Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines! JROTC has it all!
It all started yesterday.Nate came to me last night before bed.
He wanted to learn to iron a dress shirt and make good creases.
I knew this day was coming.
He also needed me to take him out earlier that day
and buy him a shoe shining kit.
Yep. He’s got it bad.
The real indicator for me was when he told me
his high and tight was not high or tight enough.
Yes, you guessed it.
My youngest son has the military gene!
He is 16, and would rather drive a Bradley than a Mustang (although he would ’settle’ for the Mustang when the Bradley wasn’t available.) I think that he may just wind up being a solider one day like his older brother and his papa. That’s OK by me. I will have it down to a science by the time he is in theater, if that is what he winds up doing for a career.
He teases his older brother sometimes “Mike, I am going into the Marines!” They love to chide one another — especially since Mike is former JROTC Marines. Nate is now involved in a branch with which I have had no prior history. I am excited to learn more! I have had the great blessing now of getting to know a little bit about each of the four major branches of the US Armed Forces. The Army is my main affiliation since I have two of my guys serving active duty. I have a brother who served in the Navy, two of my sons (Mike and Noah) who went through a Marines Junior Recruit Officer Training Corps (JROTC) in high school, and now Nate is in the Air Force JROTC at his high school.
JROTC has been a wonderful experience for my oldest two, and now my youngest son is loving his program. JROTC is a great program to be involved with from a parent’s perspective as well.
The experiences that are offered in these military run programs are a very good mixture of book work, lecture, practice and field trips. Most of the kids I have encountered through the school years within this program were bright, motivated kids who may or may not have an interest in the military as their adult career. Kids join for many reasons. Some join for the close knit cohort group that forms due to different activities offered within the JROTC. Some kids join because they want some help with their self discipline, or they want to do more PT. The reasons kids join tend to be healthy because the JROTC is a program based on promotional practices.
JROTC promotes and encourages growth in its students in many areas. One vital area that is taught in JROTC are the core values of the branch represented. These values encourage and foster the development of things such as: respect, loyalty, selfless service, duty, honor, courage, etc. These values are taught at a classroom level and then implemented into the activities in which the kids participate. They learn through reading and through practical application. They also have the presence of an experienced military leader, who serves as a role model as well as a teacher.
The values taught in JROTC are values that I promote in the home, so having my sons in JROTC has simply been an extension of what they have already learned here. When my oldest finished high school he went to college for a while. He later decided to join the military and went Army. My middle son has never joined and never will. He is physically disqualified due to some serious medical problems. He was pretty disappointed when he learned that he would not be able to join, and is currently in college. Nate is making plans on going to college out of high school and wants to go through an ROTC program while he studies. He too wants to serve.
I know that there are those who are working very hard to get JROTC programs taken out of high schools across the Country. They do this on a misguided thought that the students who participate in JROTC are somehow persuaded to join, where they may not have otherwise. I have been around these programs and the JROTC programs I have had contact with are run professionally as an academic activity. It is not the JROTC that made my guys want to serve. It is a value system they have been raised in. They have been taught that serving their Country, even if for only a small period of time, is a duty that is good to fulfill. They have been taught that freedom is not only a right, but it is also a responsibility. I don’t think that JROTC programs make soldiers. I think that the program actually compliments and adds a formal component to values and attitudes that are first taught in the home, and for those already interested it can peak their interest. I liken it to students who have an interest in working for the media one day, taking journalism classes. It’s a non-required, but special focus class to help kids explore their options.
I hope that the JROTC programs across America grow and flourish. It is good for kids to have as many viable opportunities opened up to them as possible when it comes to skills, knowledge and possible career choices. JROTC can certainly provide students with the opportunity to learn more about their Country, and also learn some very important skills that are easily transferred into many areas of life. If you don’t believe me, just wait until I snap a picture of my 16 year old son ironing his own shirt! That’s proof if there ever was any!
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