Fork Union Military Academy - Review #1

Fork Union will change your son’s life. I’m not exaggerating. I’m not using hyperbole. I have no vested interest in convincing you of this fact. FUMA is a special place, and it will take the boy you send it, make him into an honorable man, and send him into the world prepared to model decency and success. FUMA taught me discipline, work ethic, character. It made me fit, honest, and confident. I was taught how to lead, and how to follow. I was made to work hard, to give my very best in every endeavor, and to accept nothing less from those in my charge. I’ve no doubt your son will experience similar growth. I wish I could tell you how it works; that there were some secret formula you could cheaply bottle and provide to boys clamoring for purpose. As I said before, though, FUMA is a special place. The faculty believe in the mission. They model service, patriotism, scholarship, and virtue. The academics are rigorous and study is strictly enforced. Athletic skill and physical fitness is cultivated and rewarded. Commitment is enforced. You cannot quit a team, a club, an effort. Homework and study time is supervised. Bed time is enforced. Chapel is attended. Classes in mathematics and English are no more important than courses in religion, citizenship, and ethics. Your son will live with his brothers. They will work and sacrifice together. They will grow together. Through their shared hardship they will be friends for the rest of their lives. After I graduated from FUMA, I went to college, earned a degree, and met my wife. I commissioned as an Infantry Officer in the US Army shortly thereafter. I’ve spent time all over the world leading our Nation’s very best under challenging circumstances. I’m fortunate to have served shoulder to shoulder with the greatest Special Operations Soldiers in the world. Unsurprisingly, I’m hardly the only FUMA graduate with such a story. Whether it’s military service, life in the political arena, or the private sector, I can give you a list of my classmates that are striving and achieving. The discriminator; Fork Union Military Academy.

Fork Union will change your son's life. I'm not exaggerating. I'm not using hyperbole. I have no vested interest in convincing you of this fact. FUMA is a special place, and it will take the boy you send it, make him into an honorable man, and send him into the world prepared to model decency and success. FUMA taught me discipline, work ethic, character. It made me fit, honest, and confident. I was taught how to lead, and how to follow. I was made to work hard, to give my very best in every endeavor, and to accept nothing less from those in my charge. I've no doubt your son will experience similar growth. I wish I could tell you how it works; that there were some secret formula you could cheaply bottle and provide to boys clamoring for purpose. As I said before, though, FUMA is a special place. The faculty believe in the mission. They model service, patriotism, scholarship, and virtue. The academics are rigorous and study is strictly enforced. Athletic skill and physical fitness is cultivated and rewarded. Commitment is enforced. You cannot quit a team, a club, an effort. Homework and study time is supervised. Bed time is enforced. Chapel is attended. Classes in mathematics and English are no more important than courses in religion, citizenship, and ethics. Your son will live with his brothers. They will work and sacrifice together. They will grow together. Through their shared hardship they will be friends for the rest of their lives. After I graduated from FUMA, I went to college, earned a degree, and met my wife. I commissioned as an Infantry Officer in the US Army shortly thereafter. I've spent time all over the world leading our Nation's very best under challenging circumstances. I'm fortunate to have served shoulder to shoulder with the greatest Special Operations Soldiers in the world. Unsurprisingly, I'm hardly the only FUMA graduate with such a story. Whether it's military service, life in the political arena, or the private sector, I can give you a list of my classmates that are striving and achieving. The discriminator; Fork Union Military Academy.

Be strong, be confident, be tough, be patient. It's hard. It's supposed to be. That's how you know it's working. Stay the course.

All of it.

Keep a journal. Reflect on it frequently. After several years at FUMA I returned home to find that I had outgrown many of my old friends. I had changed in unexplainable ways. It felt like it happened overnight and I can't nail down the exact moment. Keep a journal and measure your growth in hour and days instead of years.

The academics are rigorous and study is strictly enforced. The most unique feature is the one subject plan. Cadets study a single subject for roughly seven weeks, take final exams, earn credit for the course, and progress to the next class. Young men more easily focus, and more frequently succeed under the circumstances.

Athletics are a huge part of life as a cadet. All cadets engage in physical activity. For those that play sports, you practice each day after class and have games on the weekends. For cadets not enrolled in sports, you participate in mandatory physical training. I played lacrosse and competed on the orienteering and indoor track teams. They were a highlight of my time at FUMA.

I was the vice president of the cadet choir during my senior year. We frequently traveled and performed throughout Maryland and Virginia.

There are numerous clubs, organizations, and volunteer opportunities at FUMA. Debate, rifle team, paintball, fishing, and FCA stand out.

Cadets live in Barracks with at least one roommate. Cadets are organized into a leadership structure that challenge leadership and interpersonal skills. You must earn your stripes. Rooms are cleaned and inspected daily. The same is true of common areas. Cleanliness and discipline is strictly enforced. The offerings are modern and comfortable. They exceed what I would consider to be the norm in a boarding school environment.

All cadets eat at the school dining facility. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served daily. Cadets march to many meals in formations. They stand in line at the military position of parade rest and are monitored throughout by cadet leadership. The food is nutritious and acceptable.

Fork Union is a map dot town in rural Fluvanna County. The school and it's cadets and faculty are adored by the locals. The school is the lifeblood of the local economy. It. Is. Beautiful.

In my phone right now is a list of names of men I graduated with. I could call any one of them, anytime, anywhere, for any reason, and they would drop what they are doing and come to my aid. They are my brothers and my best friends. This will be true until the day I leave this earth. FUMA gave them to me.