CMSD NEWS BUREAU
10/7/2020
The Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps program at the John Marshall High School campus has been named one of the top AFJROTC units in the country.
The John Marshall program is one of 387 units worldwide to receive the Distinguished Unit Award, the AFJROTC’s second highest honor. The Air Force JROTC includes nearly 900 units and more than 125,000 cadets in the United States and at select schools in Puerto Rico, Europe and the Pacific.
The award honors programs that have performed well above expectations and provided outstanding service to their school and community while fulfilling their core mission of citizen development.
Before the threat of COVID-19 forced the closing of school buildings in March, John Marshall cadets logged nearly 1,300 hours of community service last school year. The unit is composed of about 100 cadets.
The unit hosted two blood drives, worked with the three John Marshall schools on a food drive and tutored students weekly at nearby James. A. Garfield School. Cadets also helped the John Marshall Sustainability Club empty cans of waste paper each week and assisted custodians with a school cleanup.
Air Force JROTC educates and trains high school cadets in citizenship and life skills while promoting community service, responsibility, character and self-discipline. It also provides instruction in air and space fundamentals.
"So many parents and students believe JROTC is for students wanting to join the military, retired Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Jennifer Shaw said. "That is such a tiny influence to join our program. It is really about students wanting to become better leaders, giving back to our school and becoming better citizens."
Shaw supervises the AFJROTC unit with retired Air Force Lt. Col. Donald K. Milliken. They are aerospace science instructors at John Marshall.
The John Marshall campus includes the John Marshall School of Engineering, John Marshall School of Civic and Business Leadership and John Marshall School of Information Technology.
