Governor Moore Delivers Valley Forge Commencement Address

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ANNAPOLIS, MD — Governor Wes Moore today delivered the joint commencement address to the Valley Forge Military Academy and College Class of 2026. The governor’s address centered on the theme “Courage. Honor. Conquer.” — the motto and values instilled in cadets at Valley Forge. Governor Moore graduated from the Academy in 1996 and earned his associate’s degree from the College in 1998. 

The following is Governor Moore’s remarks as delivered:

Good morning, everybody!

First Captain, outstanding job, sir! Thank you, sir! I want to say how much I appreciate you, and how honored I am to be in a club that you are a part of. And also to your family, I want to say not just congratulations but you are nowhere near your ceiling. And the country is excited to see how far you are going to go and where you are going to take this. So, congratulations and well done, sir! Well done!

To Colonel Helgeson, to Lieutenant Colonel Drobenak, to Provost Smith, to the Head of School Aaron Barkley, to John English and the Board of Directors, to all the faculty, and the friends, and the family, and the alumni, I want to say what an honor it is to be here today.

I was thinking about how many times I have been in this chapel. 

How many Sunday chapels. How many vespers. How many times we have had a chance to walk through those doors and down this aisle.

And no time has it ever been more meaningful. No time has this place ever felt so important and so special.

I am thankful for this 91st graduating class of Valley Forge Military College. And I am thankful for the 98th graduating class of Valley Forge Military Academy.

Can everyone please put their hands together for this remarkable group of cadets?

We are proud of the fact that you all are joining this Long Line of Gray.

We are proud of the fact that you all are joining a club we are very proud to be a part of.

And I know this year has been complicated. I know it has been challenging. And frankly, I am sorry for it.

It is not because of you, but I know it has impacted you. It is not because of anything you have done, but I know these are things that sit on you. I know it might seem deeply unfair.

But the thing that I will say is this: this is the preparation that you are going to need for everything that you are going to see later on in life.

Because life oftentimes will be unfair. Life oftentimes will be challenging.

But if there is one thing that I can tell you, it’s every single challenge that I – and every single alumni – have ever felt in life, this school helped prepare for it.

The things we learned here. The experiences we had. And most importantly, the friendships that we forged.

Serving as your graduation speaker is not just an honor, it is a privilege. In many ways it is a bittersweet one. Because I know for the Academy, I never would have imagined being the last graduation speaker – and what that would feel like.

And I remember when I first walked onto this campus, many people ask me, they will say even to this day, “Why did you choose to go to Valley Forge?”

And I had to explain to them, most people don’t choose to go to Valley Forge. We were told to go to Valley Forge!

And I am in that rank. It was a place that my mom had been talking to me about. My mom is here. So once again, Mom, I want to say I am sorry for everything that I have done. But it is wonderful to have you here – in a place that truly has been one of the most important places in my life.

When I first walked onto this campus, the only thing going through my mind was how fast could I leave.

But as I walked back on this campus today, the only thing going through my mind was how thankful I am to call this place home.

How thankful I am that this was the place that served as the foundation.

Having a chance to be here with people who are ready to take on the world, and who are more prepared than you can possibly imagine.

Having a chance to come back to a place that holds not just some of my greatest memories, but also some of my most difficult ones.

And many people are here today because we are excited to welcome you to this Long Line of Gray.

And that includes many people who I had the opportunity to be here with.

I know we have got members of my five-year family. For all those old men, I am thankful that I was one of those old men that spent five years in the Academy – seven years total when you include the College.

And some of the first people that I had a chance to meet – people like my dear friends Tim Lancic and Sean Fox. 

And I know here today we have Sean’s son, Liam.

And Liam, I just want to tell you that your dad was my best friend.

And he is someone who sits in my heart every single day.

And we love you dearly.

But I cannot wait for you to get a little older so I can tell you some stories!

