Do we have to do ____ in the rifle team?

Question

I'm thinking about joining my rifle team at my high school this year. And yes, its associated with the ROTC. I wanted to know if you have to do like 50 million push ups a day, shave your head, wear some weird-o uniform, or anything "ROTC" related OTHER than shooting guns at targets.

Answer 1

I would try contacting your local ROTC office and ask them

Answer 2

the ROTC in high school is really 'practice ROTC' and is meaningless.  It is basically a class that helps people prepare a little bit for real ROTC if they plan on doing that in college, basically get a leg up on the other ROTCers.

In high school, they cannot demand you shave your head, do a million push ups, or wear specific clothing.  They can deny you access to the rifle team if you do not do them, but really most ROTCs in high school would only wear a uniform if they were performing say, Rifle Spinning Drills, at which point the military style uniform is basically viewed the same as the cheerleader outfit or the football jersey, or the choir gown, it is part of the 'performance'  

High school ROTC won't make you shave your head, but they will probably subtly encourage you to have a somewhat short haircut.  No mullets, etc.  High school ROTC may do a little bit of physical training, maybe some running, but less than your average gym class.

Answer 3

I was on the JROTC rifle team. No, it's not like what you're imagining. However, most schools require you to wear the uniform one day per week. Some don't, so you should ask. Even if they do, you can either change before and after class or just get a bad participation grade if it really bothers you. I always wore it. Some kids made fun of me for it. I got to shoot guns at school, so I didn't care.

JROTC is a class, so to join the rifle team, you will have to take the class. It's a great class, a combination of history, government, and morality. It is a lot more interesting than it sounds. The rifle team is usually after school. Most likely, you will be shooting air rifles (some very rare schools might still use the old .22's, but I doubt it).

A fringe benefit of JROTC is that if you enlist in the military later, your time doing JROTC will let you join at a higher rank. I joined the army as a Private-First Class (the 3rd rank) instead of a Private (1st/lowest rank) because of JROTC. You may not think now you will ever join, but neither did I back then. Life changes.

And if you want, you can STILL do push-ups, shave your head, and crawl under barbed wire. But you'll have to do it on your own time. :)

Answer 4

guns can have recoil and it hurts after a while of shooting, a few push ups would strengthen your upper body so would be of benefit to you. :)

Answer 5

To participate in a ROTC sponsored program, one is usually required to participate in ALL it's functions, including it's dress code, with personal hygiene, meaning proper military haircut, and military discipline & deportment, as well as attending classes & other training functions such as drill and PT (physical training) if the school program requires them.

If you consider any uniform as 'weird-o', one would be better off trying to find another way to indulge one's shooting fantasies, like getting mommy & daddy to send you to summer camp.