Schools
Leadership development in US Navy JROTC at Richards
Students manage yearly inspection, briefing, pass-in-review event.
Earlier this week the U.S. Navy JROTC program at Richards High School welcomed NJRTOC Region IV manager Jason Rampa for the yearly inspection, pass-in-review ceremony, and cadet briefing. JROTC program directors George Melonas and Dennis Reynolds instituted a big change this year, however.
Rather than Mr. Rampa conduct inspection, the Bulldog Company executive board handled it. Mr. Melonas explained why:
We want our community to have a real understanding about NJROTC. Its purpose is to help students develop citizenship through community service, teamwork, and leadership.
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We are myth-busting the false notion that NJROTC is a recruiting gimmick. It is far from that. NJROTC may only invite recruiters as guest speakers to share experiences. All recruiters must pass the high school's security protocol and they must have a pre-approved and informative lesson plan because they are not allowed to actively recruit in a classroom.
A recruiter might visit the NJROTC classroom once a year, maybe two or three times, at most. If they revisit, it is because their lessons like "First Aid Response" and "Fitness Conditioning" are very useful to our learners.
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NJROTC students and their parents are the best advocates of truth because they share NJROTC experiences with transparency, both good and bad facets. The Cadets and parents tell it like it is.
Chief Reynolds and I believe that all of us in CHSD 218 deserve the truth, unfiltered and without bias. Seeing is believing, so let's show Chicagoland who we really are. Our cadets planned, prepared, practiced, and executed with proficiency.
Chief Reynolds and I own the learning aspects and safety of the cadets and the program., but the cadets supported their goals and enabled their intentions. We asked the Cadets to step up and take over. They did not disappoint us.
Our cadets ran the Inspection, command brief, and the Pass-In-Review ceremony. They basically did everything except dinner, which was spearheaded by parents and other friends and family. Well technically, the cadets took over dinner too because they ate almost all of the food. We are very proud of them and their families.
