Col. Doug Pearson

and Master Sgt. Karvellis Lee will be in charge of heading up the AFJROTC

program that will kick off when students return to school on August 12.

"I'm extremely

excited about starting up this program in Fayette. There has been extreme

enthusiasm on the part of the community and an incredible amount of support

from the school board and Sandy Creek's administration," says Pearson.

"I'm absolutely surprised about the numbers of students who have

courageously signed up without knowing much about the program. It is exciting

to see this much enthusiasm."

After the program

gets in full swing, both Pearson and Lee say they expect to see the number

of students wanting to get into the program swell. AFJROTC is open to

all students in grades 9-12 and is considered a high school elective.

The United

States Air Force funds all materials, curriculum, books and uniforms needed

for the program. AFJROTC is not designed to be a recruitment tool for

the Air Force but rather a course that exposes students to the history

and science of aviation, exploration of space, civilian jobs available

in the aerospace industry, as well as builds character traits such as

citizenship, leadership and discipline.

For those wishing

to pursue a military career, Lee says AFJROTC students who complete two

or three years will have an advantage in that they can enter any branch

of the military after high school at a higher level than those who have

not had AFJROTC. For those going to college on Air Force scholarships,

students can skip the first year of AFJROTC if they had it in high school.

"This

program offers students an avenue to better prepare for what they want

to do after high school. Col. Pearson and myself are there to help students

pursue their career goals whether it is to go into the military or assume

a civilian position such as an airplane mechanic, pilot, air traffic controller

or other positions dealing with aerospace," Lee adds.

Lee says one

of the components of Fayette's AFJROTC program is that it is going to

be tailored to the community. Students will be visiting local veteran's

administrations and will be paired with veterans in the community as well

as conducting canned food drives and making visits to local nursing homes.

Sandy Creek's

AFJROTC Unit GA-20024 is one of 744 units in the United States.