The Coast Guard and Barnstable High School conducted a commissioning ceremony for the first Coast Guard Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) in the New England area, last Friday morning.
The Coast Guard JROTC is a youth outreach program that instills the values of citizenship, service to the country, personal responsibility and a sense of accomplishment in students.
During the event, Rear Adm. Will Watson, Coast Guard Director of Governmental and Public Affairs, talked about the program’s objectives, curriculum and the benefits it will offer to develop service-minded citizens of character.
“The Coast Guard looks forward to this valuable partnership with Barnstable High School,” said Rear Adm. Will Watson. “We are eager to watch cadets grow from personal discipline and self-confidence to leadership and teamwork. The school’s unique values and strengths will elevate the heights to which the program and its cadets will climb.”
In 1992, the Coast Guard established its first JROTC unit in Miami. Recent legislation mandated the Coast Guard to establish and maintain one JROTC unit in every Coast Guard District by 2025.