West Point Magazine Summer 2012

Experience leadership and ethics education based on the Army’s leadership framework of “Be, Know, Do” by bringing your team to the inspirational venue of The Historic Thayer Hotel at West Point

The Thayer Leader Development Group (TLDG) was founded in 2010 and is based at the Historic Thayer Hotel at West Point. Dr. Karen Kuhla, Executive Director of Education, joined TLDG from GE, where she led global leadership development programs. Dr. Kuhla has assembled a world-class faculty to teach leadership and ethics based on the Army's leadership framework of “Be, Know, Do” to help develop full-time leaders of character. Almost all faculty are West Point graduates, have deep military experience and Ph.Ds, and are well-known authors and experts in their respective disciplines.

“ The training and development conducted by TLDG was truly outstanding. All of us came away energized by what we learned and ready to take on the next leadership challenge. The topics taught were impactful, and the instructors were inspiring. I highly recommend this program for anyone looking to invest in the leadership development of their team.”

Joe DePinto, Ceo, 7-Eleven (USMA ’86)

The combined efforts of Dr. Kuhla and her world-class team have earned TLDG the honor of being ranked as one of the top 50 large leader development consulting companies, along with such organizations as Korn/Ferry, Ken Blanchard, Deloitte/ Leadership, Goldman Sachs Group, IBM, and Accenture.

TLDG has hosted over 100 corporate, non-profit, and educational organizations, by offering both customized and open-enrollment programs to over 3,500 leaders and students of leadership, at all levels. Many clients have limited military experience and most have preconceived opinions of what leadership is like in the military. Feedback from after-action reviews and assessments have shown that the training is consistently considered the best they have ever received, and they have a newly gained perspective and respect for our U.S. military and its leadership.

“I cannot tell you enough how much I support TLDG. The lessons, fully grounded in the latest leadership research and combat-tested, are lessons not only relevant but desperately needed in Corporate America! Values-based leadership...it is sorely lacking and in my opinion only one institution can credibly deliver that message.”

Stephen Cannon, CEO, Mercedes-Benz, USA (USMA ’86)

All groups receive a customized experience, based on a unique 4-pronged approach to development. Programs can include any combination of the offerings. You may experience academic excellence in the classroom, around topics one would expect to hear about developing leaders of character, along with experiential learning activities such as crewing on the Hudson River, staff rides of the Battle of Stony Point, and orienteering. Clients are offered the opportunity to have retired General Officers (West Point graduates) serve as full-time mentors/facilitators through the Senior Advisor Program. Also available is a stellar cadre of Keynote Speakers who provide compelling, inspirational addresses, with messaging specific to your objectives. Programs can range from 1 day to 1 week or more, over the course of multiple months. The decision is yours.

“ There is nothing more important to P&G’s continued success than the development of strong leaders with character, values, and capabilities required to lead. And your team’s personal commitment to tailoring this event to our unique needs is what made it work...Thank you for a truly outstanding experience.”

Robert McDonald, Chairman & CEO, Procter & Gamble (USMA ’75)

West Point, referred to as the “Key to the Continent” by General George Washington, is where you will find the Historic Thayer Hotel. The Hotel and its views of the majestic Hudson are inspirational. The Hotel has recently completed a multi-million dollar renovation including world-class conference facilities, and remains one of the most inspirational properties in the United States. In addition to tapping into this venue for a one-of-a-kind leader development experience, many companies also choose to host their corporate meetings there.

Bring your team home to West Point and share with them the lessons that have helped shape you as a leader. This will show pride in your Alma Mater and also give exposure to many individuals who might not have had the opportunity to visit West Point. The experience will continue to have positive cascading effects on us all. Please contact TLDG at your convenience, to discuss your objectives and explore how TLDG might be of value to your team. www.ThayerLeaderDevelopment.com or 845-446-4731 ext. 7970

William F. Murdy, USMA ’64 Chairman of the Board, Thayer Leader Development Group

Rick Minicozzi, USMA ’86 Managing General Partner, Thayer Leader Development Group

Dear Fellow Graduates and Friends:

The Long Gray Line became a little longer, and stood a bit straighter, as the Class of 2012 graduated on Memorial Day weekend. With their number, the WPAOG swells to over 49,000 living graduates, all united by the common bond of: Duty, Honor, Country. A month later, the Class of 2016 reported to the Cadet in the Red Sash and started their journey through our alma mater to become leaders of character for our Army and nation. I join all of you in wishing them every success while at West Point.

After the Class of 2012 walked off the stage, they joined you as members of the West Point Association of Graduates, an organization that has existed since 1869 to serve West Point and its graduates. Over the past 143 years your WPAOG has helped transform the U.S. Military Academy through the Bicentennial Campaign, promoted West Point around the globe via more than 125 West Point Societies, and is now dynamically leveraging technology so that all graduates can “Grip Hands” with each other and help keep West Point strong.

Serving on one of WPAOG’s governing bodies, the Board of Directors or the Advisory Council, is exceptionally rewarding, and I encourage all interested graduates to apply. Participating in WPAOG governance is not just for “old grads!” We’re especially looking to broaden representation from younger classes and all ethnic groups to help lead this great organization, so don’t self-select out of consideration by thinking it’s not for you. Information about how to be nominated and apply is on our website by clicking “About,” and then “Governance.” Or, just drop me a note and I’ll be happy to assist.

One of the most important things WPAOG does is honor those “of an earlier day.” For many years we did so in ASSEMBLy, and for the past decade we printed TAPS with Memorial Articles of deceased graduates. With advances in technology, we saw an opportunity to make Memorial Articles and testimonials available for all. Going forward, when we receive notification of a graduate’s death, the information will be published on our “Be Thou at Peace” webpage with a link to a Memorial page where testimonials may be written by friends and classmates.

Once the Memorial Article is written and approved by the next of kin, it will be placed above the testimonials and remain there, eventually to be made part of each graduate’s Cullum File. Memorial Articles from TAPS and ASSEMBLy written over the past decade will be uploaded (most recent first) in the coming weeks so that those of the Long Gray Line who’ve gone before us will have a permanent home. WPAOG will continue to print TAPS and mail it with the summer issue of West Point magazine as long as there is a demand.

Thank you all for your support of the Corps of Cadets and this wonderful national treasure that is West Point. I look forward to seeing many of you at reunions or football games this fall.

West Point, for Thee!

The mission of West Point magazine is to tell the West Point story and strengthen the grip of the long Gray line.

P UBLISHER West Point Association of Graduates

Robert L. McClure ’76, President & CEO

E DITOR I n C HIEF norma Heim editor@wpaog.org

E DITORIAL A D v ISOR y G ROUP

John Calabro ’68 Kim McDermott ’87

Jim Johnston ’73 Samantha Soper

A D v ERTISI n G Amelia velez 845.446.1577 ads@wpaog.org

A DDRESS U PDATES

Tammy Flint West Point Association of Graduates 698 Mills Road, West Point, ny 10996-1607 845.446.1642 • address@wpaog.org

MEMORIAL ARTICLE C OORDI n ATOR

Marilee Meyer 845.446.1545 • memorials@wpaog.org

CO n TE n T

Marissa Carl

Keith Hamel

D ESIG n Marguerite Smith

Opinions expressed in this magazine are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, policy, or attitude of the U.S. Army, United States Military Academy, West Point Association of Graduates, its officers, or the editorial staff. The appearance of advertisements in this publication does not necessarily constitute an endorsement by the U.S. Army, United States Military Academy, West Point Association of Graduates, its officers, or the editorial staff for the products or services advertised.

POSTMASTER

WestPointis published quarterly in Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall by the West Point Association of Graduates, 698 Mills Road, West Point, NY 10996-1607

WestPointis printed by Dartmouth Printing company.

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Subscriptions may be ordered for $35 (domestic mail) online at WestPointAOG.org; by calling 800.BE.A.GRAD; or by sending a check to WPAOG, West Point magazine, 698 Mills Road, West Point, NY 10996-1607. (International shipping incurs additional fees: please inquire.)

c over

Photo: Ted Spiegel

As you read this issue of West Point magazine, remember that many members of the Long Gray Line currently are deployed in combat. We honor all those who served or are serving and those who have fallen.

Bob McClure ’76 President & CEO West Point AOG

l

COvER STORy

Wisdom and Warfare: DSS and the Art, History, and Theory of Military Strategy

The Department of Military Instruction’s sole major has become one of the most popular at the Academy in just five years of existence.

34 2012 Sandhurst

Competition: Photo Essay

Fifty-five teams from U.S. service academies, ROTC programs, and military academies all over the world competed in this annual challenge, ongoing since 1967.

42 Small Unit Tactics Team: Different name, but the “Strong” Remains the Same

20 International Summer: Military Training Abroad

Cadets travel to norway, Austria, and Spain to combine intense military training with various language and cultural immersion experiences.

Photos: Ted Spiegel, Mike Strasser, USMA PAO, MAJ Thomas

ampersberger, TherMilAk

A Letter from the Superintendent

The Official West Point March was played stirringly by the USMA Band and moved the thousands in the reviewing stands to strong emotions. The next leadership cadre from the Class of 2013 stepped up and marched their companies past the crowd and their “firsties.” That evening, we were privileged to hear the 39th chief of staff of the US Army, General Ray Odierno, speak at the Graduation Banquet for the Class, their families, and guests. Secretary of the Army, John M. McHugh, also joined us for that special event. The Chief spoke about the Class’ future role as commissioned officers and of their primary commitment to serving and leading Soldiers. The following morning, a blazing sun bore down on thousands more gathered at Michie Stadium for the commencement and commissioning of the Class of 2012. vice President Joe Biden spoke of the nation’s great regard for the history and the sacrifice of the United States Military Academy. He saluted the certain promise of our newest graduates and then took the time to shake every hand as they received their diplomas. That afternoon, there were hundreds of individual and small group “pinning” ceremonies, from the Patton statue to Trophy Point, as family members and officer mentors placed the gold bars of a 2nd Lieutenant, U.S. Army on the latest additions to the Long Gray Line. not forgotten in the pageantry of the final two days of this year’s graduation week was the unheralded, collective commitment and competence of a first tier staff and faculty who taught, coached, and mentored these cadets for their future military service. We wish the very best to the Class of 2012. They will professionally and confidently serve their Army and the nation through their values-based leadership.

Earlier in the week, we were proud to host five reunion classes from 1942, 1947, 1952, 1957, and 1962. Their spirit, pride, energy, and their large presence were felt throughout the post. We were also honored to celebrate the induction of five new Distinguished Graduates: LTG Henry Hatch, Class of 1957; General Butch Saint, Class of 1958, Major William Willoughby, Class of 1960; General narcisco Abaya (Philippines), Class of 1971; and LTG William Lennox, Class of 1971. The Alumni review and wreath ceremony was canceled possibly by cadets chanting successfully to Odin the

rainmaker but the guests of our Distinguished Graduates had a great meal in Washington Hall and were able to observe the formal ceremony.

As you are reading this, the Class of 2016 has arrived at West Point to begin their own journey towards service as leaders of character. With 15,000 applications and an entering Class of 1150, these new cadets are smart, competitive, fit, and ready for the challenge of Cadet Basic Training. We welcome them to USMA! The upperclassmen are participating in relevant and rigorous summer military, physical, and academic individual development programs and courses around the world. These include Cadet Troop Leading Training in our Army: Airborne, Air Assault, Sapper and other skill courses; as interns with U.S. Government agencies; and in languagebased and other focused academic study around the globe. All of those opportunities are a carefully managed and focused part of the leader development system of USMA. And all are supervised by a highly experienced and professional officer and civilian cadre on our staff and faculty.

