First Coast Guard Junior Leadership Academy
by U.S. Coast Guard Cmdr. Clay Cromer
Coast Guard JROTC Program Manager
July 30, 2023
After months of planning and
preparation, 58 U.S. Coast Guard JROTC cadets and 12 instructors
along with
chaperones gathered at Coast Guard Base Elizabeth City from June
11-17 to participate in the first-ever Coast Guard Junior
Leadership Academy (JLA).
Coast Guard JROTC
(CGJROTC) is a youth outreach program whose mission is
“developing service-minded citizens of character.” Cadets from
all six CGJROTC units, spanning from Miami, Florida to Southern
Delaware, left the comforts of home to embrace an action-packed
week filled with physical training, military drill, air rifle,
low/high ropes, uniform and room inspections, and leadership
labs. The week culminated with an interactive visit to the
historic U.S. Life Saving Station Chicamacomico on the Outer
Banks, where cadets took turns “rescuing” each other using
legacy equipment from the 1874 station.
“I am impressed
by our cadets’ willingness to accept the challenges presented by
the JLA and the level of self-discipline that they demonstrated
in order to meet those challenges,” said retired Capt. Joe
Solomon, Senior Maritime Science Instructor at Topsail High
School in Hampstead, North Carolina.
JLA’s cadet-led,
instructor-coached model afforded 17 upperclassmen the
opportunity to hone and exercise their leadership voice as
cadre. The 41 “basic” cadets were organized into three platoons
and quickly realized that teamwork would be the key to a
successful experience.
“The skills accelerated in an
opportunity like this pay huge dividends as cadets return to
their units this fall as more confident and capable leaders,”
said Cmdr. Clay Cromer, CGJROTC program manager. “We’re all
amazed at the positive change and achievement realized by so
many cadets this week.”
JLA also marked the first time
all six JROTC units assembled in one place. “Having every unit
represented not only allows us to strengthen our program
identity, policies and standards, but the cadets and instructors
alike enjoyed building new relationships, and that makes us
stronger,” said Cromer. “Two major ingredients in our success
this year were the generous hospitality of Base Elizabeth City
and the leadership of local Camden County High School CGJROTC
Instructor Master Chief Lyn Dupree, a seven-year veteran
instructor.”

U.S. Coast Guard JROTC cadets and instructors at Coast Guard Base Elizabeth City
during the first-ever Coast Guard Junior Leadership Academy
in June 2023. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Cmdr. Clay Cromer,
Coast Guard JROTC Program Manager)
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Growth in 2023 … and Beyond
While
Coast Guard cadets have attended JROTC leadership camps
sponsored by the Air Force, the vision and desire has been
growing for the Coast Guard to offer its own academy. “As we
weighed the cost of sending Coast Guard cadets to other
academies versus starting our own, it became clear that this was
our breakout year,” said Cromer.
In addition to creating
its own JLA, CGJROTC is expanding to 10 total schools in August,
adding four additional units in Clinton, Mississippi; Mobile,
Alabama; San Diego, California; and Chicago, Illinois. As
mandated by H.R. 7776 - James M. Inhofe National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, the Coast Guard must
establish a JROTC unit in every Coast Guard district by 2025.
The JROTC program is currently seeking host schools, especially
from high schools in First Coast Guard District, Thirteenth
Coast Guard District, Fourteenth Coast Guard District, and
Seventeenth Coast Guard District.
“We’re poised for
smart program growth. Effective engagement with Coast Guard
field units is key to continued success and sustainability — not
only in helping to identify viable candidate schools but also
for providing mentorship and operationalizing the JROTC
curriculum,” said Cmdr. Mike Wolfe, chief of external outreach
at CG headquarters.
Learn more about Coast Guard JROTC
Coast Guard Gifts
| U.S. Coast Guard
| U.S. Department
of Homeland Security
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