I just retired and took an Army JROTC instructor position. Any ideas how to inspire today's youth to want to succeed in life?

MAJ Jeff Coulter — Tue, 17 May 2016 11:22:02 -0400

Response by 1SG Harold Piet made May 17 at 2016 11:38 AM

1SG Harold Piet — Tue, 17 May 2016 11:38:47 -0400

No, But I sure do admire you for trying.

Response by Capt Tom Brown made May 17 at 2016 11:38 AM

Capt Tom Brown — Tue, 17 May 2016 11:38:58 -0400

MAJ Jeff Coulter Best wishes and congratulations on your new position, career and the challenges involved. Perhaps you could get some inside tips from SMSgt Minister Gerald A. Thomas on his experience.

Response by SFC Gary Edwards made May 17 at 2016 11:54 AM

SFC Gary Edwards — Tue, 17 May 2016 11:54:01 -0400

Maj. Coulter,
I was in JROTC in HS. LTC Yenter & SGM Petro inspired me to the extent that I wouldn't be who or where I am today, were it not for their encouragement, wisdom, and great stories from their own experiences that they were seemingly able to retrieve to match any circumstance or dilemma one could find themselves in. Most importantly, we knew they genuinely cared about us and our futures.

These two instructors had different backgrounds and experienced the Army uniquely given the roles officers and enlisted are placed in. If they had any rivalries or other issues between them, then they kept them hidden well and taught us the only way to success was through teamwork. Those of us who left for the military had some simple advice, remain flexible.

When I enlisted in 1982 and went to basic at Fort Knox, I was way ahead of my peers in land navigation, first aid, drill & ceremonies, rank structure, marksmanship (not sure if they allow them to fire weapons anymore with today's anti gun climate), wear of the uniform, leadership, military regulations, code of conduct, and the list goes on.

Though we all enlist or get commissioned in the same Army George Washington led against Gen. Cornwallis of the British Army at Yorktown, it had to evolve and change to become the force it is today.

Guide young people as they consider the military as a profession to evolve and change as you do the same.

Also remember they are kids and look to you as an example.

Response by LTC Charles T Dalbec made May 17 at 2016 11:57 AM

LTC Charles T Dalbec — Tue, 17 May 2016 11:57:11 -0400

You must show students by example what a Soldier is and what a Soldier does to fellow man. Often they take for granted that a Soldier Just fights the enemy with weapons. In todays Army a Sokdier has to perform many tasks including taking care of their fellow man regardless of who they are Hooah ? Congrats on your position and remember that you represent yourself, your family, the Army and all of the Armed Forces. Hooah!!!!b you do have many challenges and if you are professional many JROTC will follow. You will also be able to help nominate the strongest student cadets for nomination to Service Academies.. West Point Etc...

Response by LTC Tom Jones made May 17 at 2016 12:03 PM

LTC Tom Jones — Tue, 17 May 2016 12:03:38 -0400

I did it for 26 years and I miss it everyday. Well, almost everyday. Important to remember that you are under the very watchful eyes of the School's Administration, the faculty and staff and the clientele (as in every student in your program and especially those who don't appear to be paying attention). That is to say, you are the face of our military. Be prepared to work hard and understand that you are going to encounter situations that will test your credulity. I wish you all the luck in the world. The most important relationship you will have as a JROTC Instructor is the one you forge with your teaching partner (AI). That will make or break a program.

Response by 1SG William Svoboda made May 17 at 2016 1:03 PM

1SG William Svoboda — Tue, 17 May 2016 13:03:43 -0400

I held a SAI Position for 14 years, served as the TNG and OPS Chef JROTC Cadet Command and the number one priority is to be included and integrated into your schools culture. Keep your students fully engaged and teach not lecture to them. Make it fun and engaging. Be there for them and continue to set a example both as a soldier and as a citizen.

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made May 17 at 2016 1:05 PM

CAPT Kevin B. — Tue, 17 May 2016 13:05:06 -0400

Always show them the possibilities and how exciting it can be to chase a dream. Guide them so their failures are small but educational. Mentor them so they can think on their own feet. Remember there's a logic section in the brain that doesn't turn on until 18-20. They'll do stupid kid stuff at times. No laws broken and nobody hurt equates to a good learning session. Don't intercede if a hard lesson needs to be learned. Interact with the parents to ensure they're on board and not dumping baby sitting duties on you. Have fun as the kids can sense when you're not and turn off more readily. Prepare to be proud of what they can do.

