The Bulldog Battalion began with Principal Wanda Yarbrough and Assistant Principal Joan Hunt during the spring of 1993. Through their efforts and hard work, the Bulldog Battalion and JROTC came to be an integral part of campus life at South Fork High School.

On 30 July 1993, by General Order #16, the first four-year JROTC program at South Fork High School was established. Major (MAJ) Clifford Yarbrough was hired as the first Senior Army Instructor (SAI). He was charged with gathering all of the necessary clothing, equipment and materials needed for the program prior to the fall semester.

170 Students were enrolled the first year and First Sergeant (1SG) Charles Powell, was assigned as an Army Instructor (AI) on 1 November 1993.

MAJ Yarbrough left in the summer of 1996 to take a position with another JROTC program in Benton, Arkansas. Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) James Daly was hired as the new SAI in July 1997. LTC Daly’s last active duty assignment before joining the faculty at South Fork High School was as a Professor of Military Science at the University of Southern Mississippi. 1SG Powell also left the program to assume another position at Jupiter High School. In 2012, Command Sergeant Major (CSM) Efrem Evans departed Fort Benning, GA and joined the Bulldog Battalion as an AI. In August 2016, MAJ Vazquez joined the Bulldog Battalion from Coconut Creek High School (Broward County) where he served 15 years as a JROTC Instructor. He also worked as a SAI for 2 years at a juvenile maximum security facility in Okeechobee County.  In 2017, Sergeant First Class (SFC) William Bonilla came from Dwyer High school (where he was an AI for 7 years) to assume duties as the third Army JROTC Instructor here at Bulldog Battalion. Finally, in February 2023, LTC Joy Lehnert was hired as the new SAI. Her last active duty assignment was as the Director of the Defense Language Institute in Washington DC.

In 1999, the Cadets worked very hard and achieved the highest honor a JROTC unit can receive by being named Honor Unit with Distinction. In February 2016, the Bulldog Battalion had their 1st JROTC Program Assessment (JPA) inspection and scored a 99% out of 100 points and again scored 99% in February 2020.

The unit crest of the Bulldog Battalion is the embodiment of the ideals of our program. The unit crest is a gold metal and enamel device consisting of a red and black quartered square which is arched at the top and displays a gold bulldog above the inscription “Tiens Ferme” in gold letters. At the top of everything, sits a gold arch of laurel and oak leaves. Red and Black are the School Colors. The arch shape denotes the passageway of education through which the Cadets enter and graduate. The Bulldog is the school mascot. The arch of laurel and oak symbolizes achievement in academics, sports and the arts. The motto “Tiens Ferme” translates to “Hold Firmly”.