Community Corner
‘This Can Happen To Us’
The horrific events of September 11, 2001 shook the world's view of safety. But over the years, local JROTC students have found strength in the program's focus on leadership training.
Over 16 years ago, Master Sgt. Donald MacNeil helped establish an Air Force Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps program at Pottstown High School in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
JROTC is a federal program backed by the U.S. Armed Forces in high schools across the nation.
While the JROTC program has not changed much over the years, MacNeil said the events of Sept. 11, 2001 changed the way his AFJROTC students view the world.
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“They (understand) the world is a dangerous place,” he said. “When those planes crashed into those Twin Towers, everybody said, ‘Oh my God this can happen to us.’ So, the kids are a lot more focused, more serious.”
In this photo, taken Aug. 16, 2011, MacNeil joins his AFJROTC group for some classroom work.
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Check back for a full story on the program's remarkable success, instructors and students.
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