Hug Cadet Leadership

Hug High School

“Hawks Battalion”

Fast Facts

Enrollment:  185                                                                                             Established:1968

57^th Battalion Commander: C/Lieutenant Colonel Lamar Ali

The Hug Hawks Battalions started this school year on 11 August. Our current enrollment is at 185 cadets from a student population of just over 1,700. Our instructors are Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) William Clark, Command Sergeant Major (Ret.) Mel Hennegan, and First Sergeant (Ret.) Ed Vaars.

The Hawks Battalion had a spectacular year where we saw both the rifle and drone teams compete on the national level bringing notoriety to the program and our school. One of the drone teams qualified for Army Drone Nationals and All Service Drone Nationals and those cadets traveled to Fort Benning, GA and Batesville, MS to compete. Although they did not win on the national stage, they were very competitive and thoroughly enjoyed their experience. The Hug Hawks Rifle Team won the Nevada State Rifle Championship on 31 January 2025, then in February they traveled to Sandy, Utah where they outshot 60 teams from the western Region to win the Regional Championship. Because of this they were invited to shoot in the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) National Championships in Camp Perry, Ohio in June 2025. Although the rifle team did not win at CMP nationals, they represented the school and JROTC program well.         

Like every year, there are many new faces amongst the staff and faculty, but we welcome them like their predecessors with open arms. Hug continues to push for more engagement in JLAB, Drone, Raider, Drill and Rifle. Color guard is already going strong having completed three events thus far and several more scheduled this fall. The cadets are really putting themselves out there in the public eye.

The new Battalion command group, staff and company leaders just returned from our annual leadership camp at Grizzly Creek Ranch 5-7 September where we engage in fun team-building activities and conduct our yearly planning for the Battalion. Cadets discussed the Continuous Improvement Plan (CIP), Service-Learning Project (SLP) and the various fund raisers and company projects that support CIP and SLP.

 After graduating 14 of 16 seniors last year, we are still short of our goal of 100% senior graduation but are inching ever closer to 100% graduation rate. Nearly all of last year’s seniors will either enter military service, attend college, attend a trade or tech school, or have entered the work force. We look forward to seeing how well they are doing in a couple of years and hope that they stop by for a visit from time to time to share their life experiences with the cadets.  

The Hug Hawks are off and running again and are excited to begin this new year! Go Hawks!

LTC(R) William Clark

CSM(R) Melchor Hennegan

1SG(R) Ed Vaars