We ask all graduates to consider helping us with our major new strategic communications project the USMA visitors Center. We will begin construction of this state of the art gateway to our Academy as soon as additional funding is allocated. It is essential that we tell the compelling story of West Point to the nation in the very best manner through exhibits of a very high standard, those that match the brilliant past and future of West Point. The visitor Center the first major reference point for the million visitors we host each year will make a much needed impact and will highlight the accomplishments of all our alumni. Thanks for your support!

Finally, thanks for what you do as our graduates each and every day for the United States Military Academy. In my travels throughout the United States for this year ’s Founders Day events and in the privilege of addressing many reunion classes this year, I have seen the passion, the commitment, the allegiance, and the accomplishment of our graduates. your support is steadfast, very much appreciated, and an inspiration for the Corps of Cadets. In your dedication to the values of West Point, they see the bright promise of their own lives.

Army Strong!

David H. Huntoon Jr. ’73 Lieutenant General, U.S. Army 58th Superintendent, U.S. Military Academy

The Class of 2012 stood proud as the reviewing party took its place for the graduation parade on a partly sunny morning with a very damp Plain.

WiSDoM & WArfAre:

DSS and the Art, History, and Theory of Military Strategy

By Ted Spiegel , Guest Writer

Photos: Ted Spiegel

Fiveyears ago, a new academic major appeared on the West Point curriculum, Defense and Strategic Studies (DSS), offered from within a department–Military Instruction (DMI)–which had never offered one before. Now one of the most popular majors at the Academy, DSS can be thought of as the graduate program to DMI’s Core Military Science Program (MX). Lieutenant Colonel Brian De Toy has headed DSS since its inception and adeptly describes its difference from the traditional MX: “There’s one big difference between our DSS major and MX courses; they are all based in current Army doctrine, but a lot of what we do in DSS is not based in doctrine (which changes), it’s based in theory (which can be seen as timeless).” The DSS major requires three courses: DS310: Tactics, DS470: Strategy, and DS498: Colloquium in Military Affairs (capstone projects done by large teams). Cadets can also draw upon the following DSS courses to fulfill their major requirements: 345: Military Innovation, 350: Military Communication, 360: Special Ops/Low Intensity Conflict, 385: Sustaining the Force, 455: Comparative Military Systems, and 460: Counterinsurgency.

Each DSS course provides food-for-thought for military thinkers. For example, a stated learning objective for DS310: Tactics, which is taught by Major James Beaulieu, is to “demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the tactical, operational, and strategic levels of war with emphasis on the strategic effect of tactical action.” A prime measure of a student’s proficiency is the four-hour exercise in DMI’s West Point Simulation Center. Although the exercise takes place in Washington Hall, the interactive wargaming program VBS-2 can place its participants anywhere in the world within minutes. The cadet platoon assumes virtual reality roles as members of 1/A/1-504 PIR, operating out of COP SABER in the Wazir neighborhood of Baghdad. Throughout their coursework, cadets are exposed to the concept that tactical actions can have strategic impact: the death of civilians is akin to friendly-fire casualties. First platoon’s cadet leader briefs his non-coms, “I want you to dismount, position your guys in this building. You’re going to set up a support-by-fire position aimed at that building where Iraqi Police spotted a high-value individual and his five-man security team. Second squad is going to cover all of this area right here. Friendly-fire is the biggest consideration. Once weapon squad is in position, I’ll be walking around, telling you what you need to do— what you can’t do.”

Beaulieu must have had Robert Burns’ “the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry” in mind as he presents the platoon with

more complex challenges. In his second scenario, some civilians are in the line of fire. In a third, a large crowd of civilians shows up. In yet another, the high-value individual and his security team start firing at the platoon from inside a mosque. The DMI staff knows this is one class where nobody catches any Zs.

DS470: Military Strategy, taught by Major Jonathan Fursman, takes cadets through three focus areas—strategic art, strategic theory, and U.S. strategic systems and planning. As the cadets proceed through their first 30 lessons, they explore the evolution of warfare. During their four lessons on the Peloponnesian War between Sparta and Athens, they tackle questions like, “Is your strategic approach to exploit your enemy’s weaknesses or to improve your weaknesses and defeat the enemy’s strength?” As in the early days of the U.S. Military Academy, the theories of Sun Tzu (500 B.C.) and 19th century military authors Antoine Henri Jomini and Karl Von Clausewitz are still studied. Their thinking has directly influenced the principles of war, which are concerned with the concepts defining “objective, offensive, mass, economy of forces, maneuver, center of gravity, units of command, security, surprise, and simplicity.” Germany’s flawed WWI “Schlieffen Plan,” modern air power theory, maritime theory,

“The state which separates its scholars from its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards and its fighting done by fools.”

–attributed to Thucydides

The West Point Simulation Center, equipped with 40 computer workstations and 12 call-for-fire trainers, hosting a combat exercise. Center Director Major Dan Kidd (standing), provides tactical support for the OPFOR cell who are role playing as insurgents.

Previous Page: Simulation Center Manager vic Castro makes a final system check prior to a four-hour tactical exercise that places cadets within Baghdad. A virtual representation of the Green Zone is on the display at left.

The Impact

“having cadets pursue the Defense and Strategic Studies (DSS) major appears very valuable to the Army,” says Colonel Walter Rugen ’89, Military Fellow with the center for Strategic and International Studies. “Developing leaders who are adaptable and can think and act strategically is critically important for the future of our Army and nation.”

Major Ryan Wylie ’98, Executive Officer of the 1st Battalion, 325 Airborne Infantry Regiment, who has served with four DSS graduates in the last 18 months in the 82nd Airborne Division, says: “DSS majors have a context for understanding the tactical and professional challenges they face, derived in large part from their unique coursework that blends historic, strategic, and comparative perspectives.” When asked about the impact of the DSS major in the field, Wylie brought up the case of captain Victor Basher ’08, who received his degree when DSS was still called the Military Arts & Sciences (MA&S) major. “Basher was put to work in Iraq as a member of a training team assigned to the Anbar Police Directorate leadership,” Wylie says. “Basher was uniquely prepared for this position in part because he was a former DSS major and had studied about training foreign armies and the lessons of U.S. trainers in Iraq who had come before him; and most importantly, through the entirety of his DSS coursework, he learned to synthesize the cultural, military, social, and political factors at work in Iraq and to make sense of the complex environment in which he operated.”

Captain Adam Suter ’08, who is currently serving as the Operations Officer for a joint Army/Air Force/U.S. State Dept. Provincial Reconstruction Team in Eastern Afghanistan and served as a company Fire Support Officer with the 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry in Iraq in 2009, graduated just as MA&S was transitioning to DSS, but took the tactics, special ops/low intensity conflict, and counterinsurgency courses found in today’s curriculum. “Knowing and understanding how to think about the counterinsurgency environment allowed me to better grasp the complexities of the political and social environment of Iraq while serving there during its transition,” Suter reports. commenting on DSS’s contribution to the Army, he says, “The DSS major enables junior leaders to better incorporate strategicand operational-level planning into tactical decisions at the company and platoon level. In my current assignment, working with a multi-national force, tactical decisions made at my level can have direct consequences on the operational and strategic outcomes of the region.”

First Lieutenant Paul Kearney ’09, Executive Officer of the 1st Squadron, 71st calvary Regiment, who studied irregular warfare as a DSS major, says, “All of the courses dealt with the history and theory of unconventional/irregular warfare and gave me the specialized knowledge I needed when I found myself as a platoon leader in a remote outpost away from headquarters

and the National Security Council policy formation process are also addressed. Fursman equips his students with provocative observations like, “Looking back over the history of successful strategic decisionmaking, you can see that the inability to understand certain basic principles and adhere to them were the cause of failure.” On the flipside, he follows with the lesson, “But it is essential to learn about the commanders who realized, ‘in this particular case, what I learned is not going to work and I have to do this instead.’” A central theme of this course is that the U.S. Army understands how to achieve operational success. Fursman reminds his students:

“We have a lot of capabilities and we know how to apply them. In certain situations, you’re going to do ‘this and this.’ But at the strategic level, in relation to the conflicts we find ourselves in now, you really have to think hard about how to develop a military objective which can match your political objective. The most important questions are often not, ‘what approach do we take?’ but rather, ‘are we choosing the right objective?’ The Army does a great job engaging an enemy, but the question is ‘does that actually move us towards our political objectives?’ Ask, ‘are we choosing the right objectives?’ instead of, ‘how do I accomplish the objective?’”

From Fursman’s lesson, it is obvious that DSS is encouraging cadets to become problem solvers—first by understanding what the problems are, then by developing solutions that can be effective. While there is no expectation that DS470 students will graduate and immediately serve as a four-star’s right-arm strategist, DSS sees itself as part of an overall foundational approach. As these strategy students go forward through tactical and operational levels in their careers, they will have a way of thinking that allows them to understand strategic implications and see their experiences through a strategic lens. One lesson that helps cadets leap forward two decades on this foundational approach is the “Strategic Planning Exercise (SPE) for the Secretary of Defense,” which is described as follows: “The SPE is a plausible, but artificial West African scenario designed to assess students’ ability to translate strategic concepts into strategic solutions and to effectively communicate those conclusions to a strategic decision maker.” In this exercise, student groups use an abbreviated campaign-planning process to demonstrate their capacity for connecting military objectives to political objectives in a contemporary strategic environment. The cadet operating groups need to provide both mission analysis and course-of-action briefings, and their plans can draw upon three divisions (two Army, one Marine) with multiple line and support brigades, including two aviation brigades. They are handed a 64-page briefing book and directed to use the library, web resources, and their “thinking caps” to answer: where, when, what, how, and why?

In DS455: Comparative Military Systems, Major Jonathan Davis leads his students through an examination of NATO, Russian, Chinese, Israeli, and U.S. national security systems. Like many West Point instructors, Davis calls on his own wartime experience to reinforce theory with practice, creating a more holistic presentation. As a second lieutenant, Davis started reading Carl von Clausewitz as part of a graduate school course he took on his own. After taking this course, Clausewitz’s “Principles of War” were rattling around in his mind. By the time he became a company commander, Davis had a fairly workable understanding of how Clausewitz would look in practice, which enabled him to quickly identify the Clausewitzian aspects of his problem in Baghdad and design operations to bring about the desired end result. He teaches his students about the Clausewitz “trinity” (between the government, the security forces, and the population; all of which must be kept in equilibrium if a war is to be waged to a successful conclusion) and demonstrates how it applied to his duties in Iraq. “In Iraq, we had the intersection of two trinities: the Iraqi government and the Iraqi security forces connecting to the Iraqi population, and on the other side you had the shadow governments of various insurgencies and their military forces

shortly after graduating from my Basic Officer leadership course (BOlc) training.” Speaking about his colloquium in Military Affairs (DS498) course, Kearney says, “The course was invaluable; it was a last check that allowed us to reflect back on our formation as officers and really become aware of where we were coming from and where we were going in our profession of arms.”

First Lieutenant nate Custer ’10 believes that DSS cadets benefit from more thorough analysis and discussion of military strategy. Reflecting on his tactics class, custer says, “The tactics class gave me a far greater amount of information than my core military science classes about mission planning, and I credit the lessons in DS310 with putting me ahead of my peers during platoon planning exercises in BOlc.” he continues, “DSS graduates have a working knowledge that I believe will give them greater situational awareness and a higher comfort level than their peers when they assume roles with operational or strategic control. In the current operational environment, smallunit actions carry a higher strategic weight than in any prior conflict, and decisions at even the individual or team level can have theater-wide and even global impacts.”

