Many people have seen the JROTC color guard march during football games, but what is the program really about?

JROTC has a variety of goals and missions for its students.

“[The overall goal of JROTC is] to establish citizens of character,” junior Cole Resnick said. “We really focus on creating different life skills and establishing patriotism, along with learning about the science of flight.”

Throughout the United States, different branches of the military  are focused on in high school JROTC classes. At Washburn Rural High School the Air Force is the main area of the military explored.

According to the U.S. Air Force, the curriculum for JROTC is comprised of 40 percent aerospace science, 40 percent leadership education and 20 percent health and wellness training.

“[This program has] taught me everything from the science of rockets and flight, to precision drill, to leadership methods and applications,” Resnick said.

The JROTC program attempts to teach a variety of different skills.

According to the U.S. Air Force, JROTC classroom study includes learning about “the heritage of flight, human requirements of flight, development of aerospace power, space and technology programs as well as introductions to different military customs and courtesies.”  

As well as all that is learned within the classroom, JROTC also involves numerous activities outside of school.

“We have a lot of extracurricular activities [offered here]. We have a drill team, color guard, marksmanship team, academic bowl team and physical training team.” Resnick said.

Each team offers the chance to meet new friends, find new interests, and allow students to get out of their comfort zones.

JROTC is also unique in that it can become as much as a time commitment as a student wants.

“[The time commitment] depends on how much you want to participate. If you don’t want to be active it just takes an hour at school. If you do choose to participate,” Resnick said. “[JROTC] has practices after school for different teams, as well as different services, competitions, and fundraising projects.”

Getting involved with JROTC is a simple process.

“[Anyone who is interested] can sign-up with a counselor. It only takes one period per semester, and if it is taken for two years it counts as a P.E. credit,” Resnick said.

JROTC can aid students who are looking to get more involved in school or apply for scholarships.

“[JROTC] looks really nice on scholarship applications, and it’s definitely something colleges look for. Especially if you do extracurricular activities and get involved in leadership,” Resnick said.  

A variety of college scholarships are available for students who participated in JROTC in high school. To qualify for most JROTC scholarships, a student must be 17-years-old, meet GPA requirements, meet SAT and/or ACT requirements, have a high school diploma and meet physical fitness standards. To learn more specifics and requirements for these scholarships visit http://www.collegedata.com/.

Yet, some assumptions, such as the program being solely about the military, are incorrect.

“This program is not a commitment to the military. It is simply trying to promote leadership, and make high school students more prepared for the future,” Resnick said.

JROTC is a program which–while often highly associated with the military–does not have preparing students for the military as the main goal. Leadership, citizenship and involvement in activities outside of school are much more important to this program, and could be an organization that some students may want to get involved in.