The National Defense Act of 1916 authorized the establishment of the Reserves Officers' Training Corps. The overall shortage of trained officers in World War I and the problems involved in producing trained officers on short notice indicated that a sound procedure for advance training of Reserve Orricers in peacetime was essential for our national defense.
World War II demonstrated the soundness of the ROTC program. Of the 159,853 men who had been commissioned upon completing the four year college course since the ROTC was established in 1916, about 100,000 actually saw active duty.
In October 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the ROTC ReVitalization Act. This act brought about the most wide-sweeping innovations since the ROTC program was first Established in 1916. The traditional four-year program was reaffirmed to include pay increases for the Advanced Corps Students. A new two-year program was established to provide ROTC training for those students who were unable to, or at the time did not desire to, receive the Basic Corps training. This same act also introduced financial assistance programs in the form of four year scholarships for oustanding Basic Corps Cadets.
The Army, Navy, Marines and the Air FOrce all have their own ROTC and JROTC programs. They are offered on two levels - Junior and Senior ROTC. The Senior Program is offered in colleges and universitiies throughout the country. THe Junior ROTC Program is offered in selecte high scholls throughout the United States; in American high schools located in American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands; plus is taught in selected DODS (Department of Defense) high schools located in the West Germany, The Republic of Korea (South Korea), and the Republic of Panama.
THE JROTC CADET CREED...
I am an Army Junior ROTC Cadet. I am committed to upholding the values which make this nation great. I am dedicated to developing myself as an effective leader and to serving as a personal example of leadership to those who follow me.
I am proud to be a member of the Junior ROTC Cadet Corps, and will conduct myself so as to bring credit upon the corps, my school, my family, myself, and my country. I will not use my position to attain pleasure, profit, nor personal safety. I shall not lie, cheat, or steal, nor will I tolerate those who do. I am accountable for my actions and for my deeds.
Good citizenship is my goal. I promise to work hard and with all the intensity poissible to strengthen my body and to stimulate my mind. SO that when the mantle of leadership is passed to me, be it civic or military, I will stand always prepared to uphold the constitution of the American way of life.
Responsibility is my watchword. I fully understand that my own needs and the needs of the community are more pratically served by my active participation in the educational process. I am respecful of, and responsive to, my instructors and others occupying positions of authority over me. When the torch is passed to me, I shall be prepared to assume my duties with a confidence borne of my faith in the training that I have recieved.
I represent the Past, the spirit of those who forged the path that institutionalized the Junior ROTC program within the fabric of America.
I represent the Present, the sum of the modern scholar Cadet, enhancing my skills in the ar of leadership, thereby pursuing both enthusiastically and conscientiously my full potential
I am the Future, poised at the threshold of the 21st centure. I am ready to take my earned place of leadership in the community, in the armed forces, in government, in educations, in business, or with the executives of industry.
I SHALL LEARN, I WILL BE READY, AND I WILL SUCCEED!
A CADET'S BELIEF AND PLEDGE...
I believe that both the present and the future offer the greatest opportunities and challenges in the history of mankind.
I believe in myself because I believe in more than myself. Like the great men and women of history who make life better for me today, I, too, want to do something great with my life. I want to return more to my country than I take from it.
If I am to succeed, I must this very day commit myself to prepartaion. Aware that only as a tree thrusts its roots deeply into the ground, can it lift its branches high into the air. I, therefore, pledge to throw myself into my school work. I know that President Lincoln was right in his contention that if one studies and prepares, one's chances will come. Accordingly, I shall listen attentively to my teachers as they transmit their wisdom, insight, and knowledge. I pray they will challenge my mind, charge my sould, and instill in me a love of the great, the real, the true and the challenging. But in the end, I believe that, it is I, I alone that must find out for myself, sutdy the past, analyze the present, and dream the future for myself. For, with E. Merrill Root, I believe: "It is only when man, self-reliant man, stands on his own, free of outside support, that he feels himself truly free." I elect to choose "self-reliance" - the American way.
Additionally, each Cadet is encouraged to appreciate his/her teachers and classmates and to draw out the very best in each of them.
Finally, the Cadet is left reminded that success in life shall be determined by his/her own self-reliance and very hard work.
