Sabrina Holden – Mustangs Ahead
(LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL) - Army Junior Reserve Officer Training Corp (JROTC) is a program at Lakewood Ranch High School (LRHS) that offers a military styled class teaching and training cadets the basics of the army knowledge.
JROTC allows students to gain leadership and accountability skills.
Sophomore Private First-Class Emma Custer said, “I love how the program gives us opportunities to lead and grow as a student.”
JROTC also has physical training (PT) every Friday so that students can stay fit and participate in the out-of-school JROTC programs. These programs include Raiders and Orienteering.
Raiders is a sport in the fall that includes five events which teams participate in. There are three categories of teams: male, female, and mixed.
Some events may include -
Running a 5K
Obstacle course
Rope bridge
Tire flipping
Each event is very rigorous and requires both skill and strength in this physically challenging sport.
Junior Sergeant Jonah Rademacher said, “Raiders is a great sport for the people who strive to get better, it allows me to work harder every time I’m at practice and gain strength to better myself.”
JROTC also offers orienteering, which starts in the spring and is a sport where individuals will be set off into a location (which could be a forest, park with trails, neighborhood and more) with a map and compass and then race to complete a course.
By using tools provided and the basic map reading knowledge taught at practices, cadets will be expected to complete the course individually.
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There are three levels of difficulty for orienteering and male and female teams for each category, including -
Yellow (first y
Orange (second year/intermediate)
Green (final year/advanced)
JROTC does not inclusively prepare students for the military but instead prepares them for what their future holds after high school. Many students graduating from the JROTC program advance to military academies, colleges, and successful jobs.
Students in JROTC receive have opportunities for scholarships and other military-based programs which set the students up for their future.
The JROTC program is built off leadership and allows both lower and upper classmen to have opportunities to lead and teach others.