About Us

Mission Statement

Kingsway Regional High School's Navy JROTC mission is to build great leaders and valuable members of society through citizenship development, leadership development, life skills, and time-management. 

We live by the mantra: Own the R.I.D.E.

Kingsway Regional High School's Navy JROTC mission is embedded in our core tenants of Respect, Integrity, Discipline, and Excellence. Own the R.I.D.E. We believe that leaders are Respectful and are Respected and demonstrates Respect in and out of the JROTC classroom. Leaders have high moral courage and uphold the value of Integrity and do not condone those who work to break down trust and are dishonest. Leaders must be Disciplined in their actions and care for their perople. Only when a leader can demonstrate Respect, Integrity, and Discipline will they beable to build a team of Excellence. Excellence is not something you do or learn, it is something you achieve as a team! "Own the R.I.D.E."

Every cadet must work towards four-S's. Self-Awareness, Self-Confidence, Self-Discipline, and Selflessness. Know your tendencies. Be Confident not Arrogant. Do what's right even when no one is looking. Knowing that it is not all about "me". Work to achieve these and you will "Own the R.I.D.E". Every cadet must work to be a better person every single day if they wish to become a great leader and valuable member to society.

History 

August 15, 2023, Kingsway NNDCC first Core of Cadets began a journey of what was a vision for over a decade by Superintendant, Dr. James Lavender. This vision was brought to fruition on Oct. 5 2022, when Dr. Lavender received authorization from the US Navy to start up a Navy National Defense Cadet Corps (NNDCC) program. He and his team began educating the Dragon community about the program and its benefits, and recruiting the rising 9th-12th grade Dragons to join this prestigious Citizenship Development Program. In February 2023, Dr. Lavender hired his first program director of NJROTC, Senior Chief David Schuster, USN (Ret), to build, grow, and lead the program to success. Senior Chief Schuster is a veteran of the Naval Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (NJROTC) and was previously an advanced certified Naval Science Instructor with a program of nearly 600 Cadets in the program, earning Distinguished Unit with Honors for 13 consecutive years. On June 8, 2023, Senior Chief Schuster was introduced to a group of early adopters and trailblazing future cadets and their families at the Meet the Instructor Night. It was on August 15, 2023, when the first Core of Cadets walked through the North Entrance and began their Basic Leadership Training (BLT) in the East Cafe. With assistance from Colts Neck High School NJROTC, Kingsway's Core-of-Cadets went through three days of intense training. Finally, on August 17, 2023, Kingsway's NNDCC Cadets graduated the three days of training but not before performing an official NJROTC Physical Fitness Test and Academic Test, a Uniformed Personnel Inspection, Knockout Drill Competition, and capstoned by a Pass-in-Review.  At the conclusion of BLT graduation, the first 20 Cadets would walk the hallowed halls of Kingsway Regional High School.