I remember being here in our first days, when I had a chance to meet people like Ty Hill, who my mom immediately pointed out as soon as she came on campus, and she said, “Listen, I need you to be my son’s mentor.”

And Ty Hill was the company commander of F Company at that time, and I am sure that is exactly what he wanted to hear from the mother of an eighth grader.

I tried to run away from this place. And what a lot of people don’t realize is that it kind of became tradition – I am sure some of you all might have experienced it – that there is a game that is played often with the plebes. 

For the ones who did not want to be here, they actually gave you maps on how to get out of here.

And I was given a map, after the fourth time that I tried to run away, that taught me how to get to the train station in Wayne – without realizing that part of the whole game, I guess, was giving you a map that led you to absolutely nowhere.

And as I was running through the woods back over there, and just getting deeper and deeper into the woods. And it got darker and darker and darker. Eventually, I just heard footsteps. And I realized that the footsteps were actually just my chain of command who followed me because the map was fake.

They just enjoyed watching me do circles.

That was where I had a chance to first meet Ty HillI. He took up the word from my mom and became not just a mentor, but someone who became one of my dearest friends and guides all throughout life.

I got a chance to see so many friends, like our friends from the band. We always laughed at the band, because under Colonel Jaynes, you guys worked harder than everybody else. And we laughed because you guys were always out there marching. And then we stopped laughing because at the parades, you guys were the only ones that got applause and cheers from everybody.

And Kenny, and Hunsicker, and the whole crew – how these became my lifelong brothers.

That I got a chance to see leadership up close when I got a chance to see our TAC officers and people like Colonel Davis, and at that time Major, now Colonel Seitz, who by the way is retired and how he has a beard, I am amazed to see Colonel Seitz with a beard, pretty extraordinary.

And they were always people who understood what it meant to give us a little bit of space and grace as we were going through our journeys, but always understood that we had to uphold a standard.

I think about conversations with people like Coach Mike, who as I was trying to decide about the Army versus college basketball, and helped to give me guidance. And getting a chance to meet friends like Garry Stills, who reminded me what a real Division I athlete actually looked like.

This place holds a very special place in all of our hearts.

These people hold a very special place in my heart.

We went through the heat together.

We went through the suck together.

We came out stronger because of it.

And my promise to each and every one of you is so will you.

This has prepared you for life in ways I am not sure if you might even fully appreciate right now.

That regardless of when or why you came to this place, you are now part of a very unique American experience.

That the cap shield knowledge that we all had to learn, I am here to tell you that while it seemed arduous and unnecessary while you were learning it and memorizing it, it is cap shield knowledge that you will never forget. And it is cap shield knowledge that will guide you and will serve as your foundation. 

And these folks are your brothers and sisters for life.

That Valley Forge taught you what it meant to serve any part of something bigger than yourself.

That Valley Forge taught you something that I wish more people in this society understood – that we will not lie, cheat, nor steal, nor tolerate those that do.

That Valley Forge taught us what it meant to actually live by a code.

Courage, Honor, Conquer.

And those aren’t just words. That is a standard.

And it is something that society needs your leadership on right now.

I wear three things every single day, and only three things. I mean, in addition to my clothes. 

But I wear them because each and every one of them make me better, and each and every one of them serve as my foundation.

The one thing I wear is my dog tags, which you can’t see them under here. But these are the dog tags that I got when I was 17 years old, when I was just graduating from Valley Forge and I joined the United States Army.

Dog tags that I have now worn every day since, because it serves as a foundation for who I am and what I believe in.

The second thing is my wedding ring. Because I had the joy of marrying my best friend, and someone who makes me better every single day, and someone who reminds me to be better every single day.

And the third thing that I wear is my Valley Forge ring.

Not my Johns Hopkins ring. 

Not an Oxford University ring where I got my master’s degree.

My Valley Forge ring.

I wear it both because every time I see an alumni, if they are not wearing theirs, they owe me the first beer. So I am testing you all later on today.

But I wear it because without this, nothing else would be real, guys.

