During the school year, a typical week for 16-year-old Ailene Duran is jam-packed. She starts her day at the Fire Academy Magnet at James Monroe High School in North Hills. After school, she goes to marching band practice and plays the bass drum until almost 6 p.m.
And during football season, band practice is followed by a game-day performance.
Every Monday, rain or shine, Ailene heads to the Patrick H. Daniels Army Reserve Center in Sherman Oaks for the 6:30 p.m. weekly meeting of the Betsy Ross Division of the United States Naval Sea Cadet Corps program – the only all-female youth naval cadet unit in the country.
“I find it a little bit challenging, being a fire [and naval] cadet and also in my school’s marching band and balancing homework,” said Ailene. “But I really look forward to coming here every week.”
For Ailene and her five fellow cadets, who include middle school students through high school seniors – being in the program has led to a great camaraderie within the small but active group.
Luna Herrarte, 14, joined the unit two years ago. Although she initially found it challenging to adjust to the military-structured elements of being a cadet, today Luna eagerly anticipates every meeting, training activity and unique opportunity the program offers.
“I really like the community service that we do and the bonds we have [formed] with each other,” said Luna.
The Betsy Ross Division was launched in 1981, after girls started inquiring about joining the all-male Bryce Canyon unit of the naval cadet program, which also meets in Sherman Oaks, said Perla Melo, a former cadet and current volunteer training officer for the female division.
Nationwide, the divisions are co-ed, typically with only two or three females per unit. But the San Fernando Valley girls division has routinely had comparatively higher female participation than any other youth naval cadet group in the country, with nearly 20 female cadets around 2010, when Melo and two of her sisters were cadets.
Although the cadet program is military-based, modeled after the U.S. Navy’s professional development structure, Melo said there’s no hard selling when it comes to encouraging potential future military careers. Instead, she said the program focuses on character development, physical training and fitness challenges (modified for their ages), including mud runs; marching and color guard instruction and practice; and leadership skills training and teamwork-building exercises.
The cadets participate in a variety of community events and have expanded training opportunities, which are offered during summer and winter breaks. The cadets might visit a firing range; receive hands-on fire safety training; go to a military air show; provide color guard presentations; or honor deceased veterans by putting miniature U.S. flags next to headstones at the local cemeteries, as they did at San Fernando Mission Cemetery on Memorial Day.
“I really enjoy getting to learn how military training works, to understand how hard the soldiers push themselves, even though what we do isn’t as tough,” said Luna, noting she’s unsure if she will enlist in the military in the future. For now, she focuses on every new learning opportunity.
“Not everyone gets to march with three other people, wearing a uniform and holding a flag and a rifle,” explained Luna. “It was really nice when we went to this air show and we got to be so close to helicopters and other military aircraft – not everybody gets to do that either.”
The overall goal, said Melo, is “to provide the young women with the skills and confidence they need to succeed in any career field they choose” – which is precisely how she feels it helped her.
While she enjoyed being a cadet, Melo didn’t want to join the military after completing the program when she graduated from high school. But she believes the discipline and other skills she acquired as a cadet gave her the drive and dedication to earn a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of California, San Diego. In fact, Melo and her two sisters who were fellow cadets followed the same path after completing the program: they went to college, earned their degrees and returned to volunteer as instructors for the Betsy Ross Division.
“I think it’s very rewarding seeing them grow and develop, gaining more self-confidence, communication skills and teamwork,” she said. “Seeing that drives me to continue volunteering, to show up to every drill and try my best to teach them to improve themselves in any way they can, so they can apply that to their future careers once they graduate from the program.”
Betsy Ross Division instructor Esmerelda Melo, one of Perla Melo’s sisters, said she enjoys being of service, adding, “I believe in mentoring young adults to help them achieve their goals.”
“Sometimes they don’t want to listen to their parents or maybe their parents are very busy working X number of jobs, and they need additional guidance navigating life,” said Esmerelda Melo. “I really enjoy sharing different volunteer opportunities with them, giving them a chance to give back to the community – doing homeless food drives and many other events like that.
“For me, the biggest thing about mentoring is always finding new ways to help, seeing what I can offer them,” she continued. “It’s great seeing the girls mature and return year after year.”
One of those girls is 14-year-old Kateleen Garcia, a student at Valley Charter School in Van Nuys. Though she currently feels fairly certain she doesn’t want to join the military, Kateleen said she hopes being a cadet will help her no matter what career route she chooses later.
“I really like this program, how you’re able to build connections with the other girls really easily and learn how to work together,” she said. “I actually used to dread coming – having to get ready to come here after a full day of school – but when I get here, I realize why I keep coming back.”
Commanding Officer Gerardo Garcia Montes, who was a Bryce Canyon cadet from middle school through high school, said the program gives kids a glimpse into military life. With that knowledge, they can make an informed choice about whether they want to pursue that path.
“Sometimes when young people leave high school and they join the military, they really don’t understand the concept of the military or what they’re getting into, and guess what? They end up stuck in a four-year or eight-year contract, and they’re miserable,” said Montes. “We don’t want that. I’d rather have kids experience it as cadets and eventually decide what they want to do.”
For Ailene, the answer became clear following a nine-day field medical training with fellow Betsy Ross cadets last summer: she wants to become a hospital corpsman for the U.S. Navy.
“That was a big highlight of being a cadet – learning what to do in a medical emergency out in the field,” recounted Ailene. “Now I know I want to be a medical officer, to help other people.”