JROTC EXPANSION 2001
There are currently 716 schools waiting for approval of JROTC programs.
Click on your state to find out where.
Click here for Washington D.C!
Why Question the Military's JROTC Program?
School boards across the country, from Richmond, CA to Roane County, WV, are saying no to the Junior Reserve Officers Training Program (JROTC). They're finding JROTC too controversial, too likely to promote violence, too expensive, too controlled by Washington, too discriminatory, and too much at odds with the goal of creating critically-thinking students in gun-free schools. Have you looked at JROTC lately?
JROTC Promotes Violence, Gangs, & Guns
Instead of an alternative to violence, JROTC brings guns into the schools. Often, JROTC teaches students to use them. Students in a JROTC unit in Long Beach formed a military-style gang and murdered one of their members. In Detroit, a student shot another student in the hall of the school on the orders of the student gang (and JROTC) leader. In Arizona, a camouflage-clad JROTC student murdered 9 Buddhist monks. In SF, CA, a student's eardrum was broken in a hazing ritual that had gone on, with JROTC instructors' knowledge, for years. This doesn't happen in math classes, so why here? Military training glorifies war. Ninety percent of all JROTC programs train students to fire rifles or pistols. All of them drill with guns and teach military history, customs, traditions, and beliefs. In JROTC, too many kids learn, from example, that violence is acceptable
JROTC Costs Districts Tens of Thousands of Dollars
While most school districts face budget shortfalls and cutbacks, JROTC drains resources from constructive programs. JROTC units cost districts about $50,000 per school and often require expensive modifications to school facilities. In the 1995-1996 school year, the New York City Board of Education spent $398,000;San Francisco spent $570,000; and Atlanta spent $1.5 million to subsidize the Pentagon.
JROTC Teaches Passivity, Not Leadership or Critical Thought
Learning to march and obey without thought is not preparation for a high-techfuture. Yet that's what JROTC emphasizes. The Army JROTC text, LET 1 (Leadership, Education, and Training), p. 87, states, "When troops react to command rather than thought, the result is more than just a good-looking ceremony or parade. Drill has been and will continue to be the backbone of military discipline." Almost all schools feel that one of their primary missions is to teach critical thinking. Yet JROTC promotes unquestioning, amoral obedience. The Navy JROTC text, Naval Science 1, p. 24, calls for "...Loyalty to those above us in the chain of command, whether or not we agree with them." This is authoritarianism, not democratic leadership.
JROTC Violates the Principle of Local Control
The Pentagon dictates JROTC curriculum, textbooks, and course content. JROTC instructors are often paid higher net salaries despite not having to meet District qualification standards. JROTC instructors aren't required to have college degrees. They are not credentialed in the academic subjects that JROTC claims to teach.
JROTC Targets Low Income Communities
Fifty-four percent of JROTC participants nationwide are students of color. JROTC graduates are recruited directly into the lowest military ranks. The military targets low-income schools in the same way tobacco & alcohol companies target low-income communities. The results are equally deadly. Half the military's front-line troops are people of color.
JROTC Textbooks are Biased and Bigoted
The Army JROTC textbook LET 3, p. 185, trumpets, "Fortunately for the Army, the government policy of pushing the Indians farther west then wiping them out was carried out successfully." In addition to this celebration of brutal racism, women are almost invisible in JROTC textbooks. Veterans with disabilities and gay veterans are excluded from receiving the Pentagon authorization required to become a JROTC instructor.
JROTC Discriminates
JROTC discriminates against students and instructors who are gay, lesbian or bisexual, people with disabilities and immigrants.
JROTC Is a Military Recruiting Program, Not a"Way Out"
According to Lt. Commander Ray Kempisty, Public Affairs Officer, national headquarters of NJROTC, "Approximately 50% of all NJROTC program graduates enter military service." Army JROTC figures are similar. The military is not a "way out" for low-income youth. The DoD advertises financial aid for college. However, between 1986 and 1993, the military actually took $720 million more from GIs in non-refundable deposits than they paid out in college benefits, according to a report in Army Times. Military job training is also a myth. Only 12% of male veterans and 6% of female veterans report using skills learned in the military in their current jobs. In fact, according to the Veterans Administration, veterans overall earn less than non-veterans, 1/3 of homeless men are veterans, and at least 20% of Federal and state prisoners are veterans. Even former Secretary of Defense Cheney admitted, "The reason to have a military is to be prepared to fight and win wars. That is our basic fundamental mission. The military is not a social welfare agency, it's not a jobs program." JROTC is a program of the military, by the military, and for the military. Disguised as an education program, JROTC is a Trojan Horse the military uses to gain access to schools and potential recruits.
