Supporting Liam's JROTC Experience
I thought Liam won second place at a school essay contest. Not exactly. A reminder I have a lot to learn with Liam's interests that I do not always share.
When Liam mentioned signing up for JROTC (Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps), I had conflicting thoughts. Joining Burke High School’s JROTC program would provide more of an all-around challenge than a normal physical education class. Even more so during a pandemic when students are limited with what they can do throughout the day. However, I was concerned because of how I’ve seen the US military used over the past twenty years. I respect the individuals who enlist in the military, willing to risk and sacrifice for the betterment of others, locally and around the world, through their service. It’s me processing US military involvement around the world in the aftermath of Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and the tremendous collateral damage. It’s seeing how some in political leadership view the military as their personal toy to use on a whim. It’s thinking about the conversations I have with friends and strangers, who are veterans of recent conflicts, and the tension they feel about their involvement. It’s listening to Afghans and how they see US military involvement. It’s understanding what is presented as reasons to go to war aren’t always true, and knowing how many lives have been lost or traumatized since then.
I had trepidation with him joining JROTC, but Liam’s JROTC involvement has been great so far. I am grateful. Like his involvement with Burke’s cross country team, JROTC provides a community that welcomes him and also challenges him in a variety of ways. Being new to Omaha Public Schools as a high school freshman, JROTC (and cross country) helped the transition into public school life.
Last fall, Liam told me about an assigned JROTC essay. The essay was on democracy, and it might be submitted in a contest. Liam wasn’t sure what to write about with democracy. I shared something along the lines of “writing what you are passionate about” and framing it as why it is important to democracy. (I am reminded of a scene from Thank You For Smoking and a similar assignment.)
Liam wrote the essay, and scored well. He won second place in the contest. Jana and I thought that was nice. When a friend told us that OPS Superintendent Dr. Cheryl Logan mentioned Liam in her January 2022 newsletter we all started to realize the contest was a big deal. (Liam was more concerned about being given a rank he has not earned yet.)
For some reason, I thought the contest was only amongst Burke students. Jana did as well. Liam’s essay was one of three to be selected from Burke students, but then they were submitted to a statewide contest. The contest is the Veterans of Foreigns Wars’ Voice Of Democracy contest which has roughly 40,000 entries from high school students across the nation. Nebraska had over 900 entries this school year, and Liam won second place in the state.
As part of the contest, Liam shared his essay at VFW Post 2503 along with the other contest winners. With his permission, here is Liam’s essay. (I have additional JROTC thoughts after Liam’s essay.)
Liam’s Voice Of Democracy Essay
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” These words were unanimously approved by the original 13 States of America, starting our nation with the ambitious goal of equality and liberty for all. Looking back on it 245 years later, how far have we come, and how much farther do we have to go?
Daniel Boorstin, a historian, once said that “the United States was built in nobody’s image”, but is this true? Looking back on our history, it doesn’t always appear that way, with the separation, segregation, and inequality our ancestors showed towards each other. Through the years, we have judged other Americans based on their gender, ethnicity, melanin content, attraction, religion, and other qualities, mostly for the simple reason that it is different from what is common in our personal circles and lives. However, during our nation’s history, we have also taken large steps towards fixing these problems. Though the road was messy, we still have put one foot in front of the other, moving towards a better life.
As we look at the past, we also see the fact that when challenges arise, America unites towards this common problem and works together to find the solution. We have seen this happen time and time again in wars. In fact, after the Cold War, some Americans had the fear that a sense of national identity would disappear because we didn’t have a common problem to work together and fight against. Our ability to band together to tackle opponents that come in our way has served us well and helped us through many hard times.
Now, lets look at the present. We are still in a worldwide pandemic, but we are out of lockdown. We have had many people push through this period of isolation and come out better than they were before, whether physically, mentally, or emotionally. We have also seen people join together and speak out against oppression and issues that people face despite the trying times we are in. I believe our nation will continue changing for the better, as it slowly but surely has since its inception all those years ago. We have seen people push for change despite the situation our nation is in, and we have seen people rise to the occasion and conquer the challenges put upon them, whether intentionally or unintentionally.
