Soldiers in the Schoolhouse: A Military History of the Junior ROTC

Established in 1916, with training programs in over three thousand high schools and an enrollment of more than half a million student cadets across the country, the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) is the largest and most enduring military public outreach program in the history of the United States. JROTC has nevertheless been surrounded by controversy. Defenders see it as a magnificent citizenship education and character development program, while its detractors view it as a tool to propagandize and recruit underage youth, persuade minorities to fight America's wars, ensure domestic order, and promote neoliberal globalization.

Soldiers in the Schoolhouse provides a comprehensive history of JROTC and addresses the program's place in the country's national defense and civil-military relations. Arthur T. Coumbe follows the JROTC program through the decades: from its battle against communism in the 1940s and 1950s, to its establishment in inner-city schools as an attempt to instill strict order in the 1960s and 1970s, and to its introduction to disadvantaged Sun Belt neighborhoods in the 1990s―an expansion the military hoped would help meet manpower needs.

Using army memoranda, personal letters, training manuals, and military reports, Coumbe showcases how pedagogical developments, international events, and social forces have affected federally sponsored high school military training. By presenting a better understanding of JROTC's frequently changing and complex role, Soldiers in the Schoolhouse offers insights into how the military views and interacts with US society.

Arthur T. Coumbe is a historian with the Army's Office of Economic and Manpower Analysis, a former associate professor of history at the US Military Academy at West Point, and the author of several articles and books on military history, including A History of the U.S. Army Officer Corps, 1900–1990.