Photo: Ted Spiegel

A BLUE Force Squad Leader supervises the placement of key interactive weapon systems in preparation for offensive maneuvers. Computer programs can transport cadets worldwide in minutes, placing a broad arsenal of military resources at their disposal.

also connected to the Iraqi population,” Davis says. “In our small locality, we secured the population largely because the Iraqi security forces and the Iraqi government at the time were incapable of doing so.” Davis also teaches how strategic objectives are accomplished by tactical performance. His lesson boils down to, “If you secure the population, then they will become more confident in their perceptions of security and will be more agreeable to feed you information to help defeat the insurgency as well as help the local security forces.” And Davis has evidence to support his lesson. “We went from a contested area in Iraq,” he says to his students, “to one where the trinity had clearly become stable in favor of the Iraqi government, and the trinity that the insurgency had depended on to survive had collapsed.” In his opinion, this is how DSS takes military professionalism up a notch.

De Toy expresses the overall DSS objective simply: “We’re hoping to provide the Army with an inquisitive young officer who understands the bigger picture and their part in it, open to their experiences and education along the way, so that by the time they’re at War College they can take on strategic responsibilities; and those responsibilities are coming sooner and sooner.” When asked how he defines “thinking strategically,” De Toy offers insights which permeate the program he has shaped over the last five years.

“It may sound trite but it’s important to not be caught only in the here and now. Sometimes as a very senior leader you’ve got to get focused like a laser on the absolute here and now, but you’ve also got to have the context for what’s happening—like what’s happening in Afghanistan today needs to be seen as part of the larger dimension, as part of American action in the Middle East and Central Asia. It can’t just be seen as getting the Afghans ready to take over their fight for themselves right now. Is that necessary? Yes, that’s great, but if that’s all we’re doing, that’s like the vision of a shooting range where you’re always shooting at the 50-meter target or the enemy who’s closest to you. If you’re always shooting the enemy right in front of you, you’re not shooting deep. You’re not shooting the 350-meter target, the 400-meter target. That’s where you’re going to change the battlefield. If you’re always going to let them get right up on you and you just hit the guy in front, then you’re never going to change the battlefield. Play that out with the Taliban— you can’t shoot your way out of these wars. You’ve got to think—what are the underlying causes? What are the underlying feelings and thoughts of the people on both sides, and how can we help them find the solutions within themselves?” 

Ted Spiegel is a long-time contributing writer for various WPAOG publications and formerly worked for West Point Admissions.

Photo: Ted Spiegel

During a staff ride stop in front of the MacArthur Monument, LTC Brian De Toy discusses strategic moments in America’s wars with students in his DS498: Colloquium in Military Affairs Course.

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Q&A THe LeADerS’ LeADer: LTC Brian De Toy

By Keith J. Hamel , WPAOG staff

In the summer of 2006, when the hiring committee was looking for a director to oversee the nascent Military Arts & Sciences (MA&S) major, which had only been in existence since 2004, they knew they wanted a leader. Upon hiring lieutenant colonel Brian De Toy, they got an individual with 21 years of Army experience, seven of which involved officer development (as the head of the ROTc program at the University of Kansas and two tours with the history Department at West Point); more important, they found a director who lives his lessons. like the subjects in his case studies (e.g., Emory Upton, class of May 1861, who employed unconventional tactics to break the confederate line at the Spotsylvania court house in 1864), De Toy believes in taking risks to develop something new. his new development came in 2009, and it is called the Defense and Strategic Studies (DSS) major.

Q: How did you transform MA&S into DSS?

A: One of the things that I think I brought to the table during the interview process is that I looked at the program and saw that MA&S was a diamond in the rough, capable of being more than a major for combat infantry, which was kind of the rap at the time. When I looked at the courses, I thought to myself, “This looks like a graduate school program in security or strategic studies,” and I went into the interview process with this vision of retooling or reshaping the major to fit that kind of curriculum. I think this caught the eye of the hiring committee. After I was hired, I approached the five MA&S instructors and two others who were coming on board, explained my vision to them, and asked, “What do you think?” They all agreed immediately saying, “You are right, that’s what this program can be.” Then we started benchmarking against grad schools across the country and in canada and Britain and put together a curricular change that we submitted in the spring of 2008. By the start of May 2009, everything was approved. We transitioned from the multiple tracks of MA&S (such as campaign and counter-insurgency) to one single path for DSS. The cadets still have options, but we have a solid base of three courses for our core, the three either/or option courses, and the two electives.

Photo: Marissa

staff

Q: What philosophy guided this change?

A: As I was preparing for my interview, I came across a study done by the Army War college on behalf of General Eric Shinseki ’65. he had tasked the War college soon after 9/11 to examine the ways in which the Army creates strategic leaders. he thought that we weren’t doing as well as we should. In 2003, they came back with a four-point report: one of which is that we can’t wait until officers get to War college at the 20-year mark to teach strategy. It was explicitly stated that we need to start at the undergraduate level. West Point does this in a number of ways, but DSS does it in a holistic way with all of the courses in this major focused on this goal. Part of the charter I gave myself when I was hired is to do our part to achieve the chief of staff’s vision.

Q: How does the structure of the DSS major fit into General Martin Dempsey’s “Leader Development Strategy for a 21st Century Army,” and other Army leadership doctrine?

A: Some of our supplemental course readings are Army manuals, but DSS is not trying to replace the Army’s education system. A field manual is a guide detailing how to do something. For intellectual rigor, DSS has gone up a level and is reaching beyond Army writers at Fort leavenworth. For DSS, the “why” of doctrine is more important that the “how” or “what.” The doctrine will change; the manuals are written all the time. For this reason, our tactics course doesn’t teach prescriptive tactics, but rather it teaches how these things came about; how soldiers who were faced with challenges developed something to deal

with it. Our grads are going to be faced with challenges that we don’t even know about yet, but if they understand that others have faced this before by being open and flexible, then they can develop the solutions themselves. And so the “why” is much more critical than the prescription found in doctrine. We definitely support what General Dempsey is looking to do to develop strategic leaders and thinkers, and tactical and operational command that’s what we do in the classroom however, I don’t look at Army doctrine to develop goals for the major. I look more at West Point’s goals for creating leaders and ask how we can support that. Going back to Shinseki, we need to do a better job exposing cadets to strategic thought at an earlier time. Granted, they are not leaving here as 22-year-old strategists, but with these concepts in mind as they move further through Army education at the schoolhouse, in addition to all of their experience in units by the time they are majors or lieutenant colonels, it will all resonate with them and make sense. They will be able to accumulate and grasp this information more readily than others who have never heard about or thought about these concepts.

Q: What feedback are you hearing from DSS graduates down range?

A: I hear very, very positive comments from our majors out there in the Army. They report that several DSS courses have had a direct impact on their current assignments. Because of the nature of the type of fight we’ve been in, most students report on the usefulness of the cOIN (counterinsurgency) course.

Tactics has been another big one about which I’ve heard great feedback. lastly, the capstone, which has evolved over time, has challenged them and helped them understand how an officer intellectually prepares for war. For example, the Gettysburg Staff Ride, studying a historical battle, has had a tremendous influence on many of them. They appreciate that so many of these lessons, especially those on leadership, are timeless. And given that they are at the rubber-meets-the-road practical level of leadership, they get it. But overall the major, as all majors should do, supports their own inclinations and interests. This major reinforces the students̓ natural interests in the Army and challenges them to be better soldiers.

Photo: Ted Spiegel

LTC Brian De Toy addresses students in his DSS498: Colloquium in Military Affairs course in front of Thayer Monument.

BUILDInG SKILLS AnD LIv InG LEADERSHIP:

Cadet Basic Training (CBT)

The means to competence and character begins with Cadet Basic Training (CBT), traditionally called “Beast Barracks.” Comprised of two sections, this six-week program is charged with transforming the 1,200 or so young citizens entering the United States Military Academy at West Point from civilians to fourth-class cadets. The first three weeks of CBT cover academic issues and military training. Academically, CBT-1 tackles placement testing, in-process screening, equipment acquisition, and introductory Army-themed lessons (such as how to march and drill, as well as knowledge of Army structure and basic operations). On the military training side, CBT-1 starts with marksmanship since, as Lieutenant Colonel John Grantz, the Chief of Military Training in the Department of Military Instruction, says, “Handling a weapon is one of the most fundamental soldiering skills.” The new cadets spend five days training on the M-4 rifle (including proper loading, targeting, firing positions, and weapon care) before being deemed weapon-qualified. At the end of the first three weeks, a squad challenge tests how well the new cadets have mastered marksmanship, as well as physical and communication training. They may not realize it at this point, but these new cadets are slowly and surely gaining the skills and developing the values (such as teamwork,

Photo: Marissa c arl/WPAOG staff

“The design of the West Point Experience flows from the premise that commissioned officers lead most effectively when they possess both competence and good character.”

–West Point: Information for New cadets and Parents, class of 2013 catalog

Above: Fire Team Live-Fire Training, one part of Cadet Basic Training, requires new cadets to advance through the course in squads while taking out pop-up targets. Opposite page: Usually during their last summer, cadets participate in Cadet Leader Development Training, which consists of five-day modules that simulate deployment scenarios.

Summer Training at the Academy

self-confidence, and honor) that will carry them through their time at West Point and beyond. Major Andrew Knight, the Field Artillery Branch Representative in the Department of Military Instruction, says they are also forming bonds that will last a lifetime. “The CBT socialization process is unique,” Knight says. “New cadets are immediately cast into situations where they must rely on each other to accomplish their tasks, and it is a safe bet that every cadet that completes CBT will remember those who helped him or her through.”

After New Cadet Visitation Day (formerly the Ice Cream Social), CBT-2, which is 100-percent military training, begins. In this second three-week section, the new cadets complete combat casualty care, rappelling, land navigation, fire team live-fire, and the notorious chemical-biological-radiological training (a.k.a. donning then removing a gas mask in the House of Tears). Training culminates in the Neel Challenge (named after First Lieutenant Phillip Neel ’05, who was killed while serving in Iraq), a 12-hour, station-oriented squad challenge designed to tap all the skills accumulated during CBT. But before officially becoming fourthclass cadets, the new cadets must pass two more challenges. First, there is the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT), a combination of

By Keith J. Hamel , WPAOG staff

push-ups, sit-ups, and a two-mile run, which the new cadets need to pass lest they be required to wake at 5am during the school year to train with a team leader. Finally, they need to endure the ceremonial March Back, a 12-mile trek that begins in the wee hours of the morning at Camp Buckner and ends sometime after high noon at Washington Hall. The event is ceremonial because past West Point graduates will march with the soon-to-be plebes to show their support and acknowledge, as Grantz calls it, “this rite of passage, which signals that they are now more cadet-soldier than civilian.”

Cadet Field Training (CFT)

The values of teamwork, trust, and discipline instilled via the physical and mental challenges of Beast Barracks continue as the rising second-year cadets undergo Cadet Field Training (CFT). Once facetiously hailed as “the best summer of your life at the Academy” (an honor that some say now belongs to Cadet Leader Development Training), CFT ups the ante of CBT with more training on more equipment. Twenty-eight days in length, CFT trains cadets in urban operations (using live-fire), fire support, patrolling, and reconnaissance. CFT also refreshes their

skills in combat medicine, land navigation, and communications. Equipment-wise, cadets are training on the M-119 Howitzer and its 105mm rounds, Bangalore torpedoes, the M-240 machine gun, and the M-249 light machine gun. Mandatory physical components include the water obstacle course and the confidence obstacle course.

CFT reaches its apex in the Camp Buckner field exercise. Labeled a “80-to-96 hour gut-check” by Grantz, Buckner has cadets performing squad and platoon-level tactical operations for their first time ever at West Point (all tactical, no administrative time). The cadets are judged for how well they perform their field craft and for how well they work as a team (tactical problem solving), and since they do not get a lot of sleep or a lot of food, this exercise really puts them to the test.