Response by SSG Michael Hale made May 17 at 2016 1:59 PM

SSG Michael Hale — Tue, 17 May 2016 13:59:00 -0400

Continue to talk about Leadership, Tact, and the importance of looking towards their future

Response by Maj James Tippins made May 17 at 2016 2:04 PM

Maj James Tippins — Tue, 17 May 2016 14:04:31 -0400

Help steer them towards an Air Force career! :)

Response by CPO Ronnie Townes made May 17 at 2016 4:25 PM

CPO Ronnie Townes — Tue, 17 May 2016 16:25:54 -0400

MAJ, bring in leaders from each Military branch to share their experiences and to provide guiding principles.

Response by Capt Michael Greene made May 17 at 2016 4:45 PM

Capt Michael Greene — Tue, 17 May 2016 16:45:59 -0400

First, basic fairness is fundamental. My outstanding, squared-away daughter waited two years to finally get the chance to attend a week-long leadership camp. She was accepted, so we drove there, waiting for room assignments, and got told the female room was being painted, so no females would attend this year. Huge tears and disappointment with the whole military. (Actually, that was probably a realistic introduction.) But it broke the camel's back.
Second, don't tolerate cadet-on-cadet abuse. Much of the program involves cadets being in charge of training other cadets. They will emulate you, but without restraint. So if you're a yelling type, they will be screaming and cursing types.
Third, JRTOC is not a recruiting agency. It's to build citizens. Some of our cadets were discipline problems, and their parents thought of JROTC as therapy. In some cases, JROTC was the last choice before jail. Good luck.

Response by CPT Joseph K Murdock made May 17 at 2016 5:19 PM

CPT Joseph K Murdock — Tue, 17 May 2016 17:19:38 -0400

What are you impressions of them now?

Response by CPT Jack Durish made May 17 at 2016 7:59 PM

CPT Jack Durish — Tue, 17 May 2016 19:59:10 -0400

You have a tough road ahead of you. Young men and women of my generation rarely needed inspiration. We had our families provide that service either by example or with a boot. Sadly, that's not the case today. Interestingly, I worked with teenagers in a volunteer capacity for a number of years as a Sea Scout skipper. The interesting aspect of it that for about half that time I worked with ordinary kids and the other half with children-at-risk (incarcerated in a juvenile detention facility for felonies. In both cases, they were unteachable until I established a degree of respect and trust with them. Surprisingly, it was easier with the delinquents. Once they learned that I was an unpaid volunteer and not a pervert, they began to listen and learn.

I heard an interesting presentation by a conservative commentator who experiences the same kind of suspicion when speaking to groups of teenagers. His trick was to allow them to ask questions. To respond to them rather than speak at them. They had expectations, preconceived notions of who and what he is that were quickly dismissed once he began answering their questions in unexpected ways. In other words, he created cognitive dissonance in their minds thus making them open to new information. I suspect that you must do the same.

Response by SFC Mike Edwards made May 17 at 2016 10:15 PM

SFC Mike Edwards — Tue, 17 May 2016 22:15:49 -0400

Talk to them as you would want to be talk to, real and keep it real. Don't put politics or religion into your conservation with them. Be professional, and keep it that way from the heart.

