Army Top Cadet Unit Award

Story and photos courtesy WWHS JROTC Public Affairs - PHOTO - Cadet Captain Taylor Carlisle, c/Command Sgt. Maj. Ben Bialozor, c/Maj. Alex Young and c/Lt. Col. Melinda Locke received their HUD Gold Star this morning from Lt. Col. Bill Bialozor, Senior Army Instructor at WWHS JROTC.

The accomplishments and honors for cadets in the JROTC program at Walla Walla High School just keep growing. The Blue Devil Battalion learned last week that they won the title of "Honor Unit, with Distinction" following a recent rigorous inspection conducted by higher command headquarters.

The accompanying insignia of this achievement is a golden star a cadet will wear on the right side of their dress uniform jacket, along with their other unit award ribbons and devices. The first group of cadets received their stars this morning following the command and staff period.

Becoming an HUD award-winning program is a demanding challenge and only those units in the 95th percentile receive these honors, according to the program director at Wa-Hi.

"The inspection and evaluation process is rigorous and consists of several parts," said Lt. Col. Bill Bialozor, Senior Army Instructor for WWHS JROTC. "Every three years, our program undergoes a battalion-wide assessment that includes in-depth knowledge of cadet training material, uniforms and appearance, leadership briefings by the instructors, cadet leaders and staff officials, and randomly selected members of the battalion."

An Department of the Army civilian official from the Cadet Command 8th Brigade headquarters visited last month to conduct this several-day evaluation. Mark Pratt, from Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma, announced the Blue Devil Battalion earned a total of 96.38% following this evaluation. The 8th Brigade is responsible for all Army JROTC programs from the western United States and across the Pacific Theater.

"That's when we found out we got the HUD Gold Star," said Cadet Lt. Col Melinda Locke, who commands the battalion this year. "We got to brief Mr. Pratt on the efforts and achievements of this year, including our drill and marksmanship meets, special events like our Veterans Day assembly. I am so impressed with all our cadets and their accomplishments this year that led to this distinction. I couldn't be more proud of my company commanders and their people."
Achieving this level of recognition doesn't come easy, according to the JROTC's other Army Instructor and rifle team coach. Only one other program in the Pacific Northwest league, North Salem H.S. (Oregon), is currently recognized with the Gold Star.

"We're evaluated like this every three years," said Sgt. 1st Class Mark Mebes, Army Instructor. "The last time we did this was at least a dozen years ago."
Getting the job done takes preparation and effort across the corps of cadets, according to the chief enlisted affairs advisor to the battalion commander.

"I prepared our non-commissioned officers for this by working with all the company first sergeants to help ensure their records and briefings were the best they could be," said Cadet Command Sgt. Maj. Ben Bialozor. "Things like these briefings can be a make-or-break factor in an evaluation as important as this one."

Now that the Blue Devil Battalion has earned the HUD, every cadet currently in the program may wear a gold star on their dress uniform for the next three years, until they will again have to prove themselves worthy of this honored title.

The 8th Brigade also visited Wa-Hi JROTC nearly two months ago to present a 100-year service certificate of achievement. The WWHS program was one of the first half dozen established in the country.