INUNIFORM

Variety Staffer Miles Lawrence shares his experience living a day in the life of a CCHS JROTC student.

STORY

rior to my experience of living a day in the life of a JROTC student, I had never taken the long, torturous walk across the bus parking lot to the JROTC building or even been in any type of militaristic environment.

In fact, all I had known about the program was that the students involved came to school with uniforms on and occasionally marched around the bus parking lot during my lunch period.

When I think of the military, I think about people in charge yelling in my face and telling me to get on the ground and give them 20 push-ups. However, my experience as a oneday recruit in Clarke Central High School’s JROTC program

Psuccessfully changed my perspective on what it means to be a member of the military, both on a national and school level.

When I arrived at the building at 9:00 a.m., JROTC Cadet Major Michael Campbell, a CCHS senior, took me on a tour of the facilities and assisted me in getting a uniform. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the process of putting on the uniform was possibly more of a workout than any of the exercises I did later in the day.

So much care goes into the way in which you and your uniform looks because, as it turns out, JROTC students are actually graded through an inspection process that involves a strict critique of your physical presentation. Everything from hair on your face to wrinkled pants is noticed by your student inspector and can cause you to have points removed from your grade.

When I received my student inspection, after needing an army of people to help me fight into my uniform, I received a 75 out of 100. I had points taken off because I hadn’t shaved my chin, my pins and nametag weren’t entirely straight, my hair was too long and I had gum in my mouth. However, I was told by my inspector that he was going easy on me.

Even though the experience of wearing a uniform and being inspected was a bit humiliating, it helped me learn about the amount of self care and nobility that is required to be in the military, which was something I hadn’t thought about before.

After being inspected, I went outside and joined a marching session led by JROTC Cadet Captain Taylor Motton, a CCHS senior.

I’m not even going to attempt to lie and say that the marching was easy, it was actually very difficult. No matter how quickly or slowly we marched, or in which direction we were turning, I found myself stumbling around like a lunatic. The only thing I knew about marching previous to my experience was that you walk sharply and stiffly, so no matter how horrible I was at marching, it was actually really cool to learn more about the physicality and rules of the skill.

My experience as a one-day recruit in Clarke Central High School’s JROTC program successfully changed my perspective on what it means to be a member of the military, whether that’s on a national or school level.

My next trial was learning how to properly pick up and hold an air rifle. Now obviously, if you haven’t been able to tell already, no aspect of the day was easy for me. Putting on the uniform and marching were both highly challenging tasks. However, no amount of preparation could’ve prepared me for how much I struggled to comprehend the correct way to pick up and hold an air rifle.

The process of putting the rifle on your shoulder is supposed to be very fluid and quick, but even after attempting at least five times, it was still taking me a millenia. Eventually, with the help of Campbell as well as CCHS Senior Army Instructor Lieutenant Colonel David McMickle, I was somewhat able to execute the movement, but it was far from perfect.

Despite this, and all my other failed attempts at learning JROTC skills and tasks, I really enjoyed my experience.

Compared to the harsh and disciplinary military environments I’ve seen in the movies, JROTC was like a breath of fresh air that I hadn’t expected. Don’t get me wrong, it was really challenging, but the camaraderie within the program stood out to me as soon as I stepped through the building’s doors, which made my overall experience all the more enjoyable. Everyone was ready at a moment’s notice to help me learn the ins and outs of the skills, and it was fun to meet a collection of kids who I had never interacted with before. So even though I nearly failed my inspection test, struggled to put on my uniform and butchered every skill I learned, I had a lot of fun living out a day in the life of a JROTC cadet. Who knows, maybe I should join the military?