Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps
The Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps is a federal program sponsored by the United States Armed Forces in high schools and also in some middle schools across the United States and United States military bases across the world. The program was originally created as part of the National Defense Act of 1916 and later expanded under the 1964 ROTC Vitalization Act.
Role and purpose
According to Title 10, Section 2031 of the United States Code, the purpose of the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps is "to instill in students in secondary educational institutions the values of citizenship, service to the United States, and personal responsibility and a sense of accomplishment." Additional objectives are established by the service departments of the Department of Defense. Under 542.4 of Title 32 of the Code of Federal Regulations, the Department of the Army has declared those objectives for each cadet to be:- Developing citizenship and patriotism
- Developing self-reliance and responsiveness to all authority
- Improving the ability to communicate well both orally and in writing
- Developing an appreciation of the importance of physical fitness
- Increasing a respect for the role of the U.S. Armed Forces in support of national objectives
- Developing a knowledge of team building skills and basic military skills
- Taking 1–3 years of the course grants cadets the ability to rank higher if they pursue a military career.
The military has stated that JROTC will inform young Americans about the opportunities available in the military and "may help motivate young Americans toward military service." A 1999 Army policy memorandum stated that "While not designed to be a specific recruiting tool, there is nothing in existing law that precludes... facilitating the recruitment of young men and women into the U.S. Army," directing instructors to "actively assist cadets who want to enlist in the military emphasize service in the U.S. Army; facilitate recruiter access to cadets in JROTC program and to the entire student body... work closely with high school guidance counselors to sell the Army story."
In a February 2000 testimony before the House Armed Services Committee, the armed service chiefs of staff testified that 30%-50% of graduating JROTC cadets go on to join the military:
- General James L. Jones, then Commandant of the Marine Corps, testified that the value of the Marine JROTC program "is beyond contest. Fully one-third of our young men and women who join a Junior ROTC program wind up wearing the uniform of a Marine."
- General Eric K. Shinseki, then Chief of Staff of the United States Army, testified that "Our indications are about 30 percent of those youngsters—we don't recruit them, as you know. We are not permitted to do that. But by virtue of the things that they like about that experience, about 30 percent of them end up joining the Army, either enlisting or going on to ROTC and then joining the officer population."
- General Michael E. Ryan, then Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, testified that "almost 50 percent of the folks that go out of the Air Force Junior ROTC go into one of the Services by enlisting or going to ROTC or going to one of the academies."
- Admiral Jay L. Johnson, then Chief of Naval Operations, testified that "Even if the number is only 30 percent, that is a good number. But think about what we get out of the other 70 percent. They have exposure to us. They have exposure to the military. And the challenge of the education mandate that we all share in principals and school counselors and school districts that won't let us in, that is a powerful tool I think to educate whether or not they end up in the service. So it is a long way around saying it is well worth the investment for lots of different reasons."
Organization
Five of the seven branches of the Uniformed services of the United States maintain a Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps, organized into units. As of June 2006, there are a total of 3,275 units:- 1,600 Army AJROTC units
- 794 Air Force AFJROTC units
- 619 Navy NJROTC units
- 260 Marine Corps MCJROTC units
- 2 Coast Guard CGJROTC units
Units are set up according to the layout of their parent service, often referred to as the "Chain of Command." Army JROTC units follow a company, battalion, and at larger events brigade structure. Marine Corps JROTC units follow the battalion, or in cases of larger size, brigade structure. Air Force JROTC units are composed structurally based on size. Navy JROTC typically follows the company, battalion, or regiment structure depending on the size of the unit.
DoD Budget | FY 2007 | FY 2008 | FY 2009 |
AJROTC | 128,281 | 146,147 | 149,329 |
NJROTC | 45,411 | 47,844 | 50,494 |
MCJROTC | 17,423 | 16,996 | 17,740 |
AFJROTC | 77,901 | 94,760 | 108,730 |
Total U.S. $1,000 | 269,016 | 305,747 | 326,293 |
JROTC is partly funded by the United States Department of Defense with an allocation in the military budget of about 340 million dollars for the fiscal year 2007, of which about 68 million are personnel costs. The federal government subsidizes instructor salaries, cadet uniforms, equipment and textbooks. The instructors, usually retired military personnel, continue to receive retirement pay from the Federal government, but in addition, the schools pay the difference from what the instructors would receive if they were on active duty. The service concerned then reimburses the school for approximately one-half of the amount paid by the school to the instructor.
