Middle school military programs are younger cousins of the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC), a Pentagon program taught by retired military officers and present in more than 3,500 high schools nationwide. There are strong similarities with JROTC— military-style uniforms, close-order drills, a curriculum that emphasizes patriotism and military history.
A review of programs in more than a dozen states found that there are at least 97 public middle schools currently offering military-style education.
Read more: America’s Tween Soldiers – In These Times.