JROTC is an acronym for Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps. In the 1960's the government wanted a program that would give the youth of America a sense of citizenship and patriotism. They based the program off of the military's ROTC program. ROTC is a college course funded by the government that prepares a student for Officer Candidate School. Jr. ROTC follows the same guidelines
but it is for high school, not college, and there is no military commitment after you graduate the program.

Each JROTC program is different from another. Each branch of the service sponsors its own JROTC program. Every JROTC class is run by two or more retired servicemen. These instructors supervise all JROTC activities with the help of student leaders. Each
different service may have a different subject criteria for its students. Navy JROTC's teach naval science, while Air Force JROTC's teach aerospace engineering. Our Marine Corps JROTC here at Poncahtoula teaches leadership education. Despite
what branch of service sponsors the program, all instill a sense of pride and self respect into every cadet in the program.

Now to get to the specifics of Ponchatoula's MCJROTC unit. As stated before, our program teaches Leadership Education. This consists of lectures on the fundamentals of leadership, hypothetical situations, and analyzing decisions made by leaders today. Our program also focuses on physical fitness. At least once a week, often more, every class has a one hour Physical Training (PT) session. This may include pullups, pushups, situps, or running. Our school also has the privelege to be the only school to own a full size Marine Corps obstacle course, which is often used for PT days. At the end of each semester we have a Physical Fitness Test (PFT) to see what progress each cadet has made over the past semester.

Our ROTC also teaches military customs and courtesies. Cadets
are taught to drill and learn the history of the Marine Corps. As cadets prove themselves in the program, they may be given a leadership position. Student intervention is the most important facet of Leadership Education. It sounds fun to be a student in charge of your fellow classmates; however, it is also very challenging. A cadet in a leadership position must gain the respect of those underneath him. It isn't easy. A squad leader, for example, is responsible for everyone in his squad, which is usually about 7-8 cadets. The squad leader is held accountable, and must spend time training their squad members. It sounds demanding, but it is also very rewarding when you do a good job.

Ponchatoula currently has a four year curriculum for JROTC. In Leadership Education I (LE-I) cadets learn basic knowledge and drilling. A good cadet is rewarded by promotion. Higher ranks are able to delegate more authority but they have more responsibility. LE-II cadets can be given low-level leadership positions, such as squad leader. These cadets are taught the fundamentals of
leadership and how to apply them. LE-III cadets are given higher leadership positions. They apply what they learned the year before in real leadership situations. Third year students help to instruct classes, heading up drill and PT sessions. They are also responsible for inspecting their platoons. LE-IV cadets are at the peak of the leadership chain of command. These cadets teach leadership principles to the younger cadets. They use what they have learned
from their own experiences to teach the rest of the cadets. The idea is that is easier to learn leadership by teaching it.