After eight years as JROTC’s Army Instructor, First Sergeant James Watkins retired from his position on Sept. 25, 2023. The citizenship-building program hopes to promote their diversity and incite school-wide interest with their multitude of opportunities.
“I’ve been at Legacy since 2015. I was originally at Mansfield, the only JROTC program at first, and helped build the other programs,” First Sgt. Watkins said. “The Army Instructor is responsible for all things logistics. So whether we’re talking about buses or budget, spending money or fundraising, or buying equipment, that’s all Army Instructor business.”
First Sergeant Jeremy Hubacek adopted these responsibilities after weeks of substituting for Watkins.
“The plan has been to get First Sergeant Hubacek in the kid’s faces, and to let the kids know him and his personality so that there’s sort of a continuous flow,” First Sgt. Watkins said. “It’s not like poof, one day I’ve abandoned the kids and the next there’s another guy. We want that to be a very smooth, slow, deliberate transition to make it easy for the children at Legacy.”
With his visits, First Sergeant Hubacek earned a chance to make a valuable first impression on his fellow instructors and the school as a whole.
“I could not have been more thrilled when I found out that he was coming to us,” First Sgt. Watkins said. “As a professional, I dearly love First Sergeant Hubacek. I think he’s a good personality fit for this school and this program.”
Collaboration with Hubacek began last year, and Watkins has now had a second chance to form an even stronger opinion about his colleague after seeing his interactions with the students.
“I think First Sergeant Hubacek is an exceptional professional. He is a person that expects as much out of himself as he does the people around him,” First Sgt. Watkins said. “I believe that he is well-trained, he knows the way He continues to learn more about systems, events, finances, and all of the JROTC things by the day. I think he’ll be more welcome in the classroom than any other selection that the kids may come across.”
The JROTC instructors aren’t the only people he’s impressed so far, because the students he’s been teaching think highly of him. Yoyo Mendoza, 11, met Hubacek her sophomore year.
“The first time he [substituted], he was very well composed and insanely kind,” Mendoza said. “He makes it super comfortable to talk to him.”
The JROTC program strives to build a better community. Along with the addition of a new staff member, JROTC will participate in a multitude of upcoming events.
“JROTC is a class based on being a good citizen, so you learn how to value yourself, your community, and the people you work with,” Mendoza said.
Impacting the community, a driving factor in Junior ROTC, and the goal they work toward is more than having their cadets join the United States military.
“Junior ROTC is nothing more than a citizenship-building program,” First Sgt. Watkins said. “[We teach] skills that are going to keep kids in America’s job force and help them be better leaders, so that when they apply for a job, rather than operating a register, they’re considered to be a shift manager or a shift leader.”
