Wednesday, August 14, 2002
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Wednesday, August 14, 2002 |
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AFJROTC program opens at Sandy Creek High School
Fayette students are preparing to soar to new heights through the county's first Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFJROTC) program. Approximately 125 students have already signed up to be the first cadets in the program, which is being housed at Sandy Creek High School. "We were surprised to learn that this many students had signed up already because we really haven't advertised the program. We are very excited about the students' enthusiasm for AFJROTC," says Dan Lorton, assistant principal at Sandy Creek High School. The school system learned in the spring of 2002 that its application to bring AFJROTC to the county had been approved by the United States Air Force. Sandy Creek was selected as the site to house the program due to the interest of the school's students in AFJROTC and because the facility has ample classroom space for it. Students from the county's three other high schools, Fayette County, McIntosh and Starr's Mill, have the option of transferring to Sandy Creek if they wish to participate in the program. Col. Doug Pearson and Master Sgt. Karvellis Lee will be in charge of heading up the AFJROTC program that will kick off when students return to school on August 12. "I'm extremely excited about starting up this program in Fayette. There has been extreme enthusiasm on the part of the community and an incredible amount of support from the school board and Sandy Creek's administration," says Pearson. "I'm absolutely surprised about the numbers of students who have courageously signed up without knowing much about the program. It is exciting to see this much enthusiasm." After the program gets in full swing, both Pearson and Lee say they expect to see the number of students wanting to get into the program swell. AFJROTC is open to all students in grades 9-12 and is considered a high school elective. The United States Air Force funds all materials, curriculum, books and uniforms needed for the program. AFJROTC is not designed to be a recruitment tool for the Air Force but rather a course that exposes students to the history and science of aviation, exploration of space, civilian jobs available in the aerospace industry, as well as builds character traits such as citizenship, leadership and discipline. For those wishing to pursue a military career, Lee says AFJROTC students who complete two or three years will have an advantage in that they can enter any branch of the military after high school at a higher level than those who have not had AFJROTC. For those going to college on Air Force scholarships, students can skip the first year of AFJROTC if they had it in high school. "This program offers students an avenue to better prepare for what they want to do after high school. Col. Pearson and myself are there to help students pursue their career goals whether it is to go into the military or assume a civilian position such as an airplane mechanic, pilot, air traffic controller or other positions dealing with aerospace," Lee adds. Lee says one of the components of Fayette's AFJROTC program is that it is going to be tailored to the community. Students will be visiting local veteran's administrations and will be paired with veterans in the community as well as conducting canned food drives and making visits to local nursing homes. Sandy Creek's AFJROTC Unit GA-20024 is one of 744 units in the United States.
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