Escondido JROTC wins battle to remain

By: PAUL EAKINS - Staff Writer | Thursday, September 21, 2006 11:36 PM PDT ∞

ESCONDIDO ---- With the barking of their drill instructor echoing off the walls of nearby schools, about 20 Orange Glen High students marched in formation Wednesday afternoon on the hot asphalt of the campus parking lot.

A few students carried nonfunctioning World War II-era rifles and all marched with military precision and discipline. When the teenagers marched out of step or broke formation, Marine Master Sgt. Keith Porter and his student instructors yelled at them to get back into place.

"Hurry up! What are you doing? Get in there!" Porter shouted as the students scrambled.

This in-your-face training and the emotional strength it builds were exactly what junior Equilla Butler had hoped for when she joined the Navy Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps, she said Wednesday.

"Before I came into the program, I was really sensitive, and anytime someone yelled at me, I'd cry," Equilla said. "I really didn't like being sensitive. I wanted to be more tough."

The school's program is the only one of its kind in Escondido since its founding in 1973, a program that was at risk of folding until the new school year began last month. Some other North County school districts, such as Vista, Oceanside, Poway and Ramona, have a JROTC program as well.

The program was on probation in 2005-06 for having too few students enrolled ---- around 85, just shy of the 100 students, or 10 percent of the school's enrollment that the Navy requires for it to continue, said Navy Cmdr. Charles Jenkins, who has taught the class for 11 years. This year, 106 students are enrolled, and as long as most of them stick with it by the official enrollment reporting date of Oct. 1, the program will be safe, he said.

"If we didn't make numbers this year, they would have shut us down," Jenkins said. "Christmas came early."

The program is supported by the school with classroom space, but is mostly funded by the Navy, which provides the students with uniforms, video equipment and other resources, he said. The Navy pays half of Jenkins' and Porter's salaries and half is paid by the Escondido Union High School District, Jenkins said.

To encourage students to join the program and ensure its future, Jenkins regularly visits the city's middle schools to talk to students and families about the training corps.

"This is not a recruiting program for the military," Jenkins said. "We're not putting kids in the armed forces to go to Iraq."

The students do, however, learn how to march, wear and care for a uniform, learn military history and culture, and are required to say "sir" and "ma'am." Through this, students learn discipline, respect and responsibility, he said.

"We support the parents. We believe the first line of authority is with the mom and dad at home," Jenkins said.

The class meets three days a week and fulfills elective, world cultures and physical education credits, he said.

One day of class is spent on uniform inspection and basic marching, another day is spent on physical training, and students use the rest of the day in the classroom learning about such topics as world cultures, naval science and naval history, Jenkins said.

After school each day, about 30 NJROTC students spend their free time doing extra marching and practicing drill routines to enter either armed or unarmed marching competitions.

Many of these students said Wednesday that they plan to join the military, but many others don't. They're in the program just for the experience and the fun of it, they said.

"It's something different from cheerleading, football, dance. It's something a girl wouldn't normally do," said Ana Manrique, a 12th-grader who said that, despite being promoted to commander of the unarmed drill team and battalion instructor this year, she doesn't plan to enter the military.

Sophomore Joseph Zumwalt said he transferred from Escondido High to Orange Glen High just so he could join the NJROTC program because he plans to enlist in the Marines. Zumwalt and several other students who also plan to enlist said they joined the training corps in part because the experience will allow them to get paid more after they finish basic training.

On Wednesday night, Jenkins held a barbecue at the school at which parents could learn more about the program and get to know the instructors.

Paula Mitchell, mother of senior James Fletcher, who is the new commanding officer for 2006-07, said at the barbecue that her son has developed self-confidence and plans to join the Navy because of his involvement in the training corps.

"He's not as shy and he's opened up a lot more with me," Mitchell said. "He takes a lot of pride in this, in ROTC. ... His life is ROTC."

Contact staff writer Paul Eakins at (760) 740-5420 or peakins@nctimes.com.

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