SANDPOINT — In the middle of a two-and-a-half-mile run, Sandpoint High School sophomore Emmett Williams was feeling some pain in his knee. 

The run was toward the end of a grueling day during the school’s Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps program’s first Raiders competition, which meant Williams wasn’t alone. Fellow cadet and track runner Julian Knight was there, and along with another teammate, they helped Williams finish the run. 

“Suffering together is the main point,” Williams said of the competition. “The more you suffer together, the more you connect with the people around you. Yeah, and I think that's what was fun.” 

As a part of the inaugural year, students in the JROTC program have presented the United States’ colors at several local events and helped celebrate the region’s veterans in November. However, the Raiders competition was the first time that SHS students were able to meet other JROTC students and put their learning to use. 

Both Williams and Knight said the competition was physically draining, but worth it in the end. Sophomore Alexander Cheney said the day was rewarding not just for the experience, but for the memories. 

“It was just cool to see them get to actually participate,” Olmstead said with a smile on his face. “It was just really cool to see them be there and compete. And it's really kind of one of the fun things that we do in JROTC, the classes are okay and stuff, but the extra events are really going to keep kids going.” 

While the team didn’t win the competition, it was the culmination of a chaotic first year for the program that teacher Kyle Olmstead had been dreaming about for half a decade. Originally a teacher at Clark Fork High School, Olmstead transferred to SHS to bring the JROTC program to life.   

Olmstead said that despite the challenges of building a program from scratch, the students have made the immense work worthwhile.  

“My wife hasn't seen me a lot, but they have,” Olmstead said of his students. “Having the kids just tell me how much they really enjoyed, how much they're really into this. That just keeps me going. It really feeds me.” 

One of the major challenges that Olmstead and the program continue to work through is the fallout from last fall’s federal government shutdown. Just as Olmstead was getting things on track, the longest government shutdown blocked critical funding and supplies that Olmstead still has not received.  

Olmstead said that without anyone working at the government, he was unable to get a hold of anyone for 43 days at the start of the program.  

"We still don't have our flags,” Olmstead said. “We still don't have a lot of the equipment we're supposed to have. I basically had to buy all the ropes and the carabiners so they could do the rope crossing [event].” 

While Olmstead said the students can sense the confusion that came during the start, they’ve continued to buy in and support the program with their enthusiasm. As he looks ahead to the second year of the program, Olmstead said he hopes it will continue to grow. 

“I'm stoked for next year. I got half a clue what I'm going to do next year, but we got big plans,” Olmstead said with a laugh.  

Those plans include hosting a formal military ball next year and continuing fundraising efforts. Olmstead said he’s having a second person come on to help him run the program, which will be a big help as he continues to try and grow JROTC in the Lake Pend Oreille School District.  

“We were selling hamburgers and hot dogs over to lacrosse and softball matches, which is really great that the school district is letting us do that fundraising,” Olmstead said. “We pulled in $325 Saturday, so that's a start, that gets us busing. We can bus them to the next program.” 

Olmstead said that they should get enough to bus them to a second Raiders event in Kellogg on May 30.