Senior year...a time for Hello's and Goodbye's: NJROTC

I walked into the classroom two weeks before school started.  Wow everything looks so different, I thought.  Is think really the same NJROTC classroom I have been learning in for the past three years.  Yes indeed it was.  Out walks my new instructor, Leutenant Commander Starr.  Ltcdr Starr reminded me a lot of Lt Ostergren.  It was funny how Lt and Senior chief compared a lot to Ltcdr and Sgtmaj.  Opon arrival at the meeting we were aware that both teachers were supposed to be here.  However, only Ltcdr was.  He informed us that Sgtmaj's daughter had been killed in a car accident and talked to us about the dangers of driving.  Two other cadets and I attended the funeral.  I learned a lot about Sgtmaj at that funeral that I don't really know if I would have before. He had a big family.  They were really nice and welcoming.  You could tell how big sgtmaj's heart was.  He had cadets there from his school he had just moved from.  We all showed up in uniform and they would hug, hand shake, and talk to all the family members.  After this we had the start of school.  Sgtmaj still was not back yet, which was to be expected at that time.  Ltcdr taught the classes and we learned all about Alabama.  Ltcdr was from Alabama and as much as hearing about it after a while could get old....we would just have someone ask a Alabama question and that would take up the whole class period, good or bad.

Sgtmaj came and I enjoyed having him as a teacher.  I was cadet teaching Military Science for my third year and Sgtmaj was the teacher in there.  So I got to experience him in two different settings a day.  Sgtmaj taught me a lot about the love of a family.  He may not even know but I learned so much of where I was going and what I wanted to do just by conversations I had when sitting with him or talking to him before lunch or during.  He taught me how important it is to hold on to the ones you love.  He also taught me to laugh things off sometimes.  Sometimes things would stress me out like crazy and he would just try to help me chill.  I had my moments when I would get so mad at him until I realized he was making me a better person for what he did.   I will forever care dearly for him as my teacher.  He made me learn a lot that one school year...and not just book knowledge. :) 

Ltcdr was a tough cookie.  Very strict about what he wanted done and how it should be done.  I was never sure how to react to him.  I was always so good at reading people growing up and knowing how to play their strong suits and stay away from the others...well Ltcdr was Alabama.  It was hard to crack it anymore than that.  He "Irked" me off many times but he worked hard to try and get me to where I wanted to be.  We did loads of tests and paper work to try and get me into the Air Force of Navy Academy.  I couldn't have even tried to if it weren't for him. 

Both these men were great teachers and taught me a lot more than just what you need to learn in school.  By the time I graduated, thanks to Sgtmaj, Ltcdr, and my determination, I had achieved the highest position I could be. I still worked hard.  I wanted to prove to Ltcdr that just because I achieved that didn't mean I was going to give up.  I wanted to show that I deserved to be where I was. 

So many of teh cadets helped me.  You know how they say you can't be a leader without followers that is so very true in the NJROTC experience.  I couldn't have got to where I was if I hadn't had the cadets I had.  There were some who are forever memorable for the stupid things they did (such as Alex Ickes), the ones I tried so hard to make them realize they are way too much like me (Katie Watts), and the ones who just overall proved that they could handle anything Sgtmaj, Ltcdr, or I threw at them (Julie Martin, Scot McKinzie, Whitmer, and so many more) .  

As much as I know Katie was like me.  I was the one who she would listen to in the unit, most of the time.  She is so much like me. A bottle cracker that is just waiting to be lit if you say the wrong thing.  However, she strives to prove that she is good enough.  The real shock to me was Miss Abby Kindred.  O that girl.  She was a keeper.  She was opposite of me...I went against the grain of my mother and joined...Her dad forced her to join.  She seemed to make the most of it.  She did her silly stuff in class and made me mad at times but I couldn't have had a more fun fourth year without her.  She went to boot camp this summer, and made it back alive. As much as I doubted I am sure that girl is going to go far. 

There are so many cadets who shined last year.  We doubled our unit.  I was so proud of all the awards we achieved and everything we did.  We accomplished so much.  Now I will be going into the NJROTC meeting tomorrow as a has-been.  It kills me because that unit was my second family.  I was actually closer to some of them than some of my family.  However, I will always remember them and how much they helped me achieve and learn.

I tried to join the military but couldn't because I was diagnosed as legally blind.  I had it checked and double checked to make sure I couldn't join because I wanted to so bad.  Now I am just a girl who has to try to find a way to serve her country on the home front. :) However, my NJROTC career was the best experince I could ever ask for. :) Thank you!!