Fort Knox, Kentucky. (November 13, 2024): What do high school students who have high attendance, few discipline problems, and a high graduation rate have in common? Junior Reserve Officer Training (JROTC). In this photo by 2nd Lieutenant Marin-Cruz, JROTC Cadets from Leavenworth High School, Kansas, participate in the Cross-Country Rescue event at the National Raider Challenge 2024. This high intensity competition attracted more than three hundred teams consisting of four thousand cadets from high schools as far away as Guam.

Activities included precision military drill, a Leadership and Academic Bowl, and a demanding Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Camp. The competition was balanced by a tough physical fitness competition known as the Cadet Leadership Challenge.

Established by Congress in 1916, the JROTC is one of the largest citizenship programs for youth in the world, helping high schoolers learn positive, life-long habits and skills. The program helps shape the character of young people at a very critical point in their lives. JROTC instills values of citizenship, service to the United States, and personal responsibility. The program is particularly effective for kids growing up in economically distressed communities. Currently, forty percent of JROTC programs are in inner city schools serving diverse populations.

There are currently more than 1,700 JROTC units taught by a faculty of nearly 4,000 instructors who are mostly retired from active duty, reserve duty, or National Guard. All JROTC Instructors are trained and qualified in accordance with the National Defense Authorization Act 2007.

These highly dedicated instructors teach approximately 314,000 Cadets annually in topics including leadership, health and wellness, physical fitness, American history and government, communications, and emotional intelligence. Many high schools grant core credits for some of the subjects taught in JROTC and the regular Army ROTC offers college scholarships for those who qualify.

According to Melanie A. Zaber of the Rand Corporation. JROTC students have “improved attendance, reduced rates of suspension, and higher rates of graduation. These benefits likely extend to the community: prior research has shown that high school graduates are more likely to be gainfully employed and less likely to be arrested for criminal activity.”

JROTC students leave high school more college/career ready with greater options than their peers thanks to this important civic program.