July 18, 2024 - The Pieper High School Navy National Defense Cadet Corps (NNDCC) was awarded the 2024 Navy League Most Improved Unit in the Nation by the Naval Service Training Command (NSTC) on July 10.
This national award is quite an honor for the program and school which has been in existence for only three years just recently graduating its first senior class. This is the second year in a row that the program was nominated for this award.
“This is quite an accomplishment for these young leaders who are competing against long established programs,” says Major Dave Bower USMC retired, the program’s senior Naval science instructor, who explains that being a NNDCC is a forerunner to becoming a Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (JROTC).
“This award recognizes the incredible work and time spent from each cadet, making the Warrior Company one of the best in the Nation,” he continues. “These leaders have built an incredible legacy; built on selfless service and grit.”
This year, the Warrior Company grew to 103 cadets, almost double where it began three years ago. This number includes the addition of eighth-grade students from Pieper Ranch Middle School.
Through various competitions, service projects and keynote events, the program continues to make headlines even earning an invitation to attend Navy Nationals in Pensacola. Bower has been leading the charge since the beginning. This year, a second instructor Senior Chief Craig Steele, came on board.
This national award is one of only two presented annually. In fact, in conjunction with the Navy League, the Commander, NSTC selects two units from across the nation to receive one of two awards for the Best Unit in the Nation and Most Improved in the Nation.
Prior to making this selection, one unit per area is nominated for these awards. The Warrior Company at PHS has been nominated to represent its area for two years in a row. The competition among the more than 600 NJROTC programs is tough, and it is quite an achievement to be selected as the best in an area. It is even tougher to be named the national winner.
The NNDCC and NJROTC curriculum emphasizes citizenship and leadership development through activities that include community service, academic, athletic, drill and orienteering competitions, field meets, flights, visits to naval bases, marksmanship sports training and physical fitness training.
If this past year is any indication, Bower and Steele are offering their cadets all of this and more with service projects at both the campus and community level, academic achievements, summer training opportunities, keynote events including an annual Bataan Death March Memorial hike, 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb and more.
“The Warrior NNDCC program reaches much farther than the halls of Pieper High School, connecting with the citizens of Bulverde, Spring Branch, New Braunfels, San Antonio and beyond,” Bower says. “We are making a difference in the world around us.”
Sample of Warrior Company's Community Outreach
- Interacting with residents of the Bulverde Assisted Living Facility, which the Company adopted three years ago.
- Sponsoring food drives to support Provisions, a Bulverde-based food pantry.
- Assisting the city of San Antonio to provide a Thanksgiving/Christmas meal to the homeless.
- Volunteering with Meals on Wheels.
- Providing $4,000 in the last three year to find a cure for cancer by supporting St. Jude Children’s Hospital.
Congratulations!
Photo Descriptions
-The reaction of members of the Pieper High School Navy National Defense Cadet Corps (NNDCC) upon learning of their advancement to Navy Nationals this spring.
-The Pieper High School Warrior Company recently received the Most Improved Unit in the Nation award. Pictured here during its sendoff party for national competition.
-Members of the Pieper High School Navy National Defense Cadet Corps (NNDCC).
-Pieper High School Warrior Company, pictured in Pensacola.
-Pieper High School Navy National Defense Cadet Corps (NNDCC) participated in its third Bataan Death March Memorial hike in March.
-Pieper High School Navy National Defense Cadet Corps (NNDCC) hosted its third 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb in 2023.