Honoring Our Veterans by Participating in Wreaths Across America

Honoring Our Veterans by participating in Wreaths Across America 2013 JLAB Leadership Team MacArthur Discussion (The who, what, when, where and how of the Best Practice, e.g., components of the function, organization (staff responsibilities, command, and control), resources needed (money, people, supplies, transportation, and equipment) timeline from planning to completion, etc):

Thesis: In order to honor veterans, events such as the Veteran’s Day Parade and Wreaths Across America have been established. In order to make these events more known they will be incorporated into the JROTC curriculum of service learning.

Situation: Reagan HS JROTC will be participating in the Wreaths Across America (WAA) annual ceremony held at the Houston National Cemetery on 14 December 2013.This is a part of the larger service learning project “Honoring our Veterans”. The battalion will be involved in this project beginning early November and ending mid-January. WAA will be conducted between 9:00 AM and 2:00 PM.

Mission: All cadets will be encouraged to participate in the Wreaths Across America but those unable to attend will not be penalized. Every cadet, however, is required to complete all activities concerning “Honoring our Veterans”, such as WAA introductory activities, Power Point presentations over important US events and individuals, and a Veterans Day reflection essay. Additional activities are recommended.

Execution: This service learning project will be performed in 3 phases:

I. Preparation Phase A. Due to the large number of cadets in the battalion, the battalion staff, company & platoon leaders will plan the service learning project.  This group will meet and ensure that a significant portion of “Honoring our Veterans” is completed  Battalion leaders should understand the ultimate goal of all this preparatory activities: Wreath Day. B. Introduction to Ethics and Service; to pave the way for a selfless mind  Cadets are to be briefed and trained on the importance of making ethical decisions and analyzing the impact of such choices on the community. Cadets are to be familiarized with Army JROTC LET 3 book U6:C8:L2 “Ethical Choices, Decisions, and Consequences”.  Cadets are to be briefed and trained on the content of U6:C8:L3 “Global Citizenship Choices, Decisions, and Consequences”.

2013 JLAB Leadership Team Unit Best Practices: Wreaths Across America Page 2  These two lessons, along with supporting activities, should instill in cadets the theory of making ethical and selfless decisions. C. Awareness of Significant Historical Events; to learn from then and apply it now  Using what they have learned in the past two lessons, cadets will be taught the impact of individual and collective decisions by examining select historical events and figures and understanding their significance. It is recommended that cadets be familiar with U6:C8:L4 “Historical Timeline: Choices, Decisions, and Consequences”.  Cadets will then be assigned topics for Power Point presentations related to key military events and leaders.

2013 JLAB Leadership Team Unit Best Practices: Wreaths Across America Page 3 II. Execution Phase A. Veterans Day Parade, 11 November 2013; to show we remember  Cadets will connect their acquired knowledge on ethics, decisions, and history to those individuals who made such topics possible: veterans. Supporting activities such as class discussion and games are recommended.  All cadets are encouraged to participate in the Parade. Battalion staff is to coordinate and manage the logistic to make this possible (schedule, bus transportation, uniform readiness, permissions slips)  Cadets march in Veterans Day Parade.  After the parade, cadets are to begin writing a reflection on the Veterans Day Parade. Those cadets who were unable to attend should write about what Veterans Day means for them. B. Wreaths Across America, 14 December 2013; Remember, Honor, Teach  Battalion cadets will be familiarized with Chapter 8 “Making a Difference with Service Learning”. By understanding the content, cadets will realize that all the previous activities served to “Train them for the Service”.  All cadets will be briefed on the history of Wreath Day. Battalion leaders should commence planning for Wreath Day right after Veterans Day parade.  Battalion will participate in Wreath Day. PAO will document the actions of the cadets with pictures and produce a special newsletter about “Honoring our Veterans”

III. Reflection Phase A. Reflection Essay; to crystallize our acquired knowledge  Cadets are to write a reflection essay on their experiences for the entire service learning project (with special emphasis on Wreath Day). B. Clean-Up Day, to continue the service  This is voluntary. Available cadets will volunteer in cleaning up the wreaths from the tombs of the Veterans.

Service Support: Ensure all computers, electronic equipment and JROTC LET 3 books are available to all cadets. 2013 JLAB Leadership Team Unit Best Practices: Wreaths Across America Page 4 For Veterans Day Parade and Wreath Day, identify cadets needing proper JROTC attire and coordinate with Public Affairs Officer to provide them proper school colors. Ensure water coolers with ice and cups are available before and after the laying of wreaths. Confirm bus transportation schedule ahead of time.

2013 JLAB Leadership Team Unit Best Practices: Wreaths Across America Page 5 Task to Staff Elements: S-1: The Administrative Personnel Officer will create and maintain a list of cadets attending WAA and Veterans Day Parade and keep the cadets’ permission slips as well as updating JUMS with Service hours and Service Learning ribbon awards and coordinating with S- 4 to ensure enough Service Learning & Parade ribbons are available upon completion of activity. S-3: The Operations Officer will ensure all key events (preparatory activities, Veterans Day, Wreath day, reflection essay deadline) are identified on the training schedules for cadet reference. S-3 will inform the instructors, Battalion Commander and Battalion leaders of the completion of each phase of “Honoring our Veterans”. S-4: The Supply Officer will ensure Service Learning & Parade ribbons are ordered and available for awarding to those cadets who participated in the Veterans Day parade and Wreath Across America; also to coordinate for water refreshments, as well as ensuring all cadets have proper school JROTC attire. S-5: The Public Affairs Officer will coordinate with the school’s publicity personnel and provide photos with captions of cadets in action, update the battalion’s bulletin boards, and ensure the event and schedules are posted on the Battalion webpage. PAO is entrusted with keeping a binder documenting all steps of the service learning project “Honoring our Veterans”

Conclusion: Events such as the Veteran’s Day Parade and Wreaths Across America have been established to honor those who serve. These events will be incorporated into the JROTC curriculum of service learning, thus JROTC cadets will learn of the sacrifices our veterans and understand the importance of service learning.

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