Bethel NJROTC

Wins High Honors

By Marietta Homayonpour

THE NEWS-TIMES

BETHEL — After the Navy commander in charge of 54 junior ROTC units came to Bethel High School, he did something unusual.

David Crandall was so impressed with the Naval Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps in its second year at the school, he asked Junior ROTC headquarters in Pensacola, Fla., for a waiver so the unit could be nominated for a special award.

"One of the criteria of the 'Distinguished Unit' award is that the unit be in existence for three years," said Crandall, who is based in Pennsylvania and manages Naval Junior ROTC Area 4 which covers New England and several other states including New Jersey and New York. "It usually takes three or four years to rise to the level of performance to get the award."

But Crandall said his inspection of the Bethel High School unit in November showed the junior ROTC had already reached that level. Crandall was granted the waiver and along with 15 other junior ROTCs in his jurisdiction, Bethel received the Distinguished Unit award for 2003-04 earlier this month.

"This is a real honor for Bethel," Crandall said, adding that he was proud of the 100 teenagers in the unit. "They have the maturity level of a four- or five-year-old unit."

For the Bethel junior ROTC members, the honor was very welcome but also unexpected. "When I heard, I was completely surprised," said Bryan Regan, 17, a junior who joined in his sophomore year. "This is not very easy to get by just the second year."

Of the 635 junior Naval ROTCs in the country, 190 or fewer get the award, which goes to the top units, said Crandall. Since he became the commander of Area 4 in 1999, Crandall said he has never nominated a program that was less than three years old.

Besides Bethel, in the Danbury area the Naval Junior ROTC in Brewster, N.Y., also received the Distinguished Unit award.

Participation in the Naval Junior ROTC program allows the principal of Bethel High School to nominate three students to the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis. But the Distinguished Unit award now allows the principal next year to also nominate three students to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and three to the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado, said Crandall.

Among the criteria that must be met to receive the Distinguished Unit honor, said Crandall, are academic achievements in naval science instruction, community service, field trips, student leadership, and drill meets.

"A lot depends on my inspection," Crandall said, adding that when he visited the school he asked questions, saw how the students maintained their uniforms, observed a ceremonial pass and review, and checked supplies.

"The kids did all that, the kids are running the unit," said a proud Navy Lt. Commander Mark Dwinells, who is in charge of the Bethel program with Master Sgt. Joseph Meehan. Besides attending a Naval science class every day, JROTC members have drills after school and take part in community service.

At Thanksgiving and Christmas, members of the corps worked with Bethel Brotherhood in Action to collect and distribute food to those in need. This month they "adopted" the house of an elderly Bethel women, said Dwinells, and will fix it up and do yard work.

In March, the students planned and held their first military ball at the Fireside Inn in Newtown and this summer 12 of the members will be part of a sailing team that has the use of Sea Scout sloops and an ocean racing yacht out of Bridgeport. The JROTC members have also formed award winning armed and unarmed drill teams and two color guards.

Dwinells attributes much of the unit's success to the support it gets from the school district and the residents. "The town of Bethel is still small-town patriotic America," according to Dwinells who said parents have played a major role in helping the unit.

One of those parents is Ellen Shanley, president of the Bethel High School Naval Junior ROTC Booster Club. Shanley, whose son Patrick is in the Bethel unit, appreciates that the standards upheld by the ROTC reinforce what many parents try to instill in their children.

"The ROTC teaches responsibility and that there are standards in life," said Shanley, who said she is thrilled about the award. "They've all done such a great job. The kids worked so hard and the commanders have trained them so well."

For Kristen Alston, a 16-year-old Bethel High School freshman in the corps, the values the group teaches are important to why she joined. "It teaches discipline and builds confidence," said Alston, who plans to go into the military.

At a recent ROTC boot camp, Alston said she faced an obstacle course and wondered, "how can I do this?" But then she completed the course and thought "why did I ever doubt myself?"

Contact Marietta Homayonpour

at mhomayonpour@newstimes.com

or at (203) 731-3336.