Cadet Troop Leader Training (CTLT)

W hile Beast and Buckner teach cadets about leadership skills, cadet advanced training provides the opportunity to actually demonstrate those skills in a variety of ways. Rising cows may fulfill their summer training requirement and live leadership by either serving a West Point Detail (as a chain of command member at CBT, CFT, Cadet Candidates Basic Training, the Summer Leadership Seminar, or a

specialized detail), opting for a Military Individual Advanced Development program (18 specialized courses such as Air Assault or USAF Combat Survival Training), or participating in Cadet Troop Leader Training (CTLT).

Offered in three iterations, each lasting for approximately 24 days, CTLT is designed to be one of the most important leadership experiences cadets receive before being commissioned. “It is leadership 24/7,” says Captain Amaka Auer, the Chief of Cadet Advanced Training in the Leadership Development Branch. Although they will be shadowing first lieutenants who mentor them during the three-plus weeks, CTLT cadets are virtually responsible for leading an active duty Army unit that is performing training or operational missions outside of combat and contingency theaters.

Auer notes that the CTLT program aims to broaden a cadet’s experience on several fronts. Most practically, she says, “CTLT is a great opportunity for cadets to see a branch that they were thinking they may want to enter in the future, and it may ultimately determine whether or not they opt for that branch later.” With over 1,000

CTLT slots available, cadets are likely to receive an assignment that matches their branch preference. But regardless of branch, another goal of CTLT is to assign cadets to positions where they will have frequent contact with soldiers and noncommissioned officers.

Photo: Marissa

arl/WPAOG staff

The neel Challenge, which memorializes 1LT Phillip Isaac neel ’05, who died in Iraq in 2007, challenges new cadets at a variety of stations, including Soldier First Responder and marksmanship.

“It’s a great experience to lead soldiers,” says Cadet Stephan Murphy ’13, who served as the acting platoon leader during basic training at Fort Jackson, SC. “Interacting with them gave me a different insight into Army life than what is taught at West Point.”

Kyle Lamb ’12 agrees: “At West Point, nobody has wives or sick kids or financial problems. You have to be involved with your soldiers, especially if that stuff is affecting their performance.”

Cadet Daniel Nevins ’13, who completed his CTLT at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait, puts it another way: “At West Point, we work with peer leadership: you lead cadets who are the same age, rank, and status. Here you actually lead subordinates who entrust their lives to you.”

Cadet Leader Development Training (CLDT)

If they have attended CTLT in their cow summer, rising firsties get another opportunity to live leadership during Cadet Leader Development Training (CLDT). While CTLT has cadets leading an active Army unit in a non-combat setting, CLDT allows cadets to experience leadership challenges in a simulated, yet realistic engagement scenario. “It’s tactical problem-solving in a field environment and leadership under stress,” says Grantz. This stress is supplied by the typical physical demands of field missions; but, even more so, the stress comes from the mentally taxing moral dilemmas the cadets encounter.

For 17 days, CLDT cadets live in what Grantz calls the “gray area” as they complete a series of five-day training modules that places them in scenarios similar to what they might see on deployment. This summer, Dari and Pashto-speaking role players will act as Afghan villagers who may or may not be hiding insurgents. Every module-scenario is different, and each time the cadets are charged with unraveling the story. “They are trying to solve problems for which there may not be a right answer, or there may be several right answers, or maybe the right answer is selecting the least bad way,” says Grantz. “It is all about seeing what sort of judgment the cadets have gained via their training and coursework at West Point, because we need to prepare them for the ethical quandaries they will encounter as second lieutenants.”

CLDT uses officers and noncommissioned officers who are coming straight from deployments that dealt with these situations to train the cadets. After each module, the trainers complete a “leader assessment” on the cadets which takes into account elements such as their clarity of thought, their performance under stress, and their ability to communicate effectively. Sergeant First Class Rhett Massey, who worked on last summer’s CLDT Task Force, says, “The cadets are trained well enough that we can evaluate their leadership and not their tactical ability, and I had a lot of cadets who I felt were just about ready to be lieutenants—I came away very impressed.”

Throughout the entire CLDT experience, the trainers are trying to inspire and build leaders of character. “This is what motivates all of us,” says Grantz. “I am continually asking, ‘What’s the most important element required to prepare these cadets to be officers in the future?’ and the answer is ‘leadership.’ Leadership is very personal to all of us because we’ve seen it and lived it.” 

Scanthesecodesforvideoorgotoyoutube.com/WPAOG

Photo: Mike Strasser/USMA PAO

During the Combat Engineering portion of Cadet Field Training, cadets learn different methods of breaching and entering buildings, one of which requires cadets to open a door with a hand-held battering ram.

“At West Point, we work with peer leadership: you lead cadets who are the same age, rank, and status. Here you actually lead subordinates who entrust their lives to you.” –cadet Daniel Nevins ’13

August 12-13

Grad March Back with Class of 2016

OpenonlytoWestPointgraduates! visit usma.edu/daa for details.

Upcoming events suggested by West Point staff & faculty. Events for november-January should be sent to editor@wpaog.org by August 15, 2012. For the whole calendar, go to WestPointAOG.org/calendar.

Class of 1967

West Point Alumni Leaders Conference

AugusT 16-18

The Class of 2013 receives their West Point rings, kicking off Ring Weekend.

ACCEPTA n CE D Ay | AUGUST 18

The class of 2016 is formally accepted into the corps of cadets.

SEPTEMBER 2 |

SePTeMBer 12: 7th ANNuAL Alexander R. Nininger Award presentation

OCTOBER 2-4: 13th ANNUA l Diversity Leadership Conference

oCToBer 11-13:

Homecoming Weekend

OCTOBER 18: 55th annual Sylvanus Thayer Award presentation

reunions

September 13-15 class of 1972

September 27-29 class of 1987

A UGUST 24

West Point Band hosts the annual 1812 Overture concert at Trophy Point.

S EPTEMBER 8

Honorable “Ike” Skeltonisreceiving thehonorthisyear.

West Point society Fall tailgates

Kickoff the football season at the Army-San Diego State pre-game tailgate on September 8!

HostedbytheWestPoint SocietyofSanDiego. visit WestPointAOG.org for details on the entire tailgating season!

SEPTEMBER 15

October 11-13 classes of 1992, 1997, 2002, 2007

October 25-27 classes of 1977, 1982

First Army home football game at Michie Stadium. Go Army! Beat Northern Illinois!

Photos: Marissa c arl/WPAOG staff, WPAOG archives

International SUMMER Military Training Abroad

By Keith J. Hamel , WPAOG staff

Photos: Seth Johnson ʼ12, Christian Bellavia ʼ12, CMDR Roar Espevik, MAJ Thomas Lampersberger, Jim Smith

It may sound like a summer vacation, a few weeks away from West Point living in and seeing the sights of a foreign country; but in actuality it is really work—hard work since it involves intense training with a military force. yet, perhaps the hardest part for cadets actually occurs before this summer program even begins; that is, selecting which foreign Academic Individual Advanced Development (AIAD) program to attend.

This summer, between late May and early August, an estimated 440 cadets will be traveling to various parts of the globe (including Brazil, Djibouti, South Korea, and Tel Aviv) to spend two to four weeks participating in the language and cultural immersion division of the AIAD program. The United States Military Academy also offers research-based AIADs (cadets working at national laboratories, for example), academic study AIADs (e.g., Corps of Engineers projects), and leadership or service AIADs (such as Habitat for Humanity), but no matter which module the cadets select, Brent Matthews, Director of the International Intellectual Development Division in the Office of the Dean, notes that the intent of each one of the 1,050 or so AIADs is to provide cadets with out-of-classroom experiences to enhance and expand what they learn at the Academy by either directly augmenting coursework or by adding to the wide knowledge-base expected of junior Army officers.

norway

One of the foreign AIADs that fulfills both of these objectives is the “Stress, Personality, and Leader Performance” program. This AIAD, which has been offered through the Department of Behavioral Sciences & Leadership (BS&L) since May 2002, sends at least one cadet to the Royal Norwegian Naval Academy (RNNA) in Bergen, Norway, to train with a nine-member squad. Dr. Mike Matthews, Professor of Engineering Psychology with BS&L, who used his professional connections with Dr. Jarle Eid at RNNA to start this program, summarizes this AIAD as a miniature Ranger school that engages cadets on the physical, cognitive, and moral levels. Translating Matthews’ soft recruitment pitch, this AIAD is actually a grueling 10-day exercise with little sleep (cadets are authorized only three hours during the exercise), little food (they are allowed to kill and eat one chicken), and great physical challenges (they carry an 80-pound pack for hours). Caleb Hughes ’12, who spent two years in the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment before coming to the Academy, says that he found the Norwegian training to be extremely hard and mentally challenging.

“Mentally challenging” is the key phrase. Cognitively, Hughes notes that the lack of food and sleep, along with his team’s complex mission assignments, taxed his ability to think through problems. He also points out that there were lots of simulated scenarios— ones that Matthews says, “West Point wouldn’t be able to simulate with our cadets as a rule”—that tried to break down teamwork by forcing members to solve harrowing moral and ethical dilemmas. Roar Espevik, the RNNA Commander, reports, “The intention of this exercise is to enhance initiative, independence, creativity, and flexibility when facing complexity and chaos.” He continues, “We have a strong focus on enhancing a true self-awareness and understanding in each cadet (reactions, ability to cooperate, strengths and weaknesses), and this exercise is an ongoing fight to keep situational awareness and shared mental models within the team.”

Michelle Kracht ’03, Dr. Mike Matthews, Jennie Hattman ’03, who attended the inaugural RNNA AIAD, and Dr. Jarle Eid of RNNA

Matthews and others involved with this program have used the Norwegian military exercises as the foundation for their research. In fact, for the West Point cadets, the last week of this AIAD is devoted to the management of empirical data collected during the exercise (BS&L only offers this AIAD to cadets majoring in engineering psychology). “This is a great place to collect data on human performance under extreme stress,” says Matthews, “and it is easier for us to get clearance to study Norwegian soldiers in hightempo operational settings than it is to study Rangers in the U.S. Army.” Matthews is ultimately sensitive to the cadets’ well-being and their development as leaders, however. He always forewarns them about the extreme nature of the scenarios they might see and wants them to recognize the things they reflexively learned about themselves during the exercise. “After every incident, the trainers will have a discussion with the cadets about their unconscious issues with leadership,” says Matthews. “We want them to learn what fear is like, how fear evolves, how their response to stress changes as a function of sleep deprivation, and how it all relates back to class material on the responses of the brain and endocrine system to increased stress and physical workload.” Espevik says that he has received very positive feedback from West Point cadets who acknowledge this goal from the exercise.

At the same time they are learning about themselves, the cadets also are learning what it is like to work with a NATO ally. Although all the training is conducted in English, Hughes notes that the Norwegians’ vocabulary was somewhat limited, forcing him to choose his words carefully. “Working over there greatly increased my confidence toward interacting with foreign cultures,” he says. “I know that in the future those experiences will serve me well as I continue to work alongside other armies as an American soldier.” Matthews concurs that the cultural aspect of the AIAD is crucially important: “The cadets are enlightened when they start to compare the U.S. Army world-view with that of our allies.” There are differences (Norwegian cadets address officers by their first names and theirs is a unionized force), but West Point cadets are quickly able to immerse with the Norwegian culture due to a shared warriors ethos. Espevik acknowledges: “The U.S. cadets fit right into our concept with practically no preparations. They are excellent ambassadors for West Point and the U.S. Army.”

