Jacob Woods Becomes First Birmingham City Student to Serve on Board of Alabama Army JROTC

By Keisa Sharpe | For The Birmingham Times Meet Jacob Woods, 17-year-old Cadet Lieutenant Colonel of George Washington Carver High School and newly appointed Alabama State Vice President of the Army Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corp (JROTC), who will oversee approximately 10,000 cadets statewide. Woods, the first student from the Birmingham metro area to serve on the state officer board, officially assumes his position in mid-June. “I’m basically a voice for [cadets] when it comes to speaking to some of the people [and] leaders that make the decisions,” Woods said of his new state role, which he had to apply for and participate in an in-person interview. At Carver High School, Woods serves as Battalion Commander for the JROTC, “[leading] the Ram Battalion [of nearly 200 students], which means I oversee every cadet in JROTC at Carver High to make sure everything gets done,” he said. “I Wanted to Join” Woods learned about JROTC when an eighth grader at John Herbert Phillips Academy: “[I saw] a recruitment video about [U.S. Army Black Hawks helicopters], … and I wanted to join.” He has been in JROTC for three years, while continuing with his regular classes, such as English, Math, and Science,...