The director of the Navy's JROTC program was recognized for his 17 years of leadership during his retirement ceremony held at the National Museum of Naval Aviation, Naval Air Station Pensacola, January 5th.

Dr. J. D. Smith was presented with the Distinguished Civilian Service Award by the commander, Naval Service Training Command (NSTC) Rear Adm. Mike Bernacchi, to honor his service to the Navy and JROTC.

"It's been wonderful being able to assist in the development of the nation's youth through the JROTC program," said Smith who retired after 44 years of federal service.

"We really increased the size of the program in my tenure but maintained if not increased the quality of the curriculum through the updated technological advances. We also provided more professional development for instructors and the program is in good shape."

Dr. Smith began employment as a career federal employee of the Department of the Navy for the Chief of Naval Education and Training (CNET) in Pensacola, Florida, in 1973. His initial assignment was the assistant for field operations and later the director for the worldwide Navy Campus off-duty education program.

In 1985 he was selected to direct the Navy Dependents Education system. After serving as the Navy Aviation Schools Command education advisor, Dr. Smith returned to the CNET staff. At CNET he directed the Education and Training Management subspecialty for officers; and the Broadened Opportunity for Officer Selection and Training (BOOST) preparing primarily minority individuals for college leading to a Navy commission.

In 1989 Dr. Smith was selected to become the Total Quality Management Coordinator. He served on the Secretary of the Navy's Education and Training Quality Leadership Board and taught Quality Management and Quality Leadership concepts internationally. He also established the Total Quality Leadership Schools for the Navy and trained the instructors. Dr. Smith served on the Navy Zero-Based Training and Education Review during 1993 prior to assuming various positions in the Leadership Training Division.

In 2002 Dr. Smith was selected to become the Navy JROTC Program Manager.

Smith added, "I am really going to miss the staff from here in Pensacola to the headquarters staff in Great Lakes and all the area managers for their support throughout the program. It's always been about the instructors that mentor these kids day to day."

Navy JROTC, founded in 1964, is a citizenship development program that instills in high school students and in U. S. secondary educational institutions the value of citizenship and service to the United States. The program is currently under the direction of Bernacchi and his NSTC staff, headquartered on Naval Station Great Lakes, Ill. and includes 573 units worldwide.

In addition to regular classroom instruction, Navy JROTC cadets participate in a number of extra-curricular activities throughout the school year and during the summer months that are designed to stimulate learning by hands-on experiences and to reinforce the program's curriculum. Cadet extra-curricular activities include community service projects, drill competitions, academic competitions, visits to naval installations, and Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) training.

The NSTC command oversees 98 percent of initial officer and enlisted accessions training for the Navy. This includes the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) at more than 160 colleges and universities, Officer Training Command (OTCN) on Naval Station Newport, R.I., Recruit Training Command (RTC), the Navy's only boot camp, at Great Lakes, Ill., as well as NJROTC.

For more information about NSTC, visit http://www.netc.navy.mil/nstc/, the NSTC Facebook pages https://www.facebook.com/NavalServiceTraining/ or www.navy.mil/local/greatlakes/ .

For more information, visit www.navy.mil, www.facebook.com/usnavy, or www.twitter.com/usnavy.

For more news from Naval Service Training Command, visit www.navy.mil/.

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