Retired service member builds JROTC program into powerhouse

Chief Enrique Herrera has selflessly served his country for more than four decades and he instills this patriotic duty in high school students on a daily basis. Herrera is the Junior ROTC instructor at Copperas Cove High School. After 21 years of active duty service first as an enlisted soldier and then advancing to warrant officer, he became a certified JROTC instructor in 1998 and joined the CCHS staff in 2001.

Herrera’s discipline, experience, and commitment to his country resulted in great changes in our high school JROTC battalion. Prior to his arrival, our school district’s JROTC program was a standard type of program with marching and classroom work. It did not have extracurricular teams other than a color guard and marksmanship team. The enrollment numbers were steady at 160 per year.