By Deb Risden
Falcon High School is home to one of only 10 Space Force Junior ROTC units in the United States; it is the only one in Colorado.
The unit was established in 2003 and has earned the headquarters’ top “Exceeds Standards” rating for two decades. The unit has performed so consistently well that evaluators chose to skip this year’s inspection and redirect resources to units needing support, said retired Maj. Anthony Wise, U.S. Air Force, a Senior Aerospace Science Instructor.
The program transitioned from Air Force JROTC to Space Force JROTC in 2021 after the U.S. Space Force became an independent military branch in December 2019. The Department of the Air Force selected El Paso County School District 49’s Falcon High School along with nine other units already located near space-related military assets in the U.S.
Wise said the program’s mission is focused on character development rather than military recruitment. “About 90% of students in JROTC nationwide never join the military,” Wise said. “Because of the military presence in Colorado, we’re closer to 20%. But our goal isn’t to put kids in uniform — it’s to build leaders with self-discipline and focus.”
“About 90% of students in JROTC nationwide never join the military. Because of the military presence in Colorado, we’re closer to 20%. But our goal isn’t to put kids in uniform — it’s to build leaders with self-discipline and focus.”
Maj. Anthony Wise, retired U.S. Air Force
FHS’s Space Force JROTC currently has about 130 cadets but has had as many as 250. Students take the course as part of their regular schedule — not as an after-school club. They attend 90-minute blocks that rotate between leadership education, aerospace science and physical fitness.
“Our leadership is all student-led,” Wise said. “We just facilitate. They learn responsibility by doing.” Cadet Lt. Col. Ashley Small serves as corps commander, overseeing roughly 130 students alongside a cadet staff structure that mirrors a military organization. “She was selected by her peers and by us as facilitators and instructors because of her leadership potential and ability to show progression,” Wise said.
Cadets participate in drill and ceremony, uniform inspections, physical training and specialty teams, including flight simulation, archery and a competitive Raiders team that travels for obstacle-course and endurance events. FHS’s drill and Raiders teams regularly place high in statewide competitions, Wise said, noting that the Raiders team is expected to compete nationally in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Community service is another major component. Wise said cadets have logged almost 1,000 volunteer hours so far this school year, participating in parades, ceremonies, veterans’ events and local service projects.
Wise, a retired Air Force major with a background in Air Force Space Command and GPS systems testing, works with retired Senior Master Sgt. Ben Lopez and retired Senior Master Sgt. Allita Ramos to oversee the program. Much of their salary is funded through the Department of the Air Force under a memorandum of understanding with D 49.
Wise credits the program’s long-standing success to the instructors who built it, including retired Col. Joey Hinson, Master Sgt. Jerry Easley and retired Senior Master Sgt. Bill Hartley, who served almost two decades with the unit.
“We are building character and that transfers to whatever it is they want to do in life,” Wise said. “We want all parents to know it will change your kid’s life. It will give them a focus.” He said students routinely tell him the program changed their lives by helping them stand out from their peers.
Falcon High School’s Space Force JROTC marched at the 2025 Veteran’s Day Parade in Colorado Springs.
