated Naval Science Instructor Lt. Col. Peter McCarthy. "As events got underway there were a lot of nerves to deal with, but as the day went along the cadets settled down and performed up to their capabilities."

All the early morning and after school practices were rewarded with Overall 1st Place victories in both the Senior Division and 1st Year Cadet Division. Trophy winning performances in almost every event, and 10 trophies overall, paved the way for another big win.

Many thnaks to all the parents who made the trip to North Rockland to support the cadets. The next and last competition of the year is May 11th at the Area Four Championship meet to be held at William Flowyd High School. This is the sixth year in a row the drill team has qualified for the Area Four Championship Meet. Area 4 includes CT, DE, MA, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, and VT. >More