The Climbing team participated in its first CCS Competition of the year in Poughkeepsie, NY. Cadets on the Climbing Team organized and executed a successful Trip Section with less than 48-hours' notice to prepare and organize the trip and competition. Notable results are as follows: Cadets Charlie Barron '20 - 2nd in bouldering and 1st in speed for males, Morgan Hall '20 - 2nd in speed and Jessica Maddox '19 - 4th in speed for females.
Mountaineering at the CCS Competition
Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy Demonstration
Psychology majors from the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership and cadets enrolled in the Foundations of Counseling course traveled to participate in a Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) demonstration at the Albert Ellis Institute in New York City. Cadets learned about the application of REBT theory and techniques to problem-solving and emotional regulation. They interacted with Albert Ellis Institute representatives and civilian participants from the local area through an interactive demonstration. A group discussion then facilitated understanding and addressed questions regarding the techniques, thought processes, and underlying philosophy of the theory.
Powerlifting Annual Inter-Squad Meet
Army West Point Powerlifting conducted their annual inter-squad Black and Gold meet on in the Arvin Cadet Physical Development Center, Class of '62 Room. 12 members of the team competed in a mock meet in preparation for the Army Navy Powerlifting Meet scheduled to take place on December 2. Several members had noteworthy performances, including Firstie Cameisha Jackson who improved her overall total by 20 kg. Omotoysi Oyedeiji also had an impressive performance, deadlifting 267.5 kg (590 lbs) at 183lbs bodyweight.
Cadets Tour Sing Sing Correctional Facility
Twenty-nine students from numerous academic majors currently taking Criminology and the Criminal Justice System visited the Sing Sing Correctional Facility for an all-day tour of the facility. This educational trip provided insights into life inside of a maximum-security prison. From conversations with the Superintendent and correctional officers, to a briefing from and conversation with an inmate about a program, to walking tours throughout the organization, cadets learned about aspects of life inside. The Warden Mr. Michael Capra, classes on Thursday, prior to the visit to provide a short lecture and take questions.
Kendo at the Goyokai Kendo Tournament
Five members of the West Point Kendo Club traveled to Goyokai Kendo Tournament at Canton, MA. Cadet Sang Oh '19 competed for the first time and fought well against more experienced opponents. Cadet Kimi Walker '20 did well, but was unable to win their opening bouts. Our highest-ranking Cadets, Cadets Kenny Lee '19 and Thomas Koizumi '20, both Dans (black belt equivalent in Kendo) competed in the upper echelon brackets. Lee went 1-1 being eliminated in the 2nd round of a highly competitive bracket, while Koizumi swept 3rd place. At the end of the day the West Point Kendo Club borrowed a member from another dojo to compete in the 5 versus 5 team tournament. The young club fought hard but was defeated in the second round, but took away a lot form the experience.
"Writing for History" at the Mounger Writing Center
CPT Hoogland led a discussion on writing in history as part of the Mounger Writing Center’s Wednesday Night Workshop series. CPT Hoogland reviewed disciplinary expectations, suggested practical techniques for developing theses and structuring essays, and engaged a wide variety of concerns relating to the writing process, cohesion, style, revision, proofreading, and documentation. Cadets also received advice from Dr. Hoppe (WPWP), not only about the resources available to them at the MWC but also concerning how many of CPT Hoogland's ideas could also inform how they regarded writing across the curriculum. The discussions are mostly designed for cadets, but anyone is welcome to attend. A full schedule is available at usma.edu/wpwp.
Vietnamese American Cadet Association Visits DC
Over Veterans Day Weekend, the Vietnamese American Cadet Association traveled to Washington D.C. to read names at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the National Mall, attend a reception in honor of Maya Lin, the architect for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, visit Arlington National Cemetery, and experience Vietnamese culture. During the Friday night reception for Maya Lin, the cadets met not only the architect, but also former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, former Second Lady Jill Biden, and a number of West Point Graduates who served in the Vietnam War. Three representatives of the Naval Academy Vietnamese Association joined them. After the reception, both the Cadets and Midshipmen traveled to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial where they participated in reading the names of Soldiers who had been killed during the Vietnam War in honor of Veterans Day. They were assigned seven blocks containing 30 names each, or 210 casualties over all, covering a period from March 15, 1971 to March 29, 1971. On Saturday, the Vietnamese American Cadet Association visited Arlington National Cemetery, stopping at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, President Kennedy’s grave, and attending a wreath laying ceremony at General Pershing’s grave. Finally, the Cadets received several historically focused briefings. LTC Siry provided some background on the importance of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and discussed some of the casualties whose names the cadets would recite at the Wall. Professor Hinnershitz, an immigration specialist, discussed Vietnamese immigration, and CPT Clason, who previously served with the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (currently the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency) mission in Vietnam, provided a briefing on the normalization of relations between Vietnam and the United States.
