Instill Values Of Citizenship, Service To The United States, Personal Responsibility and Sense Of Accomplishment

(AFJROTC is NOT a USAF Recruiting or Accessions Program)

The AFJROTC staff includes 31 headquarters personnel and nearly 1,900 retired Air Force officer and enlisted military instructors. There are approximately 870 AFJROTC units with more than 125,000 cadets in high schools across the United States and selected Department of Defense Dependent Schools in Europe, the Pacific, Puerto Rico and Guam.

To reinforce personal growth through academic advancement, team building and leadership skills sets, cadets are encouraged to participate in activities outside the classroom, called Leadership Development Requirements. Common LDRs include STEM-related activities such as unmanned aircraft systems, CyberPatriot, StellarXplorers, rocketry, academic bowl and robotics. Other activities include marksmanship, drill team, middle-school mentoring teams, color guard and many others. LDRs vary by unit but all share the common theme of being led, managed and organized by cadets. Through these activities, cadets continue to refine their leadership and followership skills while bringing credit to themselves and their units, schools and communities.

Through the Flight Academy Program, AFJROTC cadets are competitively selected to attend a summer aviation program at an accredited university. This program is approximately eight weeks long and cadets can earn their private pilot's certification while receiving college credit. 2018 was the inaugural year of the Flight Academy and is projected to expand over the upcoming years.

All AFJROTC instructors are retired Air Force commissioned and noncommissioned officers. The instructors maintain Air Force standards and are trained through the AFJROTC Junior Instructor Certification Course. They are full-time faculty members of the participating high school and are employed by the local school board to teach AFJROTC classes. There are nearly 1,900 instructors serving in approximately 870 units around the world.

Community service is a major part of the cadet experience and helps instill a sense of civic pride and citizenship. Each year, AFJROTC cadets contribute more than 1.6 million hours of community service. Projects range from working with national organizations such as: the March of Dimes, Muscular Dystrophy, the National Red Ribbon Campaign and Special Olympics, to participating in local community projects such as cleaning and refurbishing cemeteries and building parks.

Cadets who choose to continue their education may receive special consideration for Air Force ROTC scholarships. Many of these scholarships will pay for two, three, or four years of tuition, books and fees at numerous universities and colleges and allow cadets to pursue studies in various technical and non-technical majors.

In addition, cadets electing to enter the military immediately after graduating from high school are eligible to enlist in the services at one to two pay grades higher than other enlistees. Students completing three years in AFJROTC are eligible to enter the Air Force two pay grades higher than other enlistees and are automatically enrolled into the Community College of the Air Force to receive college credit toward their associate’s degree.