JROTC Summer Leadership School a hit with budding Airmen

  • Published
  • By Nick Stubbs
  • Thunderbolt editor
MacDill AFB, Fla --  The ranks at MacDill swelled by 103 recently - students and Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps members still too young to be Airmen, but not too young to dream of an Air Force life. 

And a taste of it they got, spending four days at the base as part of the annual Air Force JROTC Summer Leadership School. 

The students were carefully selected from the ranks of Blake, Durant, Middleton, Sickles, Bloomingdale, Jefferson and Plant High Schools. Each year the summer camp has a theme. This year it was health and fitness. 

"It (health and fitness) is a critical part of the Air Force, and essential to being a good Airman," said (Ret.) Maj. Mike Mistretta, a teacher at Middleton High School and commandant of this year's leadership camp. "We spent a good deal of time on issues related to fitness." 

That included presentations by the Health and Wellness Center on fitness training, diet and other elements to healthy living. Local doctor Joseph Pate visited to discuss fitness and injury prevention. 

It was just the beginning of what the students were treated to during their stay June 16 to 19. 

"They got an introduction to the Air Force way of life - something most of them never understood until now," said Major Mistretta. "For many of them, this was their first real exposure to the Air Force." 

Major Mistretta said all the students were selected based on their worthiness and school performance. Not everyone gets to go.
"These kids were the cream of the crop so to speak," he said. "They were the standouts."
Those standouts got to take a flight on a C-130, one of the highlights of their stay. For most it was their first time ever being close enough to touch a military aircraft, said Major Mistretta. 

Many of the students live at or near the poverty line, he noted, so the opportunity the camp presented was that much more special. 

"Some were just thrilled to be able to go to the chow hall and have a good meal," he said. 

Some of the students served in leadership roles during the event, including Valeria Santa Cruz, a Middleton student who was an acting squadron commander. For her, it was a rewarding experience. 

"It was very fun and there was a lot of learning," she said. "In the time we (the students) were together we became like family."
But there were sacrifices. 

"We had to get up really early," added Ms. Cruz. "But it was worth it."
The 6th Air Mobility Wing made it possible, supporting the students in every way, said Major Mistretta. 

"I cannot say enough to thank the wing for everything it did to support us 100 percent," he said. "From transportation, to dining, to billeting, everything was first rate."
For the kids, Major Mistretta suspects the experience cemented for them a future in the Air Force, a way of life that became real for them for four days in June.