On a gray Friday morning in April, Mission Bay High School JROTC Company 25-01 “Rescue Warriors” completed end of year training with the active duty Coast Guard.
For more than 5 hours, cadets completed multiple activities, including getting underway in a 45 foot long Response-Boat Medium for a familiarization ride, earning their Sea Service Ribbon, and patrolling San Diego Bay. Other activities included first aid scenarios, vessel flooding damage control practice, MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter familiarization, and port safety and security briefings.
The annual Coast Guard Sector San Diego training field trip is part of the year-long JROTC program at Mission Bay High, now into its second year. The one-day event at Coast Guard Sector San Diego culminates classroom, hands-on training throughout the year.
As the program continues to grow in size and community awareness for the Pacific Beach cluster schools, an anticipated 85 cadets, with new freshman from Pacific Beach and Longfellow Middle, will be ready to begin in August.
Reflecting on closing year two, Lt. Commander John Bannon, senior maritime science instructor, said: “School, family, and community support has been amazing for our new JROTC program. We are now about to embark into year three at Mission Bay, and we have already grown from 30 to 60 cadets, and very well go over 90 in August.
“JROTC is a little bit of a secret in the community still as a high school program, unlike music, and sports. We do many events in the community, such as recent Color Guard for Mission Bay Yacht Club Opening Day,” Bannon said. “There is something for any student in JROTC as an elective – in citizenship, leadership, athletics including archery competition, and academics in any grade level. The events, training and overall skills and fun we do enhances college and any post-high school career goals.”
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