Over 40% of Upper School Cadets Have Zero Demerits

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More than 40% of our Upper School Corps of Cadets have unblemished demerit records. That's more than 150 cadets in grades 9 through postgraduate with zero demerits. And just over 65% of Upper School cadets have just 10 or fewer demerits. Fork Union Military Academy is known for enforcing high standards of personal conduct and appearance. Cadet behavior is supervised by faculty, staff, and the cadet officers. Cadets are subject to inspection and an improperly shined shoe can net 3 demerits. The Academy sets high expectations, and failure to meet those expectations can find a cadet marching off his demerits on the "ED pad" where each demerit earns 45 minutes of walking in formation ("Extra Duty"). The goal is to develop young men with self-discipline and self-respect. The demerit system at the Academy provides specific consequences for unmet expectations. This system helps provide an environment and a set of boundaries within which cadets can develop self-discipline. Of course, at one end of the spectrum can be found the majority of cadets who are already practicing their self-discipline skills and avoiding the ED Pad. At the other end of the spectrum can be found a smaller group of cadets who continue to be "works in progress". At this early point in the year, eleven cadets have more than 50 demerits each and they can regularly be found marching "tours" in the afternoon when most cadets are engaged in athletics and free time activities.