-JROTC : A Program to Take

by Che’Resa White

Nearly one-quarter of the students at Kean High are enrolled in the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC). It makes you wonder: Why is this program so popular?

Cadet Vadal Eddy, answered, “JROTC prepares cadets for their future; it teaches them responsibility, discipline and leadership skills. It can get you scholarships and community service hours. It prepares you for a career in the military if interested.”

First Sgt. Frett, an Army JROTC instructor of the Mighty Rays Battalion, said, “ The benefits are multifold; the ROTC program teaches character, and it also enhance the cadets’ communication and leadership skills It provides opportunities for cadets to work in the community, and academically, it reaches across the curriculum.”

“You also have the benefit of choosing a military advance to PFC (Private First Class),” 1st Sgt. Frett added. Even if you don’t want a career in the military, it help can help you determine the career path that you wish to do.

Seeing the number of students in green military uniforms on the first day of each week, you might ask how many people are in the program. The 1st Sergeant said, “ There are approximately 288 cadets, [including] 100-plus new cadets.”

Asked if there have there been any promotions this year, he said, “There have been many numerous promotions this year because I love to promote cadets. This year we started to select a Cadet of the Month to recognize the students for their hard work, and hopefully, soon it’ll be cadet of the year.”

The program outlook hasn’t changed, he explained, “But we intend to continue to help the cadets to motivate them.”

This school year, JROTC leaders had to wait till after the start of school to receive their budget allotment from the government, and the programs are now in full swing.

Cadets can enjoy activities such as the Military Ball, Mr. & Mrs. JROTC,

Unarmed Drill Team and Armed Drill Team,

Color Guard and Honor Guard,

Coastal Clean Ups, Inter- Battalion Competition, and Drill Competition (which Eudora Kean is hosting this year in the Digna Marie Wheatley Gymnasium).

In the Antilles Military Academy Drill Competition in 2011, the Mighty Rays Battalion came out first overall against about six other schools, returning home with almost all the trophies

There is also Junior Cadet Leadership Challenge (JCLC) , Camp Guajataka, that is held every summer in P.R. JCLC gives opportunities to learn leadership skills while giving physical challenges and a fun experience all together.

To fund activities like the Military Ball, the program holds an IPad raffle; the cadets each sell five raffle tickets and the winner is drawn at the end of each month. Cadets who sell the most tickets at the end of the school year have a chance to win their own IPad.

Depending on the student, cadets come out of the program more disciplined and with more and better leadership skills than how they started. JROTC is definitely a program to take and is highly recommended by both students and teachers.