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made May 18 at 2016 6:52 AM

Capt Daniel Goodman — Wed, 18 May 2016 06:52:01 -0400

Some thoughts I had might be for you to try to link to other similar programs for kids. There must, I'd think, be other JROTC groups for the other services near you that you might also try to hold joint meetings and or activities ewith. Also, civil air patrol (CAP) as well as naval sea cadets, the latter has an extremely good STEM program in underwater robotics, as well as a comp sci (CS)/IT program for their kids called CyberPatriot I'd read about, as a good friend of mine has one of his kids in the Navy sea cadet program, he and I had chatted about it, I'd also mentioned it to someone else on here who'd had related interests at one point, not necessarily with kids, the one apon here and I had been chatting about CS/IT educ genly, and I'd just mentioned CyberPatriot to him. Also, a very little used approach now all too often missed for kids is amateur radio, as well as model rocketry, and also radio controlled model aircraft and cars, actually building them using balsa, the old way, those sorts of hobbies for kids have long fallen by the wayside, sadly. Look at http://www.hamsphere.com a ham radio simulator, it is NOT real ham radio, though those who wrote the package very cleverly made it mimic ham radio extremely convincingly, it's only some $40-$50 a year paid for using PayPal, just make certain if you don't want a recurring subscription, there's supposed to be some way to prevent auto renewal on PayPal though I never found out how, you can send their admins an email, or spk with their admins when using the package. There's an app version for cell phones and or tablets, whether iPhone or Android, or one can download for normal PCs, I'm fairly certain Macs or Windows, either, as well as quite posbly Linux. For a minimal expense, the package, supervised by adults , could let your kids chat with other countries using a software defined radio (SDR) simulator to pique their interest in the real thing, it'll seem very real, though trust me, it's not, though many hams in many countries do also use it registeringmtheir real call signs. Otherwise, their network assigns a call sign, a fake one for their network, and there's also still a 2 wk trial period, I believe. To avoid the need for real ham radio hardware, of your kids can get licensed, look at CQ100 and Echolink that let real hams register real ham licenses for use on web accessed rea ham transceivers, those are NOT fake and DO need real ham licemses. Ham is far, far different from CB if you've never been involved with it, if you have, all to the good, I want to get a license again, I had novice as a kid, it no longer exists, then I got technician, that's the minimum licensure now, no Morse code is reqd anymore, thohgh you should expose your kids to it, as well as slow scan TV (SSTV) both of which can be simulated on hamsphere though I haven't gotten to that yet, I'm sending this then will try to send more, this tablet is often temperamental and I don't want to lose all I've typed so far, many thanks.

Ham Radio on your PC and Smartphone HamSphere.com

HamSphere is a Virtual Ham Radio transceiver for Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and iPhone

Response by SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth made May 18 at 2016 7:03 AM

SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth — Wed, 18 May 2016 07:03:42 -0400

Give great examples of leaders that lead their men by example, not ones that bullied their people. Impress them to listen their NCOs if and when they are commissioned.

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made May 18 at 2016 7:05 AM

Capt Daniel Goodman — Wed, 18 May 2016 07:05:32 -0400

Next I'd read boy and girl scouts as well as the explorer groups have very close ties, I think, to JROTC CAP and naval sea cadets, that might be well worth exploring, as well. Military history would obv have occurred to you, though I'd certainly try to get manor vet groups to speak, or to let the kids maybe meet members of them as well. The uscg auxiliary has a program called AIM their program for prospectives for the uscg academy, and I'd also read West point Annapolis and USAFA all I believe have prep schools for kids that might be interested, if they can't get initial appointment. There's also the army high school to flight school program I'd read of for kids who want to go wocs for rotary wing flight at ft Tucker, you doubtless know of that, as well as such very good mil high schools with I think Jr college e.g. valley forge mil academy in PA. Next you'll want to look at vmi where my best friend from USAF went, as well!as citadel , and I'd also very strongly suggest the different maritime colleges, as well and also kings point usmma on long island, as well. Then too there's a very interesting quasi military though non military merchant marine Union enlisted program little known called the paul Hall center formerly the Harry lundeberg school of tje seafarers Intl Union (SIU) piney point MD with three tracks, galley, engine, and deck, training fro apprentice and ordinary uscg licensed seaman up through bosun, with follow on for deck and engine merchant officer licensing though as I said non military yet run along quasi military lines as a holdover from ww2, interesting trust me take a look at it, I'm sending this I'll try to send more, many thanks .

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made May 18 at 2016 7:15 AM

Capt Daniel Goodman — Wed, 18 May 2016 07:15:45 -0400

I'd also encourage looking at not merely army navy USAF and USMC, but also the usphs and NOAA commissioned corps, as well, incl, if possible c shipboard visits to NOAA ships , uscg ships and aircraft, if possible, as well as whatever other installations and or military museums might be near you, as well, though much of that would doubtless have also occurred to you certainly of course. Next, martial arts, especially judo, possibly aikido, though that'd depend on the interests of kids and what parents might allow. I do know CAP and I think naval sea cadets have a flight program, especially in sailplanes, I'd read of such programs. Also, in Calif, the Natl test pilot school NTPS private school has I'd read high school affiliation. Also little used are vocational high schools, especially for airframe and powerplant licensure for high school students , nursing, electronics, comp sci, IT, and construction fields, that might jump at a chance for a JROTC affiliation , hope all that was of use, would be eager for any thoughts or to chat many thanks . oh dont forget community college affiliations and the Intel scholarship and NASA kids programs as well.

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made May 18 at 2016 7:16 AM

Capt Daniel Goodman — Wed, 18 May 2016 07:16:57 -0400

Look also at uscg margrad programs, and the usphs Jr and SR costep programs as well as the uscg collegeprogram webpages.

