Cranston East prides itself on being a school of longstanding traditions. Whether on the sports field, in a musical concert or more recently, a JROTC drill meet, Cranston East plays to win.  On Saturday, November 19, East hosted a JROTC drill meet. This was the 28th meet the cadets have competed in. Student teams from Coventry High School, Cranston East, Hope High School from Providence, Rogers High School from Newport, Tolman High School from Pawtucket, New Britian High School from Connecticut, LaSelle Institute from Troy New York and Springfield Central High School, Springfield, Massachusetts participated in the event. Due to number of events happening simultaneously, meets were held in the auditorium, band room, gymnasium and senior cafe.

Cranston East had about 50 cadets and 60 members of the team involved in total. According to Cadet Captain Patricia Flor, the cadets have been working on organizing the meet for months. "We have 26 judges coming from every branch of the armed forces who have volunteered their time to be with us today," she said. The areas that the cadets competed in were:

Unarmed Regulation, where teams compete in marching without a rifle on the main drill floor. They march in either a 3x4 or 4x4 formation. They have to complete the set sequence in the time frame they are allotted or it will be scored against them. Armed Regulation is the same as unarmed just with rifles. 

Inspection, when teams (usually the regulation teams) file into a room standing at attention and are asked a series of questions by drill sergeants, based on study materials provided to the cadets in advance. Color Guard, is a team of four cadets, with two flags in the middle and one rifle on either side. They go through a different, shorter sequence than regulation. They present the American and State flags (known as colors) to demonstrate proficiency in front of judges.  Unarmed Exhibition compete with a set amount of cadets for an allotted amount of time. These cadets put on a performance that does not include rifles. They march in practiced sequences, while stepping and clapping. Armed Exhibition: cadets perform a routine they have created that fits into to the regulations (this applies to both armed and unarmed) and is executed in the time allotted. These cadets perform a series of moves with their rifles, including throwing and catching their rifles.

Facsimile Exhibition is the same as armed exhibition, with different rifles The 10 cadets who win the Armed and Unarmed Individual Drill compete at the end of the mee. Everyone forms into a mass formation and executes commands given by the commander. Trophies are awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place; individual medals are given to the top 10 cadets who win armed and unarmed Individual Drill.  Cranston East received several 5 first, 1 second and 1 third place awards: First place in Unarmed Color Guard, Unarmed Regulation, Armed Regulation and Facsimile Inspection. They took second place in Armed Inspection and third in Facsimile Regulation.  East Principal, Sean Kelly is appreciative of the JROTC program. He said, "These are student leaders, in and out of the classrooms. They help where and whenever we ask. They are a huge asset to the school, and I am always proud and impressed by their performances."