Although active duty officers may be assigned, most instructors are retired from the sponsoring branch of the Armed Forces. In the Army JROTC program, the cadet unit at each school is directed by at least one retired commissioned officer, a Senior Army Instructor, or a Warrant Officer and at least one retired Non-Commissioned Officer, an Army Instructor,. In certain situations there may be additional instructors.
A new provision from the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007 was signed into law in October 2006, permitting retired Reserve Component officers and noncommissioned officers to be hired as instructors.
There are no national requirements that JROTC instructors have the teaching credential required by other teachers in public high school, although there are a handful of counties that do require a teaching credential. In at least one jurisdiction, the government requires JROTC instructors to have at least four years of military experience and possess a high school diploma or equivalent. AJROTC instructors need to be within one year of retirement or retired from active military service for five or fewer years. MCJROTC instructors need to have graduated from high school, have at least 20 years of active military service and be physically qualified according to Marine Corps standards.
AFJROTC previously required a minimum of 20 years of active duty but has since been overridden by a provision in the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007, signed into law in October 2006, permitting retired Reserve Component, with teaching credential, in order to be assigned an AI. To be assigned as a SAI the AJROTC Instructor has to hold a BA degree, with teaching credentials.
NJROTC also required a minimum of 20 years of active duty until it was overridden by a provision in the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007, signed into law in October 2006, permitting retired Reserve Component offers similar programs as JROTC. NDCC units differ from JROTC in that they receive little or no financial support from the Armed Forces; uniforms, equipment, other materials and instructor salaries must normally be furnished by the school hosting an NDCC program. Except for the funding aspects, JROTC and NDCC programs are virtually identical, although the cadet corps is not limited by the federal statute that restricts JROTC to offering courses only for students in ninth through 12th grades. Per 2005, Chicago had 26 Middle School Cadet Corps enlisting more than 850 students.
Instruction and activities
The Code of Federal Regulations states that JROTC is "designed for physically fit citizens attending participating schools." In public schools, JROTC is usually an elective course with membership limited to US citizens and legal foreign nationals, those who will graduate with their 9th-grade cohort, and have not experienced an out of school suspension during the preceding six-month period. Often, students who participate for one year receive credit in lieu of a physical education class. Students who excel in the first year of JROTC can apply for a second year. Most schools offer three to four years of JROTC training.Boarding schools or military schools may offer JROTC programs, with some requiring participation as a condition for acceptance to the school. Some public military schools mandate JROTC as a class for all grade levels, and have a curriculum that includes military history, military protocol, civics, and physical fitness. Chicago has six public military academies, more than any other city and one-third of all in the country.
The JROTC program stresses military discipline, with a curriculum that emphasizes study of military science and military history. Cadets typically wear their uniforms once or twice a week, usually standing for inspection, with the exception being those cadets who attend a JROTC-based military academy. Their creed encourages conduct that brings credit to family, country, school and the corps of cadets, loyalty, citizenship and patriotism. Many cadets participate in extracurricular activities such as the following:
- Drill
- Color Guard
- PT team
- Rocketry
- Orienteering
- Rifle or pistol Marksmanship programs
- Academic Team
- Drum corps
- Marching Band
There are other extracurricular activities that the JROTC's programs provide for their cadets, including trips to military installations, ROTC college programs, and other sites that give the cadets a look at the military community. During the school year, there are regional competitions between JROTC units, with testing in all areas of military, naval and aerospace science. Some units organize special visits to US military bases during school breaks. There are also many summertime "leadership academies" for cadets hosted by various military installations. These academies include the JROTC Leadership and Academic Bowl, and JROTC Cadet Leadership Challenge, a physical fitness competition.
Cadets may be awarded ribbons, ribbon devices, medals and aiguillettes for participation in JROTC and team activities, as well as for personal academic and athletic achievement and leadership. Awards may be presented by organizations other than the cadet's JROTC program, such as other JROTC programs, Military Officers Association of America, American Veterans, Order of the Daedalians, American Legion, and the National Rifle Association. Ribbons and medals are positioned in order of precedence, as prescribed by the Cadet Field Manual and the senior JROTC instructor.
Some units also host an annual formal military ball and formal dinner. Usually, awards are presented. Female cadets are generally excused from wearing the dress uniform for military ball. Sometimes units also have a separate awards ceremony, which is attended by the instructors, guests, and parents. Fraternal organizations, such as the American Legion, often give out awards for military excellence, academics, and citizenship, in addition to the standard awards given by the JROTC program. The year may be finished with a change of command ceremony, where the new unit commander, executive officer, and other unit officers are named and take command from the current officers. Mid-level officers are also named. Some units choose the next year's NCO and junior officer corps based on officer and NCO candidate schools, usually held immediately following the end of the school year.
