In the silence of the room, all you hear are the loud, unison-filled sounds of coyote brown military-issued boots as they obey each and every command. All that is seen is the sharp and pristine uniforms that each cadet is clad in as they all stand in their most staid pose in perfectly symmetrical formations. This is the minimum amount of respect and discipline JROTC instructor Petty Officer Clifford Adams expects from his cadets.
Clifford Adams was born in the small neighborhood of Acres Homes in Houston, Texas to a family that consisted of a mother, father, 12 brothers, and five sisters. He saw the Navy as not only a way to serve his country but as a way to get his own room and bed.
“When we grew up we had 4 bunk beds on each wall; eight of us in one room,” Adams said. “And when I went into the Navy, I got my own (bed). I love my brothers and sisters but I’ve always wanted my own.”
Someone we might have only seen in news reports as a bright-colored dot on top of a ship deck in the middle of the sea, could have been First Class Petty Officer Clifford Adams. Yet, the impact he has made is way more significant than that of a dot.
During his years in the Navy, Adams worked as a “yellow shirt” or aviation boatswain mate in charge of 200 sailors on the flight deck. After many odd years and missions, right before Adams retired, he assisted in the attack on Saddam Hussein in 1996 during the Kurdish Civil War: a successful invasion by the U.S. Navy. With this success and many years of commitment, Adams knew it was time to retire.
“20 years, that was enough time for me,” Adams said. “And so, I retired from the navy and I got blessed getting this job, JROTC, not even a year later.”
As a JROTC instructor, Adams has worked at many schools from Aldine, Fort Bend, Dekaney, and many more, ranging from middle to high school. Adams said the transition from the Navy to education came quite naturally.
“It was easy ‘cause I had over 200 sailors that worked for me and I was in charge of everyone on the flight deck in my division,” Adams said.
Adams had worked many years and made a wonderful life with a wife and three grown children when he took a year off from instructing after COVID-19 ended the life of one of his family members. After the loss, a fresh start in Nacogdoches seemed right.
“Small town, everybody’s friendly,” Adams said. “In fact, everywhere I go people speak to me ‘cause I’m wearing my navy uniform everyday. They say ‘thank you for your service,’ you don’t really get that in a big city like Houston.”
For the JROTC here, Adams had to build the program from scratch due to it being virtually dormant. Some staff have already recognized all that Adams has done for the program.
“It’s a great opportunity for kids to find something they can be interested in on campus,” Assistant 11th Grade principal Bill Johnson said.
Adams and his prior cadet groups made it to nationals 8 times, never missed qualifying for state, while competing against 30 other schools.
“My goal for this program since this is the first time an instructor here,” Adams said, “Is for us to qualify for state. That is a big task because right now the numbers are low, but the kids I do have are inspired and really want to do it.”
Already, in the first six weeks of school, Adams has recruited participants and created a color guard, which is quite an achievement.
“Some of the things we do right now are drill and sometimes book work, but we mostly set up our uniforms and do basic training,” junior Luis Hernandez said.
Petty Officer Adams’ presence in the school and JROTC has shined a light on this unnoticed program and uplifted its participating cadets for the events that lay ahead of them.
“I hope to win all the competitions and get at least 100 people in the program,” senior Angel Lopez said.
