By: Cody Dowless

Triton’s Call Staff

The University of Guam’s Army ROTC cadets hosted a beach clean-up at Gun Beach Aug. 26.

The clean-up was part of ROTC’s mentorship program.

According to UOG’s professor of Military Science Lieutenant Colonel Jay Blakely, UOG’s ROTC hosts this event annually.

“We divide our cadets into five mentorship teams called tribes, and today we will adopt the new cadets into their tribes and then do a clean-up,” Blakely said.

In past years, the cadets have done hikes, but this year they opted for a community project instead.

“Initially, this is part of our tribe and mentorship lab, but we try to incorporate community service in a way, so we decided instead of a hike which we usually do prior, to instead do a coastal clean-up,” said John Michael Delfin, a pre physical therapy major, and a ROTC member currently in his senior year.

ROTC members reached out to local mayors to identify problem areas and were told Gun Beach was in need. They answered the cal valiantly with nearly 100 cadets lined up and ready to clean by 7 a.m.

Richard Pizzaro, another ROTC member in his senior year explained, “We want to help the community with its beautification and just show more appreciation for our home.”

While this was mainly a function of ROTC members, they stressed that other members of the community are more than welcome to be a part of the project.

“This is an internal program for ROTC cadets but others are invited. We have some people that support the program coming out,” commented Blakely. Volunteers can call 777-ROTC to learn of any future projects.

While great, this is not the only community outreach sponsored by ROTC.

“We have a couple different clean-up projects. We’ve done the beach clean-ups before and we’ve got a couple stretches of road that we’ve adopted to clean up, and we’ve got 5 bus stops around the island that we maintain,” Blakely said.

When asked how one might start their own community outreach, Pizarro advised to contact your local mayor’s office. They can direct people to problem areas and help outsource for more support.

Pizarro also mentioned the importance of setting a good example and his thoughts on how to prevent future littering.

“I’m a true believer of leading by example so if you see trash, just throw it away and others might follow you,” Pizarro said.