McDonald County High School JROTC Program Guides Students Toward Becoming Better Citizens

By Don Lowe

It’s impressive the McDonald County High School Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) Mustang Battalion program has existed for nearly six decades and is only growing stronger.

Although Captain Eric Corcoran wasn’t about to credit himself and Lieutenant Colonel Tim Gibson for what the JROTC has achieved at MCHS as they’ve helped guide things along, he affirmed, “With the discipline and direction we instill in the cadets, we’re looking better and doing more for our community and school. “From building the Field of Flags to Chris Marion Day to other competitions, community events and our own traditional events, our cadets are taking an active role in supporting McDonald County.” Chris Marion was a McDonald County High School graduate who died in battle in 2006 while serving in the U.S. Army in Iraq. The benefits of being part of this program are twofold. Corcoran said, “On the cadet side, the most important and helpful tool JROTC develops is a foundation for life. “Leadership skills, academic success, social skills and everything we teach goes into our mission ‘to mature young people to be better citizens.’ Our curriculum being centered around this allows for a foundation of future success that a cadet can look back on and be proud about.” Gibson said, “On the community side, our nation gains a competent leader who can take a team to places it could have only dreamed about. The military produces amazing leaders. And having the necessary structure and mentorship helps create great leaders to go into our workforce and influence our nation.” Of course, this program is not easy, and Gibson said, “The most challenging thing is putting cadets out of their comfort zone. Most cadets are not used to being in front of others and commanding them. “They are afraid of making a mistake, so by putting them in situations where they must be in charge, it helps develop them and teaches them how to not be afraid of leading and how, instead of shying away from it, to put themselves in situations where they can lead and lead well. “This also develops their character and discipline, because now that others are looking at them to help make the program succeed, they understand that they must set the standard. When cadets come into our program, at whatever stage of leadership development they’re at, they always find areas to improve.” Not surprisingly, there’s plenty of pride in being part of this program, and Cadet Captain Katie Moore said it’s all about “motivation, camaraderie and involvement. As a team, we’re constantly learning and growing together, and using the influence of our instructors. “At the end of the day, the things that matter most to us are not if we win or lose, but rather that we tried our best, learning something new and improved together.” Cadet Private Dawn Rickett conveyed, “JROTC is so helpful because you have a voice, and they want you to use it. Our opinion matters in every choice the battalion makes. “Our program not only helps us with using our voice, but it prepares us for postsecondary education life, whether that is college for some or the workplace for others. We learn personal skills like teamwork, discipline, time management and communication. This program is designed to teach high school students things they couldn’t get anywhere else.” Cadet Master Sergeant Morgan Camp said, “We have been shown how to act, how to speak and even how to conduct ourselves with professionalism and pride.” Cadet Major Michael Hackworth said, “I’m glad to see cadets participate with teams they love and try something they never thought they would be able to do.” Cadet Lieutenant Colonel Canaan Moore summed it up best: “Everyone knows they belong. We learn together, we fail together and at the end of the day, we are still McDonald County JROTC, and our mission is to motivate young people to be better citizens. “Being united by a common goal helps us trust each other, and it goes beyond just the JROTC program. This is the best program on campus, and it will only get better the more cadets we add and the more diversity this program has, the more things cadets can be involved in.”