JROTC also known as Junior Reserves Officer Training Corps is a program at Central Campus, with a main purpose of bringing students in and making them better people. When joining this program, you will see cadets (students in the program) stepping up and taking the leadership without having to be told. In JROTC they value promotions, all the hard work you put in gets acknowledged and you get more leadership, responsibility and the more committed you are to the program
“Finally, I hope to participate in more community service projects through MCJROTC. I believe this is an important part of the MCJROTC experience and an opportunity to make a positive impact beyond the school,” first sergeant Shaun Leek said.
“I found so many different bonds that I found in the program and learned so many lessons, and it shaped my attitude and perspective on things, and I started caring more and being more positive. Performance in class and my grades went up, tardiness went down,”alumni Hope Dobek said.
Every day of the week there is a schedule that is followed, physical training on Monday and Wednesday, classroom days on Tuesday, drill (marching) on Thursday and inspection on Fridays. Inspection days you wear your uniform which consist of boots, pants, blouse and your cover, which is the hats worn with the uniform when outside and instructed to. When people wear their uniform there is often comments from other students, but little do they know these students respect the uniform and the meaning behind it and are proud to representing JROTC.
“At first, I was a little nervous to be seen in my uniform. But I quickly learned to take pride in it. I enjoy wearing the uniform because I respect what it means and stands for, and I enjoy representing that. I and very proud to be in this program,” senior Elsie Manning said.
After being in the program for a little while, you can start to obtain different ranks based on participation, leadership and different teams you have showed commitment to. As you climb the JROTC chain of command you start to value the essential life lessons of leadership and responsibility. The higher rank you obtain the more responsibility you have, to help things continue to run smoothly.
“If I had the chance, I would be XO (executive officer) in JROTC all over again. It was one of the most challenging but rewarding thing I had for sure. I learned so much about leadership, teamwork, and myself. Supporting my team, while also growing alongside them, and helping other students grow, being there for the girls I got to take care of, I’d do it again in a heartbeat and probably appreciate it even more the second time around,” Dobek said.
Rifle team, this team is taught by Major Pienkowski. Rifle practice is held every day before school and often members move their schedule around to remove first period to get even more practice in. The rifle team is one of the most challenging teams in JROTC, the team shoots a 177 caliber Crosman Rifle at a very tiny target no bigger than a skinny pop can. This is also the only team you can continue without your team, but you have to be able to put others mistakes behind or you will fall down the same path.
There are two teams taught by First Sergeant, drill and physical training that you can join, these practices are typically held in the morning before school. Drill team is a competition team that does different cards (routines) which is a military tradition of handling a riffle safely and being in unison with their team. Physical training team (PT team) is a team where the goal is to excel in fitness, teamwork, and by the end of the year the goal is to enhance confidence and leadership skills to excel in the competition.
