Navy JROTC Moms

Ack, I just deleted my post by accident.

Okay, another try. Erin doesn't want to do drill, but she is very into the air rifle team thing. She's been doing archery for years, and there are enough similarities that she's having a pretty easy time with it.

We're still hopeless with the hair thing. It was one of the two things I always got dinged on when I was in the Navy. 23 years later and I'm still all thumbs when it comes to hair control.

It is amazing the programs and opportunities that are available to our youth...if only there was a way of reaching and informing the parents, so that the kids could be involved...so much better than them being on the streets...just too much junk available to them out in the real world!

There are still a lot of people who are dead-set against having any kind of military presence in high schools, or working with youth in any way that may "indoctrinate" them. My mom is one of these people.

 

I asked my daughter's master chief if they might be getting digis as a work uniform. He said no, that the digi uniforms are too military, and might remind certain people that the NJROTC exists. Apparently the dressier uniforms (peanut butters, khakis, dress blues) are less "aggressive" and therefore less noticed by those who object.

 

There are places where JROTC was kicked out of the school because parents didn't want the military "in their schools, recruiting kids who aren't 18 yet." Apparently their "impressionable babies" aren't capable of thinking on their own.

The H.S. counselor told us, three of the four years that the NJROTC unit was not for A or his type of student, college prep.  She only encouraged troubled and special ed students to take part in the program...I told her that it was the perfect opportunity for my son...leadership skills, rifle team, Naval history (History...his favorite subject...another chance to take it), chance to travel, chance to experience military...before making the final decision.  I still think that it should be made available to all Freshmen in the school for a quarter and then let the student decide if it is a class that he/she wants to be a part of.

I think it is highly dependant on the school and area.  We are in a very military area so a lot of the kids here have an active or retired military family. 

My son started JROTC at his school mid way through last year (his soph year) - primarily because his best friend was in it.  It has been a FABULOUS experience for him.  He is a high A/occasional B student.  The group brought out his very competitive side and he earned lots of ribbons his first half year.  His Chief wanted him to try for "top 4" (top 4 leaders in the school) after just half a year..... but he decided to do dual enrollment his Jr year.  He takes 18 credit hours at the college and then just JROTC at the high school.  He wishes he would have done it since freshman year.

The NJROTC here has tough standards to get in. They don't have to be honor program students, but they do have to meet a certain standard before they can join. They must maintain a B average, with no grade lower than a C, and have to be recommended by teachers and accepted by the staff, and cannot be in any remedial-level courses (remedial readers wouldn't be able to read the textbooks they use). It's the only group of kids in the school that have a 100 percent graduation rate (for the last 6 years). Even the honors/AP program, art and music programs can't claim that.

My daughter is also in the honors/AP track, music (band) and NJROTC. I recently learned from other parents that any kid who is college-tracked is aggressively encouraged by the school to drop music, art and NJROTC after their sophomore year because those programs take up  too many non-academic elective credits. This despite the fact that they get college credit for every year they are in NJROTC!

Ooh, which brings me to a question.

Erin is interested in doing NROTC in college. I am concerned that one of the NROTC rules is that scholarship students MUST have fewer than 30 college credits on admission (they have to be a freshman by credit count). If she continues with NJROTC and the AP courses she is on track to take, she will likely enter college with more than 30 credits.

Does anyone know if NROTC makes allowances for high school students who come in with a lot of college credits from AP/dual enrollment, or should we plan for her to continue taking the AP level classes, but not take the end-of-year exam for college credits?

Arwen, Does she know what she wants to do in college, which school she wants to attend??

I would get in touch with the NROTC admin at the college or a few colleges that she is thinking about...she which school / ROTC offers the best deal for her skills/talents, etc.

She wants to go to the University of Colorado for engineering of some kind.

I would love to know that too Arwen - my son is doing Dual Enrollment and will have 30 college hours at the end of his Jr year..... and he has not been told that NJROTC counts for college credits, so he could be over if that is the case! 

Here in FL, the kids dont get college credit for NJROTC. It counts as a high school elective. I would never suggest dropping AP/ Honors/ or Dual Enrollment for fear of having too many college credits! Of course an A in a regular course is still preferable to a C in AP or DE!

