Fighting the Oppression of Youth in Underserved Communities

Oppressed youth deserve our attention.

The “JROTC Act” gives them our attention.

The “JROTC Opportunities for Transformational Change Act” was introduced to the Senate in May 2018. This bill, now under review by the Committee of Armed Services, emphasizes the presence of JROTC programs in oppressed communities. The purpose of the bill is to “authorize an expansion of their presence in low-income, rural, and underserved areas of the United States.”

Now, if you don’t know what JROTC is, let me explain. ROTC — Reserve Officers’ Training Corps — is a military program that aims to train up officers for the Armed Forces. Participants are given the opportunity to attend college with a scholarship in exchange for military service. The benefit of ROTC is participants enter the military with the rank of officer instead of enlisted. Officer duties and compensation differ from enlisted.

JROTC — Junior ROTC — is a simplified version of this for high school students. Teenagers are exposed to military education and life skills without service commitment. The program emphasizes the development of leadership and life skills, as well as character growth. Though not designed as a recruitment tool, many JROTC cadets decide to continue with the Armed Forces.

The focus of the JROTC Act is to expand these programs into impoverished and rural areas. So how can we achieve this goal of expansion, and what practices might help facilitate a smooth transition?

1. Conversion of Closing Units

Some schools don’t meet the qualifications for hosting a JROTC unit. These schools sometimes choose to host a National Defense Cadet Corps (NDCC) unit instead. The programs are similar in content and style, but they differ in that the NDCC is fully funded by the school, not the DoD. The JROTC Act proposes that schools eliminating their JROTC unit should be given the option to convert the program into a NDCC unit.

2. Flexibility for Instructors

According to the bill, there should be flexibility when hiring and paying JROTC instructors. Instructors with a bachelor’s degree should no longer be forced to obtain a waiver in order to become a senior instructor. Instructors at small schools should be allowed to have school duties alongside JROTC duties. One instructor should be the minimum number of people required to start and maintain a unit. Lastly, instructors should be paid 10 months of the year instead of 12. These practices would make it easier to develop units in oppressed areas.

3. Authority Over Funds

The bill states regional directors should be given more authority in allowing units located at remote schools to use funds for traveling.

4. Standardization of Data

Suggested in the bill is the standardization of data, as it would enhance data collection and analysis on a national scale. This standardization would include requiring all schools with a JROTC unit to have a National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) identification code in order to make identification smoother.

5. Maximum Number of Units

Creators of the bill advise that Secretaries of the military departments should not establish more than 100 units using the funds allotted to them.

6. Funding

This bill proposes an amount of money that would be given to each military branch in order to create and maintain these new units. All funds are in addition to any resources already approved by the DoD.

For the purpose of maintaining and operating the units:

o Army — $3,140,000

o Navy — $950,000

o Air force — $1,000,000

o Marines — $390,000

For military personnel:

o Army — $500,000

o Navy — $270,000

o Air Force — $380,000

o Marines — $70,000

So why is this important?

When reading legislation, it’s essential to ask who it will benefit and how it will make a difference. The JROTC Act specifically targets youth in oppressed areas. This population is particularly vulnerable and yet so important. Young people are our future. We want to raise a smart, productive, resilient generation to succeed us. Reaching the youth in these communities is necessary to break the cycle of poverty and oppression, in order that we might bring their value to society and give them the quality of life they deserve.

JROTC is one avenue that could make a genuine difference in helping youth break out of this systemic oppression. Participating in JROTC would give students in low-income, rural, underserved communities the opportunity to develop leadership and life skills that they might not learn elsewhere. Oftentimes the education systems in these areas are inadequate and lacking in resources. JROTC, because it is federally funded, would bring resources to communities that simply don’t have them in order to teach and grow our youth.

The JROTC program would also give vulnerable youth a stable environment with positive role models. The military is known for the emphasis they place on respect, structure, integrity. Not all parents choose to instill these values in their children, especially because it isn’t always easy to do. This endeavor becomes increasingly more difficult when a community is impacted by issues of instability, crime, and poverty. JROTC would give youth afflicted by these issues the chance to experience some semblance of stability and to develop relationships with good mentors.

JROTC can also set youth up for success after high school. While you don’t have to commit to military service, some students choose to pursue a military career. A history with JROTC can look good when applying for ROTC. For those who don’t pursue a military career, JROTC instructors help guide students prepare for the future.

According to one cadet,

“the instructors are like your parents. They really help you out through [the process of applying for college and scholarships], which is very important because a lot of kids in high school don’t get that.”

JROTC is one more avenue that can level the playing field and help youth break free from systemic oppression. It certainly isn’t the be-all and end-all, but it is one step in a positive direction, and many steps make a mile.

Contact Senator Roger F. Wicker at (202) 224–6253 for more details.