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Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps; Or, JROTC
Topic Started: Monday Aug 1 2005, 09:19 PM (121 Views)
Mallow
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Full Metal Admin
Words cannot describe how awesome this class is. I took all 4 years of it, and if it was possible to take another year of it this year, I'd take it in a heartbeat. Once a week on a determined day, you wear the class B Army enlisted uniform. For me, that was every Thursday. It is a wonderful electve class, and you'll want to come back for more every year. You don't just learn how to march and all that Army stuff... but you learn a lot of fun things and life lessons. You will feel proud when you put that uniform every week, and you get a sense of higher respect.

I was on the Raiders team when I was a LET 2. That was when I was much better off physically than I am now. It takes a lot of stamina, and you will really know what it means to be on a team. I was a co-commander of the team, and I was only a Corporal, while the Commander was a Staff Sergeant. That was the first year of the school's existence and it's JROTC program. The Raider's Team didn't take home a trophey or anything that first year, but we didn't care.

There is also Color Guard, which I had an honor of being a part of one time. This is the team who carries the Colors (U.S., State, and school flags) and posts them at special events. You get to wear top grade equipment and usually, an Officer's jacket, which is of course, only reserved for those who hold an officer's rank. You will really feel patriotic for your Country and school if you are on this team.

Next, there's the Drill team. This team takes completely disabled to fire M1 rifles, and does some awesome tricks with them. Such as spinning them, and basically does things with them in different positions. I reccomend you be as mature as possible and do not point at, or any other threatening move with the rifle at a person. I tried this team out in my LET 3 year, but I decided it wasn't for me. One factor was that I wasn't able to commit myself to stay after school that year. I reccomend this team as much as any of the others, especially if you like performing moves with rifles.

All of these activities, of course, are for after school and are completely voluntary. But do yourself a favor, and join one or all of these teams. There are others, but these are the 3 basic ones I'm sure are availible Nationally, unlike some others.

Now, let me cover the regular course, what you do in class everyday and once a week. First of all, as one poster I've seen puts it, "One Course. Lots of subjects." That is a good way to describe JROTC in the classroom. You learn about the government, money management, and countless other life lessons. And of course, they will talk about the Army, but they don't talk about it to the death. In no way are they trying to recruit you to the Military. But if you do decide to join, there are some sweet deals. Paid in full college scholarships for you to be on your way to becoming an Army officer, along with some other options. Or, if you decide to join the Army right out of high school, you get advanced placement as an E3 (Private First Class).

Now, onto my achievements. I was on two of the above mentioned teams, and carried around a white cord on my left shoulder signifying I was on Color Guard, and a black cord on my right shoulder, signifying I was on the Raider's Team. I earned 13 ribbons, all of which I was able to proudly wear on my chest every week. Some of these ribbons included: Parade,(for participating in a city parade.) Community Service, earned 5 times (Doing an act of Service for the community) Commendation, earned 3 times (The Senior Army Instructor's highest award for you doing something above and beyond the call of duty) Academic Achievement, (explanation...? :|) Summer Camp Participation, Commendeering.(Succesfully completing a land navigation with a map and compass) There were some more, but these are the ones I remembered off the top of my head.

And finally, my rank and positions. When I was a LET 2, I was a Platoon Sergeant. I was assigned to that for half a semester. The next semester, I was assigned to be the Battalion S4 (The supply officer) When I came back to become a LET 3, I was still assigned as the S4 for a quarter of a semester. When a platoon leader left the program because he had to move to another state, I was assigned to take over his position for the rest of the semester. The next semester, I was assigned to a platoon Sergeant's position, and remained there for the rest of the year. This past year, when I was a LET 4, I was assigned back to the S4 position very briefly. The Senior Army Instructor decided he wanted another person who's rank was lower than mine to take over my position, and decided to make me a platoon leader. I kept that position for the entire LET 4 year. As for my rank, I ended my career in JROTC as a First Sergeant. I almost made 2nd Lieutenant, but one of my grades kept me from acheiving it. Out of all the positions I held, I must say that I enjoyed being a platton leader the most.

I hope that this post encourages you to join JROTC, and trust me, you will love it and won't regret it.
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Severus Snape
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A course like this isn't offered in Ontario, and military service isn't for me. This does sound interesting though.
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He just kept talking in one long incredibly unbroken sentence moving from topic to topic so that no one had a chance to interrupt. It was really quite hypnotic. - Captain Picard
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SC

I REALLY wanted to join this in 8th grade, but when the time came I forgot it was on the list so I chose "Culinary Arts" (Which was "filled", so I got put into Woodshop... that was okay). I regret my non-thorough-ness <_<
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Kyou Somha
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Military stuff = not for me.

I hate people yelling at me...

Besides, I got ashma...
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Mallow
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People aren't going to yell at you in this program. It's not all uptight stuff where you can't have any fun and relax. Different programs vary, of course, but from my experience at two schools, there's not much physical activity, except on Fridays. These activities include push ups, curl ups, possibly jumping jacks, and WALKING. They will not make you run.
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