The crowd watches as the students, decked out in their full uniform. The flags flutter and wave in the breeze, highlighting the red white and blue stripes of the United States flag, the Texas flag, and the following flags of America’s services. As the group marches across the 50-yard line, the crowd holds their breath as the national anthem begins. This march and the honor that comes with it are just one of the many things that JROTC members are included in.
There are many benefits to joining JROTC, and even if somebody chooses not to join the military after high school, they are still left with the leadership and responsibility skills that the program instilled in them.
“We help students be successful in whatever it is they are trying to do, our job and our mission is to make them better citizens,” Colonel Vincent Jefferson said. “Our academics, our extracurricular activities they are all to prepare them to be successful in whatever career choice they make post-high school.”
There are various events and activities that the program has to offer as well. Members never have a dull opportunity to find something that they wish to participate in. There is something for everyone.
“We have different types of drills: armed, unarmed, and exhibition for both of those. Color guard, both varsity and JV, rocketry, robotics, drones, marksmanship, Raiders, flight simulators, there is a lot,” Sargent Christopher Bell said. “We clean the cemetery here in Willis and every member does 16 hours of community service to give back and help the community.”
People tend to give the program a bad reputation but ask any member, and they will say that it has helped them find a home in high school, with each other and their peers. The supervisors of the program know that they oversee a community like a family.
“JROTC is like a family, you get to know everyone and spend time with them for the four years your in high school. You learn to rely on everyone, and get to know people of every grade,” senior Hunter Trauth said. “Unlike with normal classes, you get to bond with your teacher for four years and grow with them. You create a family bond, its really amazing.”
