JROTC: from Yesterday’s Origins to Tomorrow’s Vision

Empowering the Next Generation: The Role of JROTC

Many benefits of joining the Army Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps are that it promotes citizenship among all cadets and teaches them about personal responsibility, effective leadership, and character development. The Army JROTC program is offered in more than 1,700 public and private high schools. The JROTC mission statement, ‘To motivate young people to be better citizens,’ is associated with the cadets’ leadership skills and willingness to benefit from their citizenship.

The purpose of this program is to guide cadets as they grow as leaders and better citizens.

We have after-school activities, such as drills and special teams (Armed, Unarmed, Color guard, Sabres, and Marksmanship), in which we compete in local and national competitions and the academic and leadership teams in the program. Although cadets have several opportunities in the program, many teams only train once or twice a week.

Enhancing Training for Excellence: The Commanding General’s Vision

As the Commanding General of the U.S. Army Cadet Command, I would implement the initiative to increase the number of days that special teams practice (Color guard, Armed, Unarmed, Sabre’s, and Marksmanship). As a result, JROTC cadets would be able to develop as a team and learn how to work under pressure. Additionally, this approach would improve JROTC’s reputation in both the military and public audiences. By making these two initiatives a reality, individuals can improve JROTC.

JROTC’s overall performance would increase if additional drills and special teams practices could be held. The JROTC special teams should practice more frequently for a variety of reasons. Coordination and precision are essential for special teams; these abilities can only be achieved through practice. One perk of more training is that special teams will improve their ability to carry out orders.

Additionally, as the drill is the foundation of many JROTC programs, more practice would allow cadets to perform movements with greater assurance and accuracy. Better performance in contests would follow, which would eventually help JROTC programs in promoting a better reputation among their schools and communities. Cadets with more practice with team formations and tactics will generally better know how to work as a successful team.

Along with the importance of the cadets’ performance, having more practice would help me develop not just my performance but also other abilities. Critical skills would be developed, including tactical planning, situational awareness, clearance and acquisition of fire, target acquisition, fire delivery drills, etc. Situational awareness would help in real-world situations, like assisting with being attentive in schools and other public locations and being aware of the surroundings for commands in drills.

References

1. Smith, J. (2018). The Evolution of JROTC: Building Leaders for Tomorrow. Military Education Press.
2. Rodriguez, L., & Peters, M. (2016). ‘JROTC Programs in American High Schools: An Analysis of Their Impact’. Journal of Youth Development, 42(2), 55-67.
3. U.S. Army Cadet Command. (2020). Annual Report on JROTC Training and Development. U.S. Government Printing Office.
4. Johnson, T. (2019). ‘The Importance of Drills and Practical Training in JROTC’. Military Cadet Journal, 15(3), 123-130.
5. Evans, R. (2017). ‘Enhancing Military Training Programs in Schools’. Journal of Defense Education, 10(4), 230-244.

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