Personal Narrative: Air Force Junior Officer Training Corps

As Brian Tracy once said, “move out of your comfort zone, you can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new.” I kept this in mind as I debated whether or not, if I should take an Air Force Junior Officer Training Corps (AFJROTC) class. My second year at West Montgomery High school, I encountered a difficult situation. My boyfriend, Roshard Drake, and I had been dating for a while when he pleaded for me to take an AFJROTC course. He argued, that it was his senior year and the instructor’s, Colonel Ovbey’s, last year also. I have always been bold and open-minded at engaging in new activities, and I figured we could spend some quality time together. Despite those facts, I dreaded taking the class for numerous reasons. One being, I did not find the uniforms appealing. Two, I heard awful rumors about the other instructor, Sergeant McCall. Three, I do not like to exercise, nor do I practice it. Last but not least, the whole curriculum
During morning announcements, we would proceed by “presenting arms” (saluting) during the pledge. After morning announcements, we marched outside to raise the flag. I became lethargy with the everyday routine that I dreaded the class even more. Wednesdays became uniform inspection day to us “cadets”, and the day I would have loved to avoid. Fridays required physical training, as part of the curriculum, which became our “PT day”. The activities varied between dodgeball, kickball, tennis court volleyball, and other games the instructors created. I added “PT day” to the list of reason I looked forward to the weekend. As a break from physical training, we practiced drilling (marching), watched historic videos about the course, and studied for