The Durham News | Learning for a Lifetime: 2006

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Learning for a Lifetime: 2006	Home / Class Time / Learning for a Lifetime / Learning for a Lifetime: 2006


November 4, 2006	Staff Photo by Shawn Rocco
With a tone, cadence and snap that elicits an immediate response to his commands, Hillside High School sophomore Orion Jacques, 15, left, voices directions to his JROTC platoon during drill and ceremony practice. This is his second year in the Army's Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps, and as such he now has the responsibility of platoon sergeant during formation. The program prepares students for leadership roles while making them aware of their rights, responsibilities and privileges as American citizens. So returning voluntarily for his second year to a class that places high demands on its students is a positive sign to Jacques' instructor and retired Army Master Sergeant Wyndell Holmes. "Unlike many other classes, JROTC isn't a requirement," Holmes said. "It's definitely not a class you should be in if you don't want to be."