HERMISTON, Ore. – 52 Hermiston High School students are now enrolled as cadets in the Army Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) program.
“We are thrilled to offer JROTC at Hermiston High School,” said Principal Tom Spoo. “This program will provide our students with incredible leadership opportunities and help them develop valuable life skills that will benefit them well beyond graduation.”
JROTC is a national program, currently operating in over 1,700 high schools, military institutions and correctional centers across the country and overseas, with the mission to “motivate young people to be better citizens.”
Over 314,000 cadets participate in JROTC annually, according to the Army, and the program is designed to instill students with leadership skills, self-discipline and civic responsibility, while fostering personal growth and community engagement.
JROTC faculty instructors are retired from active duty, reserve duty or National Guard service. Hermiston’s JROTC program will be led by retired Army Major Aaron Johnson, according to the Hermiston School District (HSD).
“I think it’s what a vast majority of kids today need,” said Maj. Johnson, who travelled his own circuitous route to the classroom.
Maj. Johnson attended Hermiston High for two years as a student before ultimately graduating from Umatilla High School.
By his own admission Maj. Johnson didn’t put as much effort into academics as he should have as a student and fell in with a bit of a bad crowd in high school before joining the Army Reserve program while attending Blue Mountain Community College (BMCC).
“I figured if I didn’t like it, I could at least tolerate it until I was done and if it was for me-great,” said Maj. Johnson.
As it turns out the military was for Johnson and he joined the Senior ROTC program at Western Oregon University while earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Law Enforcement with a minor in Military Intelligence.
After graduating Johnson worked in a military intelligence office in La Grande, for the Stanfield Police Department and as a Hermiston Police Officer, spending 18 years in the Oregon National Guard and another seven in the Washington Guard, ultimately achieving the rank of Major.
Maj. Johnson, who also holds a Master’s Degree in Divinity, served two tours in Iraq from 2005-2006 and again from 2010-2011, and also served in the Senior ROTC position at Central Washington University.
When the JROTC position at Hermiston opened Maj. Johnson wasn’t sure it was for him, but admits that he’s now having, “so much fun.”
The JROTC program focuses on citizenship and the decision-making process and gets more into leadership as the program progresses, with Senior and Junior cadets helping with management and training of underclassmen.
“Kids want to compete, they want to embrace challenges,” said Maj. Johnson. Right now the 52 cadets at Hermiston are learning discipline and accountability through a four-part evaluation and grading system that includes grades in the categories of all school, JROTC, attendance, and bearing/discipline.
While students who participate in JROTC tend to have better graduation and attendance rates, the program is not without its challenges, with perhaps the biggest misconception being that it serves as a recruitment tool for the Army.
“JROTC is not a recruiting program,” said Maj. Johnson, who is sure to tell cadets that participation does not necessarily mean they have to join the military. “The military is hard and it’s not for everyone, it will cost you emotionally, physically and spiritually.”
Space is another problem the JROTC program struggles with, often having to compete with school sports for available locations for training and activities.
Five weeks into Hermiston’s JROTC program Maj. Johnson and his 52 cadets are persevering and he already has plans to grow the program.
“I want Hermiston High School’s JROTC to be a program that’s around for a very long time and to do that I need 100 kids,” Maj. Johnson said. “I want to encourage as many freshmen as possible to join the program because the values it instills sets them up for success in high school, college, trade schools and life.”
JROTC is an elective course available to all students at Hermiston and cadets have the opportunity to participate in drill instruction, physical fitness training, marksmanship, regional competitions and community service, according to the HSD.
“Our mission is ensuring cadets are successful in their high school mission, whatever that looks like for them,” said Maj. Johnson.
Good for you, major! If you need a civic project, I handle the flags at the Hermiston Cemetery and am nearing my useful time. LtCol Merritt, may he rest in peace, wanted to take the flags as a project for the JROTC he intended to set up at Hermiston High.