After 20 years in the U.S. Navy and one year at North Beach High School, Bruce Bryant joined the Aiken High School faculty in 1995 as the Naval Junior ROTC senior chief.
He remained in that role for 21 years and with his retirement coming in June, the cadets, Commander Tony Negron and special guests threw Bryant a party during the annual cadet Change of Command ceremony on Friday.
Over the years, Bryant worked with close to 1,000 kids that he helped turn into young men and women over a four-year period. Some of them turned out for his retirement - among them Josh Strickland, the student commanding officer in 2013.
He described his own anxiety when he arrived in the ROTC classroom the first time - just as every other ninth-grader did. After meeting Bryant that day, Strickland's anxiety turned into relief.
Through elementary and middle school, he didn't' have a father figure. He found one in the senior chief.
"On a personal level," Strickland said to Bryant, "not as a former student, but as a friend, from the bottom of my heart, I want to say thank you."
Other cadets also praised Bryant, as did military veterans and organizations, two former principals and current teachers. All of them presented gifts, as well. Negron arrived a decade after Bryant, and over that time, appreciated the chief's ability to connect with the first-year cadets so quickly.
Bryant fostered relationships with the cadets that are more like an apprentice and mentor, "inspiring them to reach their potential," Negron said. "This is only possible with the help of a caring teacher."
Bryant thanked all the cadets over the years, calling it a wonderful trip. It's not about only the teaching, "but how much we learn from the kids," he said. "It's something new every day ... Thank you so much for supporting me."
The commander and senior chief "are two of the most dysfunctional and most loving couples I've ever seen," Strickland said. "Commander was always nagging, while senior chief was like Al Bundy."
Negron echoed Strickland's remarks - pointing out that the partnership of two military instructors in a JROTC unit is like a marriage. They get to know the good and bad about each other, but what binds them together are the cadets.
Rob Novit is a general assignment reporter for the Aiken Standard.