It's 6:30 in the morning inside Clover Park High School's main gymnasium, and 14 Air Force JROTC cadets on the armed drill team are doing their best to make sure they're all on the same page.

They march in formation around the gym, their hard-soled dress shoes creating an echo throughout.

"If you listen, you can hear when someone is out of step," said Col. Gary Roberts, a former fighter pilot who's now the unit's commander.

The cadets run through their sequences, constantly checking each other's position to make sure the formation is tight and the sequence keeps in line with a detailed 36-action checklist that will determine their fate at an upcoming drill meet.

"We're trying to be as uniform as we can," Roberts said.

But that's not always easy when cadets must incorporate the eight-pound rifle into the routine. A slip of the rifle can land the butt on someone's foot or an errant spin can nick a finger with the rifle's bolt. If a rifle is dropped in competition, cadets cannot pick it up and have to proceed without it.

"The key is concentrating and having control," said junior Horace Brantley.

It's something that takes practice and a lot of work.

"You look at the size of some of these kids spinning these rifles and it's amazing to see," Roberts said. "Their dedication to it almost brings a tear to my eye."

Cadets practice their routines every other morning in the gym, and compete every three to four weeks in drill meets. Clover Park's AF JROTC unit took home a sixth-place finish at a drill meet at Curtis High School last month.

Most cadets with leadership roles within the unit come from the armed drill team, Roberts said.

"I thought it would be a fun experience and help me with my leadership skills," Brantley said. "It also really helped me with my speaking skills."

The communication and mentorship piece to the team is what keeps Brantley participating, even though it can make for a long day with the early morning practices.

"I like it ... that's why I do it," said the junior, who has aspirations of one day becoming a pilot in the Air Force.

The unarmed drill team had a similar effect on senior Yugin Lee. After coming to America from her native Korea her freshman year, Lee joined the unit and got involved in the unarmed drill team.

"I was shy and it was hard for me to make friends," Lee said.

Becoming a member of the drill team helped change that.

"It gave me a chance to really learn about teamwork," she said. "It gave me confidence. It's a huge part of my life. It helped make me who I am now."

That's all part of the mission of the AF JROTC program.

"Our job is to develop citizens of character," Roberts said.