Triathlon at the Santo Domingo CAMTRI
The Army West Point Triathlon Team sent two cadets to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic to compete in the 2017 Santo Domingo CAMTRI Sprint Triathlon Premium American Cup. This race was restricted to licensed professional triathletes only. Athletes represented countries from North and South America, Germany, and Spain. Both West Point cadets performed at a high level in an extremely competitive elite field and they finished within two to three minutes of the first-place finishers. Of the 45 professional men in the field, CDT Jacob Slife ’18 finished 18th. CDT Teresa Groton ’18 finished 7th in the women’s race with 26 professional women in the field.
Brigadier General Thierry Lion Guest Lecture
The Center for the Study of Civil-Military Operations hosted Brigadier General Thierry Lion, the French Military Representative to the United Nations. General Lion has rich experience having served on operational engagements in Mail, Chad and the Central African Republic. He talked about the challenges of working in the African nations, the importance of cross-cultural communication and how to work alongside allied partners.
County Clerk Digital History Project
Captain Villanueva and five cadets from the Phi Alpha Theta, the History Honor Society, went to the Dutchess County Clerk’s Office in Poughkeepsie, NY to assist with a digital history project. The cadets worked with County Historian William Tatum to index documents in the county’s ancient documents collection. The project will make it easier for researchers to search for historical county administrative documents covering such topics as court proceedings, fines, and debts.
The Int'l Mechanical Engineering Conference
The International Mechanical Engineering Conference and Exposition was held in Tampa, FL. Cadets Patrick Murphy and Jack Montgomery, along with advisor Dr. Freisinger presented a poster on their work with the Bronx VA, 2LT Michael Kerwin presented a poster and gave a technical presentation on his work involving a Soldier Cooling system, cadet Angus Ferrell and Colonel Benson presented work on a new advanced temperature diagnostic – Magnetic Resonance Thermometry. Ferrell was a finalist for the ASME Rohsenhow award – given to the best presentation in the gas turbine engine session. The award winner will be announced at the International Gas Turbine Institute Turbo Expo conference during June, in Oslo, Norway.
Water Polo at the National Championships
The Army Water Polo Team competed at the national championships held at Florida State University. The team finished in 8th place of the 16-team field. To earn a berth, each of 15 regions competed internally, with the winning teams earning a place alongside the host school, Florida State, with the field of 250 teams nationally competing. This is the best finish for Army, the New York Division champ, since 1995, and an improvement from 12th place last year. The team faced Penn State for the first game of the weekend in the outdoor pools of FSU. The hard-fought match ultimately was decided by the offensive abilities of firstie Shelby Lee and the excellent Goalie work of cow Jeff Stark, resulting in an 8-7 outcome with Army on top. Motivated by their success, the team moved on to their quarterfinal game Saturday morning against the University of Southern California. Although the team played well, they came up short, resulting in a 12-8 loss for the team. In their second game of the day, the team suffered a second loss to the University of California (Berkeley). In the final match for Army, they faced the University of Michigan. After losing several players due to foul trouble, the team was unable to maintain the intensity with which they started the game, and lost 11-7. The games offered valuable lessons and insight for things to work on in the upcoming spring season.
Glee Club Joins the West Point Band
Cadet from the West Point Glee Club joined the West Point Band in celebrating its 200 years of continuous service to USMA and to the nation. The Band presented their bicentennial gala concert in the prestigious David Geffen Hall in Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts complex. The concert featured several traditional songs that are unique to West Point and are deeply rooted in its culture, such as "The Corps," the Alma Mater, and "Benny Havens, Oh!" The Glee Club also performed several other works with the band, such as Randall Wallace’s "Mansions of the Lord," "God Bless America," "Stars and Stripes Forever," and "Battle Hymn of the Republic." The concert, which was free and open to the public, drew an audience of about 1,500 people. The Superintendent, Commandant, Dean, and approximately 50 cadets from West Point showed their support for this momentous event. Also in attendance were USMA Band alumni, family members, faculty and staff, and several celebrated composers who are working with the Glee Club on future projects. For the Glee Club, the gala concert was not only a great outreach opportunity with the people of NYC, but it was also a chance to be able to perform in an exceptional acoustic space with professional musicians who are the true embodiment of service to the nation.
