EDINBURGH, Ind. – At first, it may sound like a typical summer camp with hiking, swimming and a lifetime of memories. But when you add rappelling, obstacle courses and life-saving skills training, you realize this is no normal summer camp. And these are no ordinary campers. During the week of June 22, 2015, about 220 public high school students from across Indiana, including Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Hammond, Warsaw, Marion and Terre Haute, converged on Camp Atterbury for the Junior ROTC Cadet Leadership Challenge, according to a press release from the Indiana National Guard. These are students who already excel in the classroom and gave up a week of summer vacation to add military field training to their resumes. The cadets woke up at 6 a.m. each day for a long, but fun-filled day of physical and mental training. The students learned critical leadership and teamwork skills that will help them succeed in life after high school. They built and crossed rope bridges, rappelled a 60-foot tower and participated in other team-building exercises. The cadre for the events consisted of members of the JROTC programs, the Indiana Guard Reserve and the Indiana Army National Guard. Dozens of people pitched-in to be sure the students trained in a safe and stimulating environment, the release states. JROTC is an elective high school program that teaches ethical values and principles that transform good students into good citizens, according to the release. The summer JROTC Cadet Leadership Challenge is held by the Army JROTC and the Indiana Guard Reserve, a community-based military organization that supplements the Indiana Army National Guard within Indiana. For more information about the IGR, visit in.gov/igr