Successful completion of a JROTC Program can lead to advanced rank upon enlistment in the Armed Forces. For example, upon completion of 3 years of Air Force JROTC, cadets may at their instructor's discretion enlist in the Air Force at the rank of Airman First Class. However, JROTC participation incurs no obligation to join the military.
A JROTC unit may recommend current JROTC cadets for nomination to the Service Academy of the unit's branch. JROTC units designated as Honor Units may nominate up to three cadets to the Service Academy of any branch, in addition to the nominations to the unit's own branch academy.
Competitions
Leadership and Academic Bowl
The JROTC Leadership and Academic Bowl is a national academic competition which is the largest of its kind for high schools in the country. There are three levels of the competition, which units who complete levels 1 and 2 successfully attending the last level at Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. Subjects that are covered in all three levels include history, literature, current events and JROTC curriculum. Depending on the represented branch, there may be 4-8 cadets representing a school. Aside from Cadet Command, the competition is also sponsored by the College Options Foundation.National High School Drill Team Championship
Established in 1982, the National High School Drill Team Championship is a joint-service exhibition drill competition for JROTC drill teams, held in Daytona Beach, Florida. Although it has been held since 1982, it only became an official when the Army Cadet Command became the sponsor in 1988.Awards and decorations
Army Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps
Army JROTC Medal For Heroism Ribbon | Army JROTC Superior Cadet Ribbon | Army JROTC Distinguished Cadet Ribbon |
Army JROTC Academic Excellence Ribbon | Army JROTC Academic Achievement Ribbon | Army JROTC Perfect Attendance Ribbon |
Army JROTC Student Government Ribbon | Army JROTC Leadership Education Training Service Ribbon | Army JROTC N 1 7 Ribbon |
Army JROTC N 1 8 Ribbon | Army JROTC N 1 9 Ribbon | Army JROTC N 1 10 Ribbon |
Army JROTC Dai Sai Instructor Leadership Ribbon | Army JROTC Personal Appearance Ribbon | Army JROTC Proficiency Ribbon |
Army JROTC Drill Team Ribbon | Army JROTC Orienteering Ribbon | Army JROTC Color Guard Ribbon |
Army JROTC Rifle Team Ribbon | Army JROTC Adventure Training Ribbon | Army JROTC Commendation Ribbon |
Army JROTC Good Conduct Ribbon | Army JROTC JCLC Participation Ribbon | Army JROTC N 3 12 Ribbon |
Army JROTC N 3 13 Ribbon | Army JROTC N 3 14 Ribbon | Army JROTC N 3 15 Ribbon |
Army JROTC Varsity Athletics Ribbon | Army JROTC Physical Fitness Ribbon | Army JROTC Athletics Ribbon |
Army JROTC N 2 4 Ribbon | Army JROTC N 2 5 Ribbon | Army JROTC Parade Ribbon |
Army JROTC Recruiting Ribbon | Army JROTC N 4 3 Ribbon | Army JROTC N 4 4 Ribbon |
Army JROTC N 4 5 Ribbon | Army JROTC Service Learning Ribbon | Army JROTC Excellent Staff Performance Ribbon |
Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps
Legion of Valor Bronze Cross for Achievement | ||
Marine Corps Reserve Association Outstanding Unit Award | American Legion Award for Scholastic Excellence | American Legion Bronze Medal for Military Excellence |
Sons of the American Revolution JROTC Bronze Medal | Daughters of the American Revolution JROTC Bronze Medal | Military Order of the World Wars JROTC Medal |
Military Officers Association of America JROTC Medal | Veterans of Foreign Wars JROTC Bronze Medal | Daedalian JROTC Achievement Award |
Women Marines Association Award for Outstanding Cadet | Noncommissioned Officers Association | Military Order of the Purple Heart JROTC Medal |
Navy League Youth Medal | Reserve Officers Association JROTC Medal | Naval Reserve Association JROTC Medal |
American Veterans JROTC Medal | National Sojourners Award | Scottish Rite JROTC Medal |
Outstanding Cadet Award | Student Leadership Award | Officer Leadership Award |
Noncommissioned Officer Leadership Award | Civic Service Award | Best Drill Cadet Award |
Distinguished Scholastic Achievement Award | Arts and Academics Award | Distinguished Military Training Award |
Physical Achievement Award | Superior Marksman Award | Athletic Participation Award |
Longevity / Fidelity Award | Distinguished Conduct Award | Best Drill Squad Award |
Color Guard Award | Drill Team Award | Band/Drum and Bugle Corps Award |
Rifle Team Award | Orienteering Team Award | Recruiting Award |
Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps
