Troy considers Jr. ROTC

By Brent Shrum Western News Reporter

A Junior ROTC program is under consideration as an option for students at Troy High School.

The district is in the early stages of looking into the program, which would not be established before the 2006-2007 school year, said superintendent Brady Selle.

No decision will be made until the district has a chance to gather public input, Selle said. A meeting on the issue is being planned for early spring.

³Certainly we don¹t want to have something if the public is opposed to it,² Selle said.

High school principal Rodney Smith, new to Troy this year, had experience with Junior ROTC in Alabama and has been researching the program for the district, Selle said.

³He saw that as something that would work effectively in our schools,² Selle said.

Selle said he has sent emails to other superintendents around the state seeking information about the program.

³Hopefully they¹ll get back to me and let me know some of the pros and cons on it,² he said.

There are currently around 1,600 Army Junior ROTC units at schools in all 50 states. The Army provides uniforms and instructional and other materials while sharing the cost of military instructors. Instructors are officers and non-commissioned officers retired from active duty for five or fewer years or who are within one year of retirement.

The Junior ROTC program was established in 1916. Initially intended primarily as a source of enlisting recruits and officer candidates, the program has since shed much of its early military content. The current curriculum focuses on character-building and civic responsibility, with the study of ethics, communications, leadership and life skills at the core of the program.

Students who complete the program are eligible for advanced placement credit in a Senior ROTC program or advanced rank in the armed forces.