LUSBY, Md. — Just a year ago, the future of Patuxent High School’s NJROTC program hung in the balance. Students were told the program might not continue. Instructors were gone, enrollment was down, and the unit teetered on the edge of probation.
Fast forward to this spring — and the halls at Patuxent now echo with the sound of drills, leadership and renewed energy.
“We came from not even knowing if we were going to have a class,” said Dashaun Gross, a junior at Patuxent and the unit’s current communications officer. “Now, everybody wants to stick around. It really lifted everyone’s spirits.”
Gross, who joined NJROTC as a freshman and plans to stay all four years, has witnessed the transformation firsthand. Over the summer, after the departure of the previous instructor, students were told to find new electives. The program had no clear leadership — until Chief Fairborn temporarily stepped in.
“The chief said, ‘I’ll be your new instructor,’” Gross recalled. “And then she left — but it gave us hope.”
That glimmer of hope became reality when Commander Hinz arrived.
Under his guidance, the NJROTC program has experienced a powerful resurgence. One of Hinz’s first actions was to restructure leadership, adding more roles to help distribute responsibility more evenly between staff and lower-ranking cadets.
“That shift helped a lot,” Gross explained. “It gave cadets a sense of responsibility, and the power structure made it easier to delegate tasks and hold people accountable.”
With clearer roles and stronger communication, the unit began to flourish. Recruitment strategies were updated, daily operations became more organized, and the culture shifted from uncertainty to excitement. Nearly half of the cadets who had previously left returned, bringing membership numbers back up and helping to restore the unit’s momentum.
“Another thing that’s eye-catching is just the overall boost,” Gross said. “We changed how we do things — updated how we recruit, and that really made a difference.”
Beyond the drills and uniforms, NJROTC also provides serious benefits for cadets’ futures. After three years in the program, students are eligible to enter the military at the rank of E-3, skipping ahead of peers in both pay and responsibility. There are also scholarship opportunities exclusive to NJROTC cadets, giving them a head start toward college and career readiness.
“People don’t realize how much you actually learn in NJROTC,” Gross added. “It’s more than just military stuff. You grow as a person.”
For Gross and many of his peers, the program has become more than just a class — it’s a family.
“Everyone knows each other. We support each other,” he said. “One of our cadets was injured in a fire recently, and everyone came together to help — sending messages, checking in, showing love. It really shows the bond we’ve built.”
Looking ahead, the focus is on maintaining what’s been rebuilt.
“In the next two years, we want to keep the structure in place, keep morale high, and keep our numbers over 100,” Gross said. “We’ve come too far to go backward now.”
From near-disbandment to a full-fledged comeback, Patuxent’s NJROTC is proving that when leadership, purpose and heart align — anything is possible. For these cadets, it’s more than a program. It’s a second chance to rise — and they’re making the most of it.
Learn more here:
https://sites.google.com/view/patuxenthighschoolnjrotc2018
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Did 6 years in the Navy. Wish they had ROTC when I was in school.
Nicely done cadets and team! There is so much to this program the people just don’t understand. Thank you for keeping the trandition strong and moving forward. You are role models for other cadets to look up to. Nothing in life impossible, somethings are just harder than others. – Melissa Langford Lilly (Pax Battalion Commander 00′-01′)