With all of these factors, I can confidently say that we will continue to strive for equality and liberty for all people, no matter who they are. To do this, we must start by treating everyone with dignity and respect, despite how we may differ. After all, despite our many differences, we are all still human. As Chief Standing Bear once said, “The blood that will flow from mine [arm] will be the same color as yours. I am a man. God made us both”. We need to remember and understand that for everything that separates us and makes us different, there is something to hold us together, and if nothing else it will be the fact that we are all Americans. Again, the road to equality will be long and messy, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t put one foot in front of the other and continue on our way to reach the end of our journey and fulfill what American was meant to be when it was founded.
Additional JROTC Thoughts
This past weekend I attended the Bellevue Invitational Drill Meet. Whereas attending Liam’s cross country or track meets is in my wheelhouse, showing up to a JROTC competition is new. Walking into Bellevue West High School I was struck by how many cadets were there. I found the gym where Burke’s First Years would be and took a seat. I looked around at the spectators, family members who had driven as far as Kansas City to be there. (The Shawnee Mission North JROTC First Year Drill had quite the support, and they performed well.) I thought about Liam’s JROTC experience so far. Initially, it was hard for him to be involved because of his cross country commitment. He would serve and volunteer when he could in the fall. This added to his schedule before and after school, which made me concerned at times. Part of the reason being I had a lot to learn about what went into JROTC. Still, he was enjoying it, finding another community, it was challenging him in good ways, and I was happy because of all this. While he missed some JROTC events because of cross country, he did his best to be a part of the battalion. (Liam did manage to set the Burke JROTC Freshman mile record!)
When cross country ended there became a lot of early mornings. Liam was always up and early, on his own, ready for JROTC Drill practice. It culminated with the current competition season. Here is Burke’s JROTC First Year Drill from this past Saturday.
Burke JROTC First Years took 2nd Place in their division. In attendance is their Command Sergeant Major, CSM Brian Folts, who had five different competitions to attend to at the event. CSM Folts also showed up to support Liam’s speech. He’s a great support and encouragement to Liam. Like with Burke’s XC Coach Steve Satterly, he has a holistic approach and understands Liam has a life beyond the particular school activity he leads. As a parent, I am grateful Liam has someone like him as a CSM while he is in JROTC.
Liam asks me about war movies now. I’ve mentioned some before, and we’ve watched Dunkirk and 1917. However, I have waited to show more to him. Some of his fellow cadets express surprise that he hasn’t watched more war movies, so we are making a list to watch now. We started by watching the first half of Saving Private Ryan. “What did you think?” “Brutal.” We talk more about the fight, beyond the glory.
We are looking over his sophomore year schedule. Liam wants to take Beginning Marksmanship, but I’m not sure. It seems strange to me that he might take a marksmanship class at high school. I was against it this school year. Liam asked again about taking it next year, and I am still uneasy to sign off on it. However, I have processed more about JROTC, how it has been a blessing to him, and how he has responded well to it. Initially, Liam does not have it on his sophomore schedule because he is loaded with honors classes, required classes, pathway classes, and it won’t fit. Jana remarks how it might be nice for him to have a “break” from his other honors classes. Not that Beginning Marksmanship won’t challenge him, but it will be in a different way than his other classes. Something to break up the rest of his class schedule. We agree to see if it can work.
I sit down with him to look at his schedule. I ask why he isn’t taking Beginning Marksmanship and he tells me he doesn’t have room for it because of his other classes. We go through each block, and I see where he might be able to take it. “Liam, if you drop this honor class to just the semester requirement you open up a semester where you can take Beginning Marksmanship.” “Yeah?” He’s happy. I’m happy.
Looking ahead and his summer schedule is already full. We already know there will be cross country conditioning, there will be Scout commitments, but now there is also JROTC commitments. I’m good with it.
I’m good with it.
Thanks
Thanks for reading. It has been an adjustment parenting a high schooler. Parenting Liam is easy in a lot of ways, but not navigating his schedule along with the rest of our family’s schedule. One thing that has been an answer to prayer with this? Working at One Hope Family and the flexibility it allows me to be present with my family. Jamison Horton (co-lead pastor) walks the talk when he tells the staff that family is important and needs to be a priority over our work. That has not been the case with some of the previous leaders/bosses I had in my former jobs.
Being the Director of Care continues to be a blessing. I enjoy the conversations I have with people in the church and in the community. I listen a lot. I find that I’m often helping people to remember what they already know.
Working in this role would not be possible without the community, prayer, and financial support that comes from many of you. Thank you. To give a tax-deductible gift you can click here and select my name from the drop down menu. You can also give directly to me through Venmo.
