Published: June 11, 2009 11:30 pm      

The Challenge of Leading

NJROTC program brings out the best in young adults

By the time Charles Triplett and Matthew Snow were able to catch their breath and talk, they showed sweaty evidence of the Mississippi heat and humidity, and had their fair share of the red clay from Naval Air Station Meridian smeared all over their clothes.

"Push ups are a common thing around here," said Snow, who is from Philadelphia and will soon be a senior at Neshoba Central High School. "That's OK. I'm here mostly for the discipline and leadership instruction. Physical exercise is just part of it."

For high school students like Snow, his school mate Charles Triplett, and Pensacola, Fla., Pinehurst High School student Krista McMurry, it is the leadership skills they are honing this week on board NAS Meridian as part of more than a hundred cadets of the NJROTC program that drew them to the base.

NAS Meridian has hosted the Area-08 NJROTC Leadership Academy for several years now. Area-08 includes NJROTC programs in more than 40 schools in five states -- Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.

Only a small percentage of NJROTC cadets are selected for participation in this training camp, so competition is keen among cadets in their home units.

This group consists of 106 cadets, eight graduate assistants (cadets who have completed this training and are now on staff) and adult staff members. The cadets form a battalion, which is divided into two companies, which are, in turn, then divided into platoons.

Their day begins with at 5 a.m. and ends with taps at 10 p.m. During that time the platoons participate in classroom work, drill practice, orienteering, physical training and more.

Retired U.S. Navy Lt. Com. Douglas Johnson, who is the executive officer for this week's rotation, said these young men and women are searching for discipline, leadership skills, physical challenges and learning how best to work within a team concept.

"I've seen over the years a conscious effort of the part of young adults to weave into their lives the discipline they will need later on in their lives," said Johnson, who has been in the JROTC program as an instructor at his school in southern Louisiana for 14 years. "I've seen the confidence level of these teens grow so much in just a week. It is amazing sometimes to see their transformation right before our eyes."

A great number of young women make up the ranks of the battalion and platoons. One of the color bearers for Alpha Platoon, McMurry, said she was inspired by her two older sisters and her father who is retired from the Navy.

"I like working within a team of people I don't know and forming into a unit," said McMurry, 15. "I like the fact girls are given the chance to do this sort of thing. Not all girls are afraid of getting dirty and sweaty. We want to show we are as good as the guys so that motivates us a great deal."

There is a great deal of classroom work that goes into becoming a graduate at the NJROTC program. Triplett, though, wants to use this experience to go further by pursuing a military career in the U.S. Air Force.

"They said they wouldn't hold that against me," said the 16-year old Triplett as he laughed off the threats from the Navy and Marine instructors. "I've learned more about discipline and leadership than I thought I would. You learn, even though you may not like some people in your platoon, everyone is trying to work together to make the platoon the best it can be. That's tough sometimes but also really great when it works out right."

The NJROTC conducts two other programs at NAS Meridian. One is the basic training program for first time JROTC students and the other is the air rifle program. The programs run in consecutive weeks and involve a new rotation of students in each session.

But when you are covered in sweat and dirt, sometimes it is a challenge just to muster out for the next drill.

"Sometimes you wonder why you didn't stay at home but in the end I know I'll be glad I came," said Snow. "It's the challenge."