Story and photos by: C/PFC Sofia Del Rosario
TINIAN, CNMI — On Friday, January 13, 2023, the Stallion Battalion took part in this year’s Inaugural Ceremony at Jones Beach. Our battalion’s leadership organized a color guard team, along with an honor guard team for the ceremony. Honorable Mayor Edwin Palacios Aldan took an oath of office entering his second term, along with the 19th Tinian Municipal Council members to begin their roles as leaders of Tinian.
During the introduction of Dignitaries, Officials, and Special Guests, the honor guard stood on both sides of the red carpet with rifles, presenting arms as they walked by. Following that, our color guard team presented the colors, which was led by C/1SG Edgard Acollador, along with C/1SG Edward Tirona, C/1LT Jaedon Lenteja, and C/1SG Kelvin Shrestha.
As the ceremony proceeded, both Mayor Edwin Aldan and the 19th Tinian Municipal Council took their oath of office. They were then followed by their Inaugural Addresses, discussing their plans and goals for the island of Tinian, with topics including the future growth of the island, climate change, military development, etc.
“I think that they were right on track and I would like to see them start implementing things to address certain issues,” said C/SSG Yeongchae Yoon.
Because our JROTC Program includes a PBL (Project Based Learning) class on recycling, we asked the cadets what they thought of the Go-Green Initiative that encourages Zero Waste Management and explores Green Tourism. “Since this goal has already been addressed to the public, this project will slowly get more attention over time and will also be an achievable goal,” said C/SGM Sophia Su. She then added, “I am confident that Tinian will become a better place because of what the people do to help our community. For example, JROTC’s PBL relates to the environment since it deals with recycling and the promotion of zero waste.”
Following the Inaugural Address and Benediction, the Retrieval of the Colors took place, during which both color guards and honor guards were applauded for their performance.
“I think that their performance was phenomenal that day,” said C/CSM Leirha Manalo. “They performed under bad weather but were still able to execute their performance perfectly.”
We then ask cadets how they felt about the Inaugural Ceremony and whether they would attend an event like this again.
“I think that the Ceremony was amazing. We were able to witness the leaders of Tinian swear in for the Inauguration, and would love to attend an event like this again,” said C/SSG Jazmine Furton.
“I think that the event went pretty well even though the weather wasn’t the best, but if it rains or doesn’t rain I would still go to an event like this,” said C/2LT Abbygaile Ong.
The Stallion Battalion would like to thank the Mayor and the 19th Tinian Municipal Council Members for inviting us. We would also congratulate them all for getting inaugurated, and hope to see Tinian thrive in the future.
Top photo caption: The Honorable Mayor Edwin Palacios Aldan and Tinian’s first lady Rosita Aldan wave at the crowd while the Stallion Battalion Honor Guard stood on both sides of the red carpet with rifles.
