There is an unwritten rule known among Coast Guard recruiters – it’s not the first 10 to walk in our door, but the best 10.

“We try to find the best fit for the Coast Guard and the individual,” said Chief Michael Dioquino, Recruiter in Charge, San Francisco Office.

“With the times that we are in, interest in joining the Coast Guard is at an all-time high,” said Dioquino. “The potential recruits that walk into a recruiters office need to know that  it has become more and more like a job interview.”

A group of students who may have a leg up on the competition for a future job interview pulled through the gates at Coast Guard Sector San Francisco on Yerba Buena Island in a yellow school bus. A short time later, a group dressed in pressed Navy-issued khaki uniforms stepped off the bus in an orderly fashion that is unexpected for a group of teenagers.

These students, from the Churchill County High School in Fallon, Nev., are cadets in the Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps. They included 22 of the 65 students currently enrolled in the NJROTC at Churchill County High.

The JROTC program is sponsored by the Navy, Army, Air Force and Marine Corps, and its mission is to instill the values of citizenship, service to the United States, personal responsibility and a sense of accomplishment to those high school and college students who participate.

Although sponsored by the individual military units, the JROTC program is not designed as a recruiting tool. Only 40 percent of students who have at least one year of JROTC actually go on to join a military organization.

“I want all my students to go to college and to become good citizens,” said Command Master Chief Donn Sheldon, a 30-year veteran in the United States Navy and a NJROTC instructor at Churchill County High School.

“I want to see these kids blossom, to start doing things, to come out of their shell, gain confidence, build self-esteem and help them remember their environment,” said Sheldon.

There are approximately 500 JROTC units for each military service worldwide, serving hundreds of thousands of students ages 14 to 18.

The 22 JROTC cadets were on a week-long field trip visiting military installations and educational institutions in Northern California. During this stop on Yerba Buena Island, the students toured the Coast Guard Cutter Aspen, a 225-foot sea-going buoy tender, and the smallboats at Station San Francisco.

As they boarded the Aspen, each of the sharply dressed students turned and snapped to attention. With their eyes straight ahead, their head held high and their shoulders pinned back, they proudly saluted the stars and stripes as the American flag glimmered in the afternoon sun at the stern of the ship. Then they pivoted 45 degrees to the right, saluted the Coast Guard petty officer standing watch aboard the Aspen, and requested permission to come aboard. This is a military custom for all members boarding a ship.

“These students have been taught life skills like honor, respect and finishing a job before they play,” said Lt. Col. John Theisen, a 25-year veteran of the United States Marine Corps and an NJROTC instructor for 18 years. “I don’t care if they remember me or my service. All I want them to remember is the life lessons they learned.”

“You see a metamorphic change in each of these students,” said Theisen. “It starts with their expression, then it shows in their attitude and then it displays itself in their performance.”

JROTC offers developmental skills in academics, athletics, marksmanship, color guard, drill and much more. Fifty percent of students that enroll in JROTC drop out after the first year and 10 percent more drop out in each additional year of JROTC. Kids can potentially be part of a JROTC program for four years. But only 10 percent of freshmen in high school make it through all four years in the JROTC.

“The drop out rate is partially by design, but some of these kids just break our hearts because we see their potential,” said Theisen.

Instructors involved in JROTC often work 12-hour days and give up many of their weekends to instill discipline, honor, respect and other life skills in these students.

“I see my instructors not as regular high school teachers, but more as mentors,” said Taylor Cayro, NJROTC Cadet and unit public affairs officer. “We are a family, built as a unit by strict but fair instructors.”

“Some kids join the JROTC program because they come from a military background; others join to get out of the two year physical education requirement at the high school. Every kid has a different reason for joining JROTC, but for whatever reason they join, the ones who stick it out for at least one year become better human beings and more courteous citizens,” said Theisen.

“Going in, I knew I would learn courtesy, customs and leadership, but I didn’t expect it to teach me everything that it has,” said Jon Ansotegui, one of only seven senior cadets at Churchill County High School. “It may sound cliché, but I truly believe my life would be completely different and I probably would’ve made some bad choices had I not been part of NJROTC.”

“I come from a military background with both my uncle and grandpa being 20-year veterans in the Navy and Air Force respectively,” said Kyle Voelkers, NJROTC Cadet. “As a freshman I was out of shape, weighed 280 pounds and was not a very productive human. Now as a senior, I have lost 80 pounds and have plans of being a lawyer in the United States Marine Corps.”

“There is a mixed brand of students involved in this NJROTC group, said Theisen. I have musicians, athletes, special education students and Future Farmers of America. Where else are you going to find this much diversity in a group of teenagers? They don’t all like each other but they respect and honor each other.”

This particular group from Fallon, Nev., will receive the Distinguished Unit Award. The Distinguished Unit Award recognizes the personal growth and accomplishments of the cadets, the contributions of the instructors as mentors of the cadets and the support of the school and community. The award is presented by Area 13 NJROTC headquarters in Washington. The City of Fallon is planning a banquet in honor of these students, who have done them proud by doing countless hours of community service.

“I could tell former JROTC cadets were in my company by the way they held themselves, by how they sounded off and their pre-self discipline,” said Petty Officer 1^st Class Adam Larson, Production Recruiter San Francisco Office, and former company commander at Coast Guard Training Center Cape May. “They were the first recruits to volunteer for a task and they were always to help a fallen shipmate.”

“The quality of applicants for all military services would decrease if the JROTC program did not exist,” said Dioquino. “JROTC-trained individuals come in pre-disciplined, they know the uniform regulations and they are already familiar with the rank structure for both enlisted and officers in the military.”

“Extracurricular activities like JROTC are what the Coast Guard is looking for because it shows a determination to do more than what is required,” said Dioquino. “One of the first questions I ask as a Coast Guard recruiter during the pre-screening process is ‘What kinds of programs were you involved in?’”

“Any kid who has been exposed to discipline, whether it comes from JROTC, athletic teams, boy scouts or girl scouts is better prepared for life in the military or college,” said Dioquino.

Although Theisen, Sheldon, Dioquino and Larson all represent different units of the military, they all agree that without a JROTC program in high school, it would be a great disservice to the high schools, the surrounding community and especially the students who are looking for a leg up on the competition for their next job interview.

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