Ah, and so many JROTC "cadets" look as though they've shopped at Goodwill anyway. A lot of it seems to have to do with their senior instructor (discipline and instruction on the proper wear of the uniform) and their school district (amount of $ they're willing to spend to purchase all the needed uniform parts).

The worst uniformed I've seen have been Army and Air Force affiliated JROTCs, the sea services seem to do better (perhaps because there are less of them?).

The truly sad part comes when you consider the mission of JROTC (regardless of service affiliation) - to teach young people to be better citizens. It doesn't sound like this young man's instructors are succeeding as much as we would hope!