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The Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) is a program sponsored by the United States Armed Forces in high schools across the United States that "instills in students in United States secondary educational institutions the value of citizenship, service to the United States, personal responsibility, and a sense of accomplishment.". The program was originally created as part of the 1916 National Defense Act and was later expanded under the 1964 ROTC Vitalization Act. Current statutory authority for the existence of the JROTC is contained in Title 10, United States Code, Section 2031.
Overview JROTC units receive certain financial support from the Armed Forces, including reimbursement for instructor salaries (see below), cadet uniforms, equipment and textbooks for use in military science classes. The total number of JROTC units permitted per service branch is determined annually by a quota set by the Federal government; for those schools who cannot presently receive JROTC designation, they may apply to host a National Defense Cadet Corps (NDCC) program. NDCC units differ from JROTC in that they receive little or no financial support from the Armed Forces; uniforms, equipment, other materials and instructor salaries must normally be furnished by the school hosting an NDCC program. Except for the funding aspects, JROTC and NDCC programs are virtually identical. In the Army JROTC program (for example), the cadet unit at each school is directed by at least one retired commissioned officer (in the grade of Second Lieutenant through Colonel) or a warrant officer (WO1 through CW5) and at least one retired noncommissioned officer (in the grade of Sergeant First Class through Sergeant Major). In certain situations there may be additional instructors. Retired general or flag officers are generally not permitted to work as JROTC instructors, nor are retired Reserve and National Guard personnel. However, a new provison from the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007 (Section 540), signed by the President into law in October 2006, permits Retired Reserve officers and noncommissioned officers to be hired as instructors. Although active duty instructors may be assigned, in reality, most JROTC instructors are retired from active duty in the branch of the Armed Forces sponsoring the unit concerned. Junior ROTC units may also be found in military schools. The Armed Forces use a unique reimbursement procedure to assist schools in hiring JROTC instructors: schools contract with retired military personnel (who have been approved by the respective service) for JROTC instructor positions. The instructor continues to receive their normal retired pay, but in addition, the school normally agrees to pay the difference between the instructor's retired pay and what the instructor would receive if they were on active duty. The service concerned then reimburses the school for approximately one-half of the amount paid by the school to the instructor. The Navy requires that JROTC instructors are employees of the school and are required by the sponsoring service to have the same status as other school faculty members. Some JROTC units include: See also | ||||||||
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