JROTC is Better at Fishburne

Fishburne’s Junior ROTC program is a crucial part of the cadet experience. At Fishburne, all students in grade 9-12 are automatically enrolled in the JROTC leadership and citizenship development program. Each JROTC cadet takes part in the nationally accredited Leadership Education Training program, led by retired military leaders who have been certified by the United States Army to teach, train, and mentor cadets.

Fishburne JROTC cadets experience military culture without any commitment to join the military. The goal of JROTC is to promote leadership and citizenship and there is no requirement to join the military after JROTC. However, for those cadets interested in pursuing experience in the U.S. military, our instructors provide mentoring and guidance to assist in meeting individual goals. This includes both assistance in pursuing enlistment or assistance in pursuing an officer’s commission through a service academy of through the Senior ROTC college program.

Not only is Fishburne’s JROTC one of the oldest in the country, as an Honor Unit with Distinction, Fishburne is one of only a few schools anywhere that can nominate qualified candidates to ANY of the U.S. service academies. If your son wants to attend a service academy, Fishburne offers advantages other military schools can’t equal.

Events Calendar

Like Fishburne, JROTC is focused on teaching the value of:
Citizenship
Leadership
Service to the community
Personal responsibility
Like Fishburne, JROTC is committed to instilling the following qualities in each cadet:
A sense of accomplishment
Self-esteem
Teamwork
Self-discipline

Our JROTC Program is Taught Directly by Army Personnel

Using teaching materials developed and provided by the United States Army, the curriculum has been crafted to help make every cadet be a better citizen, a stronger leader, a critical thinker and more well-rounded man. The JROTC program includes lessons on leadership and fellowship, values and character development, discipline, life, and adventure skills that build confidence, health and first aid, and American citizenship among others.

Cadets are challenged to both lead and follow while receiving individual attention and mentoring from experienced and trained instructors. As you make your way through the four years of JROTC, you’ll learn everything from air rifle and military drills to engineering and social responsibility.

JROTC National Impact

Arguably, JROTC is one of the most successful and significantly impactful youth-oriented programs in American history. As educators and others measure success, we have identified five Quality Indicators used to measure the effectiveness of the program in high schools. These five Quality Indicators are attendance, graduation, indiscipline, drop-out rate, and GPA. JROTC exceeds schools’ averages in each of these categories:

CategorySchoolJROTC
Attendance90.3 %93.5 %
Graduation83.0 %93.9 %
Indiscipline5.2 %1.7 %
Dropout8.0 %< 1 %
GPA2.722.91

Our Summer JROTC is elite too

Our nationally recognized team of JROTC instructors will teach:

Rappelling
Rappelling is a means of using a rope to descend in a controlled manner from a height, such as a cliff or wall, in which one slides down an anchored rope and applies friction to control one’s speed, either by means of a specialized device or by passing the rope under one thigh and over the opposite shoulder. In other parts of the world, another term for rappelling is abseiling.

Orienting
Orienteering is often called the “thinking sport” because it involves map reading and decision-making in addition to a great workout. The object is to run to a series of points shown on the map, choosing routes—both on and off trail—that will help you find all the points and get back to the finish in the shortest amount of time. The points on the course are marked with orange and white flags and punches, so you can prove you’ve been there. Each “control” marker is located on a distinct feature, such as a stream junction or the top of a knoll.

One Rope Bridge
A part of the training culminates in a competition wherein teams of eight JROTC cadets must cross an obstacle using one rope and only the first and last cadets are allowed to touch the obstacle. The rest of the cadets must traverse on the rope bridge.

Drill and Ceremony
Drill consists of certain movements by which the group moves in an orderly manner from one formation to another (or from one place to another). Each within the group most learn these movements and execute each part exactly as described. One also adapts your own movements to those of the group. Everyone in the formation must move together on command.

JROTC: Over 100 years of motivating young men

Established in 1916 to “motivate young people to be better citizens,” JROTC is now in more than 1,700 public and private schools. But few JROTC programs are as robust as Fishburne’s.

Instilling Core Values

JROTC provides a quality Citizenship, Character and Leadership Development program while fostering partnerships within communities and educational institutions. At the Heart of Fishburne Military School’s JROTC program is a dedication to teaching young Cadets the value of Army JROTC’s core values:

  • Character
  • Personal Social Responsibility
  • Academic Achievement
  • Fitness
  • Leadership
  • Teamwork
  • Selfless Service to Community and Others
  • American Heritage and History

Leadership Education Training \ Four years in single click

All JROTC cadets at Fishburne have the opportunity to more fully practice the skills learned through our Leadership Education Training by serving in cadet leadership positions or through taking part in one or more of our JROTC extracurricular activities that are described in full on this site. To see the amazing variety of what you’ll learn and do during each of your four years, click here.

