Cadets Visit USS Ronald Regan and Zoo

Lieutenant Commander Gerardo Vargas is a 17-year-old senior at Colton High School and is part of the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps. He has been a member of NJROTC for four years. When he graduates from high school in 2014, he will be attending the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Arizona to pursue his goal of becoming a helicopter pilot. He said he wanted to join because, “I wanted to do something different, I wanted to prove to them I can do it after people told me I couldn’t.” According to the Colton Joint Unified School District webpage, NJROTC is a program conducted at Bloomington and Colton High schools, by instructors who are retired Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard officers and enlisted personnel. The curriculum emphasizes citizenship and leadership development, as well as maritime heritage, the significance of sea power, and naval topics such as the fundamentals of naval operations, seamanship, navigation and meteorology. Classroom instruction is augmented throughout the year by community service activities, drill competition, field meets, flights, visits to naval activities, marksmanship training, and other military training. To celebrate a year of hard work, NJROTC Cadets went on a field trip to see the USS Ronald Regan Aircraft Carrier and to visit the San Diego Zoo. The field trip took place on Tuesday April 15th, and 40 cadets traveled to San Diego to tour the ship. During the two hour tour, they saw the three hangars for aircraft, the bridge where the controls are at, and sampled food at the cafeteria, where Vargas said, “the food was good.” The students learned the person who steers the ship is usually 17 or 18 and Vargas was impressed. Some of the benefits that students get from the NJROTC program include: Approximately 60% of the NJROTC cadets graduating seniors continue to higher education. Students learn the elements and need for national security and personal obligations as Americans. The program enhances the image of the military in the eyes of the community by providing a chance for success to the nation's youth. NJROTC cadets have traditionally been better behaved, had higher attendance rates, serve as role models for the avoidance of substance abuse, have higher self-esteem, develop positive life skills, graduate at a higher rate, and are an excellent source of community service. Vargas said, “It’s a really good program and you don’t necessarily have to join the military, it will help students attend college, and the instructors are a [valuable resource] and are there for them, we’re not just any unit, we’re a family.”