Junior ROTC Recognition Program

The National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) awards the ROTC Medal to foster the principle of the “citizen-soldier,” exemplified by the Minutemen of Revolutionary War days. This award is presented by an SAR Chapter, State-level Society, or the National Society to ROTC or JROTC cadets who are selected for having a high degree of merit with respect to leadership qualities, military bearing, and general excellence. The recipients are selected by the Commanding Officer of the ROTC or JROTC unit, who should be given full latitude in making the selection.

SAR members are direct descendants of those patriots that achieved the independence of the American people and the objectives of the organization are intended to perpetuate a more profound reverence for the principles of the government founded by our forefathers. Such were the ideals of Captain Alden Partridge, who is considered the founder of the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program in the United States. Partridge founded the ROTC because his father, Samuel Partridge, a soldier of the Revolution, had concern for the newly founded United States and its lacking a development resource for qualified military officers. SAR supports all programs that encourage historical research, foster true patriotism, and maintain and extend the institutions of American freedom. It strongly supports the United States ROTC and JROTC as exemplary programs of these ideals.

For ROTC or JROTC units with fewer than five hundred cadets or midshipmen, one ROTC or JROTC Recognition medal will be awarded each year. For larger units, one medal may be presented for every five hundred students enrolled in the unit. In cases where a school has more than one ROTC or JROTC unit, each unit is counted separately. The Silver ROTC Medal is presented only to students in a college or university ROTC unit and no recipient may receive it more than once. The Bronze JROTC Medal was authorized in 1965 and is presented only to students in secondary school JROTC and no recipient may receive it more than once. As of June 15, 1998, the U.S. Navy Sea Cadet Corps (NSCC) is no longer eligible to receive the SAR JROTC Bronze Medal. Instead, the NSCC should be supported by recognizing the outstanding NSCC cadet with the SAR Sea Cadet Medal (Bronze Good Citizenship Medal with Ribbon Bar).

The winner of each state-level society competition will be entered into the National JROTC Recognition program. The winning cadet at the national society level will receive his or her award at our annual SAR Congress. The award will be the National JROTC Medallion and an award of $5,000.  The 2nd Place award is $2,000 and the 3rd Place award is $1,000. Two new award levels for 4th and 5th Place introduced for 2018-2019 are now at $500 each. For a complete set of rules, along with the application for both the applicant and the sponsoring SAR members, at this link, https://www.sar.org/rotc-jrotc-recognition-program-3/ Please be aware that the local application deadline dates may vary, so interested applicants should reach out to their local SAR Society contact listed below for further details.