Bringing JROTC to my high school

Hello all,

I have seen many Service Academy candidates who had the chance to participate in JROTC during high school. Not only does this help one prepare for the military but I'm sure that it also serves as a great extra-curricular activity that the Academies would love to see on someone's application.

Unfortunately, my school does not offer this program, nor do any of the other schools in my district. Recently I was taking the pre-ACT test and on the writing portion we had to answer the question, "What class would you like to see offered in the future at your school". I chose to write about bringing the JROTC program to our school and possibly also a military history or science course. I am not sure if this will be read and taken into consideration so I am going to try to email my principle to set up a meeting to discuss this.

Another thing that I have heard is that the Service Academies want you to take leadership roles and invest your time in projects in activities that are important to you. I would personally love to be involved in bringing this program to my school and I believe that taking part in adopting this program is something that the Academies would think of highly.

Do other people have any advice to give me on this journey?

Thanks

Yes Yes Yes! If this is a path that can help you and your school district implement a JROTC program at your school, and you're fully willing to do it, then do it!
I cannot stress enough how much JROTC means to me and how much it taught me. I was probably one of the quietest kids coming into my freshman year of high school but I joined our Marine Corps JROTC program (having absolutely no clue what it was other than it was military-related and a "harder alternative to P.E.") because I found it interesting. After just my first semester I started taking on leadership roles such as being a squad leader and worked my way all the way up to CO by my junior year. GONE is that quiet kid. I attribute most of my leadership and communicative success in high school and my other activities to JROTC.

The problem is (and this saddens me), is that I think JROTC is losing interest in some places... My school district took it away from my school for my senior year due to there not being enough interest (I think the minimum for MCJROTC is 100 students at a school and we had about 90). It's sad, and I can't stop feeling guilty for anything I could've done to help make it stay. I added another math class this year to fill the gap in my schedule, but it's really not the same... I wish it was still here.

Advice for you: I don't know what the procedure is to get a JROTC unit in your school district, but it's probably complicated. Do a lot of research. The most important thing I can say to you is to build interest at your school. How big is your school? Will people want to do it? Make a list and have people sign it if they're interested in joining. Maybe go to your local middle schools that feed in and pitch the idea. If you can make it happen, you will be a legend AND you will not regret it.

Bennett611 said:

Hello all,

I have seen many Service Academy candidates who had the chance to participate in JROTC during high school. Not only does this help one prepare for the military but I'm sure that it also serves as a great extra-curricular activity that the Academies would love to see on someone's application.

Unfortunately, my school does not offer this program, nor do any of the other schools in my district. Recently I was taking the pre-ACT test and on the writing portion we had to answer the question, "What class would you like to see offered in the future at your school". I chose to write about bringing the JROTC program to our school and possibly also a military history or science course. I am not sure if this will be read and taken into consideration so I am going to try to email my principle to set up a meeting to discuss this.

Another thing that I have heard is that the Service Academies want you to take leadership roles and invest your time in projects in activities that are important to you. I would personally love to be involved in bringing this program to my school and I believe that taking part in adopting this program is something that the Academies would think of highly.

Do other people have any advice to give me on this journey?

Thanks

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Thoroughly research your proposal before sitting down with your principal. Make an effort to understand:
- how these programs are funded and maintained
- what the start-up requirements are
- what the timeline is

Your principal is no doubt juggling scarce resources over competing priorities. The more research you can do, the more you will shine light on the path. Go prepared to your meeting with timelines, action steps, funding info, why the program is a good investment, handouts. Even if you don’t have details, doing the foundation work shows your drive and commitment.

I included a sample link below for AJROTC; there are many hits on google for all the service JROTC programs’ primary sources. Note how the money works and the cap on number of AJROTC units nation-wide.

These things take time - identifying resources, doing the admin work, resolving logistics, getting school board approval, hiring people. Factor that in.

No matter the outcome, you will learn a great deal about how these major projects like these work.

I did a similar process two years ago. I saw that my school had a lack of a military-focused organization and while I wasn't able to start a JROTC unit I created a Military club with the focus on education about the military, volunteering, and assistance with recruiters/ applications and finding contacts and connections.

Don't start a club or organization just to put it on an application. Thankfully I was able to spot a need at my school for something I am passionate about so it never feels work but it is a very hard and occasionally discouraging process to start and gain momentum for a club (and then continue to create new ideas to grow the club and support the mission).

Everyone here is correct when they say not to waste your time doing things you aren't passionate about just to put it on an application.

From my experience, I have had a very hard time gaining momentum and support for a military club coming from a mostly white-collar area were joining the military is often met with the question "why". Whatever you decide, buy into it fully and work through any obstacles that will arise and make you question your initiative.


PM me if you want advice on how to gain support/ getting contacts or any questions you may have.