Air Force Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps
Career military who were members of JROTC
Many members of JROTC go on to have careers in the United States Armed Forces. Some notable former members of JROTC include:- William J. Bordelon, Central Catholic Marianist High School 1938, staff sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps, awarded the Medal of Honor
- Harry B. Harris Jr., Admiral, U.S. Navy; first Asian-American to achieve the rank of admiral in the Navy; served as commander of U.S. Pacific Command
- Baldomero Lopez, first lieutenant, U.S. Marine Corps, awarded the Medal of Honor
- James Cartwright, General, U.S. Marine Corps, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
- Shoshana Johnson, specialist, U.S. Army. First female African-American Prisoner of War in the history of the United States military
- Emily Perez, Oxon Hill High School 2001, second lieutenant, U.S. Army; first Class of 9/11 West Point graduate to die in the Iraq War
- Alan G. Rogers, Major, U.S. Army
- Thomas E. White, Brigadier General, U.S. Army, Secretary of the Army, 2001–2003
- Ian Gallagher, a character from the American remake of Shameless on Showtime.
Controversy
- High cost—A 1999 report by the American Friends Service Committee found that local school districts ended up paying substantially more than the cost estimate the military provided, and that a JROTC program cost more on a per-pupil basis than academic, non-military instruction.
- Lack of local control—The CCCO is concerned that the federal military dictates the JROTC curriculum and selects the instructors, resulting in local school districts losing control of curriculum and staff.
- Low-quality curriculum—The CCCO considers the JROTC textbooks to contain substandard learning material with factual distortions and outdated methods of teaching, basing their conclusions on a 1995 academic study of the Army JROTC curriculum commissioned by the American Friends Service Committee, which argues that the curriculum narrows the viewpoint of the students, encourages blind following rather than critical thinking, and indoctrinates students in militaristic authoritarian loyalty and passivity. Veterans for Peace resolved that JROTC teaching that the government gives the citizens its rights "is a complete perversion of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence."
In October 2005, the New York Civil Liberties Union pressured Hutchinson Central Technical High School in Buffalo, New York to release students from a mandatory JROTC program, arguing that the practice violates the State's Education Law, which provides that no child may be enrolled in JROTC without prior written parental consent.
In May 2008, the American Civil Liberties Union stated that JROTC violates the United Nations sponsored Convention on the Rights of the Child by targeting students as young as 14 for recruitment to the military. The United States has not ratified the convention, although it has ratified an optional protocol to the Convention on "the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict." However, recruiting is not an official goal of JROTC, as stated in United States Code pertaining to the program. Nor is it a stated goal in each of the individual service's JROTC program mission statements.
Other similar U.S.-based organizations
Youth-based, non-ROTC organizations include:- United States Army Cadet Corps
- Civil Air Patrol
- United States Naval Sea Cadet Corps
- Young Marines
- California Cadet Corps
- Middle School Cadet Corps
- Navy League Cadet Corps
- Knickerbocker Greys
- New York Military Academy
Similar organizations in other countries
- Antigua and Barbuda Cadet Corps
- Australian Air Force Cadets
- Australian Army Cadets
- Australian Navy Cadets
- Bangladesh National Cadet Corps
- Royal Belgian Sea Cadet Corps
- Bermuda Sea Cadet Corps
- Lithuanian Riflemen's Union
- National Cadet Corps
- National Cadet Corps
- National Cadet Corps
- Gadna military training
- Hong Kong Adventure Corps
- Hong Kong Air Cadet Corps
- Hong Kong Army Cadets Association Limited
- Hong Kong Sea Cadet Corps
- Cadet Colleges in Pakistan
- Citizenship Advancement Training
- Royal Canadian Air Cadets
- Royal Canadian Army Cadets
- Royal Canadian Sea Cadets
- United Kingdom Air Cadets
- United Kingdom Army Cadets
- United Kingdom Sea Cadets
- United Kingdom Combined Cadet Force
- Cadet Corps of Russia
- Young Army Cadets National Movement
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