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JROTC SUMMER CAMPS
Since 1973, summer camps have been an important part of the JROTC program. For the first twenty years of their existence, these camps had an improvised air about them. This was due in large measure to a lack of money and legal standing. The law did not authorize travel and living expenses for many of the cadre who conducted the camps.
All this changed in 1993 when Congress inserted into Title 10 of the United States Code provisions that allowed the Army to subsidize the camp-related travel and subsistence expenses of JROTC cadre. The summer camp program subsequently mushroomed. In 1995, approximately 19,000 cadets attended summer camps at 36 separate locations spread throughout the United States and Germany. Only 8,000 cadets had participated in these summer activities as recently as 1992.
To regulate and standardize JROTC summer camp operations, Cadet Command published a new regulation, Cadet Command Regulation 145-14, Organization and Operation of Summer Camps in August 1993 and established a standardized program of instruction. The program was divided into three instructional components – required, integrated, and additional.
| REQUIRED | INTEGRATED | ADDITIONAL |
| Leadership Reaction Course | Physical Training | Marksmanship |
| Rappelling | Drill and Ceremonies | Substance Abuse |
| Land Navigation | Leadership Training | Static Displays |
| Confidence/Obstacle Course | Personal Hygiene | Tours/Visits |
| Math and Science | Jump Tower | |
| Water Safety | Field Training |
The command was careful to ensure that the essential thrust of the program was on leadership development and citizenship. Military tactics and combat weapons training were specifically excluded from the program of instruction. This was done to refute critics who alleged that the JROTC’s main purpose was to serve as a recruiting instrument for the armed services.