Measurements and ranks. General orders and the chain of command. Honor, courage, commitment. All of these terms bounce around the average cadet’s head on Thursday, December 15, 2022, as they nervously await to be inspected by Captain James Prouty. Annual Management Inspection occurs every year, but it is way more than simply missing a few class periods to put on a uniform and stand at attention. The process began way earlier than that rainy Thursday. In fact, the journey started all the way back in August, before the first day of school.
Every year in August, a brief camp called Basic Leadership Training, led by senior cadets, is held for interested incoming cadets. There, they are given the chance to rank up before the rest of the incoming cadets. They learn a little bit about the program and skills like basic drill movements and the different jobs that there are in JROTC.
The purpose of AMI, or Annual Management Inspection, is to showcase the unit and all of its accomplishments, ranging from outstanding uniform wear, to drill demonstrations, to planning and organization. So it would make sense that from the first day of school, class time is mostly about getting ready for AMI. Cadets learn a list of eleven General Orders, memorize the Navy chain of command, and practice using the correct measurements for the pieces on their uniforms. When it comes to uniformity, perfection is expected. Every other Thursday, all cadets are expected to enter and exit the building in uniform. On those days, during class, uniform inspection is carried out by senior cadets, very similar to how they would be evaluated by the inspector on the day of AMI. The individual inspecting alternates every other year between Commander Jimmie Miller, the Area Four Manager, and a guest inspector.
This year’s guest inspector is actually from our very own Bear Country. Captain James Prouty graduated from Brewster High School in the class of 1992, and was the CMC (Command Master Chief) of the Brewster NJROTC unit at the time. In the same year, he enlisted in the United States Navy as an electronics technician. After completing the submarine training pipeline, he reported aboard USS Annapolis (SSN 760) and deployed to the Mediterranean in 1994. He graduated from the Naval Academy in 2000, served on many ships, including the USS Henry M. Jackson and the PCU Illinois, and then graduated from the Naval Postgraduate School. It was Captain Prouty who proposed the idea of returning to Brewster to inspect the unit himself, to which we were deeply honored.
The inspection itself went quite well. The individuals from each platoon were graded on their uniform wear. The grades ranged from below average, followed by average, above average, and outstanding being the best. After the personal inspection, a ceremony called the Pass and Review followed, which was led by the triad, cadet Commanding Officer Emma Bridges, cadet Executive Officer Madison Lynch, and cadet Command Master Chief Chelsea Newton, and narrated by cadet Operations Officer Analiese Rigano. During the ceremony, first year cadets K. Chepel, P. Almodovar, S. Horth, D. Serafini, D. Linares K. Ramos, S. Barillas, M. Reyes, D. Hernandez, and D. Edwards were recognized for their cumulative outstanding uniform wear in class. Additionally, cadet Timothy Kolka was recognized for the meritorious achievement award. The armed drill team performed exceptionally well in their modified drill demonstration for Captain Prouty. In an interview with Commanding Officer Emma Bridges, she commented that she was, “really happy with how the unit did at AMI.” Humorously, she concluded that her favorite part of the day was, “during the Cadet Brief when Captain Prouty beat Pat Ford and Nick DiFabbio in a pull-up contest.”
A day to remember, indeed.

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