2. STEM During this past summer I went to a NJROTC program known as STEM. I feel very honored to have been chosen. I was able to learn and participate in activities with cadets from all around the country and the world.
3. At STEM, each cadet gave a briefing on a unique aspect of his unit. As a result, I learned some of the successful practices of other units. I hope that some of the practices can help OPHS ROTC excel. Due to my position as academic team leader, I will first describe how I plan to improve our academic team. Later I will share some ideas to benefit our unit as a whole.
4. Academic Team Without a doubt, the number one thing that prevented us from succeeding at regionals was academics. I believe this is due to a lack of interest and support from our unit as a whole. The following are some of my ideas and some ideas that other units have used to become intellectual champions. Together we can make OP ROTC known for its academics as well as it’s drill.
5. Emphasis on academics It is common knowledge that Academics, is given more point value than any other team at a field meet. This means that regardless of the performance in other events, academics can still make or break any unit. It is therefore my belief that we should put a higher degree of attention to academics than we have in the past. This year I will require a minimum of 2 practices a week, preferably on Tuesday and Thursday. Each practice lasting AT LEAST 30 minutes.
6. Specific Team ideas In order to increase the desire to participate on the team, I have come up with an idea to increase participatation on the academic team. With our instructors permission, I suggest that for every eight academic practices in a row that a cadet participates in, they be awarded a “get out of pt free card”. While I understand the importance of pt; I believe this will attract cadets to practice who wouldn’t normally have an interest in attending.
7. 2. On the first day of practice each week, the emphasis will be placed on knowledge that is pertinent to Personal Inspection and other forms of general knowledge. I welcome all cadets to attend, even those with no desire to be on the team. This will be a very good way to review and brush up on your “need to know” information. This will dramatically improve our PI scores.
8. The second day of practice shall be devoted to studying and testing on the naval science books. Again, there will be rewards for those who participate and make an effort to help the team achieve its goals. The rest of the week, I will be doing homework in the academic room and invite any cadet who needs help studying ROTC related information to join me for some individual tutoring. I will be in there for the majority of practice, but I encourage those seeking help to join me as early as possible.
9. General Rules of the Academic Team The same classroom rules apply to my practice, I will make things fun, but I expect constructive participation from all cadets. If a staff member wishes to be on the team, they MUST attend the practices just like everyone else, regardless of rank. If you miss a practice, you talk to me in private about the matter, or you will not participate on the team during the next event.
10. I have the right to remove any misbehaving cadets from my practice, I want practice to be fun and constructive, not just goofing around. During an academic competition, inappropriate behavior, depending on the severity of the offense, is grounds for suspension from the team for several competitions.
11. Ideas for the unit Now that you have seen my goals and plans for the Academic Team, here are some ideas from cadets across the country to improve unit cohesion and help OPHS ROTC earn the Distinguished Unit Award.
12. Have a SET schedule. In other words, have a regular schedule for every week, with a minimum number of changes. That way people are more aware of what days they need to show up for their teams. A set schedule will also keep cadets from showing up and waiting all day at practice only to discover their event isn’t scheduled for that day.
13. 2. We need to increase the amount of community service for two important reasons. First, according the head of NSTC, “NJROTC is not a program with a goal to make you join the military, it’s goal is to make the cadets better citizens”. What better way to do that than to do some community service? The second reason is that a large portion of a unit’s score during AMI is the amount of community service the unit has done. Compared to other units, OP barely does any community service. Some ideas for community service are, having a Halloween event for the community, adopting a highway, and helping out at local events.
14. Unit Funding Our funding has always been a crucial concern for out unit, some ideas to help correct this include: Raffle tickets, cadets would be required to sell a certain amount of tickets. Booster club Ask for donations from local businesses or offer our man power in return for donations.
15. 4. Create and sell a unit yearbook.In order to properly maintain and run these events, I propose the creation of a new staff position, a Fundraising chief or financial chief. This important new position could vastly improve our unit’s financial situation.
16. Marksmanship Team C/P02 Jackson and I will be continually pushing for a fair view for the marksmanship team. We request that the marksmanship team be given the same chances to succeed as all the other teams.
17. Finally, I want to repeat that it is possible to have a set schedule every week and we can include the marksman team in the regular schedule. I have many other ideas and suggestions for the unit, so if you have any questions regarding this, please feel free to ask. -C/PO3 Forhan