Thnks so much Lori4629 - we were so conflicted about what to do.  We did not want to lose out on his senior year of "free college" through dual enrollment, but we did not want to miss out on the scholarship to cover all of the rest of the more expensive years at someplace like FSU or UF!  Can you tell me how long it took from when your daughter applied to when she found out that she had been selected?  I read that he can apply in Feb of his junior year (this next Feb) and we wondered if we would know if he was selected before his senior year started if he applied that early?  Thanks - you sure took a load off my mind! 

she applied online as soon as they opened the ROTC applications, which was June 1st following her junior year. She had everything completed (teacher evals, officer interview, transcripts, etc) done by August 1st. There was no Sept. board of review that year for some clerical reason or whatever, but on the first board in October she was selected and notified by Nov 1st. If they aren't selected in the 1st round, they go into the next months boards and they continue on the merry go round of review boards until they are either selected or the last board is held in April. 

But that is only if they are applying for NROTC and NOT the USNA. If applying to USNA, you can start the process in Feb of junior year with the prelim app for the Summer Seminar program. The application process for the Academy is LOOOONG! They aren't notified of final selection until April of their senior year! So they have to have a plan B. This is where we are with my son right now. 

 

Hope that helps.

 

It helps a lot - thanks so much Lori!

The Marine major who is in charge of Erin's unit told us that 4 full years of JROTC = E-3 if they choose the Navy. I guess that follows because they get E-2 for JROTC, and they get 15 college credits in this state from JROTC, which gets them to E-3.

My understanding is that there is no way to E-3 in boot camp for other services. The best they can do is E-2.

But how much does JROTC really help in getting into NROTC or Annapolis?

@Arwen, My daughter got the NROTC Nurse Corps Scholarship without ever doing NJROTC. My son's best friend did 4 years NJROTC, was the BX CO, commanded some drill teams, had 3 nominations and still DIDN'T get into the USNA. He even had the vice presidential nomination! The difference, in my opinion, is all about ACT or SAT scores and GPA. NJROTC certainly helps, but it won't make up for test scores below 30. I think you get equal mileage out of being a varsity sports captain-which my daughter was.

 

We're looking for every possible advantage. While Erin is one of the more advanced students, she is not an A student. She gets As but mostly Bs, because she's bored and unchallenged, even in the honors classes. Right now we're coming down hard on her because she's failing health class - which is one that doesn't offer an advanced class. She says it feels like a punishment being in there - like a remedial class, so she blows it off and doesn't do the homework.

She tends to excel at tests, so we're not at all worried about those. She breathes math and science, and would rather read than hang out with friends or watch TV (there is currently a sticky note on my computer with a request for more books).

We expect a B average plus high test scores will be good enough to get into the college she wants (her brother got in with worse grades), the only challenge will be the NROTC scholarship. Without it she can't afford college at all. Her brothers both had to drop out of community college because even with federal grants, it was too hard on the budget.

Oh, also, she doesn't want to do USNA, it's too intense for her tastes. She wants NROTC at a major state university so she has a normal civilian student life when she's not doing the military thing. An engineering major is intense enough as it is.

She actually sounds a lot like a Nuke I know.

Her father is a former nuke and they've been trying to recruit my younger son as a nuke, so I'm not at all surprised that she has nuke traits.

the one big draw back with the NROTC scholarship is that most schools no longer offer the room & board scholarship. So they need to be awarded academic scholarships from their school or take out loans or have financial need. The room & board can run 7,000-10,000 a year! I really want to see schools start offering these again!

The school where my daughter wants to attend requires freshmen to live in dorms, but once she is a sophomore she can live with relatives in the area.

Arwen - most colleges have that freshman on-campus requirement, but if a student has family in the area you can generally get that requirement waived. 

Erin still doesn't have her full uniform (no shirt), but they have their first official inspection next Wednesday. We're hoping her shirts arrive soon! Brass from the regional command is going to be the inspecting officials. There is nothing quite like getting your first inspection from the top folks.

Arwen - My oldest daughter was in NJROTC for four years, worked her way up through the ranks to third in command (LCDR) before graduation, and involved herself in literally everything NJROTC (Drill Team, Orienteering Team, PT Team, Community Service Officer, etc)!  

