Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire high school ROTC - what is its purpose, benefits?

KFWA:

For me, as a 1961 high school graduate who took all three years of the Army JROTC program, the most important benefits of that training were that I learned the fundamentals of map and compass use and that I learned to handle and use a rifle safely and effectively. Our enlisted instructors were all combat veterans who knew that the program was preparing us for war service and they took their jobs seriously. I was and am grateful for their instruction and example.

All the Army personnel, officers and NCOs, emphasized that we needed to learn as much as we could from all our high school courses. There was no tolerance for laziness, insolence or wilful ignorance.

As my youngest son approached 9th grade he told me he wanted to sign up for ROTC. I saw no harm in it and agreed. Turned out to be awesome. The main instructor was a Lt. Colonel that was still an instructor pilot in the AFRES. We are right next to an Air Force base, and several times during high school they went on "incentive rides" on KC135's. They went on a field trip to Florida, and their transport was a C130. My son was in a jump seat in the cockpit during one of the landings. During that flight the pilot discovered that my son wanted to be a pilot, and that he wanted to fly F15's. He asked my son,"Want to see me do something in this plane that you can't do in an F15?" ...then he got up and fixed himself and the co-pilot lunch!
Any time you approached any of the kids in that ROTC class, they would look you in the eye, shake your hand, and call you sir. My son started caring about physical fitness, hygiene, and keeping his shoes spit shined. He did ROTC all four years in high school. He excelled on the drill team, advancing to the rank of Colonel and appointment as core commander. And he earned a full ride Air Force scholarship to college.