The growing youth of the nation are facing new challenges and obstacles. Gaining responsibility and discipline requires mentorship and educational opportunities to support these young generations. The JROTC, produced by the National Defense Act of 1916, is a critical part of the academic curriculum guided towards developing the character of young generations. In this study, the effectiveness of the JROTC in developing character traits of JROTC students against the behavior of non-JROTC students was examined. As of 2017, the JROTC had more than 300,000 participating students (Goldman et al., 2017). The JROTC program's effectiveness was examined in the present study by exploring (a) self-esteem, (b) self-discipline and, (c) self-confidence. This study's secondary aim was to explore how JROTC differs from other school programs and explore character trait development on academic achievement. A quantitative methodology with a casual comparative study was used to examine a sample of students from a traditional school with a JROTC was offered. Data regarding participants' self-esteem, self-discipline, and self-confidence, and demographic data regarding race, gender, and socioeconomic status was collected. Independent samples t-tests and ANCOVA analysis were conducted to address the purpose of this study. This study found that there were no statistically significant differences between self-esteem, self-confidence, and self-discipline between students enrolled in JROTC and non-JROTC students. While self-esteem was slightly higher among the JROTC sample, the findings in this study illustrated that enrollment in JROTC programs does not have an effect on student's self-esteem, self-discipline, or self-confidence while controlling for gender, race, and socioeconomic status. The findings of this study indicate the need to expand upon the design used in this study to provide a renewed understanding of the national benefits of student inclusion in JROTC programs. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]