Mustering the crew

The battle lines were drawn in the sand long before Cody Stokes, 17, decided to join the U.S. Marine Corps.

"The history of the Marines runs in my family, and it caught up with me when I got older," the Carson High School senior said.

Forget the influence of four years in Naval Junior ROTC at Carson High, or even the effect of Sept. 11, 2001, on the boy when he was in eighth-grade.

Stokes' father and grandfather were in the Marine Corps. His other grandfather was in the U.S. Navy, and his grandmother and step-grandfather were in the U.S. Air Force.

In a ceremony last week at Carson High, Stokes, a NJROTC battalion executive officer, passed on his rank to Andrew Stephenson, and officially stepped down. He ships out June 18 for San Diego.

But the upcoming senior class is just as good as the one leaving, according to Commander Skip Cannady, senior naval science instructor at Carson High.

"This senior class has been one of the best (in ROTC)," he said. "They've been a really really exceptional class. They're really good students, and they've participated in all the things we do."

For the first time in the 2005-06 school year, NJROTC's rifle team, led by senior Leah Taboada, took first place in the nation. The cadet team also received the unit achievement award from among about 60 units in the area.

"Classes kind of have their own personality," Cannady said. "And this year we had a particularly strong class, and we have a good class coming up."

The change-of-staff assignments occur at the end of every school year at Carson High. Graduating seniors pass on ranks to lower classmen. NJROTC is a class Taboada recommends.

"I've learned about leadership skills and developed a lot of patience I never had before," she said. "Sometimes as a freshman, it's kind of hard to feel part of a group. And here you become part of a family."

About 120 students participated in NJROTC in the 2005-06 school year, and Cannady predicts that number will increase to 150 in the upcoming year.

"We go to the middle schools in March before the students register and demonstrate some of the things we do," he said. "Sometimes it's successful, and sometimes it's not. I think a lot of times it depends on who the eighth-graders know in ROTC."

Students can start NJROTC their freshman year at Carson High and continue all four years. The first two years count as physical-education credits, but after that it's considered an elective.

While the nine NJROTC classes are split up among grade levels, the groups do come together to learn or participate in activities.

"Their commitment is to take the course and be successful in the course," Cannady said. "If they're not successful, they need to find something they can be successful in. Probably 90 percent or more are successful."

After graduation, approximately 30 percent of students who spent four years in NJROTC go into military careers. A certificate of completion, obtainable after three years, allows students to enter two ranks higher in every branch of the military, except the Marine Corps.

"It's probably about $200 more per month," Cannady said.

When Ardin Patterson, 17, joined NJROTC as a freshman, it was just for fun, but over the years she's obtained important life skills.

"Probably what I've learned the most is that you have to have the initiative to do something," she said. "If you don't have the initiative to do something, you won't get it done."

• Contact reporter Maggie O'Neill at moneill@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1219.