Women's Team Handball at UNC
The Army-West Point Women’s Team Handball traveled to University of North Carolina to play both UNC and the UNC Alumni team. The Army-West Point Gold beat UNC twice on their home court, and played a tight game with the UNC Alumni team, losing only by a few points in the games played. Winning game scores were 13-11 and 11-8. The entire team played well over the weekend, with Army Gold player, Teasia Stewart '21, leading in goals.
Flight Laboratory on Aircraft Stability
Twenty-three cadets enrolled in Aircraft Performance and Stability conducted flight laboratories over the Hudson Valley area. The purpose of these labs was to experimentally determine the longitudinal stability characteristics of the Cessna 182 and correlate real-world behavior with theoretical concepts discussed back in the classroom. Laboratories were flown by CPTs Ashcraft and Rigney, members of the CME Flight Section, as well as CW5 Benjamin Pletcher, the Second Aviation Detachment Fixed Wing Standardization Pilot. In sum, the cadets flew a total of 12 labs periods for 25.5 flight hours.
Cadets Visit HBOs "Last Week Tonight"
Cadets from the International Affairs Forum visited the set of HBOs “Last Week Tonight” before its pre-taping rehearsal. The show’s host, John Oliver, discussed the show development process with cadets and the show’s approach to complex international political issues.
Army Takes Third Straight with Win Over Yale
With four different players reaching double-digit scoring, the Army West Point women's basketball team went on to claim its third straight victory after defeating Yale, 82-65, in a non-conference game at Payne Whitney Gym. Aliyah Murray and Madison Hovren paced the Black Knights with a double-double. Murray poured in a game-high 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Hovren totaled 14 points and 11 boards. Libby Tacka chipped in with 14 points as well, while Janae McNeal and Cori Schnell added 12 and nine, respectively. McNeal also had seven rebounds, five assists and four steals in the win. Army (4-2) posted a season-best 82 points on Yale (3-2), a team that was coming off a road victory over TCU. The last time Army had two players with double-doubles in a game was on March 10, 2017. Schnell posted a new career high in scoring with nine points. Hovren reached double-digit scoring for the sixth straight game. It was the her fifth double-double of the season and 21st of her career. Murray recorded her first double-double of her senior year and 12th of her career. The Black Knights went to the line a season-best 36 times, making 28 foul shots. It was the second time this season that four Cadets reached double-digit scoring. McNeal shot a perfect 5-for-5 from the field in the first half. Army had 26 points from 22 Yale turnovers. The Black Knights outscored the Bulldogs in each of the four quarters. Read More
Cadets Visit Redstone Arsenal for Capstone Research
First Class Cadets Macauley Hoyt, Brandon Lee, and Taylor Rodenhuis, along with advisor Dr. Roger Chapman Burk, visited Redstone Arsenal, AL to conduct research for their capstone project. The cadets will be developing the system requirements for the electronic log book function of version 4 of the Universal Common Ground Station for unmanned aircraft. The cadets met with personnel from the Common Systems Integration directorate, unmanned aircraft operators, and the systems engineer working on requirements development. They also observed real and simulated unmanned aircraft operations.
Mad Money Visits Economics and Films at West Point
The economics program and the Investment Club hosted Mr. Jim Cramer of Mad Money. Mr. Cramer and his staff visited an Economics class before he enjoyed lunch in the Mess Hall with Economics Majors. Mr. Cramer filmed his show on the second floor of Cullum Hall and interviewed Alex Gorsky for one of the segments. Cadets participated in two of the show's segments. The lightning round, where about ten cadets asked quick questions, and individual stock pitches, where four cadets from the investment club successfully pitched well prepared ideas
Fly Fishing Club Project Healing Waters
The Cadet Fly Fishing Club had ten Cadets participate in a special day with Veterans from the NY/NJ Chapter of Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing. Connetquot River State Park on Long Island was the venue with cadets teaming with veterans to learn fly fishing, learn from veteran's experiences, and thank the vets in the program. The Cadets caught 43 trout, with three catching their first fish on a fly rod, and some catching fish on flies the cadets tied during a club meeting. The cadets met and fished with COL Matty one of the first OICs of the Cadet Fly Fishing Club, and Ray Lynch '03, who is a volunteer with PHWFF. Tom McCoy, one of the Long Island Flyrodders who volunteered, blogged about the event at http://tomsfishingstories.com/ future-veterans-join-us-on-the-river/. Both organizations decided this successful event was the 1st Annual Veteran's Day PHWFF/USMA Connetquot Catch and all look forward to the 2nd Annual next year.