Evolution of JROTC: From War Preparation to Citizen Training

People often say “Don't be afraid to change because although you may lose something good you may gain something much better.” This particular quote is what many people live by, this quote is what the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps program lives by. The program initially started in the the year of 1916 which was the year that the National Defense Act was signed and enforced, it was later expanded in the year of 1964 with the signing of the ROTC Vitalization Act.

The JROTC mission then was to get young men prepared for war, after high school cadets either went to college, enlist, or got drafted. They didn't really have a choice. The mission now is to motivate young people to become better citizens. The words may have changed drastically and so has the definition of the program’s mission, but the message remains the same. JROTC trains young people to be those citizens who will help their environment,and help those around them. The program may not be training cadets for war, but it is, just like before

trained cadets to have morals, to be disciplined, to help those in need, and to teach what it takes to be a leader. The mission then compared to the mission now, may have different words but it definitely has the same effect.
Preparing the young cadets for war was very tense, they had to take the cadets to fort shafter where cadets fired M1 rifles at Schofield Barracks which is located in Wahiawa. The previous cadets learned how to strip the weapon down and put it all together. Not because they wanted to or to do it for fun, they did it because they had to. There was no Special Forces or raiders team like how we have today because like I mentioned before it was all for training not compete with other schools.
Sadly, this program was not for everyone. Only males were allowed, JROTC was mandatory for all male students from the grades tenth to eleventh and no females were allowed. Although, there was ne exception, sponsors. Sponsors were female students who were chosen by the high ranking cadet in the unit, since they were that individual’s sponsor they were the same rank as that person who has chosen them, for example, if he was a First Lieutenant then she would be recognized as the Honorable First Lieutenant. From what I was told, being chosen to be a sponsor was considered to be such a privilege. I believe that this is one of those things that if changed there would be a greater outcome, today young women are now able to become cadets, they don’t have to be selected. Giving females this opportunity has changed so many. Putting on the same uniform as the male cadets gives a feeling no one could ever explain. Female cadets should feel powerful and honored knowing that they’re receiving such a great opportunity that many generations before us did not have.
Putting on the uniform every uniform day and respecting it is one of the best feelings there are. Back then there uniform was a cotton T-shirt and khakis, they kept it crisp and sharp making sure they sat with their legs straight out to avoid any wrinkles. For the times they weren’t in uniform they would dress as if they were already in the military, they would wear aloha shirts, dress shoes, and all had short hair. No one wore regular T-shirts with jeans or shorts and sneakers to top it all off. It was just unusual articles of clothing to wear and no one had long hair either. All students, both cadets and non-cadets always looked sharp. Nowadays, teenagers feel as if it’s a chore to get their hair cut which is truly outrageous. Students now wear clothes that were not worn back then. Wearing the same clothes worn before would stand out compared to what teenagers wear now. Back then cadets were respected much more and taken much more seriously just by their appearance. This is what I wished did not change over time, we need to portray ourselves in the way we wanted to be treated, which is why the JROTC program enforces uniform day. Cadets are taken much more seriously in our uniforms, and it shows that cadets are both mature and disciplined.
Since JROTC was mandatory for all male students the amount of cadets were never-ending.

It was a brigade with two battalions and twenty companies, each battalion had ten companies each. The amount of cadets they had was shocking. Today we only have one battalion with three companies and around thirty to forty cadets in each company. This is a lot to us but it would be considered very little to the cadets in the previous years. Another thing I wish didn’t change, the numbers of cadets within a program. Even though we are more able to build a relationship with our instructors it would be better to have much more cadets participating and enrolled in the program. Since each public school had an abundance of cadets they all had separate Military balls; however, officers from other schools were invited to other schools Military ball. Military ball was also mandatory, everyone in the program had to attend. They usually held it at Fort Derussy which is in

Waikiki.
Hopefully, in the near future this program would be flooding with new open minded cadets who are dedicated to learn and to become the type of leader the world needs. Changing from old to new is almost always a good thing. We shouldn't have to be training for an on-going war or a war in the future to gain the respect we want, to honor the uniform we wear every week, and to help those who need it the most. Nothing bad has to be going on to bring out the good in everyone.
JROTC in the past, present, and future. Three different generations, three different expectations, but all the same mission. To make sure young cadets will be loyal and patriotic, be the future of the United States and make a difference in not only their lives but everyone they come across. The Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps program is now for everyone no matter their gender. The opportunity is open to everyone and everyone today, yesterday, and tomorrow should take advantage of this.
1067 words

100 Years of JROTC: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

Period 3
Navasquez, Iyana
1 December 2015