West Anchorage High School • Home of the Eagles
1700 Hillcrest Drive • Anchorage, Alaska 99517 • (907) 742-2500

AK-033 AFJROTC Major Dove and Chief Pickel, Instructors

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1. First, in general, a high school needs an enrollment of at least 750 students in grades 9-12. Then the school must submit an application to AFJROTC Headquarters. If the application is acceptable, the Air Force will visit the school and evaluate the ability and willingness of the school and community to support the AFJROTC program. If approved, the school will be placed on a list with other high schools waiting for an AFJROTC program. This process must be completed by May of the year before a unit can be started.

2. The JROTC program was established by Public Law 88-647 and operates under a contract between the Air Force and the affected school district. Once the AFJROTC unit is established, the minimum enrollment must be maintained as of the reporting date of 01 OCT, each year. A school with a student population of a 1000 or more must have minimum of 100 cadets.  For a school with a student population of 750 to999, the cadet enrollment must be 10% of the population.  A school with a student population less than 750 must have a cadet enrollment of at least 75. 


3. The last step in starting a unit is hiring instructors. The Air Force maintains a list of qualified instructor applicants and will post the positions to solicit interested applicants. The top three or four for each position are then nominated to the school principal. Each applicant must make arrangements with the principal for the interview. The hiring decision is made in accordance with local school district policies.


4. Financially, the AFJROTC program is a very low cost for the school. The Air Force provides all uniforms and necessary instructional materials as well as approximately two-thirds of the instructors cost.

5. For more information regarding the enrollment process of a school, click here to be directed to the AFJROTC Headquarters website on applying for a unit.