ROTC program on chopping block

 

Students listen as Commander Chris Deming teaches a JROTC Naval Science class at Stephen Decatur High School on Tuesday. / Laura Emmons photo

 

BERLIN -- Stephen Decatur High School is engaged in a battle to preserve its Navy ROTC program. The opponent? The Navy itself.

School officials were told two weeks ago the program would be eliminated on June 30 after a 16-year run because of a consistent failure to meet a 100-student enrollment requirement for schools with more than 1,000 students.

Since then, the administration has been working to reverse the Navy's decision, and at an evening meeting at the school, they enlisted help from parents of students involved with the program.

With parents gathered in the school library, Principal Louis Taylor encouraged them to be vocal about the issue and to write to local and state government officials. "If the right people get involved, things can happen," he said.

But Navy officials are adamant they intend to carry out the cuts. The decision is "pretty much set in stone," according to Lt. Charity Hardison, public affairs officer for Naval Service Training Command, which oversees the nation's Navy ROTC units.

"At this time, there is no action that Stephen Decatur would be able to take to warrant another decision or review," Hardison said in an interview.

Stephen Decatur's program is one of 19 across the nation slated to be shut down. It is critical for the Navy to hold accountable the ROTC units that are not in compliance with program directives, according to Rear Adm. David Steindl, commander of the NSTC. They cannot maintain units that consistently fail to meet minimum enrollment standards, he said.

This year, the ROTC fell just six students short of the required quota with an enrollment of 94 -- its highest in recent years -- and Taylor assured the group of about 40 people at the meeting preliminary scheduling from incoming students indicated enrollment "well over" 100 next year. The spike in enrollment is due largely to the student members spending time at the middle school recruiting eighth-graders.

"There's no doubt we'll make our numbers next year," Cmdr. Christopher Deming, one of the program's two instructors, said. "We're being optimistic, and we really hope we can turn this decision around."

Rep. Andy Harris, R-1st.-Md., is working with Sens. Benjamin Cardin and Barbara Mikulski to propose a one-year extension on the disestablishment as a temporary solution while they look into what can be done in the long term to keep the program active.
They plan to get in touch with the Congressional liaison from the Navy and dig a little deeper into why the criteria to stop funding a unit is an "arbitary number like 100," Harris said in an interview.

"As a former naval officer, I understand the importance of this program as far as keeping our forces staffed in the future with the best possible candidates," Harris said.

Freshman Nicholas Bertino is one of the 94 student cadets. He and senior member Shannon McGarry have circulated a petition around the school supporting the program and contacted military figures in the area who may be willing to help their cause. The ROTC members are not just a unit, but a family, Bertino said.

"We're all friends, and we're always there for each other," McGarry said.

ROTC involvement teaches students valuable traits like leadership, responsibility and the importance of community involvement, Deming said, all of which may benefit the members after their high school years. Bertino's older brother, Matthew, received an ROTC scholarship to attend the University of Maryland.

Bertino's mother, Susan, is part of a military family, and said she appreciates the ROTC because it has given both her sons the opportunity to be a part of the military at a young age. "It's a wonderful program, and it's great for giving them community awareness," Susan Bertino said. "These kids are very involved."

NJROTC alumna Elizabeth Timmons says ROTC changes the lives of participants whether they pursue a military career or not. Timmons, a member of Stephen Decatur's program from 1996-2000, attended Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pa., where she majored in photography, a field she now works in.

ROTC gave her the self-confidence to do what she needed to on a daily basis, and promoted self-appreciation and respect for others, she said. "I don't think a lot of other school-related activities give you that," Timmons said.

Snow Hill and Pocomoke High Schools both have Marine Corps ROTC programs that easily exceed the enrollment requirement, according to district spokeswoman Barb Witherow. Since both schools have less than 1,000 students enrolled, they have to meet a requirement of 10 percent student enrollment in their programs. Pocomoke currently has 74 members, and Snow Hill has 67.

Snow Hill is currently a Naval Honor School, a classification given out annually for schools in the top 10 percent of ROTC programs nationwide.

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