FORT POLK, La. "" As high school students ponder their choices for class electives this year, one group at Leesville High School hopes to entice greater numbers into its ranks "" Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps.
Some questions and concerns new students may have about JROTC include: Do you have to join the military? Do you have to have military parents? Do you have to do push-ups all day?
The answer to all these questions is no. The JROTC program uses the military as a template for organization "" there are battalions and companies, and students are given ranks "" and as a basis for instilling ethical responsibility. Many lessons taught in JROTC come from military-style exercises that encourage teamwork as well as individual development.
This year’s battalion commander for Leesville High School’s JROTC is Courtney Wright, 17. She is starting her senior year with the hope that she’ll have many new faces to welcome into the program.
“The program here is designed to motivate young people to be better citizens,” she said. “No matter what path you choose after graduation, the things you learn (in JROTC) will help.”
Wright said she joined because she wanted to get involved in helping the community "" community service is one of many values taught through JROTC. Zachary Sheffield, 18, Wright’s executive officer, said they do many service projects throughout the year.
“We have done blood drives for the community, visited veterans in hospitals and collected canned goods for food drives,” said Sheffield. “We also did ‘Boxes for Afghanistan,’ a project where people brought in things to send to troops overseas.”
These boxes included soaps, hand sanitizers, hand-made greeting cards, snacks and more. They were shipped to Fort Polk units serving in Afghanistan.
“It (JROTC) teaches you leadership, and there are a lot of scholarship opportunities,” said Casci Toups, 15, of the program. “It’s not a military-only program and you can join other clubs too,” Toups said. “I think it’s (especially) good if you’re new to the school, because the upper classmen in JROTC mentor you. It’s a lot of students teaching students.”
Individual development is key for JROTC students, according to Jose Cepeda, 15. “What I like about the program is the lessons you learn about responsibility,” he said. “And it also helps with your relationship with others "" students help each other out.”
“There are other activities that JROTC offers also,” said Sheffield. “We have drill team, color guard, rangers, rifle team … then there’s the field trips (many to Fort Polk) for things like drown proofing (learning to float/swim using uniform items as flotation devices), rappelling and using the battlefield simulator "" it’s like a video game!”
Other JROTC events include the winter ball and the annual change of command/field day, a favorite among the ‘veteran’ cadets.
“We have a change of command ceremony first, then we change clothes and go out to the big field for team sports like tug-of-war, obstacle course and others. It’s a lot of fun,” said Wright.
Leesville High School students interested in joining JROTC need do nothing more than choose it as an elective (it is a physical education elective) when they make their schedule. For information on how JROTC participation can lead to scholarship opportunities, visit the Internet at www.goarmy.com/rotc/scholarships.
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