Marine Military Academy

Marine Military Academy
Location
320 Iwo Jima Boulevard

Harlingen
,
Texas

United States

26°13′31″N 97°39′59″W / 26.225139°N 97.666472°W / 26.225139; -97.666472
Information
TypeMilitary school, boarding, prep school
Established1965
President
Colonel Christopher S. Dowling
Staff16 (military)
Faculty26
Enrollment250-275
Average class size
7
Campus size
142 acres (0.57 km2)
ColorsScarlet and gold
SongMarine Hymn
AthleticsBaseball, basketball, boxing, cross country, drill team, football, golf, jiu jitsu, rifle team, soccer, swimming, tennis, track and field, weightlifting, wrestling
MascotEnglish Bulldog
Websitewww.mma-tx.org

The Marine Military Academy (MMA) is a private college preparatory academy located in Harlingen, Texas, US, offering a curriculum for boys in grades 7–12 plus one year of post-graduate study. The school was founded in 1965. Its traditions and ideals are inspired by the United States Marine Corps (USMC), but the school is not affiliated with the USMC except through its Junior ROTC program.

The academy is situated on the site of the former Harlingen Army Airfield, established in 1941. After closing, the field was re-opened in 1952 as the Harlingen Air Force Base which closed in the early 1960s. Since opening its doors as the Marine Military Academy most of the original buildings have been replaced with modern facilities. The adjacent runways became the Valley International Airport.

Academics

Courses offered include regular high school classes as well as honors courses, Advanced Placement authorized courses and dual enrollment courses for which college credit may be earned. Most courses are taught year-long. In a 1976 interview, Instructor Sgt. Jim Morton claimed that MMA was "twice as strict as any other military school."[1]

The school has summer programs including a four-week bootcamp-style summer camp for boys 13–17, as well as ESL classes for foreign students.

Athletics

All cadets are required to participate in an extracurricular activity. Athletic activities at the school include jiu jitsu, boxing, baseball, football, tennis, soccer, raiders, track, and golf.

In the news

After a cadet had his throat slit in his room in 1997, reports of violence, hazing, and extensive use of drugs and alcohol among students spread throughout various media.[2] Enrollment declined by 50% in the year afterward, and the head of the school retired.[3]

Corps of cadets

The Marine Military Academy established one of the first Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (MCJROTC) in the nation.[4] All cadets are members of the MCJROTC unit, unless they fail to qualify for full membership because of age or citizenship. In this case they receive the training as associate members.

Rank structure

The cadet rank structure is based on the United States Marine Corps rank and billet system, with the addition of "Cadet" before the title.

Eighth grade students cannot advance beyond Cadet Lance Corporal, and freshmen cannot exceed the rank of Cadet Corporal. However, eighth graders and freshmen more often serve as non-rates, those ranks up to c/Lance Corporal who are not non-commissioned officers. As a sophomore, a cadet may be promoted to an NCO rank. Juniors make up most of the academy's staff NCOs.

Seniors are generally promoted to officer rank. They hold positions of command responsibility, as Platoon Commanders, Company Executive Officers, Company Commanders, Battalion Executive Officers, and Battalion Commanders. There are also many other Battalion Staff and Company Staff positions available for seniors not in billets of command.

Officer insignia
Officer rank c/Colonel c/Lieutenant Colonel c/Major c/Captain c/1st Lieutenant c/2nd Lieutenant
Enlisted insignia
(no insignia) (no insignia)
Enlisted rank c/Sergeant Major c/First Sergeant c/Gunnery Sergeant c/Staff Sergeant c/Sergeant c/Corporal c/Lance Corporal c/PFC c/Private Plebe

Iwo Jima monument

Iwo Jima Monument (1982)

The Iwo Jima monument, located on the Marine Military Academy grounds, is the original model, a creation of Felix de Weldon, and was used for the casting of the monument erected at Arlington National Cemetery.[5] After completion of the monument, this sculpture was placed in storage until the early 1980s when its creator donated it to the Marine Military Academy. Donations were collected to fund the transport and reassembly of the monument, which was supervised by de Weldon. On April 16, 1982, the monument was officially dedicated. The Marine Military Academy is also the final resting place of Corporal Harlon Block,[6] formerly a resident of Weslaco, Texas, one of the Marines immortalized in the famous photo of the flag-raising on Iwo Jima from which the sculpture is modeled.

Notable alumni

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Prep School Run Like Junior Marine Corps". Crescent News. Defiance, Ohio. March 19, 1976. p. 7.
  2. ↑ Zimmerman, Ann (December 25, 1997). "The Few, the Proud, the Battered". Dallas Observer.
  3. ↑ Trousdale, William (2007). "Chapter 11: Tradition into Tragedy". Military high schools in America. Walnut Creek, Calif: Left Coast Press. ISBN 978-1-59874-116-2. OCLC 71004238.
  4. ↑ "Marine Corps JROTC – History". Archived from the original on July 23, 2011.
  5. ↑ "Harlingen, TX - Original Iwo Jima Memorial and Museum". www.roadsideamerica.com. Archived from the original on October 26, 2007.
  6. ↑ Marine Military Academy
  7. ↑ Rushing, Josh (2007). Mission Al-Jazeera: build a bridge, seek the truth, change the world. Sean Elder (1st ed.). New York, NY Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 17. ISBN 978-1-4039-7905-6.
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