A man has been arrested for allegedly assaulting four ROTC students at Mesa High School and then scuffling with jail detention officers.

When I picked up the paper on Tuesday morning and read the obituary of retired Scottsdale police Chief Mike Gannon, it brought back instant memories of the man who always had the time to ask how we were doing.

Members of the Air Force Junior ROTC at Mesa’s Westwood High School are collecting new, unwrapped toys for children this holiday. Donations will be accepted in the school’s office at 945 W. Eighth St. each school day through Dec. 13.

Westwood High School's Warrior cadets from Mesa won the most trophies at this fall's Desert Talon Drill Meet. The Westwood Air Force Junior ROTC cadets won the Grand Champion trophy at the first competition of the season. To earn the top title, Westwood won trophies in seven different categories.

The Air Force Junior ROTC instructors and cadets of Chandler High School earned an overall unit assessment score of "Exceeds Standards," the highest rating attainable, during a rated unit evaluation last month.

Apache Junction High School's Naval JROTC program has been selected by the Naval Education and Training Command as one of five high schools in the Southwestern United States to host a review from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), one of the largest U.S.-based accreditation agencies. AJHS' NJROTC program is currently accredited by SACS and is among the top high school programs in the United States.

After winning the most trophies in the unit’s history and logging more than 1,600 hours of community service, this year’s Westwood High School cadets received the Distinguished Unit with Merit Award from the Air Force.

The Air Force Junior ROTC instructors and cadets of Gilbert Unified School District's Desert Ridge High School in Mesa recently earned an overall unit assessment score of "Exceeds Standards", the highest rating attainable during a rated unit evaluation.

Gilbert teen Toan Ngo remembers well his past and hard work that’s led to the honor he received this week — a $150,000 military scholarship — and his future as a Marine.

Apache Junction High School's Navy JROTC Academic Team capped an outstanding school year with a Top 10 finish April 27 at the NJROTC National Academic Competition in Orlando, Fla. This was the first time the high school qualified for the national level after making several appearances at the Western Regionals in California. The level of competition in Orlando was intense with the top four students from the top three schools in each region of the United States competing with one another. AJHS made it through to the semifinals among academically top-ranked public and private high schools in the nation with much larger NJROTC programs. Apache Junction High School's NJROTC is now ranked ninth in the entire nation for academics and is looking forward to climbing the ranks in 2013-14. Congratulations to team members Grifyn Davis, freshman; Nick Knight, sophomore; Uziel Pilas, junior; and Grace Kennedy, senior.

Summer is one busy time for Gilbert teacher Larry Dexter. It’s the time of year when the teacher becomes the student.

I am a former Army Officer and combat veteran. I was commissioned from the University of Arizona’s Army ROTC Program. As a Cadet and as a young Lieutenant I believed that women should not serve in combat units for all of the same reasons we are used to hearing; physical ability, unit cohesion, rape, capture, etc. However, as most of us know, actual experience vs theory often changes one’s opinion. Once in combat my opinion changed as I witnessed all of my seemingly legitimate reasons fall to pieces one by one; they just never materialized. I expected to see combat units fall apart once a woman was attached, I expected to see women fail physically on the combat field and get men killed, I expected to see women raped when captured, I expected to see men flee a post or duty because a woman was in danger ... none of it happened, none of it. Experience trumps theory every time, and when it does intelligent humans must begin to change their mind.

Spring break in Hawaii could have been a week of sun and surf for a group of Apache Junction High School students.

Perhaps one of the first lessons learned in college reserve officer training from the study of military history is that troops are reticent to take up arms. Studies show that about a third of trained infantry soldiers facing the enemy in a conventional battlefield environment will actually point their weapons at an identified enemy and pull the trigger. Not so with field artillerymen. Usually they don’t see the enemy nor the huge explosions where their shells impact.

May 11, 2004

Students in Apache Junction will learn about gun safety starting next school year, but the message they hear might be unlike anything else being taught nationwide.

Stagnant enrollment at the Technology and Leadership Academy has forced Gilbert Unified School District officials to consider phasing out the students next year and starting a new program in 2007.

Stagnant enrollment at the Technology and Leadership Academy has forced Gilbert Unified School District officials to consider phasing out the students next year and starting a new program in 2007.

More than 100 Army reservists from Arizona stood in formation Friday morning at Williams Gateway Airport, waiting for a flight that would ultimately take them to Iraq.

More than 100 Army reservists from Arizona stood in formation Friday morning at Williams Gateway Airport, waiting for a flight that would ultimately take them to Iraq.

December 22, 2004

The U.S. Army today faces an imminent and menacing threat to our national security. We are engaged in a struggle that will determine our future. Failure to resolve this problem could leave us vulnerable and our enemies victorious.

DALLAS - If you find yourself on the fast track to a management job, make room for company. Executive coaching or one-on-one business mentoring is no longer reserved for a company’s top officers.

I’ve been in Iraq for roughly half a year and, while I can’t say time has flown, much has happened. Big and small changes continue to reshape this ancient land and its people. Change isn’t always obvious, but the trend is positive. That said, the days ahead won’t be easy. Iraq is a tough place.