NOTE TO LEADERSHIP BOWL FINALISTS:
Congratulations, you are among the top 40 Army JROTC Leadership teams in the world! You have
worked hard and performed well to make it this far...Keep up the momentum!
We at the College Options Foundation are very pleased that the 2014-2015 JLAB Championships will
once again be a LIVE event and that it will again be held in Washington, DC. There is no better setting
for this event than our Nation’s Capital where there are so many opportunities for learning about who we
are as a people and a country. We continue our efforts to ensure that you receive the same positive and
productive experience of those who have gone before you while striving for the perfect combination of
leadership team competition, leadership education training and reward for your accomplishments.
Combine that with the new JLAB location on the beautiful campus of the Catholic University of America
and we think 2015 JLAB Leadership Bowl is a giant step in that direction.
As in previous JLABs, you will compete as a team in the JLAB Leadership Bowl where the Best Army
JROTC Leadership Team will be crowned. Your team will also participate in a JROTC Unit Best
Practices and Challenges Forum where you will work with and learn from cadets from different parts of
the world and from diverse backgrounds. Finally, you will apply your curriculum knowledge and
leadership training in an experiential learning exercise we call “The Quest for Leadership – A Scavenger
Hunt” on the National Mall and in a national museum. No, this will not take away from your time to see
and enjoy DC, but will compliment your visit and experience.
As you should expect, your work to prepare for the Leadership Bowl and to participate in the JLAB
Leadership Program events is just beginning. The pages that follow contain the guidelines for your
team’s preparation for the Leadership Bowl as well as “homework” assignments that must be completed
before you arrive. Your assignments will not only help you prepare for the competition and benefit each
of you in your leadership and academic development, but will also assist other cadets and JROTC units
around the world, as your work will be shared with them – so DO YOUR BEST!
Once again, congratulations. Keep working hard. And get ready for the experience of a lifetime!
Regards,
Terry Wilfong, President, College Options Foundation
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2015 JLAB LEADERSHIP BOWL PREPARATION AND ASSIGNMENT OVERVIEW
This year’s JLAB Leadership Bowl promises to be the best ever. We have retained and refined the best
of the components of the 2013 Leadership Bowl to ensure fairness in the competition, improve the
leadership learning experiences, and allow more freedom in selecting what you see while in Washington
DC. The three components of the 2015 JLAB Leadership Bowl are the Bowl competition, a leadership
forum and an experiential learning activity in DC. Before you get to JLAB, you will not only study (and by
study I mean study A LOT), but you will also complete several assignments that will be used at JLAB and
will also be shared with cadets and JROTC Programs around the world to improve their unit’s operation.
Your assignments will be managed by the JLAB Leadership Program Manager, LTC (US Army, Retired)
Tom Torbert. He will invite your team to join him in the 2015 JLAB Leadership Teams Group within the
JLAB Leadership (virtual) Classroom. There you will receive relevant JLAB information and assignments,
post your completed assignments and collaborate/communicate with other leadership teams.
PREPARATION AND ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS
Your JLAB Leadership Bowl preparation and assignment consist of the following six tasks. Note that
some tasks require deliverables that must be submitted prior to arriving at JLAB and others that must be
brought to JLAB. All are important and will impact your team’s performance and evaluation during 2015
JLAB.
TASK 1 – Study JROTC Leadership Lessons
This task is simple and straightforward – be thoroughly knowledgeable of the following JROTC
curriculum lessons on and associated with leadership. (Most of these are the same lessons that you
studied in preparing for competition at levels I and II.)
1.
Citizenship in Action and Leadership Theory and Application
• Unit 1 (All Chapters)
• Unit 2 (All Chapters excluding Lessons 6-8 of Chapter 5)
2.
Foundations for Success
• Unit 3 (All Chapters) (excluding Chapters 9 and 11)
3.
Citizenship in American History and Government
• Unit 6 (All Chapters) (excluding Chapters 6 and 7)
4.
Winning Colors, Graphic Organizers and Thinking Maps
5.
CPS Student Response System – CPS will be used extensively in the JLAB Leadership
Bowl Championship. Your team should be proficient with it!
TASK 2 – Read and Study the Principles and Tenets of Leadership of General George C.
Marshall and General Douglas MacArthur
Improve your leadership skills and prepare for the Leadership Bowl by studying the leadership teachings
of two of our nation’s greatest leaders - General George C. Marshall and General Douglas MacArthur.
This task contains two readings:
1. In preparation for JLAB you were required to read Soldier, Statesman, and Peacemaker:
Leadership Lessons from George C. Marshall by Jack Uldrich. In case you need to review or study it
further, you can find General Marshall’s book in the Folders Section in the JLAB Leadership Teams
Group in the JLAB Leadership Bowl (virtual) Classroom. You can also access it on the COF website at
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(www.collegeoptionsfoundation.net). At the top of page highlight JROTC Info, highlight JLAB Resources,
click Leadership Resources. There you can download the book.
2. The second reading/study requirement is entitled No Substitute for Victory: Lessons in Strategy
and Leadership from General Douglas MacArthur by Theodore Kinni and Donna Kinni. This book is
on loan to JLAB with certain copyright restrictions, which is why it is not on our website. A PDF copy of
the book will be sent to you when you complete and submit the request form located in the Folders
Section in the JLAB Leadership Teams Group in the JLAB Leadership Bowl (virtual) classroom. You will
receive instructions on how to locate, complete and submit this form once you join the LeadershipTeams
Group in the Classroom.
TASK 3 – JROTC Unit Best Practices
We all do some things better than others. Likewise, some JROTC units are better at some things than
other JROTC units. We call those Best Practices. If your unit’s day-to-day performance is a reflection of
your accomplishments on JLAB Level I and Level II, and we think that it is, then we believe your unit
does a lot of things well. We want you to tell us about your best practices. We will in turn share those
with the 3,400+ Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine JROTC Programs around the world.
This task includes the preparation and submission of three reports and the development and submission
of a Power Point Presentation. At JLAB, you will participate in a forum on JROTC Unit Best Practices
and Challenges. Your reports will form the basis for this forum. In the JLAB Leadership Classroom, you
will receive instructions on how and when to submit these projects. The reports and presentation are due
on 1 and 15 May 2015 respectively.
TASK 4 – JROTC Unit’s Biggest Challenge
Every JROTC unit in the world has some challenge or problem that keeps it from being the best it can
be. Perhaps you have struggled to overcome this challenge/problem for months or even years and would
like some help with it. Here’s a golden opportunity for you to get different ideas or opinions on how to
resolve this challenge. It is also a great chance for you to share your experiences and successes with
others.
As stated above, you will participate in a forum on JROTC Unit Best Practices and Challenges at JLAB.
This task includes the completion of a report on your unit’s biggest challenge. Your report will form the
basis for this forum. In the JLAB Leadership Classroom, you will receive instructions on how and when to
submit this report. This task is due on 1 May 2015.
TASK 5 – Experiential Learning – Team Plan for Touring the National Mall and Museums
Reflecting on your JROTC lessons and the JLAB experience, you will enhance your understanding and
knowledge of leadership, US history, government and key historical figures by participating in an
experiential learning exercise called “The Quest for Leadership – A Scavenger Hunt”. This event includes
two parts (1) a three hour visit to the National Museum of American History and (2) a full day (about 8
hours) exploring the nation’s monuments and museums in Washington, DC. Your visits will be under the
guidance, direction and supervision of your JROTC Instructor/Chaperone. While Part 1 is fixed (National
Museum of American History), Part two is up to you. You will decide which of the monuments, buildings,
sites, museums, etc., you want to visit. Your task is to develop a list of the monuments, buildings, sites,
museums, etc. you plan to visit during the full day available to you. You will find documents and links in
the Leadership Classroom to help you with this task. Your plan is due NLT 15 May 2015.
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Task 6 – Items to Bring to the Competition
Ensure that your high school’s JLAB Leadership Team brings the following items to the championship
competition:
1) One PC-compatible computer
2) One thumb drive
2015 JLAB LEADERSHIP BOWL AND PROGRAM FORMAT
The 2015 JLAB Leadership Program (June 26-30, 2015) will consist of the following:

