More than 800 high school Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (NJROTC) students and administrators from Louisiana, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas, will compete in military drills, physical fitness events, and academic testing.

Each NJROTC Unit will undergo a rigorous personnel inspection. Southern NROTC Midshipmen and Marines will judge the overall appearance of each high school NJROTC Unit, inspect uniforms and test NJROTC cadets on general military questions. Additionally, each high school NJROTC Unit will take part in various drill events including armed and unarmed basic drills, color guard, tandem drills, and armed and unarmed expedition drills.

The NJROTC units will also be challenged academically and athletically. Academic testing will be held in the P.B.S. Pinchback Engineering Building. Athletic events will be held at A.W. Mumford Stadium and will include a 1-mile relay, 1,600-yard relay, sit-ups, push-ups, orienteering run and tug-of-war.

Many of the high school students who participate in the Area 8 Drill Meet plan to attend Southern, LSU, or Southeastern Louisiana University. The NROTC scholarship offers outstanding educational and follow-on career opportunity.

The mission of the NROTC is to develop young men and women morally, mentally, and physically, and to instill in them the highest ideas of honor, courage, and commitment for leadership and management positions in an increasingly technical Navy and Marine Corps. 

NROTC provides the unique opportunity to earn a college degree, serve as a commissioned Navy or Marine Corps Officer and have zero college debt upon graduation.