- 1stSgt. Christopher Borghese

2012 ORIGINAL INDUCTEE OF THE MILITARY DRILL HALL OF FAME

MGySgt. Douglas Dunlapp & Fern Creek High School
Fern Creek HS in Fern Creek, Kentucky has been attending the National High School Drill Championships for over 20 years. In the beginning, Major Allan Broussard and MGySgt. Douglas Dunlapp were a major force in the world of drill as the instructors at this small program just outside Louisville, Kentucky. In the early years of the Nationals, Major Broussard and Top Dunlapp would compete with the best in the nation and write extensive post-event AAR's that were designed with one thing in mind always - to make the event better and safer for the cadets. So many of the things that are done today are largely due to the ideas and concepts these two men put together to form the basis of the current Nationals. Their contributions will never be forgotten and have been matched by nobody since.

Fern Creek High School is a solid educational facility however the facilities the program maintains are modest but the heart and pride of the program is as fierce as a lion. After Major Broussard left JROTC to become a school administrator in the early 2000's, MGySgt. Dunlapp continued his quest for excellence that took the team to new heights of unparalleled perfection that put him on a path to do something no other instructor in the world of JROTC competition drill had ever accomplished.

While their male Leatherneck drill team annually finishes as arguably top finest male armed Marine Corps drill teams and one of the finest overall JROTC units nationally, their female team is without parallel as the most powerful all-female military full-weight armed drill team in the nation, past or present. Currently, the Lady Leathernecks have won 13-consecutive Alternative/Mixed division overall championships at the National H.S. Drill Team Championships and show no signs of giving up that run of excellence. They were pushed for 19 years by MGySgt. Dunlapp before his retirement in 2011, taking them to heights of excellence heretofore unseen. Looking at the youngsters that came out of the program, the lessons that this juggernaut program instilled to gain their top finishes transcended the drill floor and carried forth into the lives of these successful, hard working and confident young people.

His affable nature, warm smile and great sense of humor belies a fierce competitor with the heart of a champion and the attention to detail that is the trademark of Marines worldwide. Those characteristics carried forward into the cadets he worked with and made him a fantastic coach, a great role model, and a wonderful educator on and off the drill deck. MGySgt. also had an amazing sense of balance regarding drill practice for such a lofty team. Unlike many of the top national drill programs, MGySgt. Dunlapp would forbid his team from practicing in the Summer; he expected them to relax, enjoy and come back fresh and hungry to learn in September every year. And then every year by May, both the male and the female drill teams would be ready to compete with the best teams in the country.

MGySgt. Dunlapp has returned to the Nationals in his retirement just to be able to relax and enjoy the event. His presence is always a welcome addition and his insights even in retirement are highly valued due to his keen eye for excellence. It remains a huge honor to induct MGySgt. Douglas Dunlapp into the military Drill Hall of Fame.