A curious onlooker may assume that the group of young Wareham High School students dressed in camouflage uniforms and combat boots are destined for the military.

Though some of the students are considering eventually enlisting, the U.S. Army Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) has much broader goals: to get the cadets involved in their community, help them graduate high school, and encourage them to continue their education -- whether in the military, college, or elsewhere.

"We try to motivate them to be better citizens in this world of ours," Sgt. First Class Sherri Hudson said of the cadets as they hustled around Buzzards Bay Park in Bourne on Sunday.

The JROTC program is both a club and a series of for-credit classes in which students learn citizenship and leadership skills. The cadets also compete against the 12 other Massachusetts JROTC programs in drill, academic, and fitness competitions.

Less than a week into the new school year, the cadets were already involved in their first community service project: providing manpower for the A.L.S. Family Charitable Foundation's annual Cliff Walk fundraiser on the Cape Cod Canal on Sunday.

"It's all about young people becoming better citizens and helping the community," explained Juwan Gomes-Isom, a Wareham High School senior.

Before the A.L.S. walk began, the JROTC Color Guard stood motionless in formation as Wareham High School student Teddy Mathews sang the National Anthem.

Fourteen JROTC cadets volunteered to set up for the walk and assist organizers with other necessities. Approximately 75 to 85 students are currently involved in Wareham High School's program, which was formed in 2004, said Hudson.

"We emphasize service to the community ... [and] belonging to an organization that's bigger than yourself," explained Lieutenant Colonel Chris Corbett, a JROTC Senior Army Instructor who began working with the Wareham High School program this year.

Corbett noted that the students are not actively recruited for the military. "We want them to be leaders in their school, leaders in business," he said, adding that Superintendent Dr. Barry Rabinovitch and Wareham High Principal Scott Palladino have been very supportive of the program.

Becoming a leader is precisely what Gomes-Isom wanted to do when he become involved in the JROTC program as a sophomore.

"I felt I needed to learn some more discipline, and more about how to be a leader," Gomes-Isom said. He now serves as the JROTC's Lieutenant Colonel. "This program is really great. Everyone should join."

Gomes-Isom is planning to attend college, though he hasn't ruled the military out.

Sophomore Austin Degregorio was attracted to the JROTC program because of its military roots.

"I've always wanted to serve in the military and serve my country," he said, adding that his mother is a public information officer in the military.

Degregorio, who wants to serve as a U.S. Air Force pilot or loadmaster, credits the JROTC with getting him more involved with his peers and his community.

"It's amazing. My closest friends are all in the program," Degregorio said. He noted: "Not many kids can say, at 15 years old, that they're strapped up in the same combat boots as our brothers and sisters going to Afghanistan."