Fishburne Cadets Attend Leadership Conference at Virginia Military Institute

Lexington, VA –  As part of Fishburne Military School’s continuing focus upon Leadership Education, three FMS senior ranking cadets were selected to attend the 7th annual VMI Leadership and Ethics Conference last week on the VMI Post in Lexington, VA.

The two-day conference, entitled “Strategic Leadership in Times of Global Transition:  Past, Present, and Future”, explored strategic leadership from a military, geopolitical and global enterprise standpoint and featured a keynote speech by Former White House Chief of Staff, James A. Baker, III.  In addition, more than a dozen expert lecturers led discussions on topics such as George C. Marshall:  Archetype of Strategic Leadership, Strategic Leadership During Enduring and Iraqi Freedom: An Appraisal, and The World Hangs in the Balance:  The Marshall Plan’s Legacies for Contemporary Nation-building Revisited.

Cadets Luciano Dolfi (Stuarts Draft, VA), Joshua Beard (Aguila, AZ) and Phillip Griffin (Winchester, VA) were selected by FMS JROTC to represent Fishburne Military School at the conference. Fishburne’s Senior Army Instructor, LTC Robert Hunt, USA(Ret), noted: “Our young men definitely made the most of this experience. This conference operates on a par with War-College-level courses and our Cadets worked hard to digest some of the theories and concepts. They did an amazing job of participating and they approached the conference with a tremendous amount of seriousness and curiosity.”

“This was a great experience,” said Dolfi. “Just being exposed to this level of discussion and thought is an opportunity that I’ll always remember.”

The Caissons, between sessions of the conference, were treated to a tours of the Geroge C. Marshall Research Library and Museum, the VMI Post and the VMI Museum. In addition, the Fishburne Cadets attended a VMI Review Parade held in honor of Secretary Baker, who was also presented with VMI’s Harry F. Byrd Public Service Award.

Fishburne Military School is the oldest and smallest of all military schools for boys in Virginia. Its college-prep curriculum is built upon the structure of an Army JROTC program. FMS is designated as a JROTC Honor Unit with Distinction and may nominate qualified candidates to the United States Service Academies. Fishburne hosts one of only four Summer JROTC programs in the nation, accredited by US Army Cadet Command.