FRANKLIN COUNTY, Ky. — For several decades Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) at Franklin County Schools has prepared students for leadership and responsibility through its Air Force program.
Last fall that program was notified by leaders on the national level it had been approved for closure.
Kierre Brown is a Kentucky Army and Air National Guard veteran and a former loadmaster with the U.S. Air Force. Now, he’s also a long-term substitute at Franklin County High School — the school he graduated from in 2010.
Brown says he hoped to gain something special from JROTC, which he accomplished.
“That’s the big thing that we’re about here, is we’re trying to get into that full-body, every day, endurance. We’re trying to make sure that, yeah, you can go to the gym, but what if you don’t have a gym? What if you don’t have weights?” Brown said.
Recently, leaders of the U.S. Air Force sent out a notice concerning their recruitment numbers and guidelines for instructors. It’s an issue Brown says goes beyond JROTC programs and into overall recruitment numbers for the armed forces.
“The issues that a lot of these JROTC are facing is, yes, it’s a hard time trying to get students to join JROTC, but that’s the same issue that the United States military has when it comes down to recruiting and retention,” Brown said.
The U.S. Army JROTC requires programs across the country to be at 100 students or 10% of the school’s population, whichever option is less for a school.
Brown says they responded to the leaders’ concerns and have had a plan in place since October to remedy the enrollment issue, after starting the school year with 65 and now having 95 students. Eighth graders from Elkhorn Middle have also been allowed to join.
“We provide the opportunity for all schools in the county. We’re the only program in the county. So that’s where Frankfort High comes in. Although they are an independent school district, we do offer them as well as Western Hills,” Master Sergeant and instructor James Kinsella said.
The program partners with the VFW and American Legion to help showcase what they are learning around their community as well as toward fundraising. The group has been supported by the University of Kentucky ROTC program and former member Jim Simpson.
Brown says he and Kinsella have adopted an effective teaching dynamic. “The seasoned vet, who knows the programs, who knows what’s going on to better communicate, because that is the tag team that we have going on right here,” he shared.
“A citizenship program, which we do talk about in the military. They wear a military uniform, but we just want them to be productive members of society,” Kinsella said.
Brown says more resources like uniforms, equipment and time to continue growing their JROTC numbers is their solution to meeting students where they are.
Right now, the U.S. Air Force has placed 193 JROTC programs around the country on probation for low enrollment and being underdeveloped.
On Feb. 9, the Franklin County JROTC was placed on a probationary status after it was approved to be closed, which allows the school time to garner students.