On Feb 20, 2026, the AFJROTC unit at Kaiser High School achieved a rare unit milestone, earning a perfect score during its official annual unit inspection–an accomplishment that highlighted the cadets’ discipline, leadership, and commitment to excellence.
This accomplishment is especially significant because all AFJROTC units worldwide are required to be inspected by a regional director from HQ AFJROTC. The inspection at Kaiser High School was conducted by Regional Director Alphonso Thomas, Hawaii’s designated AFJROTC inspector. Mr. Thomas evaluated four key performances led by cadets of AFJROTC: Drill, Color Guard, Uniform Inspection, and a briefing from senior cadets.
All seventy Cadets were positioned in the gym early morning at 8:00 AM in preparation for the uniform inspection, conducted by Mr. Alphonso. In sync, all cadets responded to drill commands promptly and executed the movements perfectly, surpassing the standards. Furthermore, there were no significant uniform demerits, highlighting HI-932’s high expectation of uniform standards. At the end of the inspection, Mr. Alphonso concluded the inspection with an outstanding grade of an A, highlighting how well HI-932 develops citizens of character.
Both the Drill and Color Guard teams, comprised of 2nd- and 3rd-year cadets, are made up of highly disciplined, trained cadets who practice every week after school. Such activities are led solely by the cadets, highlighting how Kaiser’s AFJROTC builds character and leadership for future generations. During the performance, Mr. Alphonso graded the sequence an A, the highest grade possible, showing Kaiser’s cadets and superior achievers.
Beyond the leadership shown by cadets who lead the color guard and the drill team, senior cadets responsible for leading the corps were tasked with briefing Mr. Thompson, demonstrating their communication and presentation skills.
A briefing slide consists of details of HI-932’s unit goals, cadet achievements, contributions to community service, and more. These slides were built by the senior cadets responsible for briefing Mr. Thompson, a very arduous process that required months of preparation, data building, and teamwork. The slides created by senior cadets received the “Best practice,” an achievement that is awarded to a unit for exceeding the standards, serving as a model for other units that may need guidance.
The briefing concluded, receiving an outstanding grade of A, showing the senior cadets’ leadership, teamwork, and discipline.
Beyond the amazing speech conducted by HI-932’s seniors, Mr. Thompson also took note of the cadets’ daily environment, praising the unit for its lively atmosphere and impressive organization. The organized room didn’t happen by accident–cadets voluntarily worked together to clean and maintain the space, demonstrating the unit’s goal of “Excellence in all we do.”
The room tour was led entirely by a 3rd-year cadet, who guided the inspector through the space, while highlighting the unit’s organization of uniform items and tools.
Mr. Thompson wanted to showcase the unit to the Director of JROTC and general officers who may visit Hawaii. Stating that this is exactly what an AFJROTC HQ would hope a unit to be, showing the Kaiser cadets’ discipline, excellence, and spirit.
