What is JROTC? 

What students study in Junior ROTC won’t be found in any textbook. It won’t be studied by any other students or in any other schools. It hasn’t been taught before. It won’t be taught again, because the subject of JROTC is YOU. JROTC is all about you. You are its whole. It’s devoted to your growth, both as a student and as a person. JROTC prepares you for life – NOT for the military. Junior ROTC is a high school elective course given during regular school hours, but includes many out-of-classroom activities. We cover the basics in history, government, technology awareness, and current events. But we also teach leadership skills (like how to motivate others) and personal skills (how to study, take tests, and interview for jobs). And we offer extracurricular activities like Drill Team, Color Guard, Raiders (Adventure training) Pentathlon (Sports), and the Saber Guard (cannon and Push-up team for football games). You might even have a chance to go to our JROTC summer camp where you’ll train on the confidence course, play team sports, and learn land navigation and water safety techniques. No JROTC cadet is under any obligation to join the military. Our interest is simply to give you an opportunity to develop and improve yourself in ways you never thought possible. We aren’t promoting the military lifestyle. But we do use military skills to teach self-discipline, confidence and pride in a job well done.

JROTC helps our students develop a combination of skills, knowledge, and inner strengths. So we don’t teach the way other courses do. In fact, much of our teaching isn’t teaching at all. It’s training. We train you for leadership by having you lead. We train you to be physically confident by running you through a difficult obstacle course. We train you in teamwork by having you solve problems as a member of a group. We train you to take pride in your physical appearance by showing you how to wear a uniform properly. We train you to teach by asking you to put together a lesson plan and assist in teaching a class. You get the idea. But behind this idea there’s another idea. All the ways we train you add up to this: we train you to succeed. We train you to be good at the things you need to be good at- in school and in life.

Good idea, isn’t it?

JROTC training isn’t easy; nothing-worthwhile is- but the effort you put into mastering leadership techniques and developing personal skills pays off in a big way. It pays off by giving you the quiet confidence that comes from knowing what you’re capable of. And the character to do what it takes to accomplish your goals. Cookeville High School JROTC offers our cadets guidelines for proper behavior. But we don’t watch over you 24-hours a day to make sure you follow them. You follow them because you want to, even when no one is watching. That’s character.

JROTC teaches a subject you usually don’t study in school. Reality. Being able to take what you learn in class and use it in the real world. So when we teach effective speaking, we don’t stop with theory. You write a speech, then stand up and deliver it. (Sounds scary, but your classmates are there for support). We don’t give you lectures about doing your homework. We show you exactly how to study, how to take useful lecture notes, and how to take tests. You know it’s working when your grades go up. We offer you Adventure Training at the JROTC summer camp so you can put what you’ve learned about map reading and land navigation to use. We talk a lot about leadership. But eventually we shut up and give you a chance to show us- and yourself- how it’s done. Doing it, not reading about it – that’s earning what you learn.

Team spirit. That’s the feeling in JROTC – all the members working together toward the same goals. Willing to give you a friendly push when you need it or a pat on the back when you deserve it. Expecting the same from you. Because when one team member does it right, the whole team wins and vice-versa.

Besides, everybody can use a little support. It’s a different kind of peer pressure.

See your guidance counselor to sign up for next year. JROTC is offered five periods all four years of your high school career. Students can take these courses each semester contingent upon their curriculum track and total number of electives allowed. Two JROTC courses will give you credit for Lifetime Wellness. Additionally, three JROTC courses will make you eligible to enter military service at a higher grade and position if you choose to do so.

So what are you waiting for – opportunity only knocks once. Take the smartest high school course– Army JROTC. Drop by and check out the excitement– JROTC is on the 1st Floor in Room 93