Cooper City NJROTC cadet standing at attention during their annual inspection. Photo Credits: CHEYENNE PINO
BY CHERINA EUDOVIQUE
They are often seen around campus in uniform, practicing drills on the softball field, and helping out around the community, but the Cooper City High School Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps Unit is more than its outside perceptions.
NJROTC is a relatively new addition to CCHS. The program is based on these objectives: To develop informed and responsible citizens; to strengthen character; to promote an understanding of the basic elements and requirements for national security; to help form habits of self-discipline, self-confidence, self-esteem, responsibility, accountability, and leadership; to develop respect for and an understanding of the need for constituted authority in a democratic society; and to develop an interest in the Military Services as a possible career.
It provides a challenging atmosphere allowing the “cadets” room to grow as students, citizens, and people. Every day cadets learn lessons that instill responsibility, respect, diligence, and hard work into them. One of the first things established in cadets is that every adult is addressed as Sir or Ma’am. Furthermore, all NJROTC students are required to take care of their uniform, shine their shoes, keep the uniform clean and be professional while in uniform.
Although the unit is only four years old, the youngest unit along with Hollywood Hills in Broward County and the only district in the U.S. where all the public schools have a JROTC, it has received a lot of recognition for their performance as a Naval Science 4 unit; in other words the unit has an elite class of graduating seniors. Many of the graduating cadets were part of the initial class on campus.
Much emphasis is also placed on teamwork, which is essential in NJROTC. When CCHS cadets compete in drill competitions, good team work or lack there of can make or break them. At competition teams from various schools participate in armed exhibition performed with rifles, unarmed exhibition performed without rifles, and color guard events. The teams are judged, starting with a group inspection, then in their individual events based on how well they execute each drill.
The different teams that performed at the drill meets practiced by organizing in three groups located on different parts of the field. The cadets commit hours of their time to get better and to positively represent CCHS at competition. Student leaders, including various upperclassmen and seniors are in charge of these practice sessions with only adult supervision.
“CCHS’ NJROTC has set it self apart for other surrounding units because, although this is our first year as an NS4 unit, we’ve obtained an outstanding reputation for community service, color guard events, performing well in competitions, and overall doing so well as such a young unit,” NJROTC Lt. Commander Tate Jager said.
Tate Jager
Among the many students in NJROTC, Lieutenant Commander Tate Jager and Ensign Jessica Hoffman stand out as the highest ranking male and female in NJROTC. Jager, a part of the graduating class of cadets, joined ROTC as a freshman and worked diligently all four years to achieve his rank. He accomplished a nearly impossible feat of attending Leadership Academy as a freshman. It was an experience to which he credits the motivation to graduate as the commander of his unit.
“I had a lot of fun there,” Jager said. “I gained a lot of motivation and self-respect and discipline from it.”
Over the past four years Jager has competed in drill meets at Boca and Flanagan. He participated on both the unarmed and color guard, while practicing with the armed teams. Carrying the colors for football games and American Legion events, helping out with elementary and middle school events, as well as being involved in the community through NJROTC are all ways Jager dedicated his time outside of the classroom to his unit. After graduation Jager plans to follow in his father’s footsteps by going to the Coast Guard Academy.
“I grew up in a military household, we had normal house-work,” Jager said “Various chores from dishes to mowing the lawn were expected, and so were respect, discipline and punctuality.”
Ensign Jessica Hoffman is the highest ranking girl in NJROTC at CCHS. Hoffman set a goal of achieving a high rank for herself early on in ROTC and she reached her freshman goal of being Ensign as a junior. She used what she saw as a lower expectation for girls to motivate her.
“Girls aren’t expected to do as well as the guys,” Hoffman said. “Also a lot of the time girls have to work harder than normal because of society’s belief that women aren’t as strong as men, or handle the jobs they can, all of which is untrue. ”
Her first year in ROTC, Hoffman was introduced to people that showed her women weren’t at all the weaker sex. At leadership camp a group of upcoming senior student instructors inspired her to
Jessica Hoffman
achieve all that she could. Seeing them graduate demonstrated to her that she could too with hard work and dedication. She credits NJROTC with making her more responsible, mature, and disciplined. The Ensign or O1 believes that ROTC has challenged her to prove the people who expect less of women are wrong and hopes that her determination will enable her to serve on the U.S. Military Police and Security.
Instructor Commander Testa and Petty Officer Sloan are proud to have watched four years of cadets walk across the stage and for them this year is extremely special. As their first NS4 class prepares for graduation, both instructors reminisce and remember why their jobs mean so much to them. Sloan is retired Coast Guard, who decided to be an NJROTC instructor because he enjoys watching the cadets learn and grow. His goal every day is to make cadets better citizens, and prepare them for college.
“Getting to see fourth year cadets walk across the stage this year is a part of what makes what I do so fulfilling,” Sloan said. “I’ll finally get to see them go from freshmen to being the first ones to graduate NS4, and seeing how the younger cadets grow from year, maturing and becoming better citizens.”
Testa, retired 26 years from the U.S. Navy, always aims to stress the importance of military service through taking pride in the uniform.
“By wearing the uniform with pride and not embarrassing it or themselves, cadets can exhibit respect,” Testa said. “People expect more from the cadets when in uniform. They see them as kids who are more responsible and respectful. That’s what we want to showcase.”
The one thing he wants the cadets to understand and hopefully get others to see is that although they might not join the military, men and women in uniform deserve their respect.
“People are dying for the freedom we have here,” Testa said.
The Instructor Commander also expressed the sentiments he shares with Petty Officer Sloan about this year’s graduating class.
“The most fulfilling part of this is to see them graduate, reach the goals that they set and more, move to college, seeing them come back to say hello and talk to the class,” Testa said. “That’s what’s rewarding.”
To the CCHS students of the NJROTC what they do isn’t as simple as dressing up every week, throwing around guns, and carrying the flag at sporting events. It’s how they show their patriotism, dedication to their nation, and promise to protect the future whether as a better citizen or in active military duty.
