“Being a military child, I know there is so much more than, ‘thank you for your service,’” said junior Clara Enninful.
“There’s thank you for giving up your sleep. Thank you for picking up and moving when you don’t want to. Thank you for going places you never thought you’d go. Thank you for defending my freedom,” she added.
As the daughter of parents serving in the U.S. Navy and, herself, a cadet in the Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (NJROTC) program at Princess Anne High School, Enninful knows that service often means sacrifice – both for military personnel and their families.
NJROTC cadets in the unit at First Colonial High School (FCHS) honored service and sacrifice early one Saturday morning with members of Veterans of Foreign War (VFW) Post 392. They participated in a flag raising ceremony at the VFW post Nov. 7, followed by a visit to Rosewood Memorial Park to place American flags by the headstones of military service members.
At the cemetery, they gently cleared glass clippings from each marker to look for words and symbols signifying a veteran had been laid to rest. When found, cadets noted aloud the rank or war in which the veteran served to let their fellow cadets know a flag was needed.
World War II. Korea.
An Army captain. A Navy commander.
A Vietnam veteran. A U.S. Marine.
Cadets helped place an estimated 3,800 flags at headstones throughout the memorial park.
“It’s a very honorable thing to serve your country and to put your life on the line giving the ultimate sacrifice,” said third-year cadet Joseph Hagan.
Service, sacrifice and respect are only a few of the lessons high school cadets say they are learning in the NJROTC program.
The school division hosts the NJROTC program at five high school sites for students from across the division. Students selected as cadets take Naval Science courses to earn elective credit during the school day and may participate in related extracurricular activities before or after school.
“Some people think you are doing this to serve the military. That’s not the case at all,” said Hagan.
“NJROTC teaches you how to be a better citizen and community member,” Hagan explained. “It teaches you leadership skills you can carry through your entire life. It teaches you that by participating in small things, you are helping out society at large.”
“It’s not boot camp,” he added with a smile.
Fellow NJROTC cadet Olivia Smith, a sophomore at Cox High School, agreed. “Students see us and think we are treated like Marines and yell all the time,” she said. “We do present ourselves in a very professional manner that, in high school, can be viewed as serious and uptight. That’s not necessarily what we’re about. It’s about leadership, teaching and patriotism.”
Andrew Murphy said he has a unique perspective, sharing that his parents forced him to join the NJROTC program. He recalls thinking there would be lots of yelling and doing pushups every five minutes. After time, his parents gave Murphy the option to withdraw from the program if he wanted. However, he decided to stay, acknowledging that his initial thoughts were unfounded.
“I think a more valid way to look at NJROTC is not as a military program but more as a citizenship program with military-style elements,” said the PAHS junior and third-year cadet.
“It’s a normal class with a few added requirements,” he added. “It’s comparable to band, for instance. You go to class and then there are activities after school and you have to wear a uniform.”
The uniform. Their peers ask questions about ribbons and medals. The public mistakes it for that of active duty military personnel. The NJROTC patch on the sleeve is one of the few differences between the uniforms.
Cadets say they have been saluted or thanked for their service by citizens at the neighborhood Kroger, Food Lion and Tropical Smoothie.
“It’s a compliment,” say cadets like Charles Alexander, senior in the PAHS NJROTC unit.
“They thank you for your service and that gets me even more excited to join the military and be able to have people do that for real,” said Smith, who aspires to become a U.S. Marine.
Senior Luis Marin, a fourth-year cadet in the NJROTC unit at Green Run High School (GRHS), recalled when a Vietnam War veteran saluted him. “For courtesy reasons, I saluted him back, but then I mentioned that I am a NJROTC cadet and he said, ‘Oh, you could have fooled me.’”
Marin considered that high praise because he takes the responsibility of wearing the uniform seriously.
“We honor [service members] by behaving properly when in uniform. We show respect by wearing the uniform,” said Marin. “The uniform is bigger than itself. It’s not just a shirt and pants, it’s represents a wide array of people dedicated to serving the country.”
