Comparing The 100 Years Of JROTC: Yesterday, And Tomorrow

'' 100 Years of JROTC: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow''

What is JROTC? JROTC stands for Junior reserve officers training corporation. This training is to train youngsters to be a good leader and to learn to stand on their own. JROTC is a way to motivate each one of the teenagers to live a better life not only themselves but also for the benefits of all US citizens. It is a cooperative effort between the Army and the high schools to produce successful students and citizens, while fostering in each school a more constructive and disciplined learning environment.

Yesterday, the ROTC (Reserve Officers' Training Corps) has a long and distinguished history in this country. Originally established in 1916, it was a means by which college students

President Thomas Jefferson, went so far as to require all students at UV to have military instruction. By 1840, both Indiana University and University of Tennessee added military training as a requirement for graduating. Military training on campuses of higher learning further expanded when President Abraham Lincoln signed the Morrill Act in 1862 which granted each state 30,000 acres of public land to establish institutions, which included military training. By the end of the 19th century, 105 college campuses across the country offered military training as part of their curriculum. In 1914, on the eve of the U.S.'s entry into WWI, an early form of the ROTC, known as the Preparedness Movement, was organized with the idea that a national service program should be instituted to train 18-year-old men in military tactics before assigning them to reserve units. The National Defense Act of 1916 ultimately merged the National Guard, Army Reserve and regular Army into the Army of the United States. Officers came from colleges and universities, where they received their military training under the supervision of the new institution: ROTC. When the U.S. did enter WWI, we already had 90,000 ROTC-trained officers in our reserve pool. Between WWI and WWII, 80 percent of reserve officers had completed ROTC training at over 220 colleges and universities across the country. More than 100,000 ROTC officers eventually served by the war's end. Today, army ROTC has a total of 275 programs located at colleges and universities throughout the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam with an enrollment of more than 30,000. It produces over 70 percent of the second lieutenants who join the active Army, the Army National Guard and the U.S. Army Reserve. More than 40 percent of current active duty Army General Officers were commissioned through the ROTC. Cadet Command is also responsible