Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps - Role and Purpose

Role and Purpose

According to Title 10, Section 2031 of the United States Code, the purpose of Junior ROTC is "to instill in students in secondary educational institutions the values of citizenship, service to the United States, and personal responsibility and a sense of accomplishment." Additional objectives are established by the service departments of the Department of Defense. Under 542.4 of Title 32 (National Defense) of the Code of Federal Regulations, the Department of the Army has declared those objectives for each cadet to be:

• Developing good citizenship and patriotism
• Developing self-reliance, leadership, and responsiveness to constituted authority.
• Improving the ability to communicate well both orally and in writing.
• Developing an appreciation of the importance of physical fitness.
• Increasing a respect for the role of the U.S. Armed Forces in support of national objectives.
• Developing a knowledge of team building skills and basic military skills.
• Taking 3–4 years of the course allows the cadets to instantly rank higher if they pursue a military career.

Section 524.5 of the CFR National Defense title states in part that JROTC should "provide meaningful leadership instruction of benefit to the student and of value to the Armed Forces. ... Students will acquire: (1) An understanding of the fundamental concept of leadership, military art and science, (2) An introduction to related professional knowledge, and (3) An appreciation of requirements for national security. The dual roles of citizen/soldier and soldier/citizen are studied. ... These programs will enable cadets to better serve their country as leaders, as citizens, and in military service should they enter it. ... The JROTC and NDCC are not, of themselves, officer-producing programs but should create favorable attitudes and impressions toward the Services and toward careers in the Armed Forces."

The military has stated that JROTC will inform young Americans about the opportunities available in the military and "may help motivate young Americans toward military service." A 1999 Army policy memorandum stated that "While not designed to be a specific recruiting tool, there is nothing in existing law that precludes ... facilitating the recruitment of young men and women into the U.S. Army," directing instructors to "actively assist cadets who want to enlist in the military emphasize service in the U.S. Army; facilitate recruiter access to cadets in JROTC program and to the entire student body ... work closely with high school guidance counselors to sell the Army story." In a February 2000 testimony before the House Armed Services Committee, the armed service chiefs of staff testified that 30%–50% of graduating JROTC cadets go on to join the military:

• General James L. Jones, then Commandant of the Marine Corps, testified that the value of the Marine JROTC program "is beyond contest. Fully one-third of our young men and women who join a Junior ROTC program wind up wearing the uniform of a Marine."
• General Eric K. Shinseki, then Chief of Staff of the United States Army, testified that "Our indications are about 30 percent of those youngsters—we don't recruit them, as you know. We are not permitted to do that. But by virtue of the things that they like about that experience, about 30 percent of them end up joining the Army, either enlisting or going on to ROTC and then joining the officer population."
• General Michael E. Ryan, then Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, testified that "almost 50 percent of the folks that go out of the Air Force Junior ROTC go into one of the Services by enlisting or going to ROTC or going to one of the academies."
• Admiral Jay L. Johnson, then Chief of Naval Operations, testified that "Even if the number is only 30 percent, that is a good number. But think about what we get out of the other 70 percent. They have exposure to us. They have exposure to the military. And the challenge of the education mandate that we all share in principals and school counselors and school districts that won't let us in, that is a powerful tool I think to educate whether or not they end up in the service. So it is a long way around saying it is well worth the investment for lots of different reasons."

General Colin Powell said in his 1995 autobiography that "the armed forces might get a youngster more inclined to enlist as a result of Junior ROTC," but added that "Inner-city kids, many from broken homes, found stability and role models in Junior ROTC." US Congress found in the Recruiting, Retention, and Reservist Promotion Act of 2000 that JROTC and similar programs "provide significant benefits for the Armed Forces, including significant public relations benefits." Former United States Secretary of Defense William Cohen referred to JROTC as "one of the best recruitment programs we could have."