Response by SSG Dennis Grossmann made May 18 at 2016 9:41 AM

SSG Dennis Grossmann — Wed, 18 May 2016 09:41:27 -0400

Teach them to act accordingly while in uniform out in public. I've seen a few cases where the cadets are in uniform playing grab ads and cutting in lines etc. I realize they are school age, but manners and self discipline should be encouraged strongly.

Response by SFC J Fullerton made May 18 at 2016 4:08 PM

SFC J Fullerton — Wed, 18 May 2016 16:08:48 -0400

I think it starts with motivating them to be proud members of a team. Get your program involved with the school and community, make your program visible. I think some JROTC stay confined to their own room doing their own things, and that leads to isolation over inclusion. If the faculty and student body have a perception of JROTC as a "rehabilitation program" for problem kids, then fight to overcome it. Some have turned into just that because that is how the school board thinks of it. A polished JRTOC program builds self-esteem and self-discipline, which goes along away with setting personal goals for the future with the tools to succeed.

Response by MGySgt Rick Tyrrell made May 18 at 2016 8:19 PM

MGySgt Rick Tyrrell — Wed, 18 May 2016 20:19:04 -0400

First ask them where they see themselves in 5 yrs., then ask them what there plan is to get there. When they have no real answer instill the Army values into them during the guided discussion and in training.

Response by LTC Jeff McEvilly made May 23 at 2016 8:22 AM

LTC Jeff McEvilly — Mon, 23 May 2016 08:22:24 -0400

Depends on your demographic. I try to get them to see what they want for their future and then chart a road map to get there.

Response by SGT Shawn Schweinberg made May 26 at 2016 2:09 PM

SGT Shawn Schweinberg — Thu, 26 May 2016 14:09:13 -0400

My time with the JROTC in high school I had 3 instructors. One was a drunk who didn't make it, but the other two were my first experience being around soldiers. One was an E6 the other was a MAJ. They both acted like regular soldiers. I didn't know that at the time because I was to young to understand. But those two men directed my life. Both were always smiling and welcoming for the children. Always ready to support the cadet leaders and were at the same time firm. Only difference is your now dealing with blank slates and their parents.

Be you. Don't change anything but the number of times you smile and be uplifting even when the kids do something really stupid.

Response by Maj Pamayla Darbyshire, MSN/CNS made Jul 29 at 2016 11:18 AM

Maj Pamayla Darbyshire, MSN/CNS — Fri, 29 Jul 2016 11:18:48 -0400

lead by example. share some of your military experiences.

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 6 at 2016 11:33 AM

LCDR Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 06 Dec 2016 11:33:34 -0500

Congratulations, Maj Coulter. I agree with CPT Durish that you appear to have a tough road ahead of you. High schools students of today are a very different breed from the high schools that even you were familiar with. I reckon the first item on the list is to garner the students' attention. I wish you loads of luck and smooth sailing, sir!

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 26 at 2018 3:17 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 26 Feb 2018 15:17:25 -0500

I am currently 60 days out from Retirement and I am seriously considering pursuing a JROTC instructor position. I have other options but the JROTC instructor seems to be calling to me. I was an instructor in my last position and loved it! I would love to keep teaching in some capacity. Is there any instructors that have any advice or input that can help me with this decision? I would like to know the pros and cons list. My only reservation is the fact that I spent my last 10 years in USAREC so my BRM and D&C skills may be rusty.

Response by TSgt James Carney made Apr 23 at 2019 5:15 PM

TSgt James Carney — Tue, 23 Apr 2019 17:15:19 -0400

Since I retired from the Air Force, I occasionally give classes at local high schools with ROTC Units. Sometimes, if there's any free time at the end of the class, I ask, rhetorically, what the cadets are planning now and that the sooner they start thinking, the better. I've even suggested that if they plan to go to college, even the community colleges, that they may want to do some volunteer or internships at a business in which they may be interested to get a feel if that is what they want to do. I've even suggested that, even as high school students, that they may try to set up an appointment with an HR representative from different employers and interview them about the company and the types of jobs they offer and what educational background would help them to "get in the front door." If that isn't possible, perhaps a representative from some local businesses may offer to have a class discussion. Perhaps, even some counselor(s) from local colleges, community colleges, and universities may be able to give them some guidance during a classroom setting. I also try to pass along the importance of setting up a retirement plan as soon as possible especially in today's work environment.