Hagan said service members have acknowledged the NJROTC patch on his uniform, shaken his hand and told him they are proud that he is participating in the program. “It’s honoring to hear that from military personnel,” Hagan said, adding, “I went from being kind of skeptical about wearing the uniform to loving wearing the uniform.”
Several cadets hope to continue wearing the uniform as Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) cadets in college. In exchange for a paid college education and guaranteed post-college career, cadets commit to serve in the military after graduation.
They are prepared for ROTC and more, according to their naval science instructors, because of the confidence, leadership qualities and teamwork skills they develop through the NJROTC program.
“Most freshmen, or first years, arrive wide-eyed and fairly timid. By the time they become fourth years they have developed into fairly mature, confident young adults,” said instructor and retired USN master chief Charles Aardahl of the cadets in NJROTC program at FCHS.
“Our goal is and always will be to develop young, capable leaders,” added Aardahl. “Whether they ever serve in the military or not, we strive to teach them the necessary skill set to be competent leaders and provide them opportunities to develop and practice these skills.”
Retired USN captain Lou Giordano, senior naval science instructor at PAHS, shared similar thoughts about instilling values of citizenship, service and personal responsibility in cadets.
“One of the main benefits I have seen over the years is how cadets learn to work together and specifically within an organization,” he said. “That is an attribute that will serve them well in whatever career their future holds.”
“There are things that are special with this program that will put you on a rocket to success,” said Enninful, who would like to earn a ROTC scholarship her senior year to follow in her parents footsteps with service in the Navy.
Marin hopes to earn a ROTC scholarship this year to study engineering at Virginia Tech, Virginia, Florida, Duke or ODU. He credits his instructors for preparing him for a successful future.
“Before, I didn’t know what I wanted to do. Now, I know exactly what I want to do, and I’m ready for life after high school,” said Marin. “I was planning on enlisting in the military, but Cmdr. Brown has mentored me, telling me that I have officer potential with my knowledge and skills.”
“The instructors really do care about you. They’re not here just to make you do what they want you to do. They actually guide you on the right path and I’m really grateful to them for that. They put me on the right path.”
Cadets frequently cited support and camaraderie as invaluable aspects of their involvement with NJROTC.
“It’s your second family,” said Hagan. “Sometimes it can be dysfunctional, like a family, but we all love each other.”
Having additional “family” members is helpful because many cadets, as military dependents, must often deal with the absence of a parent who has been or will be called to duty.
One cadet’s father left in August for a one-year deployment in Bahrain. The cadet hopes his hardship tour is not extended beyond summer 2016. Another cadet’s father leaves in mid-November for a nine-month tour overseas and will miss holidays and his high school graduation.
“It’s all of us or none of us,” Smith said of the support system. “You’re never going to be an outsider in NJROTC. It’s so much more than it looks. All of us deal with our own struggles. People’s parents are divorcing, relatives have passed away – we help each other get through a lot.”
“It’s really something we keep in our hearts more than anything,” said Smith. “Honestly, that’s what I love about it because there are always going to be people who are there for you.”
For more information about the NJROTC program, visit vbschools.com.
Great article, it reflects our Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps program accurately. Thank you for a wonderfully written story of us.
Timothy Richardt
Captain, U.S. Navy Retired
Senior Naval Science Instructor, NJROTC
First Colonial High School
Virginia Beach, Virginia
That was a jam packed day and an article which portrayed a very special group of cadets. You must be inspired and very proud!
As principal at Salem HS from 2005-2012, I was blessed to have the NJROTC program under the direction of Captain Pat Hunt. Captain Hunt and his cadets made a positive impact on our entire school culture as they modeled the character and integrity of the U.S. Navy, participated in our athletics and clubs, and led by example in the classroom.
There is no substitute for Citizenship Development (CD) in our Country. It was citizens who created this Country and it will be citizens who continue to make it great. These cadets in JROTC are our future and they will be the great leaders of tomorrow because of the efforts of CD in their schools and the instructors who lead and encourage them.