Connellsville JROTC program receives distinction
Submitted photo
The Army JROTC program at Connellsville Area High School recently earned Honor Unit with Distinction from the U.S. Army Cadet Command through the JROTC Program for Accreditation, the highest award attainable for the youth military program.
Submitted photo
The Army JROTC program at Connellsville Area High School recently earned Honor Unit with Distinction from the U.S. Army Cadet Command through the JROTC Program for Accreditation, the highest award attainable for the youth military program.
Submitted photo
The Army JROTC program at Connellsville Area High School recently earned Honor Unit with Distinction from the U.S. Army Cadet Command through the JROTC Program for Accreditation, the highest award attainable for the youth military program.
Submitted photo
The Army JROTC program at Connellsville Area High School recently earned Honor Unit with Distinction from the U.S. Army Cadet Command through the JROTC Program for Accreditation, the highest award attainable for the youth military program.
For Lt. Col. Eric Sheetz’s U.S. Army Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) Falcon Battalion at Connellsville Area High School, learning the values of respect, integrity and honor are their own reward.
Sometimes, however, praise from on high is welcome, too.
For the first time in program history, the Falcon Battalion recently earned Honor Unit with Distinction from the U.S. Army Cadet Command through the JROTC Program for Accreditation, the highest award presented to military youth programs.
Lt. Col. Sheetz, Senior Army Instructor for the Connellsville program, said his staff and 74 cadets were assessed in eight areas during the accreditation process, which is required of JROTC programs every three years.
“It’s been an awful lot of hard work. I’m really proud,” said Sheetz, who is in his second year at the helm of the program.
Connellsville JROTC cadets were evaluated by the U.S. Army Cadet Command in the areas of continuous improvement, service learning, cadet portfolios, unit report, in-ranks inspection, color guard and cadre portfolios.
As part of the service learning component for the assessment, the battalion staged a mock disaster last March at the high school in partnership with the Connellsville Area Career and Technical Center’s EMT and cosmetology programs. The students were evaluated by officials from the Fayette County Emergency Management Agency for protocols in responding to emergencies.
“I basically told them to make it happen, and they planned and conducted it perfectly. They did a wonderful job, so professionally done,” said Sheetz, a former army medic and a paramedic who certifies all his students in first aid and CPR.
For their annual unit reports, the Falcon Battalion received a perfect score. Additionally, the group scored exceptionally high on drills, marching and color guard presentations.
The battalion received an impressive 98% score on the overall evaluation.
JROTC programs can earn a rating of Honor Unit with Distinction (HUD), proficient or unsatisfactory. A score of at least 95% is required to earn HUD.
The U.S. Army Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps is one of the largest character development and citizenship programs for youth in the world. Established in 1916 through the National Defense Act, the program aims to instill values of citizenship, service, personal responsibility, sense of accomplishment and motivation in public and private school students nationwide.
At Connellsville, the JROTC program, which is in its eighth year, is open to all students as an elective course and includes physical training, team-building and other military curricula.
Sheetz said the leadership development program, which he operates with Army Instructor Joseph Cordier, chief warrant officer 2, instills in students a sense of duty and mutual support for each other that enables success.
“These students are so highly motivated and truly committed. We’re like one big family and we help each other,” said Sheetz. “The cadets come in here with a great attitude.”
Many of the current students in the JROTC program are college- or trade school-bound after graduation, he said. One student recently received a full scholarship to Carnegie Mellon University from the U.S. Navy to study nuclear physics.
“It’s an example of the type of cadets we have here,” said Sheetz.
Connellsville is one of two schools (with Albert Gallatin) in Fayette County to offer Army JROTC and among eight in southwestern Pennsylvania.
Sheetz said two other schools in the region — Beaver Area High School and Butler Intermediate High School — also received HUD honors.