JROTC Prepares Students for Success

By Valerie Krinke '22, Communications Apprentice
March 3, 2022

Cretin-Derham Hall has a long and proud tradition of offering JROTC (Junior Reserves Officer Training Corps). In 1917, the program launched at Cretin High School, and all boys enrolled were required to participate. Now, the program consists of around 300 cadets and is proud to have been recognized as an Honor Unit with Distinction for 94 consecutive years. 

Joining JROTC does not have any military commitments after high school. Instead, JROTC is centered around preparing youth for the future by instilling leadership skills and responsibility. 

“Leadership isn’t just for the military, it is a skill everyone should be educated on,” said Colonel (Ret.) Joe Scrocca, Senior Army Instructor.

Leadership In the Classroom

JROTC is an academic program, and students who participate take one JROTC course each trimester.The classroom portion is led by one of the three instructors: Colonel Scrocca, Sergeant Major David Berrisford ‘81, or Master Sergeant Kenneth Peloski. Each of the instructors is retired from the army. Each year, the curriculum focuses on different life skills, such as first aid, finances, organization, and leadership. 

Ninth-grade year is focused on getting acquainted with JROTC. Class consists of activities and lessons surrounding how to wear your uniform, the importance of serving your community, proper etiquette, and how to manage emotions. Ninth graders also take gym around half the days they are scheduled to have JROTC. Tenth through twelfth graders split their JROTC schedule between classroom and study hall periods. 

Leadership practices are a focus of the tenth-grade year. The curriculum covers attributes of good and poor leaders, roles of the government, preparing for future jobs, the importance of healthy lifestyles, and first aid in many scenarios. 

The eleventh-grade curriculum focuses on how to take action from leadership skills learned through the tenth-grade curriculum. The class focuses on personal finance, decision-making, ethical choices, and different leadership positions within JROTC. 

“The personal finance unit helped me to gain more knowledge about life skills and planning for the future,” said Karina Keis ’22.

Twelfth grade is focused on taking action with all of the leadership skills students have built up and practiced over four years. The curriculum focuses on lesson planning, ways of thinking, and how to teach and lead students. Twelfth graders use this knowledge to lead a weekly Leadership Lab, where students in all grades come together to work on things such as marching, team building, or preparing for inspections or parades. 

Each year, students take various personality tests and set goals to find their strengths and weaknesses, and more importantly how to improve. By taking the same tests each year, cadets have a concrete way to look at how they have improved and changed in different skills over their CDH career. 

Once a week, all cadets take  Leadership Lab, Leadership Lab is unique because it is led and planned by the senior Diamond Officers. 

“The mission of JROTC is ‘to motivate young people to become better citizens,’” said Scrocca. “This is accomplished through learning focused on citizenship, leadership, personal responsibility, self-discipline, and service to the school and community. Important to this are lessons on time management, team building, health and fitness, decision-making, and professionalism.”

Co-Curriculars Provide Unique Opportunities

In addition to the classroom segment of JROTC, the Raider Brigade has many co-curricular activities and teams to be involved in. With the opportunity to earn a varsity letter, cadets can join one or more groups:

• Color guard, which carries the flags and presents at CDH sporting events.

• Honor guard, which participates in many service opportunities throughout the year

• Armed precision drill, a team focused on marching along with aerial synchronized gun movements, performs at the Twilight Parade

• Regulation drill, team focused on precision marching, competed against other drill teams

• Air rifle team, which practices precision and accuracy on the air rifle range through target shooting

• Orienteering, where students learn positioning and finding your way through the use of maps and a compass

These groups meet outside of school time, just like any other sport or activity. They give students the chance to develop new skills, practice being leaders, and make friends outside of their grade.

“My favorite part of JROTC has been going to Camp Ripley and all of the extracurriculars,” said Cadet Colonel Natasha Krieger ’22. Krieger is also the assistant commander of armed precision drill. She values these extracurricular activities because she has gotten to interact with students in all grade levels. 

Service is a crucial part of the Raider Brigade. Each year, the brigade completes a service learning project together, such as Junior Achievement, in which cadets work between grade levels to prepare lessons to teach students at local elementary schools. There are also many opportunities for cadets to volunteer at school and alumni events. 

“The concept of servant-leadership is paramount in JROTC,” said Scrocca. “A servant-leader focuses primarily on the growth and well-being of people and the communities to which they belong. To be a good leader, cadets must first be good followers and they must know and understand the needs of their subordinates and what will motivate them to accomplish shared goals.”

The Raider Brigade has many annual traditions. These include team building at Camp Ripley, Diamond Promotions, Military Ball, and the Twilight Parade. All of these events strengthen the community within the brigade. JROTC students also wear their military uniforms once a week.

It’s easy to join JROTC! If you are an incoming ninth-grader, you can sign up for JROTC when registering for classes. If you are a current student at CDH and want to join JROTC, do not hesitate to reach out to the instructors. 

Valerie Krinke '22 is a Communications Apprentice. She is also involved in JROTC, Swim Team, service activities, and Drill Team. "I love the CDH community," she said. "There are many diverse parts of the community whether it is sports, music, or service; there is truly something for everyone."