About a week before her father was deployed during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2004-05, Paige Fenton accompanied her mother to the Naval Operational Support Center in North Versailles.

There she saw a group of uniformed youngsters -- who she later learned were Sea Cadets -- engaged in exercises, followed by a mile-long run.

She was interested, but had to wait a year until she was 10 to be eligible to join the League Cadets, the younger division of the Sea Cadets.

Today, Paige, 15, a sophomore at South Allegheny High School, is lead petty officer seaman who helps oversee 37 cadets in the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps, a group for youngsters up to age 17.

Besides monthly drills, camping and navigational activities, she has attended Coast Guard training in Pittsburgh and Erie, and medical training at the Great Lakes Naval Station in Illinois.

"I was always 'daddy's girl,' so I wanted to follow him," Paige said. She is one of more than 9,500 youngsters in more than 3,000 Sea Cadet units in the U.S., Puerto Rico and Guam.

"I told all my children it was their choice if they wanted to go near the military," said her father, Mark Fenton of Glassport, who is retired after 22 years as a U.S. Navy Reservist.

"I'm proud of her; this gives her a sense of order and discipline," Mr. Fenton said. "Now she has a strong grasp on where she's going and what she wants to be."

Zoey Winterhalter, 12, of Monaca also marches in her dad's military footsteps. Growing up, she listened to his stories about his service.

"I was always interested in the military, and when I learned I could do that, I was pretty happy," said Zoey, a seventh-grader at Central Valley Middle School.

The family moved from Crafton to Monaca in August.

The Pittsburgh Battalion meets one weekend during the school year. Boot camp and other away-from-home training is conducted during school vacations.

Zoey is a company commander who helps oversee eight cadets. Her favorite activities are physical training, martial arts, camping and assisting visitors at air shows.

Her father, Regis Winterhalter, is a builder second class petty officer in the U.S. Navy assigned to Gulfport, Miss.

"I think it's a great thing," he said of the cadets. "It teaches her a lot of self-confidence and respect. I am very proud of her," he said.

Joe Opferman, 18, a senior and four-year member of the West Mifflin Area High School's Air Force Junior ROTC program, was inspired by both of his parents' involvement in the U.S. Army.

"I saw how their military experience benefited them as people," Joe said.

His father, Joseph Opferman, is a West Mifflin police officer, and his mother, Ruth Opferman, is an accountant. Both retired as sergeants in the Army.

"It's a great stepping stone to develop into a responsible, productive adult," Mr. Opferman said.

"I couldn't ask for a better son."

Retired Air Force Major Scott Harbula, senior aerospace science instructor for the West Mifflin Junior ROTC, said the school has 186 cadets, ages 14-18.

Cadets take one ROTC class a day, Monday through Friday, taught by Mr. Harbula and Sergeant Otis DiCerbo. Topics range from outer space to personal finance to post-graduation scholarship options.

Joe is president of the Youth Crime Watch that focuses on bullying, and is sponsored by Mr. DiCerbo. He is also a member of the ROTC's National Honor Society.

He became interested in ROTC in middle school after listening to a presentation by uniformed program representatives.

Then again, he concedes, his military inclination may have been predestined: He was born at Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Va.