She learned how to make the "perfect" bun from girls on other Drill Teams. She has semi-fine hair that's fly-away prone.  Take an old tube sock, cut the toe out, and roll it into a doughnut.  Comb hair back into a ponytail (about midway between neck and top of head) and secure w/ hair tie.  Place sock over ponytail, pulling hair through doughnut. Fan hair around doughnut evenly and secure w/ second hair tie.  Pin excess hair around base of doughnut. Spray generously w/ a 'super hold' hair spray.  She used Pantene hair spray and got2b ultra glued styling gel. Hope this helps!

That's exactly what we did (the sock bun) but her hair won't stay at all. I sprayed hairspray on it generously, but it was still sticking out all over the place, and the remaining hair refused to remain tucked in under the bun. It looked like a hair pinwheel. Very frustrating.

Erin is doing the air rifle competitions, but can't do most of the other JROTC activities because she is also in marching band and wind ensemble, and the Knowledge Bowl.

She finally got her uniform today!

 

Arwen - Congrats to Erin for finally getting her uniform!  Have you tried putting her hair up when it's wet?  Using a fine-toothed comb?  Using mousse or hair gel?  Using a smaller sock?  We also use bobby pins and the non-metal hair bands. My oldest daughter tried several different gels, mousses, and hair sprays, in different combinations, until she found which one(s) worked for her.  She did her hair on her own and taught other girls how to do their own or help each other.  She drove the rest of us crazy because she was always hogging the bathroom mirror!  Unfortunately, my youngest daughter doesn't have the same drive and we have a battle of wits once a week because I'm all thumbs, her hair is extra thick and it takes longer to put up!

@Arwen, putting the gel in and styling it while it's wet is the key. My daughter has hair down to her waist and yet does a perfect bun by herself using the sock bun. It takes lots of gel and has to be wet when it's done.

Erin scored a 9 (out of 10) on her personal inspection. She didn't get dinged for her hair, though. Yay! The unit got an outstanding on the overall inspection.

The three-day boot camp thing is coming up in November. They're doing it on school days - when school is out for the day they stay the night and do military drill, get up at 5 am to do more drill until school starts, etc. Supposedly anyone who completes the 72-hour training event gets a promotion.

Neat idea...I may suggest something of this sort for the local unit...can you get me more specific info on the 'boot camp'. Thanks

Neat idea...I may suggest something of this sort for the local unit...can you get me more specific info on the 'boot camp'. Thanks

Every year they hold a 72-hour boot camp for new cadets - a mini version of the real thing. It's supervised by adults, but the senior cadets act as RDCs. It gives them some intense practice in marching, watch standing, etc.

Some units do it over a long weekend, so they aren't interrupted by class time, like going to sports camp. Some even get permission to do it at a nearby base. Others, like my daughter's unit, do it at school. They sleep in the gym, have daily uniform inspections, PT daily, have supervised study hours, etc. They eat together at meals, and follow the same kind of rules recruits follow in boot camp.

When it's over all the new cadets are pinned as SAs.

Do you have a copy of the permission slip, parent letter, etc?  Something that present to the local unit?

our unit participates in our area's (area 8) Basic Leadership Training every summer. After cadets have successfully completed the week-long training they are eligible to return in following years as "staff". This year a BLT was held here @ NAS Pensacola and my son was a platoon commander, drill instructor and academic commander. He'd been to several other BLTs, but this was so close to actual boot camp-up before the cadets, mustering the cadets, marching them to chow and training, training them, standing watch, doing their laundry, getting dressed down for the infractions of cadet's under his command, inspecting barracks, the whole 9 yards. The 'staff' cadets had to be up and functioning for about 3 days straight. They had lights out @ 10, then were responsible for collecting and washing, drying, folding and redelivering the cadet's PT gear- which took until after midnight most nights, then had to post watch from 0100-0300 or 0300 to 0500, and report for staff muster @ 0500 to begin a full day of training. It was the toughest week he's endured to date, but he excelled and now knows he can do it. If your cadets get the chance to attend an area run BLT, I highly recommend it!

