JROTC cadets undergo leadership course

The Multiple School Unit JROTC recently conducted a weeklong summer leadership symposium at Marianas High School.

All five JROTC high schools in the CNMI participated in the symposium, which took place between Aug. 4 and Aug. 8. The federal government underwrote the program’s $8,000 total cost. This included airline tickets, ferry tickets, hotel accommodations and food for the cadets, cadre and chaperones. Each school brought its top 10 cadet leaders for the upcoming school year.

Lt. Col. Gay, director of Army Instruction, developed the course in consultation with the JROTC Cadre to better prepare the cadet leaders for their future assignments.

Cadets learned to work together with cadet members of other schools, in an unfamiliar environment, solving problems in a collaborative process. Cadets were assigned to “Learning PODS” based on their functional positions within the battalion. JROTC instructors were assigned as facilitators and mentors for each Learning POD. Team members remained together for the first three days of training.

The program’s first two days consisted of cadets learning the responsibilities of their leader and staff positions, a review of cadet tasks, inspection checklists, JROTC Leadership Education and Training Curriculum LET1 – LET4, orientation to JUMS, producing requisite JUMS automated reports, inputting data, service learning process, developing memoranda and operations orders, preparing a 250-word paper on the leadership principles of General George C. Marshall, a 250-word paper on each cadet’s personal biography and briefing the biography to their Learning Pod Members.

The symposium’s third day consisted of further refinement of written assignments, reviewing the entire spectrum of LET1 – LET4 General Curriculum Questions and In-Ranks Inspection questions. In the afternoon, the learning PODS competed against each other in a fast-paced CPS Academic Challenge.

On Thursday, the cadets assembled by school and prepared their staff briefings. This allowed the cadets to review and modify their own school briefings and to practice their oral presentations for the next morning.

On the symposium’s final day, each school’s cadets presented their Formal Cadet Staff Briefings to the entire cadet audience and cadre. All participants were commended for their briefings by Gay, Tanya King, and all five of their Senior Army instructors.

This summer leadership challenge will take place annually to help students prepare for their futures as community leaders. [B][I] (PR)[/I][/B]