JROTC History
As taken from official United States
Army JROTC Website
The United States Army Junior Reserve Officers'
Training Corps (JROTC) came into being with the passage of the National Defense
Act of 1916. Under the provisions of the Act, high schools were authorized the
loan of federal military equipment and the assignment of active duty military
personnel as instructors. There was a condition that the instructors follow a
prescribed course of training and maintain a minimum enrollment of 100 students
over the age of 14 years who were US citizens. In 1964, the Vitalization Act
opened JROTC up to the other services and replaced most of the active duty
instructors with retirees who worked for and were cost shared by the schools.
Title 10 of the U.S. Code declares that
"the purpose of Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps is to instill in
students in
The JROTC Program has changed greatly
over the years. Once looked upon primarily as a source of enlisted recruits and
officer candidates, it became a citizenship program devoted to the moral,
physical and educational uplift of American youth. Although the program
retained its military structure and the resultant ability to infuse in its
student cadets a sense of discipline and order, it shed most of its early
military content.
The study of ethics, citizenship,
communications, leadership, life skills and other subjects designed to prepare
young men and woman to take their place in adult society, evolved as the core
of the program. More recently, an improved student centered curriculum focusing
on character building and civic responsibility is being presented in every
JROTC classroom.
JROTC is a continuing success story.
From a modest beginning of 6 units in 1916, JROTC has expanded to 1555 schools
today and to every state in the nation and American schools overseas. Cadet
enrollment has grown to 273,000 cadets with 3,900 professional instructors in
the classrooms. Comprised solely of active duty Army retirees, the JROTC
instructors serve as mentors developing the outstanding young citizens of our
country.
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