Welcoming Our New Senior Army Instructor

November 8, 2021

The day of the Diamond Promotions, Colonel Joe Scrocca watched quietly from the back of the gym. He wouldn’t start work until the following Monday, but he had been told it was an impressive event. He had a hard time believing the hype — then the cheering began.

“I was blown away,” he said. “I was so inspired. Everybody was there cheering on the accomplishments of their peers. Afterward, I didn't see anybody that had any envy or malice towards people that were promoted, the non-JROTC students were so supportive to their Cadet peers. I just knew I found the right place.”

After a 27-year military career that took him around the world, Scrocca retired this fall and is eager to begin his next chapter as Senior Army Instructor of the CDH JROTC program.

He grew up in Hudson Valley, NY, with parents who were both educators. He attended Catholic schools from Kindergarten through high school, and then enrolled at St. Bonaventure, where he majored in Political Science. 

“The lasting sense of community I’ve experienced at Catholic schools is something I hope to find here,” he said. “I appreciate the willingness of the students to help out one another, and the faculty to develop students not just academically but also developing their character and their faith.”

While at St. Bonaventure, his academic advisor recommended trying ROTC in order to broaden his knowledge related to Political Science. He took to it quickly, and graduated as a distinguished military graduate. 

Scrocca was commissioned as an aviation officer, and flew helicopters for the Army for about ten years before earning a Master’s degree from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas in Austin and then teaching American politics, and media studies at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.  He then studied at the Defense Information School in Maryland and the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA, and moved into Public Affairs, serving in Iraq, Kuwait, Korea, Syria, and Germany.

Over the course of his military career, Scrocca got married and had three kids, now ages 9, 7, and 5. His family spent years traveling around the world with him, so when he was ready to retire his wife, who grew up in Grand Rapids, was eager for the family to move to Minnesota. CDH was Scrocca’s ideal employer.

“The tradition and history here at Cretin-Derham Hall are second to none,” he said. “The Cadet corps here has a lineage, a reputation of excellence not just here in Minnesota but across the nation. In fact, when I was speaking to instructors in Germany, they had heard of CDH, so that impressed me. The tradition, the Catholic roots - it was ideal for me.”

Scrocca was impressed by the large enrollment in our JROTC program and particularly the number of female leaders. He hopes to continue that long tradition of excellence, providing students with the opportunity to formally study leadership whether or not they choose to pursue a military career.

“Leadership is something you can use throughout your career, but few people actually get to study leadership, particularly ethical leadership. We build a strong foundation in ethical decision-making,” he said. “The service aspect is something that’s also very important to me. All leaders should be servant leaders, and that’s a way we can help develop students of character.”

Please join us in welcoming Colonel Joe Scrocca as our new Senior Army Instructor - we are excited to have him at Cretin-Derham Hall!