New Book

Making
JROTC
Work

A Guide for Instructors Navigating the Transition from Army Life to the Classroom

by Richard Crossley Jr.

48 Years of Public Service
15+ Programs Directed
25 Years in JROTC
Get the Book Learn More
Making JROTC Work book cover
"You took an oath. You continue to serve.
The uniform came off — the commission never did."
— Richard Crossley Jr.

The Book

From the field to the classroom.
From instructor to teacher.

There's one book on JROTC history. Zero books on what it actually feels like to stand in front of a 16-year-old who doesn't care about your rank. Making JROTC Work is that book.

01

Rigor

Teach the meat, not the pudding. How to bring intellectual depth and real challenge into a program too often dismissed as just an elective.

02

Relevance

Be the chameleon in the crayon box. Align your program to what your school actually needs — so JROTC becomes indispensable, not invisible.

03

Relationships

360° — military, school, community. If you're not at the table, you're on the menu. How to build the alliances that protect and elevate your program.

04

Results

Data that principals actually care about. Not drill scores — graduation rates, scholarship dollars, test performance. Numbers that make programs bulletproof.

Who It's For

Written for the 50%
who want to excel.

New JROTC Instructors

You have the certification, the discipline, the passion. Now learn the part nobody warned you about: teaching is not the same as instructing.

Veteran Instructors

Even after 10 years, there's something new to learn every single year. If your program has plateaued, this is the honest conversation you've been missing.

Solo & Rural Instructors

No director. No mentor. No professional development support. This book was written for you — the instructor out there alone, figuring it out without a roadmap.

Principals & Administrators

Understand what a truly well-run JROTC program looks like — and what to look for in the instructor leading it.

$19.7M In scholarships — more than the athletic department
100% Cadet pass rate on Texas end-of-course exams
Every Year Fort Worth ISD teams at nationals since 2007

Photo Coming Soon

23 Years Military Service
25 Years in JROTC
14 Years as Director of Army Instruction

About the Author

Not an overnight wonder.
A 48-year commitment.

Richard Crossley Jr. spent 23 years in the United States Army before walking into a high school classroom — and discovering that nothing in his military training had quite prepared him for teenagers, principals, homecoming floats, or being told he wasn't a "real teacher."

What followed was 25 more years figuring it out. Eleven in the classroom. Fourteen as a Director of Army Instruction overseeing more than 15 programs across Fort Worth ISD — navigating 6 different principals, 5 different superintendents, and an endless stream of moments where the military playbook simply didn't apply.

Under his leadership, Fort Worth ISD JROTC programs sent teams to nationals every year since 2007, generated $19.7 million in scholarships in a single year — surpassing the athletic department — and literally saved campuses from failing state standards.

This book is not theory. It is 48 years of public service handed directly to the instructor who is out there alone, without a director, without a mentor, without a roadmap.

Be First

The book is coming.
Get on the list.

Join the waitlist and be among the first to know when Making JROTC Work is available. Richard will share updates and early insights along the way.