Cadets stand at attention for the national anthem during a change-of-command ceremony Wednesday at Yokota High School. After 18 years of following the Army way, Yokota students will now be part of the Air Force Junior ROTC. (Grant Okubo/ Stars and Stripes)
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — For 18 years, students on this Air Force base have been learning the Army way in the high school’s Junior ROTC.
On Wednesday during a change-of-command ceremony, however, the program officially went from Army green to Air Force blue.
Yokota High School Principal Darrell Mood said that along with the program’s change in affiliated service, the Air Force Junior ROTC cadets will be studying a different curriculum aligned with the Air Force community. In particular, Mood said, the cadets will now be able to use a familiar source: their Air Force parents.
Until Wednesday, Yokota had been the only Junior ROTC program in the Pacific that didn’t match the predominant branch of the services on its base, according to Department of Defense Dependents Schools-Pacific spokesman Charly Hoff.
Hoff added that the change has already had an effect on the Yokota program — this year’s class has 100 cadets enrolled compared to 75 last year.
Cadets stand at attention for the national anthem during a change-of-command ceremony Wednesday at Yokota High School. After 18 years of following the Army way, Yokota students will now be part of the Air Force Junior ROTC. (Grant Okubo/ Stars and Stripes)
Department of Defense Dependents Schools-Pacific Director Diana Ohman addresses cadets at Yokota High School during a change-of-command ceremony Wednesday changing Yokota's Junior ROTC from an Army to an Air Force Junior ROTC. (Grant Okubo/Stars and Stripes)
Diana Ohman, director of Department of Defense Dependents Schools-Pacific, passes the Air Force Junior ROTC guidon over to Cadet Maj. Chelsea Northcutt, a senior at Yokota High School, during a ceremony recognizing them as an Air Force Junior ROTC unit. (Grant Okubo/Stars and Stripes)
Junior ROTC Cadet Capt. Jayson Hoffart, a junior at Yokota High School, passes the Army Junior ROTC guidon to Diana Ohman, Department of Defense Dependents Schools-Pacific director, during a ceremony Wednesday. After 18 years under the Army Junior ROTC program, Yokota is now an Air Force Junior ROTC unit. (Grant Okubo/Stars and Stripes)
