By Gerardo R. Partido
Variety News Staff

GOVERNOR Felix P. Camacho and Lt. Gov. Michael W. Cruz over the weekend honored the island’s senior Army Reserve Officers Training Corps students during the 26th Annual Governor’s Day Awards Ceremony held at the National Guard Readiness Center.
Cruz, himself a former soldier, talked to the new generation of soldiers about leadership on the battlefield.
“Leadership on the battlefield requires grounding principles and you’re being recognized today because you have these leadership qualities,” Cruz told the ROTC students.
The lieutenant governor is a colonel in the Guam Army National Guard and has been deployed twice to the battle in Iraq. “The nation and the island are proud of you,” Cruz said during the ceremony.
The University of Guam Senior Army R.O.T.C. program is one of 272 programs of its kind in the nation and has won national awards.
The governor presents awards every year to students in the program who excel academically and athletically and who demonstrate outstanding leadership qualities.
Camacho said the awards are given from a pool of leaders who have achieved so much at such a young age.
“They are accepting the highest duty any citizen can give to the country, service in the name of freedom and democracy. The training they receive through this program prepares them to be leaders in protecting the ideals that make America strong,” the governor said.