On November 15, the United States Army Cadet Command inspected the ECI JROTC program for accreditation. Cadets received an overall score of 98.88 percent from the inspector, Mr. Max Denniston, from the 6th Brigade United States Army Cadet Command (USACC). The inspection, which takes place every three to four years, follows the standards known as the JPA to determine whether or not a program can maintain its accreditation and funding. Instructors and Cadets used benchmarks depicted in the JPA handbook to help pace the battalion in preparing for the inspection. The program earned an overall score of 98. Eighty-eight percent gained their accreditation. “The Army JROTC programs are accredited by AdvancEd and the State of Georgia as a Special Purpose Program, and as such are committed to continuous improvement. AdvancEd requires that the Army JROTC programs meet five standards of quality: the Battalion Staff Continuous Improvement Briefing and Interview, Service Learning Briefing, Cadet and Instructor Portfolio and Interview, Unit Report, Color Guard, and platoon Drills. ECI JROTC Instructor Lt. Col. (Ret.) Robert Yarbrough indicated. “The purpose of the JPA is to gather information and evidence to support the continuous improvement of teaching and learning in the JROTC programs.”
Cadet Officers, as well as the rest of the battalion, spent a lot of time preparing for the most important inspection in JROTC. “It was a stressful and nervous situation, causing fear of not excelling and the thoughts of losing the current unit award of Honor Unit with Distinction (HUD). A lot of preparation went into it, and it pushed the battalion leadership team to work together as a team to succeed and keep our current unit award, which is the highest unit award to achieve as a unit,” Senior Asia Gibbon, Cadet Battalion Commander, stated. Because of the lengthy preparation, junior Riley Cannady, Cadet Executive Officer, felt confident about the outcome. Junior Alana Canady, Cadet Command Sergeant Major, verbalized, “I knew we were going to attain the award again because we put in a lot of effort that dates back to last school year's development and learning,” We did it with flying colors,” junior Cadet Captain a Green, Battalion’s Security Officer declared. The younger members of the battalion were very impressive in that they were able to express their early growth and depth of knowledge of the program. The battalion’s actions leading up to the JPA inspection showed dedication and helped the program receive the accreditation and funding needed to continue growing as a successful unit.
