The Junior Reserve Officers’
Training Corps came into being with the passage of the National Defense Act of 1916. The focus of JROTC was on secondary
schools. Under the provisions of the 1916 act, high schools were authorized
the loan of federal military equipment and the assignment of active or retired military
personnel as instructors on the condition that they followed a prescribed course
of training and maintained a minimum enrollment of 100 students over 14 years of
age. At its inception, the
JROTC course consisted of three hours of military instruction per week for a period of three years. Any JROTC graduate who completed
this course of military instruction was authorized a certificate of eligibility
for a reserve commission to be honored at age 21 (although this provision was allowed to
lapse after World War I as the need for reserve officers declined). When the United States
entered the conflicts in 1917 however, there were few resources to spare for
the JROTC program. Between 1916 and 1919, the Army established units at only 30 schools.
About 45,000 students enrolled in JROTC during the 1919-1920 school year. Federal support and assistance
for the JROTC program was limited between the world wars. Due to funding constraints and a lack of enthusiasm
on the part of the Army, the number of JROTC units increased only gradually during
this era. By 1939, existed for over two decades. Federal backing of JROTC
in this era was lukewarm, but the backing of certain secondary schools was downright frigid. Many high schools scheduled
military classes and training at inconvenient and undesirable times. Some restricted
JROTC instruction to the lunch hour while others gave it time in the late afternoon
or early evening. Student participation and enthusiasm suffered as a result. Shortages of
space and resources also plagued many units. Even so, enrollment in JROTC stood at approximately
72,000 in During the inter-war
period, there arose another high school training program that in many respects resembled JROTC. It became known as the National Defense
Cadet Corps (NDCC). The main difference between the competing programs
centered on the amount of support they got from the federal government. Whereas
JROTC units received instructors and uniforms from the Army, NDCC programs did
not. Weapons and a few training aids were about all that NDCC schools could expect
in the way of material assistance. Many NDCC units wanted to join the JROTC program
but couldn’t, due to a lack of funds to support JROTC expansion. Since the supervision
and funding of NDCC units rested almost entirely in the hands of local school authorities, the Army’s ability to exert its influence
over them was tenuous. Consequently, the Army exhibited less interest in the NDCC
than it did the JROTC. NDCC took on a second class status and never attained the
degree of military acceptance enjoyed by the JROTC. This lack of acceptance
was evidenced by the fact that in 1939, only 34 NDCC units were in operation - a
mere 27 percent of the JROTC total.
