Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFJROTC) was inspected in the large gym this morning.
Major Terry Zuber, senior aerospace science instructor for AFJROTC, said the inspection is similar to a test for AFJROTC
“The Air Force invests a lot of money, they actually pay for half our salaries. Plus they provide uniforms, they give us money to feed and take field trips because in the curriculum, field trips are like a requirement,” Zuber said “So, with such a big investment they need to visit to make sure ‘are we getting what we intend out of the money we’re spending?’”
Zuber said AFJROTC is a “citizen development program.”
“We’ve got different patches, name tags, shoulder cords, the blue uniforms have all this other stuff,” Zuber said. “Do you put it on with precision and accuracy? Because attention to detail transfers to real life.”
AFJROTC involves both leadership and life skills and aviation, Zuber said. Each AFJROTC class is called a “flight,” and each flight creates their own identity, patch and chant. AFJROTC also does community service, field trips and presentations.
“They’re practicing drills once a week, learning the drill movements,” Zuber said. “That’s why we wear a uniform once a week.”
The students felt anxious but prepared for today’s inspection, Zuber said.
“Healthy nerves, they were ready,” Zuber said “We’ve been very fortunate. This year, every year we have a great group of kids, but this group, I feel like every class melds really well.”
Lieutenant Colonel Brian Buck, Region Director for Air Force Junior ROTC, performed the inspection. Buck said the school is evaluated on a checklist of standards.
“I look for each and every one of those 31 items on the checklist, and each one has its own specific grading rubric in the back that we actually go through,” Buck said. “For instance, today, cadets demonstrate discipline, teamwork, unit, cohesion and by developing a cadet prepared unit mission briefing.”
Buck used to run the AFJROTC program in West Monroe, Louisiana. After the inspection, Buck chatted with the cadets about video games.
“One of the perks of the job is getting to talk to cadets,” Buck said. “I miss teaching.”
Ava Craig, senior, is the group superintendent for AFJROTC.
“He makes sure we are meeting grooming standards, uniform standards. Then we do a 30-command drill sequence, and a color guard sequence,” Craig said.
The inspection has been once every 3 years in the past, but will be yearly starting this year.
Matthew Schwegal, senior, is the group commander, which is the highest honor of AFJROTC.
“For each thing we did today. The 30 command drill team, our mass inspection and our presentation we showed him, he graded those on a three-point scale of meets, or exceeds, or doesn’t meet,” Schwegal said. “We got two meets standards and two exceeds standards.”
The full and official rating will be revealed in a month.
