Middle and high school students who attended a camp sponsored by the CSRA Alliance for Fort Gordon scored top statewide honors.
The students are participating in the 2025-2026 CyberPatriot competition. Teams from Georgia and South Carolina grabbed first, second, and third place in multiple divisions.
“They learned everything from Windows to command lines, Python, cyber ethics, Cisco, and networking. All those types of things are skills needed in our nation because we have a critical shortage of cyber workers,” Dr. Tom Clark (CSM, US Army, Ret.), Executive Director of the Alliance. told ABD.
CyberPatriot, also called the National Youth Cyber Education Program, was created by the Air and Spaces Forces Association. Its focus is STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education for K-12 students. The goal is to encourage them to pursue careers in cybersecurity and related fields.
The local program was designated a CyberPatriot Center of Excellence by the CyberPatriot Program Office in 2018. Beginning with the camps in 2019, tuition for all students was paid for by the Alliance.
“We have local partners. We write grants, and we have board members who contribute to the effort. The other thing is, we are blessed to be less than 15 miles from the gates of Fort Gordon, so we have world-class instructors come from NSA (National Security Agency), Georgia,” explained Clark. “It’s kind of like if you want a quarterback to teach your kids football, and they send you Tom Brady. That’s the level of people teaching our kids cyber ethics and cyber skills.”
The local camps have graduated more than 1,000 students since 2019.
“These camps remove barriers and open doors,” Clark added. “They show students, many for the first time, that they belong in cybersecurity.”
The 2026 CyberPatriot State Round Competitions were held Dec. 11–14, 2025. The National Semifinal Competition was held Jan. 22–24, 2026, and teams are waiting for their results. Any team that placed in the semifinal competition moves on to the National Final Competition, scheduled for March 20-24 in Bethesda, Md.
Winning teams came from:
Georgia:
- Greenbrier High
- Greenbrier Middle
- Augusta Preparatory Day School
- Grovetown High.
South Carolina:
- Midland Valley High
- South Aiken High
- Highland Springs Middle
- Paul Knox Middle
The Alliance is already gearing up for this year’s CyperPatriot camps, to be held at the Georgia Cyber Innovation and Training Center (GCITC). Students will create security for virtual networks and defend them against simulated cyber threats.
“Standard camp is June 22 through 26th, and the Advanced camp is July 13 through 17,” said Clark, adding there will be an update to the curriculum. “It will be similar to years in the past, but each year, the curriculum is updated to reflect the growing needs of the nation.”
When registration is opened, the Alliance will post a link on its website:
https://www.fortgordonalliance.com/. Interested students can also speak with their teachers or school counselors to be considered for the camps.
School-by-school 2026 CyberPatriot State Winners:
Aiken County, South Carolina
Highland Springs Middle School
- Riverhawks 2 — 1st Place State Award, Middle School
- Riverhawks 1 — 3rd Place State Award, Middle School
Midland Valley High School
- MVHS NJROTC Team Alpha — 3rd Place State, Gold Division
Paul Knox Middle School
- Notorious With I.P. — 2nd Place State Award, Middle School
South Aiken High School
- CYBER OHANA – 1 — 2nd Place, Silver Tier
- South Aiken HS Team — 3rd Place, Silver Tier
Columbia County, Georgia
Augusta Preparatory Day School
- CyberCavs Blue Pumpkin — 3rd Place, Middle School
Greenbrier High School
- USS BOSN 1st Place State, All Service Division (Platinum) Qualified for National Semifinals
- ZIF Switch — 1st Place State, Open Division
- Wolfpack Byte Brigade: I²E²JM Unit — 1st Place, Middle School
- The Circuits — 2nd Place, Middle School
Greenbrier Middle School
Grovetown High School
- GT3 — 1st Place State, Gold Division
