Photo By Airman 1st Class Michael Swingen | More than 130 Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps cadets, or JROTC, participate...... read more read more
School buses rumbled up the dirt trail, making their way to a campsite where more than 130 cadets in Junior Reserve Officer’s Training Corps, or JROTC, would spend the night under the stars at Curt Gowdy State Park in Wyoming.
Some of the cadets were nervous as they took in the rough terrain through the bus windows. They parked, the front doors sliding open. The cadets disembarked and got their bearings. The first thing they had to do was set up camp.
As they put up tent poles, slid canvas over them, and pounded stakes into the ground, the tension in a lot of their voices slackened. They realized they could do it.
The cadets were there for Junior Cadet Leadership Camp, or JCLC, a five-day summer camp meant to develop their leadership skills and teamwork in a military setting. The cadets came from nine high schools across Wyoming, Colorado, and Nebraska. For some, it was their first time in Wyoming.
Around the campsite were stations where cadets developed skills related to the military. There was a shooting range with pellet guns, a full-body CPR manikin to practice administering first-aid, and a station where cadets learned land navigation with a compass.
After waking up in their tents on the second day, the cadets competed to see who was most proficient in the skills. The lessons they learned in land navigation guided them to each station in the woods.
“It’s very much a school-on-school competition,” Maycee Thompson, a junior at Cheyenne Central High School, said. “You get a chance to prove your JROTC program is the best. But also, at the end of the day, you get a chance to be social with a bunch of kids you share common interests with.”
Thompson is a Public Affairs Specialist in her JROTC program, meaning she helps tell their story with photographs of their events and getting the word out on social media. When they march at football games or volunteer in local communities, Thompson is there to capture the moment. She wants people to see what JROTC is all about.
“ROTC has a lot of stereotypes that are mostly untrue,” Thompson said. “It has such a diverse culture. I’m in band, I take AP courses. There are kids that do art and pottery in their free time. Or there are kids that love computers and fix all the ROTC computers when they break. It’s such a mix of people and culture.”
After graduation, Thompson plans to serve in the Wyoming Air National Guard. “I really like Cheyenne,” Thompson said. “I like the family and community I have here. The Guard would allow me to stay close to home.”
The third day of JCLC was First Responder Day. The cadets traveled to a fire training station in Cheyenne where firefighters, police officers, and the Wyoming Highway Patrol showcased their jobs and responsibilities. There was a bomb squad, a SWAT team, a canine unit, and an obstacle course, among other things.
One activity involved cadets donning alcohol impairment goggles and riding around on a tricycle, discouraging them to drink and drive.
“We want to encourage the younger generation to look into the first responder roles,” Kelsey Raile, a paramedic for Cheyenne Fire Rescue and a First Sergeant in the Wyoming Air National Guard, said. “I think a lot of kids nowadays look at certain things and are like, ‘Oh, I can’t do that.’ But we want to show them they can.”
In the middle of the fire station was a 50-foot tower from which the cadets rappelled. Two firefighters, including Raile, were on the roof, rigging the cadets into the climbing equipment.
At first, Tiffaney Guevara-Marcelin, a sophomore at Natrona County High School, did not want to rappel down the face of the tower. She took deep, quick breaths as she put on a helmet and wiggled into the harness. After a few other cadets disappeared over the edge, it was her turn.
With help, she clipped the climbing rope into the carabiner on her harness and straddled the edge of the roof. She released her hands from the edge. The rope tightened, suspending her in the air and gently guiding her down to the pavement.
“As much as you like your comfort zone, sometimes it’s good to get out of it,” Guevara-Marcelin said afterwards. “Today, I was able to get out of my comfort zone, and it felt amazing.”
On the fourth day of JCLC, the cadets toured the 153rd Airlift Wing of the Wyoming Air National Guard. At the personnel office, each cadet was issued a dog tag that had “JCLC 2025 Frontier Challenge” and their name embossed on it. A lot of cadets turned the dog tag over in their hands as they moved through the hallways of the air base.
During the tour, Airmen from medical, aircraft maintenance, air traffic control, civil engineering, and military police gave presentations to the cadets about their jobs and responsibilities.
“They were fascinated by paramedics showing them how to take vitals,” U.S. Air Force Tech. Sergeant Michael Torre said. “Things that interest them about the military is usually something I take for granted. For a lot of us, it reignites our spark and reminds us why we serve or even gives us a new why.”
Torre wished he had done JROTC in high school. At the 153rd Airlift Wing, he knows former cadets who joined the Wyoming Air National Guard after graduation and sees how they excel every day.
“JROTC gives you a guaranteed promotion if you do it for at least two years,” Torre said. “And you’ll already know how to march, military ranks, things like that. But on a bigger note, it gives you the skills and foundation to jumpstart your life.”
The highlight of the visit to the 153rd Airlift Wing was the tour of the C-130 Hercules, a giant gunmetal gray aircraft that transports troops and equipment across the world.
“The pure size of the airplane is very cool,” Delilah Farrier, a sophomore at Scottsbluff High School, said. “It’s amazing how you can load up all this medical equipment on it and go save people’s lives.” Wanting to learn more about airplanes, Farrier plans to be an aircraft mechanic for the U.S. Air Force after graduation.
The last day of JCLC took place at Cheyenne Central High School. All the cadets got into formation as leadership presented trophies to outstanding individuals and winning high schools. Scottsbluff Senior High School from Nebraska swept the awards.
“At the end of the day, I’ve made a ton of new friends that I wouldn’t know any other way,” Thompson said. “This is a special experience I’m going to look back on.”
| Date Taken: | 06.09.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 07.31.2025 17:51 |
| Story ID: | 544439 |
| Location: | CHEYENNE, WYOMING, US |
| Web Views: | 141 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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