Cadets from Wilmer-Hutchins High School's NJROTC program in Dallas displayed what they've learned for top brass earlier this month.
What they learned in the program earned them more than just a grade for life.
NJROTC students performed their standard military drills on Feb. 8. But it's much more behind what the cadets did.
"One of the things I tell my cadets, you are standing out here doing all these intricate drill routines and things like that," Sr. Naval Science Instructor Lt. Col. Hamartrya Tharpe said.
Get top local stories in DFW delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC DFW's News Headlines newsletter.
"These things translate into life because life is going to be hard itself. So that's the big take away I want my cadets to learn from this program."
The drills were put on display for the annual military inspection. Area commanders come to see the cadets perform their rules, regulations, routines, and procedures.
But what they learn here goes beyond a grade.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
"We want the cadets to have the responsibility and accountability to become leaders," Naval Science 1 Instructor Willie McArthur said. "So, we train them and then entrust them to go out and carry out any task or any mission that we give them. We are getting them ready for that next level of life."
One cadet said the program has already changed her life, and she's looking forward to the next chapter.
"I was actually a person who was really unmotivated," high school senior and NJROTC commander officer Odalys Perez said.
"I actually didn't have any sense of my life. I felt like I didn't have direction. As I joined the NJROTC, it allowed me to be a leader. To personally grow into someone I really aspire to be in the future."
The purpose of the inspections is to ensure that units operate and maintain U.S. Navy standards.
