Tucked away in the pool facility a fair distance from the main building, Trojans in camouflage uniforms stand single file, bearing the flags of the United States and Wyoming. They look orderly and serious until a few students get confused and accidentally march in a circle. The practicing color guard lets out a few giggles and moves on. It’s all a part of the learning curve.

Kelly Walsh High School established the JROTC program at the beginning of the school year. The new classes have garnered quite a bit of interest.

“Junior ROTC is a leadership, citizenship program quite simply,” said Frederick Pickering, the JROTC teacher with 17 years experience and an extensive Marine Corp background.

With an open-space classroom and many excited participants, the program has seen a lot of success despite its infancy.

“When you start a brand new program, no one has any experience. We have all brand new kids marching for the first time together as a group,” said Pickering.

“I’m new to it. I don’t know all of the orders yet,” conceded junior Julianna Kelbert, “But I’m working towards it.”

JROTC hopes to become a bigger staple in the KW culture as the year goes on. As they only recently began wearing their uniforms to school, other students are now noticing the large presence of the program.

“You definitely stand out a lot from other people and you get a lot more respect,” said Kelbert.

The program is also soon to show up outside of school hours as they present a color guard and a platoon march at sports events.

“I’m excited. We’ve been working for three weeks, so I’m excited to show that we cadets are disciplined enough to do it and do it well,” said junior Kylie Crane.