Lincoln AFJROTC cadets build camaraderie at Papillion Fitness Challenge

December 9, 2025

Lincoln Public Schools cadets made healthy history this fall by competing against students from across the state in a fitness challenge.
 
Lincoln Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFJROTC) members traveled to Liberty Middle School in Papillion for the Papillion Fitness Challenge. Jackson, Sam, Saryia, Trinity, Kriss and Mathiaus completed multiple indoor and outdoor activities during the morning and early afternoon. They represented the NE-20091 AFJROTC detachment in both individual and team-based contests.
 
Mathiaus, Kriss, Sam and Jackson said they were glad to experience the event for the first time. They said it taught them valuable lessons about communication, teamwork and camaraderie.
 
“It was very fun and encouraging,” Mathiaus said.
 
“It’s very important to have team-building exercises,” Jackson said. “We learn to work together and build friendship.”
 
“It’s very important, because we build each other up and we strengthen our character as people and teammates,” Kriss said.
 
“It is important to have team-building activities like it in class, so then each person is comfortable with the other people around,” Sam said.

 
Retired Master Sergeant Justin Twilley is the LPS aerospace science instructor. He felt the trip generated long-lasting benefits for everyone involved, especially with respect to teamwork.
 
“Team building is the cornerstone of willful learning in my experience,” Twilley said. “People are willing to take shortcuts for themselves, but they will often go further for others than they will for themselves. Any activity that builds a small team or a small unit will almost always get better results, as the individuals will stop working for themselves and will try to advance the group’s interests instead. The moment when they start self-correcting and managing each other’s behaviors is a great thing to see.”
 
The Papillion Fitness Challenge is part of a nationwide JROTC fitness program called Raiders. Students from all six military branches compete in an array of team-based fitness challenges. They square off against other schools in male, female and co-ed categories.
 
The Papillion event featured physical education contests such as sit-ups, push-ups and pull-ups inside the school’s gym. Students then journeyed outside for a series of endurance exercises. They participated in a rescue drill activity by carrying and pulling their partners across a football field. They also competed in relay races on the track.

 
The Lincoln cadets recorded many bright individual moments. Sam returned home with a championship medal after completing 63 sit-ups, and multiple students registered personal-best marks in their fitness categories. Twilley said the competition gave them a chance to reach current goals and discover new ones to set for the future.
 
“Fitness activities are always great for the obvious reasons like health and wellness, but competitions are wonderful for showing everyone how far they need to go,” Twilley said. “Seeing their peers perform the same activities and being able to measure themselves directly gives them real, tangible targets to aim for. The direct effect on their confidence and ability to interact with new environments only continues to build their personal toolkits and prepare them for new challenges.”
 
Jackson and Kriss said they picked up the tools of perspective, strategy and fortitude at the contest. In addition to showcasing these skills in physical fitness activities, they will also use them in their academic work each day.
 
“I learned how to pace myself during challenges,” Jackson said. “I also learned proper form and how to build more usable muscle.”
 
“It teaches you endurance and to have fun,” Kriss said. “And to not be discouraged about not getting a certain score as long as you had fun.”
 
The cadets also used the Papillion Fitness Challenge as a way to create community engagement opportunities. They met fellow JROTC members from many high schools and gained new ideas about possible classroom and physical fitness activities. They discovered that a large number of students are interested in participating in Raiders.
 
Twilley felt the trip to Sarpy County was a successful one for LPS. He said it was encouraging to watch students make positive memories from their time together.
 
“We are teaching the cadets how to function in a small team, how to manage at their own level, and how to coordinate and effectively communicate as they strive for a common goal,” Twilley said. “It may be a simple event, but the return we get from our cadets is a marked spirit of camaraderie and self-confidence, as well as a huge boost to their peer reliance.”
 
LPS students are gaining lifelong skills through our focus programs like AFJROTC. Visit home.lps.org/focus to learn more about how you can choose your journey with LPS Focus Programs. 
 
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