CyberPatriots

The cyber world is the new battleground. By joining the JROTC CyberPatriot programs, you’ll compete with other schools in state, regional (and if you’re good enough) national events that test your newly acquired cybersecurity skills in a way that’s sneaky fun.

Academic & Leadership Bowls

Fishburne’s JROTC competes with other schools in academic and leadership competitions and, despite being the smallest school, we consistently bring it.

College Options Foundations Inc, designed a program for Academic and Leadership Teams in conjunction with the US Army Cadet Command as a creative and fun method of preparing young students for life after High School and JROTC. Competitions between FMS and other JROTC programs take place throughout the school year and offer our Cadets a chance to build confidence and poise while demonstrating their mastery of the subject matter in a friendly and fun venue.

Academic Bowl
The Academic Bowl Team’s training and competitions are based on ACT/SAT style questions, current events and topics from the United States JROTC’s Leadership Education Training Program.

Leadership Bowl
The Leadership Bowl Team applies values and leadership principles using scenario based questions, General George Marshall leadership principles, “Thinking Maps,” “Classroom Performance Systems,” and learning techniques. Our teams practice weekly in the JROTC Computer Lab using online SAT/ACT preparations sites.

Raider Team

Strength \ Discipline \ Commitment \ Teamwork

It’s not all leadership and academics around here. Our Raider Team brings the muscle, the grit and the determination—whether it’s a 5K road march, crossing on a one-rope-bridge or a vehicle pull. Our Raiders have been recognized as “Best of the Best” within US Army Cadet Command’s 4th Brigade three times since 2014.

Raiders master the art of teamwork and compete in a variety of events during each Raider Meet. They depend upon one another for success and strive every year to be the best. Are you ready to help us be among the best again?

Military academy participants in Virginia help each other climb a muddy hill during an obstacle event, as spectators watch nearby.
A group in camouflage gathers on the grass, some holding trophies. One kneels with a FMS Raiders flag, echoing Virginia Military Academy events.
People in military uniform participate in outdoor training at Virginia Military Academy. One climbs a pole while others assist or watch.

Upcoming Raider Drill Meets

2023-2024 Drill Meets – TBD

 
 

Drill and Ceremony Teams

There are few things more impressive than a precise and disciplined drill or ceremony team. And at Fishburne, we take great pride in ours. Plus, they get to be front and center at all the big events around here.

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    HUDGINS RIFLES
    The elite Hudgins Rifles drill team masters the U.S. Army’s precision Arms Manual and Facing Movements.
    Named in honor of COL Morgan Hudgins, Fishburne’s second superintendent, the Hudgins Rifles have performed in National Drill Meets and received on-campus training from members of the US Army’s 3rd Infantry Division (also known as “The Old Guard” from Arlington National Cemetery). Executing precision routines based on Old Guard and Marine Corps Silent Drill Team movements, the Hudgins Rifles provides awe-inspiring entertainment.
  •  
    COLOR GUARD
    The elite Color Guard group at FMS performs at numerous parades as well as athletic and special events.
    From Washington Football Team and the University of Virginia basketball to the Apple Blossom Parade and Waynesboro’s own Fall Foliage Festival, this award winning group never fails to inspire those fortunate enough to view a performance.
  •  
    REGULATION DRILL TEAM
    Fishburne’s Regulation Drill Team works tirelessly to perfect platoon-sized marching and facing movements.

Annual events conducted by the Fishburne Military School Corps of Cadets

First FormationAlumni Weekend Review Parade
Blessing of the ColorsGraduation Awards Parade
Parents Military WeekendNCO “milkman” Graduation Parade
Veterans Day Parade (Staunton, VA)Christmas Parades
Veterans Day CeremoniesWreaths Across America
JPA \ JROTC Program Accreditation InspectionOld Town Alexandria’s George Washington Birthday Parade

National Youth Cyber Education Program

CyberPatriots

CyberPatriot is the National Youth Cyber Education Program created to motivate students towards careers in cybersecurity and other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. The national youth cyber defense competition is a tournament structured event. Teams of 2-5 students are scored on how well they identify and secure known vulnerabilities on virtual machine images of operating systems. The competition is not only fun and exciting, it also creates a career path for today’s Virginia military academy students, fostering continued education from high school through college and into the beginning of their careers.

The CyberPatriots Team is a JROTC sponsored cybersecurity team which competes for top placement in state, regional and national events. Competition puts students in the position of IT professionals tasked with managing the network of a small company.

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