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#124558 03/05/04 07:49 PM
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OK. And the post business refers to Army posts? And do they have JROTC in "regular" USn schools? And if there is a JROTC, is there also an ROTC, without the J?


#124559 03/05/04 07:51 PM
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ROTC = Reserve Officer Training Corps. I suppose a highschool preparation for college ROTC could be "Junior ROTC". How grateful I am that my son had Air Force ROTC at Cornell.
It led to his present job as airline pilot, making more
than his mother and I did together. He loves his job,
and is happier than I have ever been.


#124560 03/05/04 08:03 PM
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And yes, the post chess club means "the chess club that resides at ft knox."

Wrestling practice was every day. Chess club was Tuesdays and sometimes Saturdays. Later we switched to Fridays. After wrestling on chess days, I would walk to the on-post recreation center, which was several miles from the high school. I'd play till about midnight or sometimes a little later and then walk home - about four miles. Sometimes I didn't get home till about 1 or 2 am.

Kinduva strange thing: If one of my brothers was five minutes late for dinner, they were in deep feces, but I could come home at 2 am and my dad was just ask, "Another late night at the library?" or something like that. OTOH, I never got arrested, either, so Dad was a little bit lenient with me.

I remember one day I gave blood - my first time. I had asked my dad for permission, but he doesn't believe in it for himself and refused. Then I did something I knew was wrong and that I hadn't done previously since I was a child - I went to my mother, who signed it. I gave blood, THEN went to wrestling practice. As I was late, I had to wrestle everyone (go through the mills). There were a number of us in the same boat. Then I walked home ... as soon as I walked through the door, my dad knew what I'd done. He didn't even yell at me. It was cold and my lips were numb. I was very dizzy. A few days later is when I broke the second guy's collarbone. I quit after that and just focussed on the intellectual things. I don't remember if I quit of my own accord or if my dad made me quit. Either way, I went back to playing chess a lot - not so much as I did in middle school when I'd play 12 or 14 hours a day, but maybe 1 or 2 hours every day, plus the club time. It was a lot of fun. I started out so shy and uncertain. But the guys (one officer rated an expert and an enlisted fellow rated C) who started the club disappeared and I was left holding the bag. I was never elected, but the rec center people came up and sort of assigned me to be in charge and put me down as the president. Thereafter I always showed up. It was also a lot of fun because the post Hawaiian club met downstairs and was playing their drums and doin the hula downstairs. I *loved* watching the girls do the hula. One day a girl came up to play with me - she was wearing actual coconuts. Dazzlingly beautiful and I couldn't take my eyes off her. I didn't let her win - I just honestly couldn't concentrate. Unfortunately I was too shy to strike up a real conversation and answered her questions with yes, no, duh, uh. Jesus did I blow that one.

Anyway, the chess thing was a big part of my life growing up.

k




#124561 03/06/04 06:15 PM
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AnnaS:

We have a JROTC program at my school, and it is highly successful in creating achievable goals for its members. The kids who can't make it are booted out. Of course, it is open to male and female students. The teachers are military officers, and I have found them to be very reasonable to work with. For instance, I hold a Friday afternoon recovery school session for students who have difficulty grasping newly introduced writing concepts during the week. The JROTC teachers have allowed their kids to attend my workshops when there has been a conflct with their own drill time.


#124562 03/06/04 07:52 PM
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(J)ROTC is about as foreign a concept to us (Zilders) as you can get. Oh, we had "cadets" - a week or so of paramilitary training - every year, but the ongoing thing would never go down.

As a para-military brat (my uncle was a WO1 in the NZ Army and I spent lotsa holidays at army bases) I can tell you now that my view of the army pretty much came out to it being one step above prison ...


Oh, and BTW, that's Junior Wheatgerm©, Connie!

#124563 03/06/04 08:05 PM
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the army pretty much came out to it being one step above prison ...

Dear Capfka: and a lot of good men go to your "prison"
to keep you free.


#124564 03/06/04 09:20 PM
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Oh, and BTW, that's Junior Wheatgerm©, Connie!

Duly noted, sir. The check's in the mail.


#124565 03/08/04 02:51 PM
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I can tell you now that my view of the army pretty much came out to it being one step above prison

I can sympathize. My dad was a DI and was adamant that none of his kids go into the service as "he and his father and grandfather" had done sufficient service for the entire family.

I was surprised at how pleasant my JROTC experience was - nothing at all like going to West Point (from whence I evacuated soon into the regular school year).
That was *REALLY* like being in a prison for me. (Great school, though, for persons of a certain bent.)

k




#124566 03/08/04 02:54 PM
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highly successful in creating achievable goals for its members.

That's one thing the entire military is good at, imo. Also, teachers with extensive military experience tend to be good, if stern, teachers. First they tell you what they they're going to tell ya, then they tell ya, then they tell ya what they told ya. This can be tedious at times, but generally I think most students really appreciate it.

k



#124567 03/11/04 12:47 AM
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First they tell you what they they're going to tell ya, then they tell ya, then they tell ya what they told ya.

I know some people who preach like that. It tends to make for treble-length sermons.



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