Leadership Bowl Championship (Saturday, 27 June 2015) – In the 2015 JLAB Leadership
Bowl Championship, the teams will compete in a full day of oral, written and hands-on tests and
examinations (all taken as a team). The teams will rotate among four venues. The JLAB 2013
Leadership Bowl venues were (1) Leadership Media (visuals)(using CPS), (2) H.O.T. (higher
ordered thinking)(using CPS) Leadership, (3) Marshall & MacArthur Leadership and the CitizenSoldier (multiple choice)(using CPS) and (4) The Leadership Gauntlet (10 stations, hands-on).
2015 JLAB testing venues are under development and will be similar in format. After the four
events, the teams will complete a final self-paced paper exam (responses entered and graded
using CPS). Following the final tabulation of scores, the three teams with the highest scores will
compete on stage in a quiz bowl format with a moderator and buzzer system. At the conclusion
of this round, a National Leadership Champion will be named. NOTE: To qualify for this event,
teams must have completed all Leadership Team Assignments.

JROTC Unit Best Practices and Unit Challenges Forum (Sunday, 28 June 2015) –
Leadership teams will be assigned to one of 8 or 10 Leadership Groups. The Leadership Groups
will be comprised of teams with like or similar unit challenges and varied unit best practices. Each
Group will be assigned a facilitator (Army JROTC SAI/AI or JLAB staffer). The forums will be a
2½ -3 hour discussion of JROTC Unit Best Practices and Unit Challenges. Using the Unit Best
Practice reports and presentations and the Unit Biggest Challenge reports developed by the
Teams, each Leadership Group will develop its forum goal(s) and conduct the forum in an open
and unconstrained format to reach group synergy.

Experiential Learning – “The Quest for Leadership – A Scavenger Hunt” (Sunday, 28 June
and Monday, 29 June 2015) – Part 1 – Teams, led by their Instructor, will visit the various
exhibits in the National Museum of American History, where they will identify persons represented
by the museum’s collections who best epitomize one of the values of Loyalty, Duty, Respect,
Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage. The Team project will also include the
application of Winning Colors®. Part 2 – The Teams will conduct a team-planned, self-guided,
instructor-led, full-day tour of the monuments and museums in Washington, DC, identifying
persons or groups that best characterize the seven Core Values and their Winning Colors®
behaviors. Each Team will complete and submit a report of their experience.
Good luck to you as you prepare for this once-in-a-lifetime event. We are certain that you will take a lot
from and contribute a lot to the leadership development experience that is JLAB. If you have any
questions regarding your assignment and tasks, or on any aspect of 2015 JLAB, please contact us.
Tom Torbert, LTC (US Army, Retired)
JLAB Leadership Program Manager
888-576-8287, ext. 712
ttorbert@collegeoptions.net
Emily Donahue
JLAB Program Director
888-576-8287, ext. 700
edonahue@collegeoptions.net
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