Passing muster

Brian Gibbons

Junior ROTC makes no commitment to military service but instead commits to academics and community involvement.

Brian Gibbons

Cadets in the Air Force Junior ROTC at Brooklyn’s Franklin K. Lane Campus start their day before the first bell.

Brian Gibbons

“This group met all the standards at inspection, from drills to academics, and is one of the best units in the country,” says Air Force Master Sgt. Eddie Carr, who was introduced to aircraft when his grandfather worked at Kennedy Airport.

Student Shemesh DeLeon, the deputy commander of the Air Force Junior ROTC at the Brooklyn Franklin K. Lane Campus, gets to school before 7 a.m. to raise the flag and practice drills — left face, right face, port arms, carry arms — with his unit, looking sharp in his blue uniform.

After rising through the ranks, he has a clear idea about his future. DeLeon, the valedictorian of the campus’ Multicultural HS, wants to be a cardiologist.

“He’s 15 years old and feels that there’s nothing that he cannot do, from the discipline and confidence he’s learned,” says Air Force Master Sgt. Eddie Carr, a 22-year military aircraft maintenance superintendent who worked as a substitute public school teacher during his last years of active duty.

He’s the instructor and the man who brought the unit to champion status, winning the Eastern Armed Division of the Air Force National Junior ROTC Drill Championships.

He’s also the man who wants you to do your homework.

Under his wing, the kids run the Junior ROTC (Reserved Officers’ Training Corps), which does not require a military commitment. The commander, senior Majerle Mayi, writes the unit’s goals. Her top goal is that everyone maintains an 85 average minimum.

“I was speaking with one of our assistant principals about how the ROTC gives kids who come from abroad a sense of belonging,” said Multicultural HS Chapter Leader Luis Villada. “For all the kids, it makes them enthusiastic, improves behavior, helps academically and keeps them off the streets.”

Students with serious disabilities work next to honor students in the program, which serves all five campus schools.

“The kids who are more gifted tutor and mentor to help pull the others up,” said Carr, who has a bachelor’s in workplace education and curriculum development.

“You’re in class to excel, not to fool around,” he said.

And you’re not in ROTC to play soldier with your Daisy Drill rifle, a realistic, eight-pound, three-foot-long gun that has a bolt but no place to accept a cartridge.

You’re in ROTC to become a better citizen and person “and to learn what it means to give back to the community,” Carr said.

The Black Knights, the exhibition rifle team that won top spots at the championships, are chivalrous. Along with fellow cadets, they visit patients in veterans’ hospitals, clean up churches and parks and participate in walks for breast cancer research, among other community service activities. The color guard and the self-directed band and drum corps lend style and precision to community parades.

And they’re all fit. Even the formerly overweight are in great shape due to rigorous physical training. Nationwide, the group is among only 3 percent of those ranked “Outstanding Unit with Merit.”

The kids say they’re like a family and that Carr is a father to them.

“Well that’s inherent in the situation because you’re giving kids guidance,” he said modestly.

There may be no such thing as a warm and fuzzy drill sergeant. But Carr isn’t the mean guy in the mirrored sunglasses either.

“That’s not me. I’m human, available to the kids when they need me and am thankful for the opportunity to let them shine,” said Carr, who is on campus 12 hours a day, before the bell and until after-school practice is over.

“If kids are here all day doing something positive with their lives, who’s going to say ‘no’ to that?” he asks.

Brian GibbonsAt ease, cadets go to classes. Brian GibbonsDuring drill exercises, student commanders call the moves, and the band and drum corps are self directed.