Nothing else would have happened.

I am thankful that on my graduation day, I had this ring locked by Admiral Hill, who became one of the most important leaders in my life. 

A person who helped to end World War II, but then spent his years outside of the military making sure that the young men at Valley Forge could become productive and better citizens for all of us.

And I am thankful that Mrs. Hill, or as we all called her, Mom Hill, that she is here today.

Mom Hill, we love you, and thank you so much for everything you have continued to do for us.

And I am thankful that together, all those things remind me of the same thing that that ring says right on the side of it: Courage, Honor, Conquer.

And while today you might leave Valley Forge, the lessons that you learned here will not.

I understood courage, and how to serve, from here.

And that was my foundation back to service.

Courage.

One of my earliest memories that I have of life was watching my dad die in front of me when I was three years old.

Then my mother was forced to pick up three kids and move to my grandparents’ house in the Bronx. And I was angry. I was skipping school. I had handcuffs on my wrists by the time I was 11 years old.

My mom was threatening to send me to military school ever since I was eight years old.

And then by the time I was nine, she started giving me brochures to Valley Forge to show me she wasn’t playing around.

And I would look at her and I would say, “Mommy, I know I am going to work harder.”

And then by the time I was around 13 years old, she said, “No, I am going to send you to military school.”

And I said, “Mommy, I know I am going to work harder,” and she says, “No, you are going next week.”

And that was my first introduction to Wayne, Pennsylvania.

In my first days here, we were taught that – and my chain of command was very clear – that I was nothing. In fact, I was less than nothing. I was a plebe.

And the whole point was that they were going to break us down as individuals because they were going to build us up as a collective.

That there was no more “me,” only “we.”

And we had to go through this journey together.

Courage.

Courage is the decision to stay in spaces where you belong, regardless if belonging there is easy.

Where is Cadet Jamal Douglas?

Can you please stand, Cadet Douglas?

Cadet Douglas is from Silver Spring, Maryland.

And before he got here, he was caught between two paths – negative influences from friends back home, and what he knew in his heart was right.

That Jamal had the courage to come to Valley Forge.

And at Valley Forge, he has been a Cadet of the Month.

At Valley Forge, he played on the basketball team.

At Valley Forge, he ran cross country to become a better basketball player.

And Jamal constantly chooses hard over easy.

He constantly works to choose right over wrong.

And his courage has prepared him that next year he will be attending Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, and leading a lifetime of service.

Jamal, thank you for showing us what courage looks like! Well done!

Courage. 

The ability to do the hard right over the easy wrong.

The ability to know the standard and to never let up.

Valley Forge also taught honor.

After I completed the high school program, I made the decision to stay on at a Military College.

And after joining the Army at 17 years old – and by the way, joining the Army at 17 years old is complicated because you are not old enough to sign the paperwork yourself. My mother had to sign the paperwork for me.

But after my teenage years, she signed whatever paperwork the Army put in front of her.

And two years later, through the Early Commissioning Program – which I know many of you are about to do next – I became a Second Lieutenant at the age of 19, when I graduated from Valley Forge with my associate’s degree.

After seven years at the Forge, I then transferred to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

And at Hopkins is where I met a mentor of mine, and a great and a dear friend, Mike Fenzel, who just recently retired from the United States Army as a Lieutenant General Mike Fenzel.

While there, I entered into active duty in the Army Reserves and was promoted as a Reserve Commissioned Officer in the Army, becoming a First Lieutenant.

And then during my senior year of college, it was announced that I had earned and received a Rhodes Scholarship.

The plane that took off to send me over to England left just weeks after 9/11.

One of the first transatlantic flights that was permitted.

And to be very honest, I felt very confused and very conflicted. Because as I had friends who were now deploying to go overseas to serve, I was heading overseas to go to graduate school.

And Oxford gave me a greater understanding of the world. And frankly being in England in post-9/11, simply having an American accent in Oxford was enough to make you the center of a conversation for anyone willing to talk.

