Soldiers of Griffin’s Troop E, 108th Cavalry, used their November drill to support the annual JROTC Raider Rendezvous held at Camp Thunder Boy Scout Camp in Thomaston.

Camp Thunder sits along on the Flint River 20 miles south of Griffin.

At least 38 troopers gave their time and talents to assist more than 400 competitors from schools across Georgia and the southeast, said 1st Sgt. Steve Jones, Troop E’s top NCO. Among the Georgia students were those from Griffin High School, which sponsors the competition.

Jones estimated that 90 percent of this year’s competitors were Army JROTC cadets while the remainder was Navy.

"This is Troop E’s 21st year of lending a hand to the ralley staff," Jones said. "I have so many soldiers who annually volunteer for this thing that I have to turn some of them away.

"Goes to show you just how keen our people are on community service," he added with a bit of pride in his voice.

Also assisting with the Raider Rendezvous were Troop E’s recruiter Sgt. 1st Class Vegas McCain and Master Sgt. Paul Folds who heads the area recruiting team.

Nicholas J. Burke, a retired Army lieutenant colonel and Griffin High’s senior Army instructor, said such enthusiasm is what makes the ralley the success that it is every year. He doubted the schools involved in the competition could "pull off this event on their own," he said.

During Raider Rendezvous, Troop E soldiers operated the event’s command center, work as medics and grade contestants how well they do in a particular competition. Activities range from running an obstacle course to crossing a rope bridge to map reading and land navigation, Jones said.

"The cadets also participate in the Army Physical Fitness Test, set to the standards for soldiers age 17 to 20, and a five kilometer run," he explained.

First place is awarded to the competitor with the highest score in each event, while an overall award is presented to the school that wins the most events, Jones added.

The Raider Rendezvous serves, at least three purposes, he said.

One is that help the cadets grow, competitively and professionally, through contact with those already in the military," Jones said. The other is that it provides Troop E’s soldiers with training ideas that can be implemented during drill weekend, he added.

And then there is the opportunity for "hooking up," Jones said, with new prospects for the Georgia Guard.

"The competition is tough and the cadets put themselves through quite a lot to win an event and have their school become the overall winner," McCain. "Raider Rendezvous is a great way for myself, Master Sgt. Folds or any of the Troop E soldiers to get with these potential enlistees and talk with them about becoming Guardsmen."

That’s apparently how Pfc. Joe McCain, who helped with this year’s event, enlisted.

McCain, who recently became a citizen-soldier and now studies at Georgia Military College in Milledgeville, participated in the Raider Ralley while attending Griffin High School.

Participating in the Rendezvous helped him and fellow cadets learn the importance of teamwork. It taught him, he said, that the National Guard has much to offer Georgia’s young men and women who may be leaning toward the military.

"Without the Guard, there’s no telling where I and others like me may have ended up," McCain said. "Because of the National Guard, competitions such as this and the opportunity to see how important community and people are to the Guard probably would never come along."