What do you do in NJROTC? How can this help with your future? Why should you take this class? Where do you go on field trips?
Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps is a class that is a lot of fun. Most people believe it’s a class that’s going to force you into the military, but that’s not true at all. NJROTC is a class that not only helps you get into the Military if you want to, but also helps you experience new things and teaches you about life. This class can teach you discipline, bravery, courage, and respect for yourself and others.
Chief Juliet Cunningham retired in 2012 from the United States Navy Reserve after serving 27 years in the Military and is currently going on 8 years of teaching NJROTC. In an interview with Chief Cunningham she stated, “I want my cadets to learn that the sky’s the limit and that you can do any job in the Navy. There’s so many jobs in the Navy that aren’t comparable to many civilian jobs. You even get a chance to further your education for free”.
Cunningham said she wants people that do not take the class to know that they are not here to try to talk kids into going into the service. They use the navy as a platform to teach young adults how to be responsible and have a sense of achievement and for the kids to further their education. Whether that be going to college or joining the military. There were about 20-30 cadets that actually joined the Military in the years she’s taught NJROTC. Normally there are about 2-4 cadets that don’t want to be there, but most show that they are committed and want to be in the class.
One of the cadets, Sherman Bess, said this class will help him in the future by helping him construct things in life. It will help him learn not to give up no matter how hard it gets. Even though he does not plan on joining the Military he wants to be in this class to help with college.
In NJROTC they will teach many skills and practice physical fitness. They will even take field trips, do marching competitions against other high schools, and do community service. They teach how NJROTC came about, common Navy knowledge, Navy background, how to shoot a rifle, do drills, march, and survival.
As for physical fitness they follow a Navy physical fitness program. There are two physical fitness tests every semester, in which they’ll make you do push ups, sit ups, and even run a mile in a specific amount of time. If you pass the test you get a ribbon. The field trips they’ve gone on before are going to a submarine base, the air national guard, the University of Tennessee’s ROTC program, fire departments, and Navy bases.
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