JBER hosts summer leadership camp

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Javier Alvarez
  • JBER Public Affairs
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska --  Alaska Junior ROTC cadets from seven area high schools are scheduled to take part in a Summer Leadership Camp hosted at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson’s Camp Carroll May 30 to June 9.

More than 200 freshmen through seniors will participate in three week-long iterations of the camp where, as its namesake would suggest, the intent is to teach leadership skills.

The camp is, in many ways, modeled after the military chain of command, said Gary Grennom, East High School senior Army instructor and a retired Army Major. There are various ranks, duties and responsibilities which afford cadets the ability to lead between 20 and 220 students.

USARAK and Air Force volunteers will assist in leading camp activities, he said. In the morning, service members lead morning calisthenics to begin the day’s activities.

Not all students will join the military after high school, Grennom said. Less than nine percent do, however, military volunteers allow participants to work alongside individuals who epitomize military core values. Values which can be applied in achieving life goals.

Participants, clad in their variation Army and Air Force uniforms – distinguishable by their high school morale shirt and non-regulation hair style – will ascend to new heights as they soar high above JBER in a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter. They will don helmets, gloves and harnesses and learn to trust their training and equipment as they rappel from a more than 30-foot tower.

Cadets learn to traverse terrain in orienteering class, and how to turn their uniform into a flotation device in survival-swimming class. A series of intense leadership obstacles will test teamwork and problem-solving skills in a leadership reaction course.

While leadership is at the forefront of the camp’s directives, camp activities allow cadets to take part in a unique camp experiences and overcome personal obstacles.

Marianne Fradeza, a junior and current executive officer at the East High School’s JROTC program, said her experience in the camp has been invaluable.

This is Fradeza’s third year attending the leadership camp. Though her experience, she has been able to overcome her fear of heights.

“[We’re afforded] a lot of great opportunities,” she said. “It’s helped me a lot in my school work. Freshman year, I was a shy kid who didn’t participate much. Today I can lead something in and out of the classroom.”

As the week’s activities come to a close, cadets are presented awards for various challenges and obstacles completed. While not every cadet will walk away with an award, they will all carry with them the tools to be a better leader.