Why Join JROTC?

JROTC stands for Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps.  It is a character development program sponsored by the United States Armed Forces to further allows high schoolers to develop their citizenship, leadership, communication, collaboration, time-management, and many more essential skills.

Even though we have Physical Training, it's NOT hard at all and was designed to strengthen your fitness from the level that best fits you.

• It is inexpensive.

• Uniforms are provided free of charge.

• Most activities are subsidized by the Air Force and/or booster club.

• JROTC instills discipline, structure, pride and a sense of accomplishment.

• JROTC also offers a place to “belong” and a place to make life-long friends.

There is absolutely NO military obligation for cadets. Cadets are NOT required to join the military.  However, cadets do receive advanced placement in the military if they decide to join a branch of service.

AFJROTC does not have many requirements to join that are not already met by joining the school itself.  For starters, the student must have an active desire to perform and set an example for the rest of the school. Students may join AFJROTC starting in any grade level, 9th through 12th grade.  In order for your student to join the corps, contact the student's counselor regarding the class.

AFJROTC does have a $35 activity fee (which includes "renting" the AFJROTC Polo Shirt) to be paid at the beginning of each school year.  Additionally, there is usually an additional fee if your cadet chooses to attend extracurricular activities such as field trips and the annual military ball.  Finally, cadets must maintain their blues uniform through periodic dry cleaning.

Yes!  Award of the letter jacket is based on the individual cadet's performance in the cadet corps and grades in all classes.  It is usually awarded during the cadet's Junior or Senior year in high school.

All cadets will be issued the Air Force ABU camo uniform as the standard Air Force JROTC uniform along with the blues uniform and blue TX-948 polo shirt.  Cadet staff members as well as cadets in leadership roles will be issued the OCP camo uniform instead of the ABUs.  The uniforms are provided by AFJROTC and must be worn once each week.  The weekly inspections are graded and will have a large impact on the overall grade your student receives in the program. The uniforms must be kept in a clean condition and must be returned when a student graduates or leaves the program.  There is no cost to the parent except professionally dry cleaning the blues uniform throughout the year or if a piece of the uniform is lost or damaged due to negligence.

Cadets will adhere to the notional uniform wear schedule below (subject to change based on the events calendar).

• Week 1 -- AFJROTC polo shirt, jeans/pants/khakis, belt, closed-toed shoes

• Week 2 -- "Full" ABUs/OCPs

• Week 3 -- AFJROTC polo shirt, jeans/pants/khakis, belt, closed-toed shoes

• Week 4 -- "Full" ABUs/OCPs

Male cadets must keep their hair cut within Air Force standards and be cleanly shaved (if necessary) when wearing the AFJROTC uniform.  Female cadets are taught how to properly wear their long hair when wearing the uniform.  Boys and girls are not allowed to dye their hair an "unnatural" color.  If dyed, the hair must be one natural color.  Male cadets cannot have any visible piercings and female cadets may only have one earring in each ear when wearing the AFJROTC uniform.

Being awarded cadet rank is a way of rewarding cadets based on their performance in the corps and in their other classes.  Cadets who wear the higher ranks usually have leadership responsibility in the corps.

• JROTC counts as a PE credit for your first year, unless you are already participating in Athletics.

• JROTC counts as an elective credit each year after that.

All team activities are optional but highly encouraged!  Competition team practices occur either during lunch, or before or after school.  Our teams include:

• Academics competition

• Archery

• Awareness Presentation Team

• Color Guard

• CyberPatriots

• Physical Fitness Training

• Projects / Event Planning

• Quadcopters

• Unarmed / Armed drill team (fake rifles) / Sabers

Absolutely not!  The only graded events happen during your class time—uniform inspections, presentations, quizzes, group projects, etc.  Many other school activities have an “off season” in the fall or spring, and cadets can participate after school to the level they are able.  After-school activities are enjoyable, and many cadets join or continue in JROTC because of them, but they have no bearing on academic grades. 

In addition to competition team trips and spirit team trips to football games, we typically take 2-3 major field trips per year.  We have historically visited Air Force bases, Army posts, Dallas, Corpus Christi, Fredericksburg, and San Antonio!

• Historically, JROTC cadets have about a 25% better chance of receiving a college ROTC scholarship than the general population.

• Cadets may receive up to two semesters of college ROTC credit for high school JROTC.

• JROTC cadets are very competitive for service academy appointments.