| Army and Navy Academy | |
|---|---|
| Motto | Pro Deo Et Pro Patria (For God and For Country) |
| Established | Oct 9th, 1910 |
| Type | Private, Boarding |
| Location | Carlsbad, California, United States |
| Colors | Black and gold |
The Army and Navy Academy is an all boys, college preparatory boarding school for boys in grades 7-12 in Carlsbad, California. It complements its program with a West-Point style, JROTC program.
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The academy was founded by Thomas A. Davis on November 23, 1910. It was originally located in the Pacific Beach neighborhood of San Diego, California. The original building was part of the abandoned Balboa Hotel. In 1936 the Academy property was purchased by John Brown University and became the Brown Military Academy. It was the largest military academy on the West Coast at the time and was the fifth largest high school in the nation. After the death of John Brown, the university's founder, the Brown Military Academy property was sold to developers. The last graduating class at the Pacific Beach Campus was in 1958. The school moved to a new campus in Glendora, California, at the site of a former girls boarding school, also run by John Brown University. The Glendora campus operated until 1967 when the property was sold to Azusa Pacific College.
When Brown Military Academy moved to Glendora, investors were recruited by the former Headmaster, Louis Bitterlin, to open San Diego Military Academy on 17 acres (69,000 m2) in Solana Beach, California. The school was sold for over $1 million in 1977. Santa Fe Christian School now operates on the site.
In 1936, Davis and some of the staff moved to Carlsbad, California, where they opened the Davis Military Academy. DMA was renamed San Diego Army and Navy Academy, and in 1944 "San Diego" was dropped from the name giving it its present name Army and Navy Academy. The Academy was most notably led by Col. (Hon.) William Currier Atkinson, who served as the Academy's president for fifty years.
The Army and Navy Academy is governed by a Board of Trustees, who are unpaid volunteers made up mostly of alumni of the school, parents, past parents and interested local business men and women. Currently, the Officers of the Corporation are:
The Academy's president is Brigadier General (Ret.) Stephen M. Bliss.
The Academy is organized into an Upper School (9-12) and a Middle School(7-8). Each school is autonomous and is run by its own school head. The upper school has a college preparatory curriculum which is aligned with the requirements for entry into the University of California system.
Army and Navy Academy is boarding school with more than 90% of the students in residence during the school year. The Academy typically will have students from 15 states and 10 foreign countries. Cadets are allowed to go home most weekends.
The Academy's program is based on five pillars: Academics; Athletics; Leadership; Character Development; Residential Life activities, including student government and clubs. Within this framework, Cadets are developed in all areas so that upon their graduation, they will be prepared to live lives of service and excellence.
The Army and Navy Academy in conjunction with the U. S. Army JROTC program is designed to teach high school students the value of citizenship, leadership, service to the community, personal responsibility, and a sense of accomplishment, while instilling self-esteem, teamwork, and self-discipline.
The Corps of Cadets consists of an army-style Battalion divided into seven companies. Headquarters, Band, Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, and Delta are high school companies. Echo is the middle school company. Additionally, ANA has three separate detachments (mini-companies.) The high school Honor Guard Company consisting of the Davis Guard Drill team and the high school Color Guard is a part of Headquarters; as is, the Day Student Detachment consisting of all of the day students in the battalion. The middle school Honor Guard detachment consisting of the Stoll’s Guard Drill Team and middle school Color Guard are officially a part of Echo Company.
The rank structure of ANA is similar to that of the United States Army, the only changes being the exclusion of the rank of specialist and the replacement of Private E-1 with Basic Cadet. New cadets (Plebes) and those stripped of their rank have no insignia.
The logical progression for rank and duty position is as follows: (However, in special cases where cadets show a high aptitude for leadership, they may be advanced at a quicker rate.)
| Class | Duty Position | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Freshman | Cadet | Cadet Private to Cadet Corporal (possible Sergeant) |
| Sophomore | Team Leader or Squad Leader | Cadet Sergeant to Cadet Staff Sergeant |
| Junior | Squad Leader, Platoon Sergeant, First Sergeant, Staff NCO,*in special cases, in the event that a junior does specifically well in the Officer Candidate Course, they are permitted to fill in the job of a platoon leader or any other second lieutenant position and attain that rank. | Cadet Staff Sergeant, Cadet Sergeant, First Class, Cadet Master Sergeant, and Cadet First Sergeant |
| Senior | All high leadership positions | Officer, Second Lieutenant through Lieutenant Colonel, Major, and Command Sergeant Major. |
In order to achieve Junior duty positions and the rank associated with them, a cadet must successfully complete the Senior Non-commissioned Officers’ Course held in late August of every year.
In order to achieve Senior duty positions and the rank associated with them, a cadet must successfully complete the Officer Candidate Course (OCC) held in March and April of every year.
The Army and Navy Academy is a member of The Association of Boarding Schools, the Association of Military Colleges and Schools of the United States, the National Association of Independent Schools, and the California Association of Independent Schools.