HISTORY

AZ-941 was established in1994 at Gilbert High School.  

Major (ret) Dean Loucel opened AZ-941 in the fall of 1994 by himself the first school year. Gilbert Public Schools and Chandler School District formed a cross-district JROTC program. Cadets from AZ-941 would travel to Chandler High School AZ-862 (currently at Hamilton High School) for drill practice and held classroom academics at Gilbert High School. In the fall of 1995, MSgt (ret) Gary Emerson (a former Air Force MTI) joined Maj. Loucel. AZ-941 excelled at drill under the direction of MSgt Emerson. In 1998 MSgt Emerson transferred to another unit in his home state and MSgt (ret) Mike Heights joined AZ-941. 

During the fall of 1998, "The Dream Team" was established at Gilbert High School Air Force Junior ROTC AZ-941; SMSgt (ret) Eugene Kemp joined AZ-941 and this team of instructors would guide AZ-941 for the next twenty years. During their time together the corps reach over 225 cadets and won numerous competitions throughout Arizona, Nevada, and California. Cadets from Highland High School and Mesquite High School were transported to Gilbert High School to participate in JROTC. Major Loucel retired in 2013 after 22 years leading AZ-941. Major (ret) Robert Heim assumed the role of Senior Aerospace Science Instructor for AZ-941 in the fall of 2013. Maj Heim and SMSgt Kemp worked as a team for six years continuing the tradition of excellence at Gilbert High School. 

In 2018 SMSgt (ret) Kemp decided to hang up his uniform and retire after 20 years of faithful service in Air Force JROTC and over 40 years representing the U.S. Air Force.  AZ-941 welcomed TSgt (ret) Amy Shanty in 2019 as the Aerospace Science Instructor.  TSgt Shanty stepped away from teaching in September 2023.

In school year 22/23, MSgt (ret) Elwin Longnion joined AZ-941 as the Senior Aerospace Science Instructor after Maj Heim left the program to pursue a new business adventure. MSgt Longnion has eight years of JROTC experience and seven years school administrator experience. 

In school year 24/25, Lt Col (ret) Timothy Tucker assumed the command of AZ-941 as the newest Senior Aerospace Science Instructor. MSgt (ret) Longnion assumed the Aerospace Science Instructor position.  Lt Col Tucker made a hard decision and stepped away from AZ-941 in September 2024. 

In July 2025, Major (ret) Vicente Maldonaldo became  our newest Senior Aerospace Science Instructor.  Maj Maldonaldo's background of enlisting in the Army after high school, and attending Air Force ROTC at ASU brings knowledge of his enlisted and Officer experience to the classroom. In school year 25/26, Campo Verde High School became a part of AZ-941. AZ-941 is represented by Campo Verde, Gilbert, Highland and Mesquite High Schools. AZ-941 continues to set the standard for all AFJROTC units worldwide.

AZ-941 Unit Citations

Outstanding Unit:  1998/1999

Distinguished Unit:  2004/2005, 2006/2007, 2008/2009, 2009/2010, 2016/2017, 2018/2019, 2019/2020

Distinguished Unit with Merit:  2007/2008, 2017/2018