Army JROTC Cadets from Central Hayneville High School compete in the Army JROTC Leadership Competition on June 19 in Washington D.C. Forty Army JROTC teams from across the country – and Saipan and Germany – met at the nation’s capital June 18-21 to demonstrate their academic knowledge and skills learned in JROTC throughout the year and compete in the JROTC Leadership Bowl. | Sarah Windmueller, U.S. Army Cadet Command Public Affairs

Army JROTC Cadets from Scott Regional Technology Center compete in the Army JROTC Leadership Competition on June 19 in Washington D.C. Forty Army JROTC teams from across the country – and Saipan and Germany – met at the nation’s capital June 18-21 to demonstrate their academic knowledge and skills learned in JROTC throughout the year and compete in the JROTC Leadership Bowl. | Sarah Windmueller, U.S. Army Cadet Command Public Affairs

Col. Ken Jones, director of Army JROTC, awards the first place trophy to Francis Lewis High School at the 2023 Junior Leadership Bowl on June 21. Cadets from across the country met June 18-21 in Washington D.C. to demonstrate the knowledge and skills learned in JROTC throughout the year. | Sarah Windmueller, U.S. Army Cadet Command Public Affairs

The Army JROTC Academic Teams from Francis Lewis High School and Ravenwood High School listen as a question is read on June 24 during the JROTC Academic Bowl held in Washington D.C. The top all-service JROTC Academic Teams from across the world met June 23-26 to compete and demonstrate the academic knowledge and skills learned in JROTC throughout the year. | Sarah Windmueller, U.S. Army Cadet Command Public Affairs

The Army JROTC Academic Team from Marmion Academy reacts to a correct answer on June 24 during the JROTC Academic Bowl held in Washington D.C. The top all-service JROTC Academic Teams from across the world met June 23-26 to compete and demonstrate the academic knowledge and skills learned in JROTC throughout the year. | Sarah Windmueller, U.S. Army Cadet Command Public Affairs

The Army JROTC Academic Teams from Jefferson County High School (left) and Lowell High School (right) pose with Col. Ken Jones, director of Army JROTC, after competing in the Army Academic Bowl Championship on June 25 in Washington D.C. Lowell High School took first place and Jefferson County High School took second. The top all-service JROTC Academic Teams from across the world met June 23-26 to compete and demonstrate the academic knowledge and skills learned in JROTC throughout the year. | Sarah Windmueller, U.S. Army Cadet Command Public Affairs

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Hundreds of Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) Cadets from around the world gathered in Washington D.C. June 18-26 to compete in the JROTC Junior Leadership and Academic Bowls (JLAB).

“We’ve been preparing for months now,” said Sophia Bailey, an Army JROTC Cadet and upcoming junior at Sparkman High School in Alabama. “We jump into practice at the beginning of each year where we’re preparing to get through the phases and get to nationals. We also had five-hour summer practices every day.”

For over 400 high school JROTC students – the top three percent of all JROTC programs that competed – nearly a year’s worth of hard-work, preparation, and studying converged for a national display of the two JLAB events. The Army JROTC Leadership Bowl taking place June 18-22 and the All-Service JROTC Academic Bowl taking place June 23-26.

Out of the over 3,000 high schools taking part in the academic competitions, only the top 40 Army JROTC Leadership Teams and the top 65 All-Service JROTC Academic Teams advanced to compete at the capitol on a national stage.

“All of our [JROTC] events have their own special piece to them, but whereas, the Raider Challenge or a Drill event tend to be more physical, this gets a little bit deeper with testing that academic knowledge and the real fundamentals of leadership,” said Col. Ken Jones, director of Army JROTC for the United States Army Cadet Command.

“I think what you see here at JLAB is all kinds of different challenges – they’re doing STEM type events, they’re doing individual knowledge type tests, they’re doing leadership challenges that require them to work together as a team – and then on top of that you throw in this aspect where it’s a scavenger hunt and they get to explore the capitol and they’re learning as they do that.”

The competition begins with the Army JROTC Leadership Bowl, where Cadet teams of four students experience settings that not only prompt academic recall, but also encourage situations to display leadership in action.

Lana Sunderland is an Army JROTC Cadet and upcoming senior at Saipan Southern High School in Saipan – an island located over 12,000 miles away in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands. After the intense preparation process put forth by her team to secure a spot at the Washington D.C. competition, Sunderland felt her team was ready, not only to compete, but also experience the unique educational and networking opportunities of being a national qualifier.

“There’s a lot of studying and now we’re here to compete, but we’re also here to make bonds with other teams and get to know people from around the world,” Sunderland said. “It keeps us open to new experiences and this new place – some people like us have never been to D.C.”
“I’m looking forward to making new memories because I’m not used to stepping outside my comfort zone and talking to all these people.” She added. “It’s really nerve-wracking, but it’s also very exciting at the same time.”

With their academic foundation established, Cadets stepped forward ready to flex the skills and knowledge they’ve been reviewing since the fall.

Aidan Cassidy, an Army JROTC Cadet and upcoming senior at Sparkman High School was especially excited to showcase his team’s abilities in the Leadership Reaction Course challenges because “it’s something different,” he said. “It’s judging leadership ability over just straight knowledge.”

“JROTC has taught me teamwork and how important that is,” Cassidy said. “Coming here with these great Cadets and being able to compete with them as a team is just awesome.”

At the conclusion of the three-day Army JROTC Leadership Bowl, an entirely new set of JROTC Cadets arrive at the nation’s capital, these students representing all-service JROTC programs from around the world competing in the All-Service JROTC Academic Bowl.

“It’s basically a whole lot of jeopardy in a very short time span,” said Christopher Wissemann, an Army JROTC Cadet and upcoming senior from Vilseck High School in Germany.

Cadet teams of three to four students answer questions from across any genre of topics. A correct answer gains their team points, and the team with the most points at the end of the match advances.

Just like their Leadership Bowl counterparts, Cadets competing in the Academic Bowl spend countless hours preparing for each competition.

“It hasn’t been easy, it involves a lot of self-motivation,” said Wissemann. “A lot of us are in student government or have other commitments, so we try to study in school, but for the most part we’ve had to study on our own.”

Though many were nervous, teams felt well-prepared to compete and showcase the academic and leadership cohesion that’s been taught to them all year throughout the JROTC curriculum.

It’s academic excellence at it’s finest, with lots of opportunities to create core memories and build lasting relationships.

“I hope we come out of this competition a little more connected as well as a little bit more knowledgeable about topics and basic trivia,” Wissemann said. “I’m also hoping to make friends with a lot of the other cadets out here.”
“We’re a school of roughly 400 kids so coming out to a national competition like this and competing with JROTC battalions who are bigger than our entire school, I feel like it’s a good opportunity for us to show how capable we are and how strong we are as a school and as a Corps of Cadets.”

JROTC is one of the largest character development and citizenship programs for youth in the world. The programs are run by retired service members, hired by the individual school districts, to teach a curriculum that offers challenging academic content and real-life experiences to help students develop a sense of personal responsibility as they move throughout the different stages of life.

About Army ROTC

Army ROTC is one of the best leadership courses in the country and is part of your college curriculum. Through classes and field training, Army ROTC provides you with the tools to become an Army Officer without interfering with your other classes. ROTC also provides you with discipline and money for tuition while enhancing your college experience.

Army ROTC offers pathways to becoming an Army Officer for high school students, current active-duty Soldiers, and for current National Guard and Army Reserve Soldiers through the Simultaneous Membership Program.

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