WHAT: Commissioning ceremony for Great Lakes area’s first Coast Guard JROTC unit, here in Chicago
WHERE: ASPIRA Business and Finance High School, 2989 N Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, 60618
WHEN: Thursday, Oct. 26 at 10 a.m.
WHO: Rear Adm. Will E. Watson, Coast Guard Director of Governmental and Public Affairs; Rear Adm. Jonathan P. Hickey, Commander, Ninth Coast Guard District; Army Medal of Honor recipient Allen J. Lynch
CHICAGO — Media are invited to attend as the Coast Guard and ASPIRA Business and Finance High School conduct a commissioning ceremony establishing the Great Lakes region’s first Coast Guard Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps unit on Thursday, Oct. 26 at 10 a.m.
Junior ROTC units are elective programs that help prepare high school students for leadership roles after graduation. Their purpose under the law is “to instill in students … the values of citizenship, service to the United States, and personal responsibility and a sense of accomplishment.” Although the Coast Guard first established JROTC units in 1992, the ASPIRA unit will be the first in the Great Lakes region and the only one in Illinois.
Rear Adm. Will E. Watson, the Coast Guard’s director of governmental and public affairs, will speak at the ceremony, along with other leaders and Army Medal of Honor recipient Allen J. Lynch. The U.S. Navy Band Great Lakes is also set to perform.
For more information, contact Lt. Phillip Gurtler at (216) 556-2888.