Cadets claim harassment

Navy Junior ROTC cadets say it’s not uncommon to be called “Nazis” or “baby killers” as they walk the hallways of Santa Fe High School. Their classmates are largely anti-military , and school officials discourage students from participating in the program, they say.

“We’re not welcome here,” Cadet Marin Espinoza said. He said ROTC members are routinely harassed by other students who get especially impolite before ROTC events.

On Saturday, cadets discovered what they called the latest example of that hostility. The unit’s 20 drill rifles and only Navy sword were stolen just before a drill competition in Farmington. In December, five swords and more rifles were stolen. The guns are World War II-era M-1 rifles that had been inoperable and were used in competitions and football halftime shows.

Because the U.S. Army doesn’t use the rifles anymore, they’re virtually irreplaceable, ROTC Senior Instructor Robert Hornak said. He said it will cost $400 to $600 to replace each rifle.

Cadet Vanessa Mathews, 17, said Junior ROTC members have been called names by other students, especially since the war in Iraq began in 2003.

“We have no one on our side,” said student Cmdr. Jonathan Luján , 17, who plans to join the Navy after graduation. “Not the community. Not the administrators. Not the students .”

In response, school Principal Claudia Krause-Johnson said she was dismayed that students are disrespectful to cadets and is considering hosting an assembly to foster a more welcoming attitude.

Two sophomores at the school who didn’t want to be identified said they think about 80 percent of students are anti-military . They said students taunt cadets for no reason and bad-mouth them behind their backs loud enough for them to hear it. But, they said, it has nothing to do with current U.S. foreign policy.

Hornak said despite the verbal jabs cadets suffer, he doesn’t think there’s much anti-military animosity . He tells cadets to rely on their courage and integrity to get through it, he said.

Luján said he thinks school administrators want the program gone. He remembers that when he was looking for an elective in eighth grade, school counselors never mentioned Junior ROTC. If his parents hadn’t suggested it, he never would have known the program was an option, he said.

Mathews said her counselor steered her away from joining the program by saying there was no room. “We have the opposite problem ,” she said.

Forty students are enrolled in Junior ROTC at Santa Fe High School, and the participation rate has declined in the past four years, Krause-Johnson said. Students at Capital High, which doesn’t have ROTC, can join Santa Fe High’s program.

Hornak said his Navy bosses expect him to have at least 100 students , and Santa Fe’s low participation baffles him. “You go to a high school in Albuquerque, and they have a minimum of 150 students and a waiting list,” he said.

But the Navy also should promote the program in Santa Fe’s middle schools, Krause-Johnson said. When she was principal at DeVargas Middle School from 2002 until last school year, the Navy never showed up, she said. Navy officials will meet with her in March to figure out how to popularize the program.

Even with the Navy’s help, Junior ROTC enrollment might get even lower next year, she warned. Current students get one physical-education credit by participating in programs such as ROTC or dance for three years. Next year, that arrangement will disappear.

According to the Army’s Cadet Command, which is in charge of all ROTC programs, enrollment at college-level Navy ROTC has dropped 1.4 percent nationwide since 2003. With a 16 percent drop in participation , college-level Army ROTC programs have fared worse. Enlistment in all branches of the U.S. armed forces has declined for the past two years as well.

Nevertheless, with two burglaries in two months, Krause-Johnson said she will install surveillance cameras to watch the ROTC auxiliary building and consider having more security guards patrol the area at night. The measures weren’t implemented sooner, she said, because there wasn’t enough money in the school’s budget. Meanwhile, cadets will be using Daisy Springfield rifles, which are lighter and difficult to balance. “The cadets don’t seem to like them as well as the M-1 s, but I guess that’s just what we have to go with,” Hornak said. Contact Brandon Garcia at 995-3826 or at bgarcia@sfnewmexican .com.

This is a follow up to the story from the other day, Burglars nab 20 dummy ROTC rifles (Santa Fe, NM).

This is from the local paper and gives the local spin. Go to the link and read the 90 some replies to the story on the paper's site. You can see what we have to put up with in this town. Now I know why somebody told me that Santa Fe is the place the hippies stopped on their way to San Francisco, and the one's that were too lazy to keep going just stayed.

“We have no one on our side,” said student Cmdr. Jonathan Luján , 17, who plans to join the Navy after graduation. “Not the community. Not the administrators. Not the students .”
In response, school Principal Claudia Krause-Johnson said she was dismayed that students are disrespectful to cadets and is considering hosting an assembly to foster a more welcoming attitude.

Oh goody, an assembly. That should do the trick. < /sarcasm>

I went into a public-'ouse to get a pint o'beer,
The publican 'e up an' sez, "We serve no red-coats here."
The girls be'ind the bar they laughed an' giggled fit to die,
I outs into the street again an' to myself sez I:

O it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, go away";
But it's ``Thank you, Mister Atkins,'' when the band begins to play,
The band begins to play, my boys, the band begins to play,
O it's ``Thank you, Mr. Atkins,'' when the band begins to play.

I went into a theatre as sober as could be,
They gave a drunk civilian room, but 'adn't none for me;
They sent me to the gallery or round the music-'alls,
But when it comes to fightin', Lord! they'll shove me in the stalls!

For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, wait outside";
But it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide,
The troopship's on the tide, my boys, the troopship's on the tide,
O it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide.

Yes, makin' mock o' uniforms that guard you while you sleep
Is cheaper than them uniforms, an' they're starvation cheap;
An' hustlin' drunken soldiers when they're goin' large a bit
Is five times better business than paradin' in full kit.

Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy how's yer soul?"
But it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll,
The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
O it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll.

We aren't no thin red 'eroes, nor we aren't no blackguards too,
But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you;
An' if sometimes our conduck isn't all your fancy paints:
Why, single men in barricks don't grow into plaster saints;

While it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, fall be'ind,"
But it's "Please to walk in front, sir," when there's trouble in the wind,
There's trouble in the wind, my boys, there's trouble in the wind,
O it's "Please to walk in front, sir," when there's trouble in the wind.

You talk o' better food for us, an' schools, an' fires an' all:
We'll wait for extry rations if you treat us rational.
Don't mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face
The Widow's Uniform is not the soldier-man's disgrace.

For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute!"
But it's "Saviour of 'is country," when the guns begin to shoot;
An' it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' anything you please;
But Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool - you bet that Tommy sees!

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