Austria

Cultural immersion is such an important part of the next AIAD that it is included in the program’s title: “Cultural Immersion in Austria at Theresian Military Academy” (TherMilAk). In this AIAD, which is new this summer but based on the Austrian semester abroad program offered through the Department of Foreign Languages (DFL), four cadets participate in concentrated language courses at the world’s oldest military academy (founded in 1752) located in Weiner-Neustadt, Austria. According to Major Thomas Lampersberger, an Austrian officer who graduated from TherMilAk in 1992, the cadets spend at least eight hours per week improving their German-language skills. “We want them to lose their fear of using the German language; lose their fear of making mistakes while speaking,” says Lampersberger. “The only thing that really counts is, can they be understood or not?”

Two of the four cadets attending this AIAD also train in military field exercises, although what exercises they do are not readily defined. According to Major Jordan Francis ’00, the German Desk Chief and Instructor of German with DFL, because TherMilAk is so much smaller than West Point (about 100 cadets per class year), their training plan is more flexible and is ultimately determined by the goals of and current resources available to their training team. Still, Lampersberger envisions the cadets performing some type of live-fire exercise with Austrian infantry weapons (pistol, assault rifle, and machine gun) and possibly with an anti-tank weapon.

The other two cadets participate in military horseback riding courses, which are mandatory for Austrian cadets. The riding instructor is Major Roland Pulsinger, who Seth Johnson ’12, a graduate of the fall 2010 semester abroad program, labels, “one of the premier horsemen of the region.” The two West Point cadets are already experienced riders and current members of the Equestrian Team, but their skills will be pushed to the limit as they train for the International Military Riding competition. Some of the advanced lessons in the horse

Photo: MAJ Thomas

l ampersberger, TherMilAk

TherMilAk Riding Program

“The u.s. cadets fit right into our concept with practically no preparations. They are excellent ambassadors for West Point and the u.s. Army.”

– Roar Espevik, RNNA commander

riding curricula include riding without stirrups and trotting and galloping in formation. These cadets will also partake in a live-fire exercise.

Lampersberger states that all four cadets will have opportunities for cultural immersion to complement their newly acquired language skills. “To understand someone from abroad, you need to know their language as well as knowledge of their culture, history, and traditions,” he says. “This is why we integrate historical sites (monasteries and castles), cultural tours (a boat ride on the Danube River with an engineering battalion), and typical Austrian traditions (harvesting grapes for wine) into this program.”

According to Francis, another crucial facet of this AIAD is that the cadets meet U.S. Embassy personnel in-country, which exposes these future leaders to soldier-statesmen and their mission abroad. Cadets who attended TherMilAk in the fall of 2010 met with William Eacho, U.S. Ambassador to Austria, who feels that this AIAD will help further the U.S.-Austria relationship. “Due to a decreasing Austrian defense budget and higher U.S. military priorities, the interactions between West Point and the Theresian Military Academy are the most robust military-to-military program we have,” Eacho says. He also believes that this cultural immersion opportunity will greatly affect the cadets in their future Army profession. He says, “As the U.S. moves toward an increased reliance on coalition-based military cooperation, getting these future leaders acquainted with operating in a multi-national environment will be extremely important for them as they continue with their own careers.”

Spain

Another new AIAD that emphasizes foreign cooperation is the “NATO Headquarters Internship,” which Major Shane Reeves ’96 of the Department of Law (D/Law) describes as “a behind-thecurtain look into some very high-level strategic planning at a multinational operation.” In this program, two cadets spend three weeks at the Headquarters of the Allied Force Command (FCMD) in Madrid, Spain, which houses more than 400 military personnel from 20 NATO nations. For three weeks, the cadets work with 50 or so members of one of the two Deployable Joint Staff Elements, one of which focuses heavily on NATO operations in Afghanistan.

According to Reeves, there are three overall goals to this AIAD. First, the program exposes cadets to various peace-keeping missions (even those in which the U.S. military is not participating). The most recent effort in this area is Operation Unified Protector, which protected civilian areas during last year’s fighting in Libya. Next, the program allows cadets to interact with officers and see the evaluation criteria used to assess the military capabilities of member nations (cadets are granted security clearance before departing), as well as the military capabilities of those countries wanting to join NATO.

Photo: Seth Johnson

Alpine training in Austria

“getting these future leaders acquainted with operating in a multi-national environment will be extremely important for them as they continue with their own careers.”

—U.S. Ambassador William Eacho

NATO Headquarters of the Allied Force Command, Madrid, Spain

Called Combat Readiness Evaluation, this department verifies the combat readiness of land forces designated for a NATO assignment in accordance with their readiness category. One such possible candidate-country is Mauritania in West Africa, which has been training with NATO forces to protect the country against Al Qaeda insurgents. Finally, cadets will get to see international law in action, which Reeves notes can be a thorny matter in a multinational organization. “There are a host of issues on which the U.S. military has different views when it comes to international law,” he says. “From rules of engagement to conventions on land mines, we have to learn how to manage these cooperative friction points in a way that makes these coalition efforts work.” Reeves maintains that accomplishing even one of these AIAD goals would be a rare opportunity and an invaluable experience for a junior officer.

But like the other international programs described above, there is a secondary benefit to this AIAD. Even though the planning is done in English, the cadets still encounter various languages and military cultures from all of NATO’s participants. This is vital, according to Reeves: “Anytime you take a cadet and give him or her some international exposure, it helps that cadet in the larger perspective of cultural awareness, which he or she will definitely need as a lieutenant.” The city hosting this AIAD certainly contributes to its cultural immersion impact. As the third-largest city in the European

Union, Madrid affords the cadets the opportunity to experience a variety of art, entertainment, cuisine, and history.

“Our AIAD, given that it is heavily focused on military operations, is basically on-thejob training for the cadet with one goal in mind—to help that cadet become a better officer in the future.”

MAJ Shane Reeves ’96

Upon returning from their various foreign countries, AIAD cadets still have a couple of requirements to complete for the program, depending upon the sponsoring department. D/Law, for example, obliges its cadets to complete a substantive report (complete with length and style requisites) in which they discuss in detail their AIAD experiences. They also need to deliver a presentation during re-organization week that explains the value and benefit of this AIAD. While the cadets are expected to discuss this matter in length, Reeves sums ups the D/Law AIAD in one sentence: “Our AIAD, given that it is heavily focused on military operations, is basically onthe-job training for the cadet with one goal in mind—to help that cadet become a better officer in the future.” 

At West Point, cadets learn lessons in various ways. When the members of the Class of 2013 receive their class rings in late August of this year, they need only to look at the gold on their fingers to be reminded of one the Academy’s greatest lessons: Duty, Honor, Country. This gold, donated through the 12th Annual West Point Memorial Class Ring Melt, seeks to impart this lesson through the life experiences of graduates who donned their class rings years prior.

Since 2001, the West Point Association of Graduates has operated the Ring Memorial Program, receiving class rings from donors and conducting the ring melt ceremony in Warwick, RI, in cooperation with the U.S. Corps of Cadets and the Pease & Curren Refinery. In recent months, WPAOG’s Class Support Directorate has worked to raise awareness of this tangible and symbolic connection within the Long Gray Line. As a result, this year WPAOG received 42 donated rings, which were included in the gold that will forever join West Point’s generations.

This year’s Ring Melt saw the largest number of rings donated since the program began. It contained rings from three general officers (Major General Harold Hayward ’44, Major General Robert Joyce ’53, and Brigadier General Thomas Buck ’62); rings that were worn in four wars (WWI, WWII, Korea, and Vietnam), rings that belonged to graduates with generational connections to West Point (including that of Colonel Kenneth Eugene Webber Jr. ’48, whose granddaughter, Cadet Kandace Webber, is a member of the Class of 2013), and rings from the 50-Year Affiliate Class of 1963 (Colonel Charles Kinsey Jr. ’63 and Lynne Patten ’63).

Cadet Stephanie Wangeman ’13, the Class Ring and Crest Chair, was touched: “Seeing these families who’ve really been influenced by these grads and hearing what the grads have done as officers and at West Point emphasizes the morality and virtue we’re binding ourselves to for the rest of our lives.”

Karen Reuter, the daughter of Colonel Harrison Heiberg Jr. ’46, was also moved and addressed the room before placing her father’s ring in the crucible: “It’s such an important occasion. I don’t think

West Point’s Golden Lesson to the Class of 2013

By Keith J. Hamel , WPAOG staff

any of us could look at these rings and not see them on the hand of a person we love. Seeing it, holding it, it’s like having a piece of him still.”

The rings were melted in a 2,300-degree furnace, with shavings taken from a sample containing gold from all the past Ring Melt ceremonies, and the molten liquid was poured into a mold to form a gold bar. This bar was then passed from representatives at the refinery to Nadia King ’91, Director of Class Support at WPAOG. King then presented it to Cadet Timothy Berry ’13, Class President. Finally, Berry handed the bar over to Jayne Roland of Balfour, the jewelry company charged with making the rings the Class of 2013 will soon receive.

Upon receiving the gold bar, Berry acknowledged the lesson that the Ring Melt implicitly tries to teach each year: “To me, the Ring Melt ceremony is a tangible reminder that the ideals associated with ‘Duty, Honor, Country’ form a concept that is passed on from generation to generation.”

Now, upon receiving their rings, the members of the Class of 2013 will become the teachers of this golden lesson. 

“To me, the Ring Melt ceremony is a tangible reminder that the ideals associated with ‘Duty, Honor, Country’ form a concept that is passed on from generation to generation.”

cadet Timothy Berry ’13

WEST POINT ASSOCIATION OF GRADUATE S

Queen Elizabeth II

Photo: Marissa Carl/WPAOG staff

LeADer DeVeLoPMenT Outside the Classroom

By Kathryn Glisson , Guest Writer

The leadership goal of the Directorate of Cadet Activities (DCA), which falls under the Commandant of Cadets, is summed up in four short words: “All for the Corps.” In addition to providing balance and enriching what cadets are otherwise exposed to in the areas of military, physical, and morals/ethics training, DCA plays a critical role in leader development at West Point.

Samuel Wharton ’12, who worked with firsties on the script, costumes, and scenery while directing the 100th Night Show, understands this development well. “I emerged from the project with a keen sense of how difficult peer leadership is,” Wharton says. “You are in that leadership position to lead, not make or keep friends; in fact, you cannot do both.” He continues, “As a leader you will be required to make unpopular decisions, but you want to be able to live with those decisions, so they had better be the right ones, and for the right reasons.”

Geoffrey Hansen ’12, who served as this year’s battle captain for the Scoutmasters Camporee at Lake Frederick, understands these sentiments. “With nearly 6,000 participants, there was a constant flow of leadership challenges, ranging from coordinating medical transport for several minor hospitalizations to coordinating airspace for two UH-60s, all the while working to keep the senior leadership

This summer, while doing Cadet Troop Leadership Training at Fort Jackson, he will be thinking about his pending affirmation to the profession of arms. “With this threshold approaching, I have been looking back at my two years, and am surprised by what stands out as my most meaningful enterprise,” Noreen says. “It wasn’t the weeks of field training each summer, success in academic classes, or even the intensity of a week and a half at air assault, but my recent leadership role as co-director and co-producer of a cadet theatrical production.”

The clubs are supplemented by social programs that are also designed to provide meaningful experiences to cadet leadership development. The Cadet Hostess’ Office, for example, which has been in place since 1931, offers etiquette training to teach cadets how to present themselves with the poise and confidence befitting a future officer. Next, the Office of Cadet Programs, among other things, provides social and recreational activities for cadet summer training and runs transportation for service projects such as Big Brothers/Big Sisters and the “Tunnel to Towers Benefit Run” in New York City. Lastly, DCA’s home building, Eisenhower Hall, is the cultural center of the Academy (welcoming new cadets on R-Day, offering performances by the West Point Band, and hosting developmental forums such as the Diversity Leadership Conference).