Click on your state to find out where.
Click here for Washington D.C!
Why Question the Military's JROTC Program?
School boards across the country, from Richmond, CA to Roane County, WV, are saying no to the Junior Reserve Officers Training Program (JROTC). They're finding JROTC too controversial, too likely to promote violence, too expensive, too controlled by Washington, too discriminatory, and too much at odds with the goal of creating critically-thinking students in gun-free schools. Have you looked at JROTC lately?
JROTC Promotes Violence, Gangs, & Guns
Instead of an alternative to violence, JROTC brings guns into the schools. Often, JROTC teaches students to use them. Students in a JROTC unit in Long Beach formed a military-style gang and murdered one of their members. In Detroit, a student shot another student in the hall of the school on the orders of the student gang (and JROTC) leader. In Arizona, a camouflage-clad JROTC student murdered 9 Buddhist monks. In SF, CA, a student's eardrum was broken in a hazing ritual that had gone on, with JROTC instructors' knowledge, for years. This doesn't happen in math classes, so why here? Military training glorifies war. Ninety percent of all JROTC programs train students to fire rifles or pistols. All of them drill with guns and teach military history, customs, traditions, and beliefs. In JROTC, too many kids learn, from example, that violence is acceptable
JROTC Costs Districts Tens of Thousands of Dollars
While most school districts face budget shortfalls and cutbacks, JROTC drains resources from constructive programs. JROTC units cost districts about $50,000 per school and often require expensive modifications to school facilities. In the 1995-1996 school year, the New York City Board of Education spent $398,000;San Francisco spent $570,000; and Atlanta spent $1.5 million to subsidize the Pentagon.
JROTC Teaches Passivity, Not Leadership or Critical Thought
Learning to march and obey without thought is not preparation for a high-techfuture. Yet that's what JROTC emphasizes. The Army JROTC text, LET 1 (Leadership, Education, and Training), p. 87, states, "When troops react to command rather than thought, the result is more than just a good-looking ceremony or parade. Drill has been and will continue to be the backbone of military discipline." Almost all schools feel that one of their primary missions is to teach critical thinking. Yet JROTC promotes unquestioning, amoral obedience. The Navy JROTC text, Naval Science 1, p. 24, calls for "...Loyalty to those above us in the chain of command, whether or not we agree with them." This is authoritarianism, not democratic leadership.
JROTC Violates the Principle of Local Control
The Pentagon dictates JROTC curriculum, textbooks, and course content. JROTC instructors are often paid higher net salaries despite not having to meet District qualification standards. JROTC instructors aren't required to have college degrees. They are not credentialed in the academic subjects that JROTC claims to teach.
JROTC Targets Low Income Communities
Fifty-four percent of JROTC participants nationwide are students of color. JROTC graduates are recruited directly into the lowest military ranks. The military targets low-income schools in the same way tobacco & alcohol companies target low-income communities. The results are equally deadly. Half the military's front-line troops are people of color.
JROTC Textbooks are Biased and Bigoted
The Army JROTC textbook LET 3, p. 185, trumpets, "Fortunately for the Army, the government policy of pushing the Indians farther west then wiping them out was carried out successfully." In addition to this celebration of brutal racism, women are almost invisible in JROTC textbooks. Veterans with disabilities and gay veterans are excluded from receiving the Pentagon authorization required to become a JROTC instructor.
JROTC Discriminates
JROTC discriminates against students and instructors who are gay, lesbian or bisexual, people with disabilities and immigrants.
JROTC Is a Military Recruiting Program, Not a"Way Out"
According to Lt. Commander Ray Kempisty, Public Affairs Officer, national headquarters of NJROTC, "Approximately 50% of all NJROTC program graduates enter military service." Army JROTC figures are similar. The military is not a "way out" for low-income youth. The DoD advertises financial aid for college. However, between 1986 and 1993, the military actually took $720 million more from GIs in non-refundable deposits than they paid out in college benefits, according to a report in Army Times. Military job training is also a myth. Only 12% of male veterans and 6% of female veterans report using skills learned in the military in their current jobs. In fact, according to the Veterans Administration, veterans overall earn less than non-veterans, 1/3 of homeless men are veterans, and at least 20% of Federal and state prisoners are veterans. Even former Secretary of Defense Cheney admitted, "The reason to have a military is to be prepared to fight and win wars. That is our basic fundamental mission. The military is not a social welfare agency, it's not a jobs program." JROTC is a program of the military, by the military, and for the military. Disguised as an education program, JROTC is a Trojan Horse the military uses to gain access to schools and potential recruits.
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