Welcome Parents

We were very pleased to see the outpouring of new parents at our Open House last evening. The positive words made us feel that we are reaching the community with our message that there is an important place in a young person's life for personal development as a citizen and leader - and it can start with Air Force Junior ROTC. I have heard many teachers say that they wish all high school students could be in our program - and we know why. This experience can translate into other areas - and life.

So we welcome you all, and thank you for entrusting your son or daughter to our program. I just want to go over a few things from our end that will help you understand the program better, understand how we operate, and understand the important role for parents. First, let me direct you to the right side of this web page. It is loaded with information about the program - and us. We are jointly hired by the school district and the Air Force to provide a "leadership laboratory" that will help students learn to work as a team, respect authority, respect each other, manage time and priorities, pay attention to detail, accept responsibility, accept accountability for actions, and promote positive citizenship and decision-making in a dozen different ways.

But please bear in mind - especially for those of you with military backgrounds - that this is not the "active duty" military. We follow a different set of guidelines on everything we do with the exception of uniform wear. Cadets can mistakes without losing careers - they can recover and progress. We are here to show them how those mistakes will affect their futures. We want them to walk away with life skills for success. We are similar to coaches because we try to mold our cadets off and on the field (classroom). And like coaches, we are the ones who call in the plays. Every year we see the "arm-chair quarterbacks" who think they have a better way or play, but we do know what we are doing. So please let us run the program as designed by the Air Force. If there is a grade problem with your child, we will correct it. But if you just want to see us do things the way you remember it from Fort Jackson - probably not gonna happen.

But we appreciate you, and we do need parent support from time-to-time. We will let you know when. I am going to send home a form asking for volunteers in certain areas. If you believe in what we are doing, we will get you involved as much as possible. You are certainly welcome to observe our cadets in competition or as they perform. But please let us do our job - their safety and our accountability for them is paramount - we need to be able to operate without undue interference.

If your cadet is involved in one of our after-school activities, please be sure to pick them up at the ROTC back door or in front of the school at the appointed time. We will keep them in our area until we know that you have arrived. Please send permission slips and fees, if appropriate, when requested. We have a full plate of activities this year, and this is an area where you can help us. We will expose your cadet to as many opportunities as possible, and we believe that they will benefit greatly from the experience.