All together, these opportunities are vital pieces of the cadet leader development puzzle. Every DCA activity has a group of cadet leaders who are acting as team captains, club presidents, and mentors for younger cadets who are trying to find their niche and an outlet for their passion. “You can tangibly observe cadets develop throughout the semester as they practice their leadership style, all the while mentoring younger cadets,” says Deputy Commandant Colonel

William Boice ’88, one of many graduates who provide support for DCA via donations through WPAOG, knows that the return on investment for these activities is huge for the development of a cadet. “As a former grad, TAC officer, and now as a cadet parent, I deeply appreciate the variety of DCA programs and opportunities for cadets to explore their passions in endeavors that aren’t always considered mainstream,” he says, adding that these activities provide another important layer of leadership development to the overall cadet experience. 

Kathryn Glisson is Deputy Director of West Point’s Directorate

“Clubs are essential to developing Leaders of Character as they develop cadets across all dimensions of the West Point Leader Development system,” says Lieutenant Colonel Todd Messitt ’87, Director of Cadet Activities. “More important, each club serves as a leadership laboratory where cadets lead their peers under the mentorship of an officer-in-charge, as they would in the Army.”

Army Boxing: neVer QUiT

By Ray Barone , Guest Writer

When Army boxers pass each other on campus they bump fists and say “never Quit,” which they believe is the most important thing to remember in the ring and in life. “It’s more important than remembering to keep your hands up or to bring your hands back fast,” says Team Co-Captain Ryan Johnson ’12. “If you refuse to lose, you’ll figure the rest of that out.”

This season proved to be challenging both in and out of the ring for the team, which won four straight national championships from 2008 to 2011. In March, as the boxers were on their way to the Regional Boxing Tournament at Pennsylvania State University, a reckless driver cut off one of the vans. All nine cadets in the vehicle were hurt; injuries included concussions and broken bones. The accident could have been more severe had it not been for the driver training required by the Directorate of Cadet Activities (DCA) and the safety features of the DCA-provided vehicle. At 4am, the team had a meeting to decide if they should continue on to Penn State for the competition that was now only hours away or to throw in the towel. The team decided that Army had to fight… they had to do it for those they were leaving behind in the hospital. The uninjured boxers got back in the vans, arrived at 6:30am, weighed in at 7am, took naps, then gave everything they had in the ring that afternoon.

A couple weeks later, the team placed third at nationals, but not one athlete was disappointed. “This year’s competition was a testament to Army boxing,” Johnson says. “The thing you learn is that you’re

not always going to receive the results you want, but what’s really important is what you did to get there, the way you performed, and the way you carried yourself.”

The team’s journey started back in October with an inaugural retreat to Camp Buckner. The weekend was packed with workouts, including bear crawls in the rain up the ski slope and a full mile of forward lunges, interspersed with motivational talks by Academy leadership.

This is also where the team decided to dedicate their season to Frank Reasoner ’62, who was an Army wrestler, baseball player, boxer, and Medal of Honor recipient. Earlier in the year, after meeting a couple of “old grads” who couldn’t stop talking about the well-rounded athlete, Johnson and Co-Captain Zoar Morales ’12 did some research on Reasoner, who was killed in action in Vietnam in 1965. It was fitting to dedicate the season to Reasoner, Morales says, because he was a member of the firsties’ 50-Year Affiliation Class and he also exemplified the Class of 2012’s motto: For More Than Ourselves. “Getting in the ring is not about being a stud and knocking out the other guy to get glory for yourself,”

Photos: Tommy Gilligan/USMA PAO, Eric Bartelt/USMA PAO

Morales says. “It’s about bringing glory to all those around you who make it possible for you to get in there.”

This year the team initiated a tradition of passing down an oral history of Army boxing, to make sure their stories live on for generations. Reasoner’s story will now be added to that history so that all future boxers know who he was as a cadet, as an athlete, and as a soldier. After practice, on their way out of the gym, many of the boxers will tap the plaque bearing Reasoner’s likeness, which hangs in the Class of 1962 room. “It gives you a sense of being part of something much, much greater than just this team here,” says Cadet Langston Clarke ’13, who will be captain next year.

In conjunction with the Admissions Office, the team also goes on outreach trips—this year to Chicago and Detroit; next fall to Philadelphia. On Friday night the athletes box local fighters. Then they spend Saturday with inner-city youths, teaching them the basics of the sport and talking to them about the Academy. “There’s a lot of diversity on our team and many of us grew up in similar neighborhoods,” Morales says. “They just need someone to push them, like many of us had someone who saw that we had the potential to be great.”

Upon graduation, Army boxers are physically and mentally ready to lead soldiers. Johnson, who won the “Coach K” Award for Excellence in Teaching Character Through Sport for the Competitive Club category, says that his experiences as a boxer and as a team captain prepared him for life as an officer. Not long before he graduated, Johnson got some advice from Terrell Anthony ’11, who was serving as a platoon leader at Fort Gordon, Georgia. Anthony told him that he treats his platoon the same way he treated the boxing team when he was captain— mission first, and make sure your soldiers have what they need to be successful. “I think this experience is going to pay dividends,” Johnson says.

Volunteer Head Coach Ray Barone makes it a point to prepare his athletes for their long-term goal. Morales remembers a lesson he learned while waiting to board a flight in the Denver airport earlier this year. Barone asked if he had confirmed transportation from the airport upon their arrival. It hadn’t occurred to Morales that he should call ahead to make sure the vehicles were there on time, but Barone, who served more than 20 years in the Army, taught him that he needed to focus on such details when he becomes a lieutenant. “He gives us reminders to be thinking ahead, to break out of the cadet mentality of just focusing on what you have to get done, and to think about what your soldiers need,” Morales says.

The team’s core values teach the boxers from day one to be disciplined, loyal, courageous, and committed. It’s a philosophy known as T3, meaning they are part of three teams that all help them to develop as leaders: the Corps of Cadets, their company teams, and the boxing team. “Boxing forced me to push myself really hard,” Morales says. “I not only grew as an athlete, but as a person.” 

Ray “Coach” Barone is a retired Lieutenant Colonel who served for 21 years as a combat arms officer. He has been director of boxing at the United States Military Academy since 1999. Since 2007, he has been head coach of the West Point Boxing Team.

Photo: John Pellino/USMA

“It’s my favorite part of the day, every day, though I might give you a different answer early in the morning.”

–Cadet Langston Clarke ’13

CDT Kevin Jones ’13, with Head Coach Ray Barone, won by split decision over CDT Gavin Chapman ’14 during the 132-pound bout of the 56th annual West Point Boxing Brigade Open at Crest Hall.

Army Fencing: Making a Point of Success

By Robert Grieser, Guest Writer

The West Point Fencing Team is one of the strongest contenders on the collegiate stage, earning several national championships and multiple conference titles in the past 15 years, and their 2011-12 season has been one of the best in Academy history. This is remarkable considering some of the alumni who once held a sword for the team: General George Patton, Class of 1909, General Dwight Eisenhower, Class of 1915, and Lieutenant General David Huntoon Jr. ’73, the current Superintendent of West Point.

Acombative sport in three major weapon categories— épée, sabre, and foil—fencing is one of the top Directorate of Cadet Activities (DCA) competitive teams.

The épée squad, led by Team Captain Alex Pagoulatos ’12, won the Mid-Atlantic Conference (MAC) Championship this year—only the third time in West Point history this has happened (after the squad won back-to-back championships in 2000 and 2001). Winning the MAC Championship was a career highlight for Pagoulatos, who not only served as the team captain in 2011-12 but also as the team’s assistant coach, working daily with head coach Robert Grieser on team training requirements at practice.

“The power, the strength, and the leadership of this year’s team was in the hands of Cadet Pagoulatos; he and I set the team culture,” says Grieser. “With our record this year, this culture is not the exception but will be the standard for subsequent seasons.”

Pagoulatos, though he shies away from taking credit, did a phenomenal job setting the team up for continued success in the future. Cadet EJ Judd ’15, who has her own winning career ahead of her, says Pagoulatos is “the most physically fit, smartest person that I’ve ever met in my life.” Amid numerous other non-athletic accolades, Pagoulatos won this year’s John J. Pershing Writing Award (coordinated through WPAOG), which challenges cadets to reflect on General Pershing’s famous “Opinion.” Now a second lieutenant, Pagoulatos says fencing helped prepare him for the Army. “You might lose a tough match, but you have to pick yourself up and forget about it, or at least learn from it and move forward,” he says. “That’s the big lesson to take from fencing.”

The team’s leadership cadre borrows its coaching philosophy from Dr. Ralph Pim, the Director of Competitive Teams for the Department of Physical Education, who seeks to develop “Warrior Athletes of Character” by creating “Teams of

Significance.” Nowhere is this more evident than with the fencing team. The team’s success this season began at the South Atlantic Conference Championships, where it took home first place for the men and women, in addition to the six-weapon overall team championship. Both the women’s épée team, led by Cadet Alexandria Rodgers ’14, and the men’s sabre squad, led by Dan Koszalka ’12, took home conference championship titles as well—the first time either of these weapon squads has won a conference championship.

“Fencing is something we can express ourselves through, which is not the case with everything else we do.”

–Alex Pagoulatos ’12

Judd also stepped up to win first place in the individual women’s épée, becoming West Point’s first conference champion in that weapon category. “Every late night, every bruise, every pain, every ice, every time I had to go to the trainers because I had broken myself…it was all worth it,” she says, remembering how she choked on a carrot she was eating when she heard her named announced. “It just felt great, especially to do it as a plebe.” Judd then went on to become the first West Point woman to qualify for the U.S. Fencing Association’s (USFA)National Championships.

West Point has also qualified for the National Collegiate Fencing Championships every year and both the six-weapon and men’s teams garnered a second place win this year. Additionally, the men’s épée squad had its best finish ever, also taking home silver. To top it off, West Point beat both Navy and the Marines to earn the Military Cup. Fencing is the only West Point team that hasn’t lost to Navy in 15 years!

In addition to collegiate dual meets, participation in three national conferences, and collegiate national championships, this season saw several cadets compete in North America

épée

sabre foil

Red areas indicate where the fencers can be hit.

Cups, several regional and national qualifiers, as well as witnessed the first Academy cadet qualify and compete in the USFA Junior Olympics since 2005. “We have the distinction and respect of being one of the only club-level fencing teams in the country that is invited to varsity-sponsored competitions and varsity-level conference championships,” Grieser says. “Our opponents view us as equals on the NCAA level, probably because we have not had a losing season in the past 15 years.”

Because fencing is an individual sport, leadership takes precedence as each cadet is responsible for his or her own drive to excel in training and competition. “When you’re on the strip alone, it does come down to you to win that individual bout,” says Koszalka, adding that it requires mental toughness to keep a level head, which builds self confidence.

Many of the team’s athletes gravitated to the sport because they knew someone on the team or immediately clicked with the group. Cadet Darcy Parks ’14, who had never fenced before West Point and went on to compete in the National Collegiate Fencing Championships plebe year, says the members of the team all consider it a second family. With more team medals and trophies to even mention, Koszalka says his favorite memories from the past four years involve the long bus rides to out-of-state competitions. “The awards come with the hard work, and it’s nice to be recognized for what we do,” he says, “but at the end of the day it’s the people and not the recognition.”

Robert Grieser has been the head coach of the fencing team for 15 years and is also this year’s winner of the “Coach K” Award for Excellence in Teaching Character Through Sport Award in the Competitive Club Athletics category.

