Gaffney High JROTC students hit the road to attend leadership camps
By SCOTT POWELL Ledger Staff Writer spowell@gaffneyledger.com

Gaffney High JROTC member Darren Ledbetter demonstrates the proper folding of dress pants Friday while reviewing room inspection procedures with Chasity Painter, Misty Reynolds and Hannah Freyta. The JROTC will attend summer leadership schools at The Citadel and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California over the next two weeks. Ledger photo by SCOTT POWELL

From The Citadel to Southern California, 13 Gaffney High Air Force JROTC students will spend the next two weeks attending summer leadership camps on different coasts of the country.

Gaffney High JROTC members will spend June 10-17 at a summer leadership camp at The Citadel. Many of these same Gaffney High students will spend the following week with JROTC students from six California high schools on the Vandenberg Air Force base in Santa Maria, California.

The Vandenberg Air Force Base is headquarters for the 30th Space Wing. It is the Air Force Space Command organization responsible for all Department of Defense space and missile launch activities on the West Coast.

The Air Force is paying the expenses for the Gaffney High JROTC members to attend leadership school in California.

"One of our goals with the JROTC program is allow students to learn about different careers in the military. This is an opportunity for our students to travel to another part of the country," Gaffney High JROTC instructor Lt. Col. Morris Miller said. "This will be a great experience for our students. It will help prepare them for taking on greater leadership responsibilities when they return to school this fall."

Both camps will offer a mix of academic, sports, and social activities designed to build teamwork among JROTC units. At The Citadel, Gaffney High JROTC members will join students from similar programs in Georgia, Florida, Texas, and Louisiana.

The Citadel will mark Laura Simmerson's first experience with JROTC summer leadership camp.

"I hope it will teach me discipline and prepare me for the future ahead," Simmerson said. "Hopefully, it will help me improve my leadership skills and give me a chance to look at different opportunities for leadership this school year."

Simmerson can look to current and former Gaffney High JROTC cadets for inspiration.

Tammy Howard, a Gaffney High JROTC alumna, successfully completed her first year at The Citadel this spring.

Rising senior Sarah Belue credits her experience at The Citadel over the past two summers with helping develop leadership skills. She was a member of the student cadre which directed camp activities at The Citadel last summer.

"There are higher expectations at The Citadel. They take

you out of your comfort zone and force you to speak up and be more outgoing," Belue said. "It was really hard being a cadre member last summer. There were nights when you would get as little as 30 minutes to two hours of sleep. At the end of the week, I didn't want it to end because I made so many friends."

Belue will interview for the group commander position at the Vandenberg leadership camp. Ruppe hopes to become the executive officer position, who is charge of the week's schedule.

"We became good friends with members JROTC units from California when we went to the Nelus leadership camp in Las Vegas last year," Ruppe said. "We have stayed in touch and are looking forward to seeing our friends from California again at leadership school."