Meet the Instructors

About Colonel Harrison

Lieutenant Colonel Harrison was commissioned through the Air Force ROTC program at California State University Long Beach in 1989. During his 24 year career he flew over 5000 hours in the C141 and C-17 aircraft.  He has visited 95 countries and all seven continents under a variety of circumstances and for a variety of purposes. LtCol Harrison commanded Operation Deep Freeze operating from New Zealand to Antarctica during the early 2000’s logging over 50 landings on the ice runway at McMurdo Station, Antarctica.  As a heavy airlift pilot, Lieutenant Colonel Harrison operated in virtually every armed conflict or operation between 1992 and 2012 logging over 742 combat flight hours.  He is currently a qualified pilot on a variety of World War 2 era aircraft for the Commemorative Air Force and displays these aircraft for crowds in California and across the country.

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Retired in 2012, LtCol Harrison began his JROTC teaching adventure at Hemet High School.  Vista Murrieta High School has been his home since 2017 and is where he intends to stay.  His intentions for this program are that it inspires the best that all his students have to offer.  Patriotism, service, kindness, and a willingness to work hard to achieve goals.  LtCol Harrison’s philosophy is that this country needs all of us to contribute in some way and to care about our fellow Americans.  His hope is that CA-20081 will contribute, in some way, to the successful endeavors of every one of its cadets and that they will in turn use those successes for the good of this great nation.   

About Chief Valentine

As a retired Air Force Chief Master Sergeant, I have over 29 years of leadership, training, and mentoring experience; combined with a B.S. in Social Science and a M.A. in Psychology. As a “lifelong” student of Leadership, I am excited to share my personal experiences and lessons learned, coupled with the formal curriculum of AFJROTC to create a unique educational experience for our cadets.

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The objective of the Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFJROTC) program is to "Develop citizens of character dedicated to serving their nation and community."  We accomplish this goal by teaching the core values of integrity, service before self, and excellence in all we do. Only a few cadets actually go on to serve their country in the active duty military, but many go on to become responsible, productive members of the community.  We stress the importance of education after high school and encourage all students to attend college or professional technical education programs.  

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Please contact me any time you have a question or concern. The best way to reach me is through e-mail.  I am here to teach your children life lessons that will prepare them for a successful future.

About Senior Burgos

Welcome to JROTC!  I am SMSgt Burgos and this is my 8th year as a JROTC Instructor at VMHS.  I will be teaching Leadership Education and Health and Wellness to all cadets this year.  Additionally, this will be the second year of the Cyber Patriot program where cadets will work in a team and defend a computer network.  Cyber Security is a fast growing field and one that is needed in all industries.  I will manage the cadets as we learn together in this exciting opportunity.

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We have three instructors and each of us teach three JROTC classes each semester.  For the spring semester, we switch classes to allow us to learn more about each cadet.  For this Fall semester, I am teaching freshmen during 1st period (Bravo Flight), seniors during 3rd period (Charlie Flight), and sophomores during 4th period (Foxtrot Flight).

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There are three main focuses for the curriculum.  Leadership Education, Aerospace Science, and Wellness will be taught in each class. 

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The grading is fairly simple.  The weekly uniform inspection is worth 35 percent of the grade.  Weekly physical training (PT) is worth 35% of the grade.  The other 30 percent is split between Leadership Education and Aerospace Science which is taught in the classroom.  It is extremely important that cadets wear their uniforms properly and participate in PT with the proper PT issued uniform.  If you have any questions or concerns, don't hesitate to email me at jburgos@murrieta.k12.ca.us