NJROTC instructor retires after 50 years in uniform

Carson High School’s Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps instructor Lt. Cmdr. Dan Meyer has kept a letter in his desk from a former cadet early in his teaching career who had written him, “Sir, you saved my life.”

Years later, he would keep in touch with two other cadets he taught from Turlock, Calif., and one echoed those words: “Sir, you saved my life.”

“I keep that note, and it reminds me that there is a reason to help people in situations, to save their lives,” he said.

Meyer, 72, retires this year after a full, distinguished career in the U.S. Navy as an officer and senior naval science instructor, the past 10 years of which have been overseeing Carson High School’s NJROTC program.

“I don’t want to go, honestly, because I love what I do, but at the same time, it’s time,” he said. “I’m getting kind of old and I probably need to enjoy what I have left of life.”

Senior Chief Jerry Skirvin, program instructor, previously taught with a larger unit in Orlando and felt the change in Meyer’s approach when he came to Carson High in 2019. He called his work with Carson’s program cadet-centered with a strong focus on helping students any time they experience academic or personal issues.

“I thought I had a good hold on everything that happens in JROTC and the way to do things pretty well and then I get here, and it was a completely different environment,” Skirvin said. “He’s taught me more in the last five years than I could ever imagine. He’s played a pivotal role with this unit.”

Meyer said one of his greatest professional achievements was being named Carson High’s 2022-23 educator of the year. District officials honored him as an example of integrity, for his ability to inspire and in his tenacity as a leader. The recognition made him a finalist for Nevada Educator of the Year.

“That was very humbling,” he said. “I never expected that.”

The unit’s annual awards night, which took place May 9, was one evening of the year he dreaded hosting, he said. Every cadet is deserving of being recognized of their hard work from the past school year.

This year, Meyer was quick to demonstrate the personal handshakes and fist bumps his cadets had taught him, a sign that Carson’s military and science program is not only about discipline and technical skills but a place where everyone belongs. And no one left without getting a personal greeting from Meyer or Skirvin.

“It’s like building a house you’ve been building all your life,” Meyer said.

“He is such a uniquely special educator,” Bridget Gordon-Johnson, Carson High counselor said, who attended the awards. “My favorite thing about him is that he has created a space in NJROTC that allows students to grow as leaders, students and friends. It is unique, I believe, to Carson High School. He empowers students to find their voices in a way that lifts others up.”

Meyer said after hanging up his uniform, he’ll enjoy being at home with his wife.

“I’m away from her a lot,” he said. “It’s time to spend some with her.”