WE ARE!....DELTA!

"We are....WE ARE...Delta...DELTA!" 

The cadence sounded loud and clear across the campus of Fork Union Military Academy early on a Monday morning. The postgraduate football team, under the demanding eye of Coach John Shuman, was in a tight formation marching smartly to breakfast after their morning workout.

Delta Company was making a statement: They are here to be the best.

This year the Corps of Cadets at Fork Union Military Academy will have their companies organized by grade level, with the 12th graders all in Alpha Company, the 11th graders all in Bravo Company, etc. Delta Company is the home of the postgraduate cadets, a mixture of football players, basketball players, and academic postgraduates.

The PG football players have been on campus since last Wednesday and their days are filled with three-a-day practices, workouts, meals, and sleep. Add to this full schedule the regimen of a military-style discipline, and you can clearly see young men who are focused on one goal, being the best they can be on the athletic field and off.

The officers of the Cadet Corps, those upperclassmen who have achieved rank and positions of responsibility within the Corps, are arriving this morning to undergo a week of leadership training in preparation for leading their companies of cadets. As they arrive, the pounding footsteps of Delta Company are already beating out a challenge. The underclass companies are going to have to work hard this year to beat out the postgraduates in any company competition.

Delta Company is setting the bar high this year for discipline, pride, and self-respect. Their marching is already crisp and their heads are held straight and high.

Word is, they're even better on the football field. It should be a good year.