York County’s Charlie Bratton named nation’s Junior ROTC Cadet of the Year
One York County student has risen above the rest.
Charlie Bratton won the Air Force JROTC and AFA Cadet Leadership Award — or “Cadet of the Year.” The award is given by the Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (or JROTC). Bratton is a junior at Clover High School and was notified of the award last week.
The award is an honor that approximately 31,000 juniors in JROTC high school programs across the country vie for. Among the eight finalists for the award include students from Georgia, Arkansa, Idaho, Michigan and other states.
The award recognizes a cadet “who exemplifies the ideals of what a cadet should be,” according to the U.S. Air Force’s website. JROTC instructors submitted nominations of third-year cadets who were juniors during the academic year, and those nominees were evaluated to award state winners, then regional winners and finally the overall winner for the entire country.
“I wasn’t expecting it,” Bratton told The Herald in an interview on Tuesday. He had a high-and-tight haircut, wore an off-green flight suit, and flashed a subtle smile. “But I think it’s pretty cool.”
Bratton grew up in Clover, and after moving around York and Chester counties, returned to Clover High School in the ninth grade. He said he wasn’t always set on joining the JROTC program at Clover, but joining has given him a home and friends that feel like family and a new purpose.
“Like a lot of other people, I just said, ‘I’ll do ROTC for one year, get my PE credit out of the way,’ and then I ended up falling in love with it,” Bratton said. “I wasn’t considering going into the military at first. And now that’s what I want to base my career around, which is kind of crazy.”
In addition to being a standout cadet, Bratton also is the junior class president and ranked at the top of his class, per a release from the Clover School District. He also is the team captain of the school’s Air Force silver medal winning marksmanship team.
“To stand out as a cadet at the most successful AF JROTC program in the country is no small task,” Clover High School principal Rod Ruth said in a statement. “However, Mr. Bratton is certainly a standout. … He is a servant leader that achieves pinnacle success in all areas but does so with a level of humility that concurrently inspires others and commands attention.”
What’s next?
This summer, Bratton will attend the Air Force JROTC Flight Academy in Iowa, where he will earn his pilot’s license. In September, thanks to the Cadet of the Year award, he’ll receive the award officially at the AFA convention in Washington, D.C.
And he hopes to one day attend the U.S. Air Force Academy and later go to medical school to become a doctor. He said he wants to go into neurosurgery.
“Cadet Bratton epitomizes our core values of ‘integrity first, service before self and excellence in all we do,’” Clover’s junior ROTC program leader, Maj. Brian Batson, said in a statement. “And (he’s) very deserving of this recognition.”
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