BIG YEAR AHEAD
Trip to Normandy commemoration planned in June for cadets
TOWAMENCIN » Every day at North Penn High School, a select group of students sit in on a course unlike any other.
“We all enjoy it, and we learn different things, such as aviation, flying, and about different planes and engines and all of that,” said Cadet Second Lieutenant Alexis Nyce.
“We also have a medical and communication part to it, where we learn social skills, and other life lessons. It’s a really good program,” Nyce said.
The program is North Penn’s Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps program, which is the local version of a federal program sponsored by the United States Armed Forces in high schools across the United
States.
The program was originally created as part of the National Defense Act of 1916 and later expanded under
the 1964 ROTC Vitalization Act, and instructs high schoolers in military discipline with a curriculum that emphasizes study of military
science and military history, while students can also take part in speech and essay contests, drill competitions, lessons from local veterans, and much more.
Each day, according to Nyce, students will pop in for one class — some senior students will take two — and receive instruction on drill or color guard, and study up on different inspections for competitions, as well as classroom learning. About 75 students are currently enrolled across the high school’s three grades and including some ninth graders from district middle schools, according to Nyce, who is the unit’s public information officer.
NPHS AFJROTC color guard squads can be seen across the area, presenting the flag at ceremonies on holidays such as Veterans’
Day and Memorial Day, and events like a November high school graduation for four vets who entered the military before graduating high school.
“It’s super special, definitely for me. I just feel something different in my heart … I know this person sacrificed, basically put their life on the line for us, and for our country,” Nyce said.
“Getting to meet them, and hear their stories, is just something super special. I know from speaking with other people that they enjoyed our presence just as much as we enjoyed theirs, and they inspire us to be better.”
Most, but not all, of the students in North Penn’s ROTC program do plan to enlist or join a branch of the military when they graduate, and some come from families with a police or military background, but not all. In December, North Penn cadets took part in a Wreaths Across America event at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Cemetery in Hilltown, where high school students took part in a parade, presented the colors, folded a flag, and presented wreaths representing each branch of the military. After the ceremony, other cadets laid wreaths on the graves of service members, to thank them for their service.
“It was a really cool event, where we got to honor those who served, and just thanked them for their service. It definitely was really special,” Nyce said.
What’s next on the calendar for the cadets? In late February, according to Nyce, the group will have a change of command ceremony, in which the seniors who currently hold leadership posts will turn them over to younger students. Later in the school year, the cadets are also planning to travel to France, to take part in a commemoration of the D-Day landing in Normandy in early June.
“We’ll participate in parades, and the celebrations they have over there, just to honor those veterans,” Nyce said: “The first half, I believe, is spent just at the beaches and doing all of our celebrations, and then the second half is when we get to do a little travel and exploration.”
By then, the club hopes to have an Instagram page up and running to document their trip, and about a dozen members are confirmed for that travel.
“I’ve definitely learned a lot, that I didn’t expect to learn within this past year and a half, such as learning how to make a flight plan. That was one of my favorite parts of my first year,” said Nyce.
“You learn a lot of basic life skills, which I wasn’t really expecting. I knew it would be kind of strict — it’s really not that strict — but I knew it was going to be different than any other class I’ve had, and I’ve met a lot of cool people that I’ve become close with.”
For more on North Penn High School’s Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps program visit www.NPenn.org.