Why join AFJROTC?

"Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps"
In-Class Fun Stuff
  • ​​Kite building – First year (AS-I) cadets get in teams to build kites from basic materials and instructions.
  • Hot air balloons – First year cadets get in teams to assemble hot air balloons. Based on availability, students may be given the opportunity to experience a flight in a tethered hot air balloon at Lafayette.
  • Aircraft model building – First year cadets build model airplanes and research their plane and its history.
  • Paper airplane, glider construction and motorized fly-by-wire model aircraft - Second year (AS-II) cadets are given basic materials to build complex paper airplanes and gliders. Third year (AS-III) cadets build motorized, line-controlled airplanes.
  • Telescopes - Third year cadets use a Meade telescope for astronomical viewing.
  • Rocket building – Fourth year (AS-IV) cadets build and launch model rockets.
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Field Trips
  • Washington, D.C.
  • Abraham Lincoln Museum in Springfield, Illinois
  • Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee
  • Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio
  • Air Force Museum (Dayton Ohio)
  • Science Center
  • Beaumont Scout Camp
  • Scott Air Force Base
  • Spirit of St. Louis Airport (where second year cadets receive orientation flights in a Cessna aircraft)
  • Smart Field Airport in St. Charles, Missouri
  • Missouri Botanical Garden
  • Jefferson Barracks
  • ​Daytona Beach, Florida
  • Wacky Warriors Paintball
  • Skyzone Dodge Ball
  • Cote Brilliant Elementary school
  • St.Louis city museum (overnight)
  • St.Louis Science Center
  • Flight Safety International (Cadets get to fly a commercial aircraft in a state of the art hydraulic simulator)
  • AND MORE!​
Life Skills & Lessons
  • ​Stress management – First year cadets learn the physical and emotional consequences of stress, its causes, how to deal with it, and the difference between good and bad stress.
  • Time Management and study habits – First year cadets develop skills to learn how to manage their time more effectively through exercises, planning schedules, planning calendars, and efficient study methods. Goal setting, prioritizing, and proper planning techniques highlight this lesson.
  • Drunk and drugged driving – After lessons on the issue of drunk driving and how to stop it from happening, students get a first-hand experience with drunk driving.
  • Sexism/racism – Second year cadets participate in gender and ethnic role reversals to look at the reality of prejudice through different eyes. After discovering where prejudice comes from and how it is perpetuated, they will learn and discuss how they can eliminate it.
  • Effective listening – Second year cadets learn how to improve their listening skills by constructing exact tinker toy "models" while sitting back to back: one cadet (the source) giving verbal instructions, and a partner (the receiver) who attempts to build an exact model replica.
  • Suicide prevention – Second year cadets become aware of the third leading cause of death for teenagers by studying the twelve signs of suicide, why 5000 young people kill themselves each year, dispelling the myths about suicide, and what to look for in someone who may be considering suicide. Guest speakers and interactive tests are used to reinforce the lesson.
  • Ethics – Cadets learn about the complexity of their own ethical decisions through a series of self-analysis exercises and interactive tapes. In addition, personal standard scenarios are role-played to better understand the individual value systems and moral codes.
  • Management scenarios – Cadets role play as manager and subordinate in workplace situations in order to solve and be exposed to the nuances of "real life" people problems in the workplace.
  • Resume and Job interviews – Bi-yearly promotion boards, where cadets can earn a promotion to the next rank, provide practice in a job interview-like setting. In addition, fourth year cadets get help writing their resume and developing job interview skills.
  • Military Drill/Honor Guards – Cadets develop poise, neatness, precision, confidence, self-discipline, and teamwork as basic movements of military drill are taught. Students can compete for varsity and junior varsity drill teams. Teams compete in and out of state. Major drill event is an annual trip to Florida for a drill competition.
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Summer Leadership Camps
  • American Legion’s Boys and Girls State programs at University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, Missouri
  • American Legion Cadet Highway Patrol Academy in Jefferson City, Missouri
  • Society of American Military Engineers at the United States Air Force Academy
  • St. Louis Chapter of the Military Order of World Wars Leadership Forum at University of Missouri, St. Louis
  • ​Safari Club’s American Wilderness Leadership Camp in Jackson Hole, Wyoming
  • Cadet Leadership Camp (CLC) Cadets enrolled in AFJROTC are given an opportunity to attend a week long summer leadership camp at Scott AFB, IL. Attendance is voluntary and based on academic performance, classroom behavior, and leadership involvement in AFJROTC. Successful completion of SLS earns each participating cadet .5-credit hours toward graduation requirements
  • The JROTC program's mission is to develop citizens of character dedicated to serving their nation and community.
  • This course may be used as a practical art or elective credit.
  • Looks great on college and job applications, particularly if you achieve a higher rank.
  • Students with an interest in the Armed Forces may use AFJROTC enrollment to gain preferential consideration for college scholarships, Academy appointments, or enlistment in the military services at a higher rank and/or pay.
  • We are a close-knit group, but we are made up of very different people, so you are bound to make tons of friends.
  • When you join this unit... you instantly make 100+ fiends that become your family instantly.
  • The experience is one-of-a-kind.
  • It's fun!
  • Enrolling in AFJROTC does not obligate you in any way towards serving in the military!
  • Students may enroll first or second semester; there are no prerequisites for any course offered other than that freshman students may not enroll in AS-IV (senior level class).
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  • The curriculum is divided into Aerospace Science, Leadership Education, and Uniform Wear. For specifics, look below. For even more specific specifics (such as what we do on each field trip, what cadets who go to the summer programs will do, and FAQs), go ​here.
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  • Note: activities listed above may vary year-to-year based on student interests, available slots, funding, and availability of off-campus field trip locations.​

Still Not Convinced?

Read cadet, parent, teacher, and school staff stories on what they think of the unit, and the influence it has had on them. Also read cadets stories on why they joined, their fears before entering the unit, and how this unit has changed their lives.
Have some questions? We've probably heard it before. Check out frequently asked questions.