Role and Purpose
The Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) is a program sponsored by the United States Armed Forces in high schools across the United States. The program was originally created as part of the National Defense Act of 1916 and was later expanded under the 1964 ROTC Vitalization Act.
Junior ROTC is a partnership between the Army and high schools all over the nation. Our program, the first in the Willamette Valley, is one of over 1600 Army JROTC programs nationwide, serving the nation since 1916, along with JROTC units from the other branches of the Armed Forces. The mission of JROTC is to "motivate young people to be better citizens." Specifically, we help our students prepare themselves to lead successful, productive lives when they graduate from high school; we want to help them prepare to become productive American citizens of the twenty-first century. Our curriculum stresses high school completion, hands-on leadership training, good citizenship, community service, and study and life skills that will help students succeed. We try to do this by providing our students with a specific set of skills that they will find helpful in their high school journey -- oral and written communication, goal setting and planning, teamwork, leadership, American military history and the role of the armed forces in our democracy, map reading, first aid, drug abuse prevention, and physical fitness. We also provide a series of activities in and out of the classroom that appeal to students who might not otherwise join after-school programs, thereby increasing their sense of connection to their school. Among these activities are Color Guard, Drill Team, Adventure Club, Physical Fitness Team, weekend campouts in the fall and spring, a weeklong encampment during the first part of summer, a formal dinner and dance, an awards ceremony at the end of the year, and soon to come, a Rifle Team. JROTC is a four-year elective program, each year roughly aligned with an academic class. Every year, North Salem’s JROTC program attracts students from each of the district’s other high schools, too.
According to Title 10, Section 2031 of the United States Code, the purpose of the JROTC is "to instill in students in United States secondary educational institutions the values of citizenship, service to the United States, and personal responsibility and a sense of accomplishment." The US military is not actively recruiting from JROTC students. 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."An United States Army policy memorandum states that JROTC is not precluded from "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 and emphasize service in the U.S. Army; facilitate recruiter access to cadets in JROTC program and to the entire student body and work closely with high school guidance counselors to sell the Army story." Former United States Secretary of Defense William Cohen referred to JROTC as "one of the best recruitment programs we could have."
JROTC LET LEVELS
LET I -- The mission of Leadership Education and Training (LET) is to motivate first year JROTC cadets to be better citizens. To accomplish this purpose, the text discusses citizenship, leadership, and a number of other courses designed to help the cadets succeed in high school and after graduation. Cadets wear uniforms one time each week. Extracurricular activities include: Providing color guards, eating at concession stands, participating in community parades, drill and rifle teams.
LET II -- The second year of Leadership Education and Training provides more details about leadership situations. The program is split into units including: Techniques of Communication, Leadership, Cadet Challenge, Leadership Lab, First Aid, Map Reading, History, Your American Citizenship, Career Opportunities, and Role of the U.S. Army. The wearing of the uniform and extracurricular activities are the same as for LET I.
LET III -- The third year of Leadership Education and Training provides still more leadership situations. In this year students will not only be more involved as teacher and leaders within the cadet battalion, but they will also do more independent studies in the areas of communication, leader, first aid, history, map reading, career opportunities, and technology awareness. The wearing of the uniform and the extracurricular activities are the same as for LET I.
LET IV --Fourth-year cadets are responsible for the daily cadet administration and perform as commanders and staff officers. They act as assistant instructors in some subject areas for other JROTC classes. They continue to develop their leadership skills and plan special unit events such as the military ball or the annual awards banquet.
