Loyalty

"When we are debating an issue, loyalty means giving me your honest opinion, whether you think I'll like it or not. Disagreement, at this state, stimulates me. But once a decision is made, the debate ends. From that point on, loyalty means executing the decision as if it were your own."
General Colin Powell

"You've got to give loyalty down, if you want loyalty up."
Donald T. Regan

Loyalty is often an unspoken bond between human beings when faced with a common goal. It evolves from the assumption that the goal is the primary quest, that which must be achieved. In order to accomplish this task, all must act together with a common direction. The person who sets or best exemplifies or defines the direction to meet the goal will become the leader. This requires an understanding of humanity, an understanding of courage and responsibility to others, a sense of ethics, morality and personal honor, and a sense of leadership.

At MMA, we teach our Cadets the concept of Loyalty through individual achievement and teamwork. Once a Cadet understands his own competency and gains confidence, he realizes his place in the team. He knows that he is an integral part in the success of any team effort. At that point, self-respect, a result of confidence, keeps the Cadet engaged in supporting the team. An unwillingness to "let his buddies down", becomes a secondary objective to the actual goal. This mutual support, this unacceptance of defeat, sustains the individual, often summoning up reserves of effort that were never known to exist. This value, this realization that the team and goal is more valuable and important that the individual, is Loyalty.

The faculty and staff of Marine Military Academy, civilian and military, all have the same sense of Loyalty to our common goal. The goal of helping your son make the difficult transition to becoming a young man and a valuable member of society. A person who will carry the values that he gains at the Academy into every aspect of his adult life.

"Talk to people in their own language. If you do it well, they'll say, 'God, he said exactly what I was thinking.' And when they begin to respect you, they'll follow you to the death."
Lee J. Iococca

Contact our Admissions Department for Information