Started in 1967, the Sandhurst competition, which was held on April 20 and 21 at West Point, provides the corps of cadets with a challenging regimental skills competition to enhance professional development and military excellence. Fifty-five teams coming from U.S. service academies, ROTc programs across the country, and military academies all over the world competed in this year’s competition, with RMc Duntroon (Australia) taking the first place trophy. company c-3 earned top UScc team honors, while the Fourth Regiment won the Sandhurst Trophy, which is given to the highest placed UScc regiment based on the aggregate time of all the companies in that regiment. In addition to the events pictured, teams competed in land navigation, first aid, and weapons/grenades.

BOAT SITE

THE CHALLEnGES | COMPAnY WInnER*

1. Obstacle Course: Negotiate a series of obstacles while moving as quickly as possible | c-4

2. Rope Bridge: Improvise a bridge utilizing team equipment to cross a water obstacle | G-2

3. Rappel: construct Swiss seats and rappel all team equipment and personnel down a 75-foot drop using correct words of command | Tied among E-2, c-3, h-3 & G-4

4. First Aid: Perform triage and casualty extraction after encountering a scenario with multiple casualties | h-2

5. Weapons: Assemble different weapons systems and negotiate a grenade-throwing lane | Tied between B-1 & D-4

6. IED: Patrol and encounter an IED scenario, which tests the mind | No results posted

7. Boat Site: Maneuver a boat around a pre-determined course, breach a metal door, and tandem saw through timber | h-1

8. DMI Challenge: haul a howitzer across a field and answer a series of questions concerning the overall competition | I-4

9. Marksmanship: Defend the position against “enemy” personnel | E-3

Scanthiscodeforvideoorgotoyoutube.com/WPAOG

10. Land navigation: Negotiate a demanding course | c-2 *locations on map at left are approximate.

MARKSMAnSHIP

’52 Lecture Series Launches to Standing-Room Only

By Keith J. Hamel , WPAOG staff

The Department of Social Sciences (D/SOCSCI) welcomed Dr. Henry Kissinger, the 56th U.S. Secretary of State, to West Point on April 5, 2012, to deliver the inaugural keynote address of the Class of ’52 Distinguished Lecture Series. Robinson Auditorium was packed to capacity as Colonel Mike Meese ’81, Department Head, opened the ceremony by saying, “The Class of ’52 Speakers Endowment ensures that we can always bring exceptional policy makers, military leaders, academic scholars, business experts, and others to West Point to enrich cadets’ intellectual development and truly connect the theory that we teach in the classroom with practice.”

Both cadets and Class of ’52 grads admitted that SOCSCI set the bar extremely high with Kissinger as the first speaker (qualifying for three of the four categories listed above). “I can’t think of anybody in our country who is more qualified to kick off this series than Dr. Kissinger,” said Colonel (Retired) Donald R. Swygert ’52. Hannah Smith ’12 described the event as “phenomenal: this is the first time cadets filled in from the front without having to be told.” Meese was

also surprised by the Corps turn out. “We rarely have standing-roomonly lectures,” he said. “We probably had 500 or so cadets here who could have opted for sleeping instead.”

Kissinger discussed his time as a private with the 84th Infantry Division during WWII, differences in military strategy between the United States and China (“for the Chinese, strategy is a process; for us, it is a series of episodes”), and the current war in Afghanistan (“objectives in Afghanistan are unsustainable in a time frame that the American public will support”).

After his talk, cadets huddled around Kissinger to ask more questions. Cadet Nick Rodriguez ’15 asked him what the most difficult obstacle was that he had to overcome as a diplomat: “Understand each nation’s identity, its history, and its culture before engaging in diplomacy.” Kissinger, displaying his well-known wit, remarked, “I’m going to give a lecture at Harvard next week, and I think I’m safe in predicting that I will not be greeted with the same unanimity that I was here.” 

Photo: Marissa

Gripping Hands

“Grip hands—though it be from the shadows—while we swear as you did of yore, or living or dying, to honor the Corps, and the Corps, and the Corps.”

Congratulations to the 2012 Distinguished Graduate Award Recipients

William H. Willoughby Jr. ’60

crosbie e . saint ’58

Henry J. Hatch ’57

William J. Lennox Jr. ’71

narciso L. Abaya ’71

The Distinguished Graduate Award is given to graduates of the United States Military Academy whose character, distinguished service, and stature draw wholesome comparison to the qualities that West Point strives for, in keeping with its motto: “Duty, Honor, Country.”

2012 1982

The Long Gray Line welcomes the Class of 2012!

Gorsky named CEO of Johnson & Johnson

Alex Gorsky was named the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Johnson & Johnson effective April 26, 2012. Before becoming CEO, Gorsky served as Vice Chairman of the company’s Executive Committee with responsibility for the Medical Devices & Diagnostics Group, Global Supply Chain, Health Care Compliance & Privacy and Government Affairs & Policy. Gorsky began his Johnson & Johnson career in 1988 as a sales representative.

General Officer Promotions

(Since March 20, 2012)

The Secretary of Defense has announced that the President has nominated:

To the rank of Lieutenant General: Major General Robert B. Brown ’81

To the rank of Brigadier General: Colonel Kristin K. French ’86

The following Army national Guard Officers have been confirmed by the Senate for Federal recognition in the next higher grade:

To the rank of Major General: Brigadier General Daniel L. york ’81

To the rank of Brigadier General: Colonel Lewis G. Irwin ’86

Colonel David C. Wood ’85

Photos: Marissa c arl/WPAOG, Tommy Gilligan/ USMAPAO

—Bishop Shipman, 1902

From left to right:

it states that lTc Frederick Van Deusen was in the West Point class of 1952. Van Deusen was a member of the class of 1953.

WEST POINT MUSEUM

BY THE NUMBERS

124,709

3,000

88

Number of Cannons on Trophy Point

362

1854

Date when the Museum first opened to the public

$0

cost of admission

1922

65,000

fourteen Number of staff at the Museum

11

Portraits in collection by Thomas s ully

5,510

Number of schoolchildren who attended programs in 2011

Number of Atomic Bombs on display

Number of pistols owned by George Washington in the collection

NUMBER OF ARTIFAcTS DONATED IN 2011

71,590 Total square footage of Olmsted Hall

Year when congressional act directs that captured flags and trophies be “preserved and displayed” at West Point

282

four

Number of locations the Museum has occupied at West Point during the past 158 years.

1854

AcRES OF hISTORIc TRAIlS ON cONSTITUTION ISlAND

282

number of Facebook fans (May 2012)

nUMBER OF HISTORIC SITES OPERATED (FORT PUTnAM & COnSTITUTIOn ISLAnD)

Small Unit Tactics Team

Di FF erent nAM e, but the “Strong” r e MA in S the S AM e

By Keith J. Hamel , WPAOG staff

During the fall of 2010, the Infantry Tactics Club, which had been around since the early 1980s, and the Calvary Scout Club, which was originally called the Combined Arms Tactics Club, merged to form the Maneuver Tactics Club in an attempt to mirror the Army’s formation of the Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Benning (which combined Infantry and Armor in 2005 to better represent Army units in combat). This year, the Maneuver Tactics Club decided again to change their name to the Small Unit Tactics Team (SUTT) to better match their mission, which is, “To train and inspire select members of the Corps of Cadets and enhance their skills in small unit tactics and troop leading procedures, so that each graduating member is better prepared for a lifetime of service to the Nation as an officer in the United States Army.” Indeed, no matter by which name they are known, this Department of Military Instruction club is dedicated to producing strong leaders for today’s Army.

SUTT claims an active foundation of 20 to 23 cadets. The club’s organization tries to replicate that of an Army platoon with cows and firsties serving as officers and yearlings and plebes acting as staff sergeants and privates. According to Major Dallas Cheatham

’01, the club’s officer-in-charge, the team’s organization is deliberately designed to expose cadets to how a platoon would work with a company or battalion. “The team leaders do work as logistic officers and they are responsible for organizing and executing training plans,” he says. These training plans run from hour-long weekly meetings in Thayer Hall to advanced weekend or week-long field exercises at one of the ranges or at an off-site military installation. (In order to participate in any field exercise or trip, a club member needs to have attended the weekly training). Such responsibility helps facilitate the leadership skills that West Point is trying to instill in all its cadets.

In the spring of 2011, twenty-two SUTT members visited the Theresian Military Academy in Wiener Neustadt, Austria, and broadened their knowledge of mechanized infantry tactics. While there, the cadets fired the MG-74 (Austrian machine gun), trained with the 35th Panzer Grenadier Battalion (conducting an assault on a destroyed building complex), and participated in scenariobased, peace and stability operations. In the fall of 2011, the club trained with soldiers from Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha and received instruction on a variety of weapons systems and learned how to radio for fire and medical evacuations. Just this spring, the club traveled to Fort Bragg, NC, to train with PEO Soldier’s Advanced New Equipment Training Team, where the cadets learned about and operated the Enhanced Night Vision Goggle and newly-designed Lightweight Thermal Weapon Sight. Each year, SUTT conducts a culminating exercise based on that year’s training goal. This year’s goal was urban operations or MOUT (Military Operations on Urban Terrain), and the team conducted a raid exercise over three days at three different ranges in April. According to Cheatham, this terminal exercise is meant to replicate a Calvary unit’s “Stetson Ride,” a tradition during which a soldier receives spurs after passing tests that demonstrate leadership. In this case, the soldiers are the team’s yearling members, who are responsible for planning and executing the

Photo: Small Unit Tactics Team

“I think [SUTT] is the best experience in terms of military development. Instead of only having summers to practice being a leader, I practice being a leader every Tuesday and most weekends.”

– Cadet Matthew Berman ’13

exercise, thus beginning their transition into positions of leadership within the club. During the MOUT field exercise, the cadets worked on the searching and handling of enemy prisoners, using radio communications, night vision goggles, and integrated aiming lasers.

Berman views SUTT’s mission as tied to that of West Point, which is to produce combat leaders. “There are between 4,500 and 4,700 cadets at the Academy, and even though we are only about 20 members, when we go out to conduct summer training, we are able to instruct other cadets, given that we have a bit more expertise in certain military skills,” Berman says. “So even though I might only see 20 cadets, if those 20 cadets go off to Camp Buckner and are inserted into separate squads of eight to ten, then our lessons start spreading out and a huge population at West Point is affected.” Cheatham also sees SUTT as complementing the training every West Point cadet receives in platoon-level operations. “They get tactical lessons in depth as well as breadth,” he says. “When you’re pushing a few thousand kids through summer training, they might spend a few hours on the range, but these cadets will get a chance to spend a whole day on the range just working these tasks.” In fact, SUTT may go beyond the Academy’s training program in that it emphasizes areas of officership—such as training management, risk management,

maintenance, and accountability—typically only discussed in the classroom or experienced by those in senior cadet leadership positions.

Whatever the case, it is clear that no matter what it calls itself, this club continues to be a unique opportunity where cadets can put theory into practice, develop their leadership abilities, and build their individual skills; ultimately preparing them to be Army Strong in whatever capacity they are needed. 

DM i ’S “i n e xtre M i S ” S P ort S t e AM Parachute Team

By Keith J. Hamel , WPAOG staff

If you have ever visited the Department of Military Instruction’s (DMI) Cadet Clubs web page, you may have found yourself wondering: “Why is the Parachute Team here?” While parachuting is a major component of the Army, many people view the West Point Parachute Team as more minstrelsy than military; more demonstration than defense. After all, aren’t they the ones who jump into Michie Stadium with the football on home game Saturdays in the fall?