 

 

Good afternoon ladies. My youngest son just joined JROTC at school and this week was his first week. He wore the uniform to school today. His older brother just left on Oct 6, 2011 for boot camp in Great Lakes.

All units (that I know of) do the basic leadership training for eligible upperclassmen. The boot camp I am describing is only for freshmen. They aren't required to attend, but most do, and they also get a ribbon for participating in the training.

Pat, as soon as I have the official letter/itinerary for the "boot camp," I'll share the details. We're still two weeks out, so we don't have that much detailed information yet.

Thanks...I appreciate any info you can get me.

We call it "Cadet Basic" for freshmen here. We hold that the first week of summer usually, so extra motivated cadets are then eligible to attend BLT later in the summer. The kids who take NJROTC just to get out of PE complete the requirements for cadet basic and earn their first ribbon whenever they get around to memorizing the chain of command and the basic stuff during their first semester.

Here many of the kids who join NJROTC come from other places, they don't know who will be in the unit until the class lists come out in August. About 1/4 of them are transfers. My daughter was one of those students; we moved over the summer. Having the "cadet basic" course in the summer leaves out all of the transfer students, starts them behind everyone else. This way everyone starts on the same footing. Those who choose to attend the boot camp still get leapfrogged over those who are less involved, but this way everyone has the option.

yeah, it doesn't really have much impact on a cadet who might move here at the beginning of the school year and is motivated to learn once school starts- a motivated cadet will always have the opportunity to distinguish themselves and rise in the ranks. It mostly affects those who want to be on the drill, rifle, orienteering, PT teams, etc. It's a lot like any other sport in that regard. The unit lets all the incoming freshman from the local schools know the dates and those that are interested come out. My daughter plays softball for this same high school and they started having meetings and practices before school was even out last year. Football is even worse! There will always be outstanding athletes or cadets who can't make it to summer conditioning or whatever but will still make the team when the season comes around. Our drill competition season starts in September so cadet basic is really for the freshmen who want make drill team.

Almost nothing here meets in the summer, they don't even have band camp until the couple of weeks before school starts. I didn't even see football conditioning going on. My daughter "toured" the school as best she could in early August, but there wasn't a soul on campus. I think it's because of budget cuts, they can't afford to pay the adult supervisors for summer hours.

sometimes I wish it was like that here! If your kids are involved in sports or clubs you get NO summer. Literally, there was something going on every week this past summer. For NJROTC cadets in leadership here the summer between sophomore and junior year is insane! cadet basic, BLT, Leadership Academy, JLEAD, STEM, on and on it went! We have our 1st drill meet tomorrow, an interservice meet- so we'll see how it goes.

We have the same limits and I hear ya! We have 9 kids and we pass ourselves coming and going! I thought the little ones kept me busy, but if it weren't for the fact that we homeschool, I'd never see my highschoolers! My son definitely was burnt out at the end of this summer. It took him a couple of weeks to decompress and refuel.He had to give up baseball & football for drill team because all 3 practice year-round and the kids really have to be "all in" to be competitive. His drill team was the NJROTC National Champions this past year, so he's pretty motivated to stick with that, but it takes so much time.

I could never do homeschooling. We tried it briefly with my oldest child, public school was not working out well for him, to put it mildly. After two months we discovered that in our household it was an unmitigated disaster. We got him moved to a different school and things got better. But we had to move to a different state to really find the right school for him.

haha, LOL, It's def. not for everyone! It can be really challenging with so many different ages and stages in our house. I've got my oldest in college @ Auburn on NROTC scholarship, the next oldest is dual enrolled @ the community college as a high school junior, 9th, 6th, 3rd, 1st, 5K, Preschool, and a 10 month old trouble maker!

Okay, here's the details (at least as much as what we were told in the permission slip explanation) about next week's "boot camp."

"Cadets will be engaged in training in a number of different events such as marching drill, teamwork exercises, classroom training,watch standing and much vigorous physical training. This is an opportunity for the cadets to spend some time together and perform as a team."

It also says there will be a PIR Friday, when they will be pinned with SA and whatever else they have earned.

It also has a list of what to bring, what not to bring. Except for the uniform parts, it sounds like a weekend camp. Sleeping bags, pajamas, tooth brush, etc.