Gar-Field High School USMC JROTC Named Naval Honor School

Students in Gar-Field High School's Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps program walk past two signs in their classroom every day. One reads "set the example" and the other "do the right thing."

It would appear that the message was received and implemented by the JROTC as the United States Marine Corps Training and Education Command named Gar-Field a Naval Honor School for its achievements during the 2009-2010 school year.

"This honor is another example of the wonderful things our students do at Gar-Field and I am very proud of the success of our students and instructors," said principal Bill Bixby. "Our cadets are very active in the community and have competed very successfully in JROTC competitions and I am happy to see an external agency recognize them."

Gar-Field's program was selected as a Naval Honor school from among the 50 other high schools in Region 1 based on data gathered from five categories: extracurricular activities, scholastic achievement, cadet citizenship, unit participation and unit inspection.

"At the end of every school year we are required to submit a detailed report to the Marine Corps that summarizes our yearly activities," said senior Marine instructor Major Bill Brannen, USMC (Retired) who runs the program along with Gunnery Sergeant Lester James. "Our supervisors look at these reports from all the high schools in our region and select the top schools to be designated as Naval Honor schools."

Brannen said the report details the activities and accomplishments of the cadets in the JROTC program from everything to their participation in school organizations and sports, to community service, physical fitness test scores and academic honors.

"One of the key areas in the review process is always unit participation, which includes cadet enrollment," said Brannen. "We have seen a significant increase in the number of cadets in our program while many other schools are struggling to meet the requirement number. I think our numbers attracted attention from supervisors and may have helped push us over the top to receive the Naval Honor school designation."

The program has nearly doubled in size since Brannen began his position at Gar-Field five years ago and the 2009-2010 school year saw the highest number of cadets with an average of 175 cadets registered.

Brannen said his latest count of cadets for this school year was 220, which is more than double the 100 cadet requirement to maintain the program at a school of Gar-Field's size.

"I think our strong focus on the cadets and their accomplishments is a large reason for the increase in enrollment our program has seen," said Brannen. "We give them opportunities to be involved on a larger scale not only in their school, but also in the community and we highlight their success. When the kids enjoy what they are doing, they are going to tell their friends and that is when we start seeing the new faces."

A personal goal for Brannen was to increase female participation, since he said he felt many girls may have been scared away by the perceived military component, when in reality he said the program is about leadership and character development.

"There are just as many opportunities for female cadets as there are for male cadets in our program, and this is often misunderstood," said Brannen. "Half of our staff are female cadets now, compared to the 2-1 male to female ratio when I started. I think students are recognizing that our program is for everybody, not just males."

In fact, this year the commander of the program happens to be senior cadet Natasha Patterson, a female who has participated in JROTC since her freshman year.

Patterson, who was raised by two military parents, had always planned to join the program after hearing good things about JROTC from her mom who participated at her own high school in Georgia.

"I have always been treated with a lot of respect in the program even though I am a female and they accommodate us very well," said Patterson. "I have never had any problems here and I don't know anyone else who has either. The camaraderie and family structure of the program makes all the difference."

Patterson said she hopes the honor will draw even more attention to the already growing program and help to dispel any prejudices people may have against the program or Gar-Field.

"This is a very prestigious honor for us, and especially our instructors," said Patterson. "It highlights what Major Patterson and Gunnery Sergeant James have done for our program, school and community and I hope it will draw even more kids to our program."