At first glance, it is hard to equate the Parachute Team with the other DMI clubs, but when you consider the words of Major David Uthlaut ’01, the team’s officer-in-charge, the relationship makes perfect sense. He says, “The Parachute Team is one of the few clubs at West Point, beyond those training with live ammunition, that trains ‘in extremis:’ they are working with life and death up there.”

Adapting and softening the Latin to the homonymic phrase “in the extreme” describes this team and its members perfectly. Everything about them is intense. First, members must go through a rigorous three-week, three-stage tryout that whittles down the 100 or so

candidates to about ten finalists (the team will begin the 2012-13 academic year with 31 members). Next, members commit to training six days a week for about three hours per day with Coach Tom Falzone, a world-record holder and champion skydiver. Finally, by the time they graduate, firstie members of the team will have over 500 jumps, which is more than most airborne soldiers have in their careers.

It is also possible to view the Parachute Team’s training as inbetween extremes. According to Uthlaut, there are two types of jumps for which soldiers train: static line jumping and freefall jumping. Static line jumping occurs at a low-level altitude (around 1,200 feet) using a round parachute that is pulled for the jumper and causes him or her to float straight down with little operational control. Military freefall, on the other hand, is done at a much higher altitude (15,000-35,000 feet), which requires the jumper to employ oxygen, and it uses a larger canopy parachute, which allows for navigation in the air thus making freefall a more tactical jump. Sport parachuting, which is what the West Point team practices, falls between these two military extremes. Sometimes called “Hollywood jumping,” sport parachuting is done between 3,000 and 13,000 feet using accuracy canopies that allow for greater control of the jump, but it is not tactical in focus and does not require oxygen. The team practices these jumps, often with military parachuting regiments (such as the 101st Airborne, the Special Ops Command “Black Daggers,” and the French Foreign Legion) in order to improve flying abilities for formation work and precision accuracy in landing, and their practice regularly pays off. The team took home 12 medals at the most recent National Collegiate Parachuting Championship, including a gold medal for Cadet Kurt Yeager ’13, who set a United States Parachuting Association record for overall performance in classic accuracy.

West Point Parachute Team members are constantly learning skills during their training and competition events that will be applicable to their military careers. Uthlaut notes 17 such skills, including composite risk management, accountability of and confidence in equipment, logistics training, and interaction with noncommissioned officers. For Team Captain Cadet Ben Garlick ’13, the most important lessons learned have been leadership and camaraderie. “This has definitely been the most important leadership experience I’ve had since I’ve been at West Point,” says Garlick. He also believes that being a member of the Parachute Team has cemented his identity in the Corps. Indeed, the Parachute Team is a tightly-knit group that never forgets its members.

continued on page 46

It proudly displays memorial plaques of its fallen members: John Ryan Dennison ’04, Phillip Neel ’05, and Nick Dewhirst ’06.

So, while many people see them as strictly affiliated with the Department of Physical Education as a competitive club and mainly a strategic draw for fans at football games, the West Point Parachute Team is quite at home in DMI as well. Along with Falzone and Uthlaut, DMI’s Master Sergeant Felix Serra and Sergeant Sean O’Toole are training these cadets to be future Army leaders. Garlick, who will be jumping into Michie Stadium in the fall, agrees. “I’m not really a big fan of heights, and I used to be freaked-out when they opened the door and I saw people sucked out of the plane,” he says, “but I’ve gained confidence from being in these risky situations—being a member of the parachute team is the closest thing I can get to leadership ‘in extremis’ at West Point without actually being a platoon leader.”

Memorial Articles are now online!

Andyoucanaccessthem onthesamepage as Be Thou At Peace at WestPointAOG.org

Because Memorial Articles are now online, you can read them as soon as they’ve been finalized, rather than waiting for TAPS magazine to be published.

Even better…now, you can leave your own testimonial on the same page where the Memorial Article is posted. Testimonials will be preserved in the graduate’s cullum File in perpetuity.

note:ThisprocessisavailableforMemorialArticles submittedafterApril,2011.Articlessubmittedpriorto thatwillbecomeavailableoveraperiodoftime.

BeverlyC.Gray’shistoricalfictionseriestracesa West Point family from 1860 through WWII

What readers say about this expansive family saga:

“Ms. Gray is able to not only give a broad yet personalized sweep of U.S. military history, she also creates engaging characters who feel like family members by the second chapter of the first book...”

“This is a great 5-book series focusing on generations of a family from the Civil War on who have attended West Point. It is interesting to read how the Army changed through this family's eyes...”

Black Knights of the Hudson is available online: Paperbacks (Amazon)

eBooks (Amazon, Barnes & noble, Apple IBooks, Kobo, Diesel, Smashwords, etc.)

Formoreinformation,pleasevisit: graysguidons.grayarmybrat.com/?page_id=12

West Point Museum

The DIGITAl EDITION of West Point magazine is an enhanced version of the print copy in electronic form. Download a PDF or view the magazine in an internet browser. The digital version is also available through a free iPad app!

are now available online at WestPointAOG.org/Memorials

TAPS will next be printed and mailed in 2013. You may preorder now for $15 per copy. Order online, or send your information with payment to:

SEVEN HOME GAMES IN 2012!

jOIN THE ARMY A CLuB

THE ARMY A CLuB IS RESPONSIBLE FOR GENERATING SuPPORT FOR THE PuRPOSE OF ENRICHING THE CAdET-ATHLETE EXPERIENCE. THE FINANCIAL SuPPORT FROM GENEROuS dONORS CONTRIBuTES TO THE PROGRAM’S LONG-TERM GROWTH ANd PROSPERITY. IT ALSO AdVANCES THE ACAdEMY ’S OVERALL MISSION OF PROduCING LEAdERS OF CHARACTER BY PROVIdING AN EXTRAORdINARY dIVISION-I ATHLETIC EXPERIENCE FOR OuR OVER 900 CAdET-ATHLETES.

BENEFITS OF jOINING THE ARMY A CLuB INCLudE:

• Premium Parking at football games

• Preferred seat locations at various contests and functions

• invitations to sPecial events

• the gratification of knowing your gift is enhancing the quality of the CAdET-ATHLETE EXPERIENCE

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL THE ARMY A CLuB AT 845-938-2322 OR E-MAIL uS AT ARMYACLuB@uSMA.Edu

The Atlantis Stone by Juan

Estrella

A British organization established after the American Revolutionary War continues its quest across the centuries to reclaim the colonies. They have unearthed a weapon capable of harnessing Mother Nature’s wrath! If they can transport the Atlantis Stone into the United States, a series of cataclysmic natural disasters can throw America into chaos, giving them the chance they need to finally defeat the upstart nation. Secret agent Alex Beltran, Delta Force, the Vatican holy Warriors and the American government race to prevent the collapse of the last super power. This is the first novel by Juan Estrella, a 1989 West Point graduate.

You know you’ve seen it…but can you remember where?

Those individuals who correctly identify where at USMA the item shown in the picture at right is located will be entered in a drawing to win a $25 gift card to the WPAOG Gift Shop!

Send your entry to editor@wpaog.org by August 28, 2012.

The winner of this contest will be announced in the Fall issue of West Point magazine and in First call

Employees of West Point, WPAOG, and their families are not eligible.

West Point magazine Spring Issue

“Where is it?” Winner: MAJ Philip luu ’00

The wooden mural/display box is located on the wall on the 2nd Floor of the foyer in herbert Alumni center.

A ll FOR T h E cORPS Planned Giving

“West Point built upon our upbringing and gave Jeri and me a guide to how to live our lives and how to raise our family—a credo to live by. We can never repay West Point for that. But what we could do was provide the members of the Corps with things that were not otherwise available.”

Jeri and Bob Whitfield have been long-time and loyal supporters of the Corps of Cadets and the Academy. For more than a quarter of a century, they have funded numerous activities and are annual donors to West Point. They annually attend graduation week and have established an irrevocable trust that will ultimately endow the Debate Council and its activities.

–Bob Whitfield, USMA Class of 1948

WEST POINT ASSOCIATION OF GRADUATE S

Past in Review

CADe T S UMM er Tr A ininG oV er TH e Ye A r S

by J. Phoenix, Esquire

Cadets are in the middle of an aggressive 2012 schedule of summer training now, so it is understandable that a very significant anniversary recently went unheralded and unobserved—the bicentennial of mandated summer training for the Corps of Cadets. The requirement for summer training first was specified in the omnibus Act of Congress of April 29, 1812—just as a second war with Great Britain was imminent. In addition to expanding the faculty, providing a 94-man company of bombardiers, sappers, and miners, and allocating $25,000 for the construction or renovation of buildings and the procurement of books and other needed apparatus, it also required that three months of every year be devoted to summer camp where the cadets would learn the duties “incident to a regular camp.”

By the summer of 1818, when Sylvanus Thayer had been Superintendent for two academic semesters, summer camp was located on the Plain near the present location of the Superintendent’s Quarters, with each cadet company maintaining a “company street” of larger tents with wooden floors— upon which the cadets slept without cots. The two academic-year companies at the time were expanded to four for summer camp in order to provide more leadership positions and to allow for battalion-level maneuver training.

Jumping ahead nearly a century, by the summer of 1920, Brigadier General Douglas MacArthur, who had been superintendent for a year, made some drastic changes to summer training. Convinced that the gap between the Civil War-era tactics the cadets learned and the actual tactics used in World War I was vast, he sent the new yearlings to Fort Dix, New Jersey, for artillery instruction, observation of balloon ascents, Cavalry and Infantry tactics, and weapons qualification. A decade later, the Class of 1930 inaugurated

what became known as “The Virginia Trip,” training at three installations: Fort Monroe, Fort Eustis, and Langley Field. Portions of regular summer camp remained on the Plain until 1942, when it moved to the larger Tactical Training and Firing Center surrounding Lake Popolopen. This center became Camp Buckner shortly after Lieutenant General Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr., Class of 1908, was killed in action in June, 1945, while commanding the Tenth Army.

A revolutionary change occurred, however, when the Class of January 1943 split into ground cadets and air cadets during the summer of 1942, with the future pilots taking primary training at Shaw Field, SC; Hemet, Merced, and Victorville, CA; and Montgomery, AL. The ground cadets learned about light and medium tanks at Fort Knox, took an accelerated Officer Candidate School course at Fort Benning, and then held maneuvers at Pine Camp in upstate New York. The air cadets of the Class of June 1943 also left for six weeks of primary training in 1942, while the ground cadets maneuvered at Pine Camp before rotating between Beast Detail and training enlisted soldiers at Camp Croft, SC.

After World War II, the Class of 1948 made history by participating, as second classmen, in the first-ever cadet-midshipmen (CAMID) amphibious exercise at Little Creek, VA, in

1946. In the summer of 1947, the class took the first of what would become traditional cadet summer trips, initially flying to Wright Field near Dayton, OH, to see the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star, America’s first production jet fighter. The Class of 1949 spent their cow summer on the Air Corps Trip and performed the same Beast and Buckner details with one exception: a “guinea pig group” of cadets spent several weeks at Replacement Training Depots in Fort Jackson, SC, and Fort Knox, KY, training soldiers. During their cow summer, the Sesquicentennial Class of 1952 enjoyed the Air Force trip and CAMID V but also assisted with the training conducted at Beast and Buckner, sometimes as assistant instructors, other times as aggressors. During their first class summer, they took the now-traditional trip to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

The month-long summer trips during second and first class year continued through the first class trip of the Class of 1974. Over the two summers, all cadets received an orientation on the Air Force and all combat arms by visiting various Army posts and Air Force bases in the United States. But when the Class of 1978 graduated 1,063 lieutenants, some of whom were commissioned in combat support and service support branches, and a myriad of training opportunities were made available, it was obvious that it was time to abandon the summer orientation trips. 