Throughout the year, the Army Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (AJROTC) program participates in activities of all kinds. From winning academic competitions, running obstacle courses or performing a choreographed routine, cadets do it all. As a reward for their continued efforts, cadets earn a golden star fashioned above their nameplates and the right to brag to every other battalion in the district.
AJROTC uses a unique point system that rewards battalions for participating in activities throughout the year. Every year, the Director of Army Instruction, who works for the school district, creates a list of activities that battalions at each school can earn points for. These memos are then sent to AJROTC teachers like Senior Army Instructor Karen Bolden, who share them with students and encourage participation in activities that earn points.
“[The point system is] a district wide … competition between all of the schools in [the] Memphis Shelby County Schools [distict] that have a JROTC program,” Robin Guthrie (12) said. “Basically the point system is kind of an incentive for us to participate in things throughout the year, and also to kind of give us guidelines on events that we need to be doing throughout the year, and … how we can get involved.”
There are a variety of ways for students to earn points throughout the year, and some activities are worth more points than others. Winning first place in a competition, for example, earns more points than placing third. AJROTC offers students in all grades the opportunity to participate in a variety of competitions, and by doing well, students can earn points. Teachers support students in many ways as they rack up points, such as facilitating practices for competitions.
“Any competition [is a way to earn points], like our academic challenge competitions or Knowledge Bowl … Raiders competition … marksmanship competitions,” Bolden said. “Our drill meets [happen] during February, [and] the drill teams and the color guard, they all perform and compete. We get points for that. We can also get points for reports that we have to submit. [Some of] the cadets are in positions [that require reports] … and so they do those reports, submit them to me, I check them, and then I send them up to our headquarters. We get points if we get those in on time. If the kids don’t do them or get them in on time, then I have to take over and push them forward.”
The battalion’s 10 months of hard work at competitions and parades is celebrated at the district’s annual award ceremony. The school with the most points is awarded the title of best unit and given a golden trophy. The students that win best unit also have the honor of wearing golden stars affixed above the nameplates of their AJROTC uniform, declaring their status until the next award ceremony a year later.
“[If we get the most points], we have [the] title of [best unit and] bragging rights,” Bolden said. “We get a huge trophy. There’s an award ceremony at the end of the year where we are recognized in front of Shelby County, basically. A lot of the school officials come to that award ceremony, and so we carry that title for a year.”
White Station High School has won best unit for six years in a row, and students have no intention of breaking that streak. While the tangible reward of a trophy is nice, winning also brings attention and prestige to the Spartan Battalion as other schools and even district officials respect the battalion.
“[Being the best unit six years in a row] makes me really proud,” Guthrie said. “[When] you come into [JROTC], you don’t know what it is. But then I see all these trophies lining the walls, and I see how much the people care about this program. And you walk into the building and you see … not only the people before me, but the people currently and the people who will come after me, how they all are contributing to us continuing to be the best battalion and how we’ve all come together to kind of create this community and uphold this reputation.”
This value of community doesn’t just apply within the Spartan Battalion; students bring this spirit to competitions with other schools and engage in friendly rivalry. Despite their winning streak and the fact that other schools are their competition, cadets remain humble and sportsmanlike, even offering assistance to their opposition.
“One thing I’ve always admired, especially about Sergeant Major [Bolden], is that even though … we are technically pitted against other schools, she will always encourage us — and she sets the example as well — to offer help if the other schools need it,” Guthrie said. “Like, for example, we have our obstacle course, and I think we’re one of the only schools in the district that have one, so there are other Raiders teams … She’ll let them come and she’ll let them practice [for competitions] on our obstacle course … we have every right to say, ‘No, you can’t come and use it.’ But … Sergeant Major does… the morally correct thing, and she lets other people use it. And I try to do the same as well.”