Emerging SUPREME

*I wrote this in the verge of cramming my Organization’s Operational Plan defense for tomorrow, so please bear your kuya’s/Sir’s grammar. My apologies also, for not being able to attend your Welcoming Rites yesterday morning, and your Graduation this afternoon. I feel very bad for not being able to do so, and because of that, I felt the urge to tell you how it’s been for me, having handled you from your First Day in Summer Training.

Being a Tactical Officer back at CMSHS has been one of the best things that I enjoyed once I graduated High School,( wellbesides from going back to school to teach 4th Year Chemistry from time to time.) Why? Because I always get to impart the stuff that I learned the hard way – the things that I had to undergo in order to be resilient, brave, and competent so I can be the best when the going gets tough.

Another thing, is because its fun to see new faces who want to be catalysts. Catalysts of Change in their own little ways. People who want to stand out, take the wheel and walk the path that others fear to tread. People who smile amidst difficulties and obstacles. People who unite in the most stressing situations. People who would never succumb to defeat, nor tofailure. These are the people I look forward to everytime I pass that turn as I walk towards the basketball court every MWF.

Some of you have been my mentees the previous year, and it was a relief for me to see familiar faces in the class. Sure, the signs of me doing this for three years in a row was slowly sinking in at that moment, but I shrugged it off and tried to show no particular preference in the training grounds. You were all equal, and it had to be that way. Of course, the young ones were no excuse to my strict way of commanding the drills, and management of behaviour. But remembing a quote which goes “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” I was sure that I wouldn’t let them skip my satire and my spontaneous stories. I was fun that way. And I hoped you were okay with how I dealt with stuff.

I tried to incorporate how things should actually be when you’re an Officer, and how things should be inside class. These are things you don’t leave behind once you get your ranks and positions. These are the things you have to carry out as young leaders who came into training, hoping to develop these values out of the weeks that you have trained.

You will continuously learn the drills, the marching, the sword-bearing, and the rifle drills, but the core values that you have learned will ALSO keep you on your post, and will earn you the respect from your subordinates. I have to be honest, it was a hard time foreseeing how it will turn out for your Class, as no one is standing out (for me, my apologies guys.).
It might be too early for me, and the others to think of this. But right now, I pose a big challenge for you guys:
I see that you have coined “Supremo” as your Class name. Superior among others. In character, performance, and in achievement. You have posed a challenge by choosing this name, for you shall be known as members of Class Supremo. And because of this, I challenge you to stand by this name, and live it out as you go through your ten months as Class Supremo for School year 2013 – 2014. You shall be known for this name, and it is your responsibility to act it out.

Young Leaders of Class Supremo, stand tall! For today, you shall no longer be Cadet/Cadette Trainees. You are now Officers of the Corps of Cadets of the City of Mandaluyong Science High School. Never forget what you have learned. Prove our worries and fears wrong.
For you all shall ( and definitely will) emerge Supreme.

Cdt. Maj. Jimenez, J.M.
Class Matalikha of 2010

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We All Fall

Summertime brings so much excitement for most people that I know. While some of my friends right now are having their On-the-job training, hanging out on the beach, while others are too busy with their College entrance exam reviews, I on the other hand, find myself going back to CMSHS and rekindling my experiences as a CAT Officer – only this time, I’m not the one in a white polo shirt and jeans, getting sunburn and marching around the CMSHS grounds.

This time, I’d go back as their Tactical Officer, and for the third consecutive year since we graduated from the CMSHS Corps of Cadets, I now begin my ‘alumnus visits’ to young hopefuls and soon-to-be Officers for the Class of 2014. Though I never get to start the trainings at 6:00 AM, I would catch up with the remainder of the training after my Summer Physics Class, which I am currently taking up.

I have to admit, but I definitely missed my days back at the Corps. Training with rifles and the sword, as well as the marching drills we had were definitely worth remembering. And it is funny that after almost four years of being outside the realm of CAT, I can still remember most of the commands, and the moves we once had to train for months, before we became full-fledged officers come June of the next school year.

But what made more sense in my months of training back at the Corps, was the sense of team work and unity, that up to this day, would remain as a lesson that I have learned the hard way. We would say “Sir, Unity Sir. The fault of one is the fault of all, sir.” And as much as I could, I try to let the trainees learn that without having to endure so much. And I was just thinking about this early this morning, I didn’t expect that they’d actually have to learn by experiencing it the other day.

 It was a tough one, but they eventually had to learn that in a group – Team work is essential to get things done. And whenever there is a collaborative effort, no one gets left behind.

After the training, I decided that we have this ‘Assesment’ about what happened. It was great to find out that despite getting my fellow Officer’s punishment because of a fault that their group committed, they actually learned their lesson. That no matter what happens, in a team.. Once a member drops, everybody falls.