JROTC cadets sample military life at YARS Published June 21, 2013 By Eric M. White 910AW/PA YOUNGSTOWN AIR RESERVE STATION, Ohio -- VIDEO SCRIPT - SEE VIDEO TO RIGHT More than 50 teenagers arrived via bus at Youngstown Air Reserve Station Wednesday morning, where Service members greeted them with intimidating glares and shouts, providing 60 seconds to disembark the busses, drop gear on the lawn and form a single-file line at attention. Cadets from several high school Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps groups attended a five-day encampment here, June 12-16. Chief Warrant Office Emiliano DeLeon, Inspector/Instructor for the Marine Corps Reserve Landing Support Equipment Company a t YARS and a former military drill instructor, was first to greet the cadets. "The first or last words out of your mouth from this point on will be sir or ma'am, do you understand me?" said DeLeon. The encampment is designed to provide the cadets a short experience similar to what they may experience at basic military training, while teaching life skills, discipline, leadership and followership, physical training and other skills important to military careers. Air Force Reserve Senior Master Sergeant Loretta Davis, Medical Readiness Non-Commissioned Officer for the 910th Medical Squadron, volunteered as a training instructor during the camp. "First we give them instructions and the expectations, so they know what's expected, and in the beginning, they can't do anything right. As time passes, we see them come together and that teamwork piece comes together and by the end they're walking tall and ready to graduate," said Davis. The program included a trip to U.S. Army Camp Ravenna, Ohio, for a land navigation course. "Well this is a five-day camp. This is my third day. My favorite part, to be honest, is today we did a land navigation course. We wore our full ABUs (Airman Battle Uniform) and we put on face paint and we went out with compasses and tried to find points on a map. That was a really good teambuilding exercise," Sandy said. Many of the cadets expressed desire to join the military after high school and saw the camp as a valuable opportunity to gain a foretaste of what basic military training will be like. "I decided to join because I'm the first in the family, and the first female in the family, and I just feel like it's my call, it's my duty to do this sir. Yes, I plan on joining the Air Force sir. Yes I'd like to be a nurse practitioner." The program concluded Sunday with a ceremony awarding outstanding performers and recognizing the cadets for their achievements. According to their website, the JROTC program exists to educate and train high school cadets in citizenship, promote community service, instill responsibility, character, and self-discipline, and provide instruction in air and space fundamentals. Reporting for the 910th Airlift Wing's Public Affairs office, I'm Eric White.