ROCKINGHAM — Two former cadets were recently honored the Richmond Senior High School Army JROTC battalion conducted the inaugural Raider Hall of Fame induction in conjunction with the annual Awards Night on Thursday.
The mission of JROTC is to motivate young people to be better citizens and the program has produced “some absolute winners for decades,” according to retired Lt. Col Jon Ring, senior instructor.
“There are so many former cadets from the Raider Battalion that are exceeding the standards and are leaders in their field that it was extremely difficult to suppress the desire to begin this tradition with multiple inductees,” he said. “We decided to limit the initial induction to two extremely talented former Raider Battalion members. These two are, without question, examples for Cadets today and in the future.”
The first two inductees to the Raider Hall of Fame are retired Col. John King and Tina Pearson McNeill.
King recently retired from the U.S. Army after 30 years of service. He was a member of the Raider Battalion from 1980 to 1983, when he graduated. He earned a bachelor of science from Campbell University and a master of arts in humanities from Louisiana State University, as well as a master of strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College.
His career in the Army took him around the world to virtually all different types of infantry positions and commands. His deployments include Panama, Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq. He commanded a rifle company, Airborne Infantry Battalion, and the U.S. Army Ranger Training Brigade.
McNeill is currently an assistant principal at East Rockingham Elementary School. She was a member of the Raider Battalion from 1996 to 1999 and was the battalion commander during her senior year.
She was involved in all aspects of the program and was captain of the color guard and co-captain of the drill team. She graduated from RSHS in 1999 and earned a bachelor of arts from Livingstone College and a masters in school administration from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.
“She set a goal to be teacher of the year within five years and easily made that goal,” Ring said. “She excels at all she does and has risen through the Richmond Schools ranks to the position that she currently has. She is a very driven, family oriented leader within our community.”
Frames containing photos of the two when they were in the battalion, as well as a recent image along with the long list of their achievements, are posted in the new Raider Hall of Fame near the JROTC department at RSHS.
Ring said the leadership intends to inaugurate additional members each year. To recommend an inductee, contact the department at 910-997-9855.
