For a school that’s never had so much as an honor guard, change is coming, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Students at Charter will have noticed the formation of a new club this past year, seemingly almost out of the blue: the first ever Military Leadership Club at PPCHS. The day-to-day operations of the club is run by Officers Bucknam and Martinez, two of the school’s SROs.

Both Officer Bucknam and Officer Martinez are no strangers to the military themselves. Before joining the police force in 1991, Officer Bucknam was actually a member of the army police, working in places like Germany and Georgia—the country, not the state. For Officer Martinez, his role as an Air Force security specialist preceded his time at the Hallandale police department, where he spent 20 years and then retired.

Now, among the other priorities they have on their list, the new Military Leadership Club is taking hold. Some students might have already taken a part in the STEM truck event that MLC organized just the other day. Junior Chino Villanueva states,  “The STEM truck dispels the myth that the military is only for people willing to go to war. It showed me that the military has a place for people with passions in math and science. Not only can they apply their passions, they can also have the honor of serving the country.” To learn more about the club and its role at PPCHS, check out the upcoming issue of the C.H.A.T.!