The U.S. Coast Guard established a new Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps Program at Kalani High School in Honolulu yesterday.

Kalani High School’s Coast Guard JROTC unit is the 14th in the nation and has over 20 cadets enrolled in the inaugural semester. The program helps equip cadets with the skills necessary to be more prepared for tomorrow’s challenges.

Coast Guard JROTC instructors are hired and employed by the school district and certified by the service. Instructors must be Coast Guard retired, selected reserve, or qualified veterans with at least eight years of service. Kalani High School’s Coast Guard JROTC instructor is Retired Chief Petty Officer Ash Armstrong.

The National Defense Authorization Act of 2023 mandated the Coast Guard to establish and maintain JROTC programs in each of the nine Coast Guard districts by Dec. 31, 2025.

To learn more about the Coast Guard JROTC program, visit  U.S. Coast Guard Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (CGJROTC).