But I never forgot about the lessons that I learned here.

That while the military said, “We want you to go on and finish your degree, and we know where to find you…” 

In 2004, I was living in London – and it was cushy. I was getting a paycheck from an investment bank. I had a nice flat.

But I knew that something was missing.

Because Valley Forge instills in us the importance of living a “life of honorable service.”

And honor means sacrificing our egos, and maybe even our safety, to do something greater than ourselves.

While I was in London, Mike Fenzel called me, at that time a Major in the Army.

He was getting ready to deploy with the 82nd Airborne Division.

And he ended our call with one simple question: “When are you going to get in the fight?”

And as he said that, I did not just know that that question was indicting, I then looked down at my ring as he said it.

“Live a life of honorable service.”

Know that people have sacrificed in order for you to be here.

Know that the investments that were made in you demand that you be willing to make investments in others too.

And at that time, I had yet to honor my commitment to our country and live that “life of honorable service.”

And so in February of 2005, I came back to the United States.

I completed my Military Police Officer Basic Course. And in August of that year, I deployed from Benning to Joint Task Force Devil with the 82nd Airborne Division in Afghanistan.

Where I led soldiers in Khost, which is Forward Operating Base Salerno, on the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

During that time over there, we realized that we had multiple enemies that we had to fight, not just the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.

But also an entire society had been left behind and forgotten.

I served as the Director of Information Operations for the brigade.

I worked closely with psychological operations, public affairs, civil military, and our combat camera teams.

I led a team that supported five maneuver battalions and eight Provincial Reconstruction Teams.

Our mission was complex and demanding. But our enemy’s mission was simple and clear.

We were in constant competition with the Taliban for the trust of the Afghan people.

Our mission required us to be able to leave our comfort zone.

To work to “live a life of honorable service.”

Under constant watch of IEDs, and indirect fire, and rocket fire.

Typically, we would lead about five to 12 soldiers on missions.

We met with Afghan elders to try to get our message out to the people.

And while six Taliban had been brought in from the cold when I deployed to Afghanistan, by the time that our unit redeployed, we knew that hundreds had now joined those ranks.

I say that for this reason.

If I never attended Valley Forge, I would have never served in Afghanistan, because this place taught me what it meant to live an honorable life.

Honor is approaching every single decision the same way – even when it is hard and especially when it is hard.

Knowing your integrity is all you have got, so you better protect it with everything that you have got.

And it is the thing that people will remember most about you, more than anything else.

Honor is raising your hand to serve. 

Honor is coming back and continuing to serve.

Honor means keeping your word and doing what you say you are going to do – because at the end of the day, that is all you have.

Is Cadet Andrew Tuturice here?

This is a young man who understands honor.

Because he decided at age seven that he wanted to join the Coast Guard. God bless you!

At age seven I was not thinking about the Coast Guard.

He came to Valley Forge on a scholarship.

He became a Battalion Commander.

He received a congressional nomination to West Point and to the Coast Guard Academy.

And this fall, Andrew will be a Swab at the United States Coast Guard Academy.

Andrew, thank you for showing your commitment to honor, and what it means to serve this nation!

And conquer.

That Valley Forge told us and taught us how to conquer.

But what Valley Forge taught us is this: conquer is not a “what.”

Conquer is a “why.”

Conquer is understanding what it is that you want to get done – and then knowing that there is only a plan A, there is no plan B.

That is conquer.

After serving in the Army, I was running one of the largest poverty fighting organizations in this country.

And then I decided to run for governor.

I had never run for political office in my life.

I do not come from a political family.

In my first poll, I was polling at one percent.

“I am not voting” was polling higher than Wes Moore.

But it didn’t matter.

Because it wasn’t just about a “what.”

Conquer was a “why.”

We weren’t sure we were going to win.

But the “why” was very clear: we wanted to attack child poverty in a way that has never been attacked inside of our state.

