Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps

Scott Lewis, Air University's deputy director of AFJROTC, talks about what the program goals are and reflects on a highlight moment.

Veterans in Blue is a multimedia collection showcasing men and women who have contributed to the legacy of the Air Force.

Senior Master Sgt. (Ret.) William E. Hardy is an Air Force veteran with 22 years of service. After graduating from Green Country Central High School in Snowhill, North Carolina, Hardy joined the Air Force in July 1978. While his primary Air Force Specialty was supply, he spent many years of his career on special-duty assignments that included being a first sergeant as well as serving nine years as a military training instructor. As an MTI, he earned the title of Master Military Training Instructor, an honor held by only the top 10 percent of all instructors. A highlight in Hardy’s career was being a key member in creating the Airman’s Coin ceremony at basic training. Hardy retired on Sept. 1, 2000, and transitioned to being a Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps instructor at Klein Forest High School in Houston, Texas. Hardy has been instructing JROTC for more than 16 years.

Created by: Air Force Public Affairs Agency OL-H, Hill AFB, Utah

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Veterans in Blue - SMSgt (ret) William Hardy

U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, West Virginia, provides insights and comments about the Junior ROTC program, and the importance of citizenship development.

FL-20083 Cadets Practicing Marksmanship

IL-941 Cadets

Volunteering at the Southern Illinois Special Olympics Bowling tournament

Welcome to Air Force Junior ROTC

Colonel Johnny R. McGonigal

Director, Air Force Junior ROTC

Biography

Welcome to Air Force Junior ROTC. The mission of Air Force Junior ROTC is to "Develop citizens of character dedicated to serving their nation and community." Air Force Junior ROTC is not an USAF accessions program and cadets are never under any obligation to join the military. Air Force Junior ROTC is a Title 10 US Code mandated citizenship training program that is designed to educate and train high school cadets in citizenship, promote community service, instill personal responsibility, character, and self-discipline. The program achieves this through classroom education in air and space fundamentals and hands on learning opportunities in a number of fun and challenging extra-curricular activities.

The Air Force Junior ROTC program is grounded in the Air Force core values of “integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all we do.”

The program has more than 870 Air Force Junior ROTC units in high schools world-wide. There are more than 125,000 high school cadets in the program and more than 1,900 retired USAF instructors who lead, mentor, guide, and teach our cadets in high schools in the U.S. and around the world. Air Force Junior ROTC enjoys overwhelming school administration and community support because of the huge positive impact on cadets, schools, communities, and our nation. In many communities that have no military bases within many miles, the cadets and instructors of Air Force Junior ROTC are truly “The face of the U.S. Air Force in communities all over the U.S. and the world.”

Air Force Junior ROTC Fact Sheet Air Force Junior ROTC Teamwork and Leadership Overview

About Air Force Junior ROTC

Our Mission

“Develop citizens of character dedicated to serving their nation and community.”

Our Purpose

Instill in students the value of citizenship, service to the United States, personal responsibility, character, and a sense of accomplishment. To make the greatest positive impact in the lives of our cadets as possible. This is perfectly encapsulated in our motto: “Building Better Citizens for America.”

Our Vision Statement

Air Force Junior ROTC (AFJROTC) will provide a quality citizenship, character, and leadership development program, while fostering enduring partnerships and relationships with high schools, educational institutions, and communities that help meet our citizen development mission.

Air Force Mission and Core Values

The mission of the United States Air Force is to fly, fight and win... airpower anytime, anywhere.

Integrity first, Service before self, and Excellence in all we do.

Air Force Junior ROTC News

Sep 27, 2021
What to do with old ABU’s? 908th Airlift Wing Airman has the answer
No longer authorized for official wear, many Airmen don’t know what to do with their old ABU’s. Some have discarded them or relegated them to work clothes. Others have stuffed them into storage. Senior Airman Michael A. Sanchez, a passenger services agent with the 908th Airlift Wing’s 25th Aerial Port Squadron, had a better idea: collect and donate them to the Civil Air Patrol.
Sep 8, 2021
Air Force Junior JROTC advances new Career Technical Education pathway for services’ counterparts
MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala -- Air Force Junior ROTC cadets along with JROTC cadets from the other services now have a new Career Technical Education pathway at high schools across the nation and many countries and U.S. territories around the world, effective Sept. 1, 2021.
Sep 2, 2021
New AFJROTC director takes helm of worldwide student citizenship program
Col. McGonigal is the leader of one of the largest, wide-reaching and most diverse organizations in the entire Department of Defense. Air Force JROTC encompasses approximately 125,000 eighth grade and high school students with roughly 1,900 retired officer and senior non-commissioned officer instructors at about 880 high schools in the United States, Europe, Asia and Puerto Rico.
Aug 18, 2021
San Diego high school unit wins Junior ROTC Leadership and Academic Bowl
The Air Force Junior ROTC unit at Scripps Ranch High School, San Diego, Calif., took home the honor of being the 2021 joint service academic champions at the Junior ROTC Leadership and Academic Bowl, July 22, 2021, Washington, D.C.
May 27, 2021
CMSAF visits heritage museum to see new AFJROTC enlisted legacy display
Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force JoAnne Bass visited the Air Force Enlisted Heritage Research Institute at the Maxwell-Gunter Annex, Alabama, recently to view the new Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps enlisted legacy display. The display honors the dedication that AFJROTC enlisted aerospace science instructors have to the program and the Air Force by continuing to serve the nation past their 20 years on active duty. It also highlights the impact that the program can have on a young high school student who decides to enlist after being in AFJROTC.