Welcome Letter

Dear Parents/Guardians,                                                                                            20 August 2025

Welcome to La Quinta High School Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFJROTC),  otherwise known as the CA-951 Blackhawks.  We are delighted your son/daughter selected AFJROTC as one of their electives.  Please understand that participation in this Program DOES NOT commit a student to any military obligation whatsoever.  Each student has elected to join a program promising them an opportunity for educational enrichment, physical improvement, personal development, and leadership opportunities with fun, challenging extra-curricular activities.  In addition, AFJROTC offers other benefits such as improved chances for college scholarships,  a familiarization with flying and an increase in enlisted rank in the armed forces if a student should elect for military enlistment after high school graduation.

 The mission of the AFJROTC is to Develop Citizens of Character.  We provide an environment that helps our cadets grow into mature adults - mentally, physically, and morally.  Our objectives are twofold: 1.) to educate and train cadets in citizenship and 2.) to promote community service while instilling responsibility, character, and self-discipline.  The AFJROTC curriculum includes courses on leadership, the history of air power, global and cultural studies, and space exploration.  CA-951 also provides several Leadership Development Requirements (LDR's) which are optional, although the name suggests otherwise, for cadets to participate in.  Cadets are highly encouraged to participate in these opportunities which result in a richer JROTC experience.  These LDR's are: Honor Guard Team, Fitness (Raider) Team,  Awareness Presentation Team,  Academic Bowl (JLAB) Team ,  Kitty Hawk Honor Society,  Cadet Corps Morale Squad, CyberPatriot Team,  Drone Team, Robotics Team,  Flight Simulator Team,  Drill Team.  In addition, cadets are provided the opportunity to participate in JROTC sponsored community service (CS) events (15 hrs of CS per semester is one of the requirements for promotion),  curriculum in action field trips, and Orientation Flights through the local Civil Air Patrol.

We will issue each student a uniform, which he/she will be required to wear at school once a week on Tuesdays.  We will pay for the initial tailoring of the uniforms, but cadets are responsible for keeping the uniform cleaned (dry clean only for the dark blue uniform items: pants, service coat, zipper jacket, flight cap, tie/tie tab) throughout the year.  Please do not wash or dry dark blue uniform items at home!  This will cause irreparable damage to the uniforms which will result in cadets paying for their replacement.  Cadets are also responsible for dry-cleaning the uniform prior to turn-in at the end of the school year. 

The senior cadets are a motivated and dedicated group of young adults who have great expectations for leading CA-951 to high levels of excellence.  We will build our senior's leadership skills as they guide the Cadet Corps through another exciting year.   The cadets learn how to communicate and develop professional relationships while overcoming challenges and building a cohesive team.   We take the mentoring of our communities future leaders seriously but do not lose sight on the need to develop a balance between work and a social life.

We are convinced that with your support we can truly make a difference in your son's/daughter's life.  We welcome any ideas on how to improve the AFJROTC program and are always available to answer any questions or comments you may have! Please do not hesitate to reach us via our contact information here!