Lt. Col. Larry Brockshus, a JROTC instructor, speaks during an event Monday at the Sioux City Community Schools Career Academy's Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps classroom in downtown Sioux City. This year is the first year for the program.
SIOUX CITY | Students in the Sioux City School District are being molded into top citizens through the scope of military discipline.
The district's Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps celebrated its first year in the 2015-2016 school year, and 150 students signed up.
The program takes a similar approach to the district's career academies program, which teaches core subjects through the scope of a possible career path. Students learn math and science, but do so through military science, aeronautical engineering and aerospace science.
In December 2014, the district announced it was one of two selected nationwide by the Air Force to incorporate the program into its curriculum for the 2015-16 school year.
T.J. Fennell, juvenile court liaison and chief master sergeant with the 185th Air Refueling Wing, suggested the possibility of an ROTC program to Superintendent Paul Gausman nearly four years ago. He said such a program could provide students with an education that reinforces strong character traits.
Lt. Col. Larry Brockshus, who served in the U.S. Air Force for 27 years, acts as the senior aerospace science instructor.
“We’re very fortunate that we are in a community that has wrapped itself around the idea of JROTC,” he said. “Through the long, rigorous application process, the community stood up to show the Air Force how valuable it would be for us and, lo and behold, here we are.”
Brockshus said curriculum is broken down into three parts: aerospace science, leadership and wellness and physical fitness. Classes rotate each year, so students will never take the same class twice.
He emphasized that while the JROTC program is backed by the Air Force, it’s not a binding military commitment. Students stand to gain life lessons through the program while learning the history and science of the Air Force and military traditions.
“Even though we are all in uniforms, this is not about making soldiers,” he said. “It’s about providing tools for the young men and women to make them more successful in their high school career and beyond.”
A partnership between the school district, the city of Sioux City, the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce, the Sioux City Public Museum, the 185th Air Refueling Wing and the Sioux City Public Schools Foundation, Brockshus said the program was a community effort.
“It’s been a realization of a lot of hard work of a lot of people before I even came to Sioux City,” he said.
Named the 21st Amendment Bar & Kitchen, owner Jesus Sanchez said his business, which opened in May, represents an earlier, more innocent era.
Lt. Col. Larry Brockshus, a JROTC instructor, speaks during an event Monday at the Sioux City Community Schools Career Academy's Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps classroom in downtown Sioux City. This year is the first year for the program.
