What was the National Guard Youth ChallenNGe program and what were the components of this program?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

This program got underway in 1993 and was developed by the National Guard Bureau in the U.S. Department of Defense. So far over 100,000 children and youth have participated. The following description is provided by their web site:
The program is 17 months long and divided into three phases: a two-week Pre-ChalleNGe Phase, which is a demanding orientation and assessment period; a 20-week Residential Phase; and a one-year Post-Residential Phase. The participants live at the program site, often a military base, during the first two phases. The curriculum for the Residential Phase focuses on eight core components of positive youth development: leadership/fellowship, responsible citizenship, service to community, life-coping skills, physical fitness, health and hygiene, job skills, and academic excellence. At the end of the Residential Phase, participants work with staff to arrange post-residential placement, such as employment, education, or military service. During the Post-Residential Phase, participants return to their families and receive structured mentoring from qualified mentors identified by themselves within their own community. While the program environment is described as "quasi-military," participation in ChalleNGe is voluntary, and there are no requirements for military service during the program or afterward (Ibid; Millenky et al., 2011).