Because it is completely unacceptable that any civilized society can call themselves civilized when so many children have their futures being determined before they even have a say.

So we set out, we were going to go and focus on making sure we can get this mission done.

Even if we lost, we were going to force child poverty into the conversation.

And it just so happened that, while all the political powers that be wanted to see another candidate win, it turned out that the people of Maryland had a different say.

And while I was never the choice of the Democratic or the Republican Party, the people of Maryland gave us an opportunity.

And it just so happened that when we got there, we never forgot that conquer was not just an electoral victory.

Conquer was remembering your “why.”

And so the work that we have continued to do together made it possible to create a first-of-its-kind bipartisan law – a bipartisan law.

Maryland is now the first state that has a state-led and a place-based anti-poverty program in this country's history.

We were able to do things like help raise the minimum wage and make sure that we were providing more support to our working families, including historic support for child care to help mothers and parents get back into the workforce.

Conquer was not the “what.”

Conquer is the “why.”

Making Maryland the first state in the country that now has a service year option for all of our high school graduates.

Not the “what.”

The “why.”

Cadets, conquer is not just a destination: it is a demonstration.

It is an uncompromising commitment to confront challenges, to refuse to surrender your standards, and to prove your excellence.

Is Cadet Katelyn Blevins here?

Cadet Blevins.

Cadet Blevins understands what it means to conquer.

Where in a single semester, Katelyn carried 32 credits – and still earned straight A’s.

And at the same time, she held the top leadership position in ROTC, the Battalion Commander.

She did not choose between academic excellence and leading her battalion.

She did both.

She did them both at the highest level, and she did them both at the same time.

And this summer, Katelyn heads to a competitive internship in Quantum Space, in beautiful Rockville, Maryland.

From the Forge to Maryland, Katelyn, we welcome you, we congratulate you, and we know that you will continue to conquer! Congratulations!

Courage, Honor, Conquer.

That is what this place taught us.

That is what is going to carry you through for the rest of your days.

That is why this place is so special.

And that is why it will always serve as the foundation for each and every one of us.

You know, I will close with this.

Being here is actually very humbling because, right here in this spot, as I know many of our alumni who are here will remember, this was actually the last place we saw our former Commandant of Cadets Colonel Billy Murphy speak.

Right in this exact spot.

Because Colonel Murphy called us all together on a Sunday evening, which was very unusual.

And he told us that he was diagnosed with cancer, and he had to leave the school to receive treatment.

And that was the last time that we saw him speak.

And from this exact pulpit, Colonel Murphy said this: “when it is time for you to leave this school, when it is time for you to leave your job, or when it is time for you to leave this earth, make sure that you worked hard to make sure it mattered that you were ever even here.”

Class of 2026, that is the assignment.

What makes this place so special was never the buildings, or the campus – and definitely not the meals.

It was the opportunity that it offered and the growth that it demanded.

It was reminding you that all throughout your life you are going to see difficult, and you are going to see hard, and you are going to see tough.

That is a given. How you respond to it is the assignment.

Valley Forge does not just shape the cadet. The corps shapes Valley Forge.

And because you all are now a part of the Long Line of Gray, you will live a life of service that this country needs.

You will summon the courage in your hardest moments.

You will honor the people and the country that you serve.

And you will conquer – because you know it is more about the “why” than anything else.

And even when it is time for you to leave this place: “make sure that you worked hard to make sure it mattered that you were ever even here.”

Hail, Alma Mater, dear,

High wave thy colors clear,

Thee we shall e’er revere,

All through the years.

Let courage be our stand,

Honor our guiding hand,

Conquer throughout the land,

Valley Forge, for thee.

Lead us with beacon bright.

Guide our steps firm and right

So we may always fight

Buff and blue for thee.

When our last taps are played,

May thou be not dismayed.

We pray as once he prayed,

Valley Forge, for thee.

Congratulations, Class of 2026, and welcome to the Long Line of Gray.

God bless you.

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