At Lowell - JROTC
JROTC or Junior Reserved Officers Training Corps was was the ultimate class for nerds and those who just didn't cut it as jocks. Where else could you spend 40 minutes or so volunteering to learn something new that was not academic. Imagine learning how to administer first aid to a "sucking chest wound" or the care and maintenance of an M1 rifle from an actual military manual. Of course there were other activities that were not as gross or boring like target practice on the rifle range (yes, there was one at school) or going on field trips and playing war games at the local military installation
Fort Cronkhite (now part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area). We even got to eat authentic army chow at a real military mess hall. I remember salty spinach.....probably from a can.
Other JROTC activities included battalion inspections, city parade attendances, military ceremonies and of course the 91st Division Drill Competition. The citywide high school competition, JROTC's equivalent to the "big game" of the football players, was held in the Civic Auditorium in the heart of Downtown San Francisco.
I was fortunate to watch the "91st" not just as a non participating cadet officer during my senior year, but as a news reporter. I was a staff editorial journalist on "The Lowell" (the school newspaper) in my senior year. That night I brought my feature/sports writer's pen and notebook. No one had previously written an article on the event, so I thought "why not?". The article didn't win any Pulitzers, but it was a diversion from editorials.
After serving my three years in JROTC, I rose to the rank of Cadet Captain and was one of the staff officers serving the battalion as its Adjutant or S1. A more descriptive term for Adjutant was paper pusher or office admin. I even had an assistant. As far as participating in the activities, I didn't. My ribbon bars were few and the ribbons earned revealed my minimal participation. As far as my rifle range skills, I was just an average marksman. Normally the seniors who attained the rank of Cadet Captain graduated as honorary Cadet Major (or the next honorary rank up from their current rank), but during our senior year some traditions weren't honored.
We did however receive a certificate of which either my assistant or I had to fill in the blanks.
The reverse side revealed that we would gain a rank or two if we decided to enlist.
The training was equivalent to an E-3, a Private First Class.
In the end however I always remember the years in JROTC as an extension of my years in scouting. Essentially the same subjects only a little more military; all the elements were there. My earlier years in scouting assisted me to excel in JROTC.