After many years of putting their heart and soul into the Air Force JROTC, Klein High School has been given the great honor to be the first school in the state of Texas – and one of ten schools across the country – to convert into a Space Force JROTC program. 

On Jan. 25, this dream came true for the young cadets. As the students excitedly prepared for the conversion ceremony, reporters, families, friends, and Klein ISD staff members piled into the auditorium to get a first look at the new guardians of the galaxy.

“We were selected to become the only Space Force JROTC in Texas because we are close to space facilities,” said senior and first semester group commander Anum Javeed. “As you know, we’re all in Houston, so we are near NASA, and that’s a big part of our culture here. Alongside that, we are top performers. We have a record of excellence, we have a record of innovation, and our cadets have truly made our program a world-renowned name now. It’s a really good feeling to have all of that under our belt.”

When it comes down to the differences between the two programs, the core values that dictate everything that they do as an Air Force slightly differ to those of a Space Force.

“Right now, one of the changes that I can highlight is the fact that our main core values that we abide by,” said Javeed. “Before, they were integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all that we do. Now, becoming part of the Space Force, we have new core values of character, commitment, courage, and connection. Those four words can be interpreted differently to many, but that is the focus and principles that we have highlighted.”

JROTC instructor lieutenant colonel Timothy Lambert has been excitedly waiting and organizing their ribbon cutting ceremony since they heard the news that they were selected to transition into a Space Force JROTC. This meant that on the 25th, the room was packed with important names in Klein ISD and military representatives.

“The ceremony was awesome. We had a lot of representation there, from the news to the board of trustees to the superintendent to our special guest, which was a three star general from the Space Force. There was also an Air Force colonel, an Air Force lieutenant colonel, and an Air Force chief sergeant that came out to do our ceremony here at the high school,” said Lambert.

Along with the new core values of the Space Force being implemented at Klein High, the program’s subject matter will be changed to be more in relation with space and NASA itself.

“The biggest change that you can see is in the curriculum,” said Javeed. “So, the Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, or AFJROTC, is very aerospace based. You study aerospace science, the science of flight, and a lot of things like that. Now, as we transition into becoming part of the Space Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, it will be a new direction. We’ll sort of channel the curriculum that our instructors teach us to the dynamics above us that are in space.”

Along with the other JROTC seniors graduating in May, Javeed will be helping pave the way for young cadets who are entering Klein’s Space Force program.

“I’m so, so, grateful for everyone who made this possible and I’m so proud of all of our cadets and the distinguished achievements that we’ve made in previous years. I can’t wait to see what the current freshmen will do and make of our program as they become upperclassmen and AS-400s. We have so much faith in them, and they have so much wonderful potential, and so I’m just so excited to see how successful they will be and how honorable our program will become with the name that they’ll make.”

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