Thanksgiving is a time most people spend with family and loved ones, reflecting on what they're most grateful for. For someone like Bethany Hofmann of the Army West Point women's lacrosse team, family has a totally different meaning. After a life-altering trip this past summer what she is most thankful for shifted. Click here to watch the video: https://youtu.be/wtfbopCCbMU. At birth, Hofmann was given up by her biological mother from a small town in Romania, with the hopes of giving her a better life. At seven months old she was adopted and brought to the United States never knowing where she truly came from. Even without that knowledge, Hofmann's sense of family never wavered and finally came full circle after she made an eye-opening trip back to where it all began.

Cadets participated in the ground-breaking ceremony for the National WWI memorial in Washington, DC meeting with General Milley, Secretary Shulkin, and the other dignitaries discussing the importance and lasting influences of WWI on America, our armed forces, and the international community. After participating in the ceremony, they spent the rest of the weekend continuing studies on WWI in American memory. The cadets taught each other about some of the important WWI sites in Arlington, including the Argonne Cross, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Canadian Cross of Sacrifice, Frank Buckles gravesite (last surviving Doughboy), and Charles Pierce's gravesite (the father of graves registration, identification, and repatriation), among others. At Arlington, they visited and talked about COL Charles Young (The third African-American West Point graduate) and Henry Johnson (African-American Medal of Honor recipient from WWI). Cadets also participated in the wreath-laying ceremony and commemoration at General Pershing's grave.

The Spanish Language and Cultural Club celebrated a Día de los Muertos, or the “Day of the Dead” event at the Train Station in West Point. The OIC, Dr. Amell, and the Cadets enjoyed traditional Mexican food and decorations and were also presented with a ceramic, human-sized skull, characteristic of the holiday, to design as they saw fit. The results were impressive and the cadets enjoyed being able to integrate themselves into a Mexican cultural practice as well as using their creativity to decorate their skulls.

Firstie co-captain Curtis Jerzerick was named the Most Valuable Player of the Collegiate Sprint Football League (CSFL) as the league announced its postseason awards Monday afternoon. Army earned a league-high 17 post season honors with nine first team selections, six second team honorees and one honorable mention. The Black Knights had a historic season as they won the inaugural CSFL Championship game on Nov. 10 with a 10-0 decision over Penn. The win marked Army's 35th league title and 18th perfect season in program history. The Cadets notched eight wins for just the second time in their 61-year history, matching the total set by the 1983 squad. Jerzerick became Army's first league MVP since Philip Choi ('16) in 2015. The Lewistown, Pa., native wreaked havoc on opposing offenses with 38 tackles (26 solo, 12 assisted), including 12.5 tackles for a loss of 66 yards and six sacks for a loss of 52 yards. He also blocked a field goal attempt and broke up two passes in addition to returning a fumble 13 yards for his second-career touchdown. Under Jerzerick's leadership, the Army defense was the only team in the league to allow fewer than 100 points on the season. Read More

COL John Lloyd, Commander of Task Force Power Restoration in Puerto Rico spoke to the Electrical Power Engineering course and several members of the EECS faculty. He provided unique insights for cadets into both the technical and leadership challenges of such a tremendous undertaking. He enlightened the audience to the incredible scale of the damage caused by hurricane Maria and summarized the USACE response efforts. COL Lloyd provided practical examples about the importance of power system stability, modeling, and resiliency that closely link with course objectives. Additionally, he fielded general questions about USACE, leading large organizations, and serving as an Engineer Officer.

The Technical Scholarship Committee, with representatives from CLS, CME, EECS, GENE, MATH, PNE and SE finalized their selection of the four nominees who will represent West Point as they apply for the Goldwater Scholarship: CDTs Jesse Palmer '19 - Chemical Engineering, Madeline Ryu '19 - Life Sciences, Robert Sims '19 - Mechanical Engineering and Peter Zhu '19 - Life Sciences. The Goldwater Scholarship is the nation's most prestigious undergraduate scholarship in the fields of math, science and engineering. It is awarded to sophomores and juniors who show exceptional promise of becoming the next generation's leaders in research and innovation. Each institution can nominate up to four candidates. This is the first year that USMA will compete.

The US Army Cyber School Commandant, BG Hersey and CSM Rinehart visited the W2KGY Ground Station to learn how the station and the Cadet Amateur Radio Club conducts activities to broaden cadets’ understanding in HF propagation and wireless digital communications. Cadets Nicolas Rodriguez '20 and Jordan Moore '20 briefed BG Hersey and CSM Rinehart on how they decoded a digital signal for a cyber capture-the-flag competition. Later the US Army Signal School Commandant and Chief of Signal, BG Edmonson and CSM Daniel visited the station. Cadets Jonathan Morton '18 and Logan Leahy '18 briefed the general on West Point's participation in amateur radio activities and military HF radio competitions such as Exercise Noble Skywave in which we placed 19th out of 85 teams. During the visit, Cadet Morton made HF radio contact with the US Army MARS Gateway station - Desert Eagle at Fort Huachuca, AZ and demonstrated how the station can make contact over 2100 miles. CPT(P) Sherburne explained the importance of collegiate amateur radio clubs in developing cadets to become more competent Signal officers.

Following three double-doubles in a 3-0 week for the Army West Point women's basketball team, cow Madison Hovren was tabbed the Patriot League Player of the Week on Monday. During the three-game stretch, she averaged 16.3 points per game and 13.0 boards per contest. This is the seventh time in Hovren's career that received player of the week honors from the Patriot League, as she earned the recognition six times during her sophomore campaign. The junior forward played a pivotal role in the team's success this past week and led the team in scoring in two of the three outings. In a 71-37 victory against LIU Brooklyn at Christl Arena last Monday, Hovren posted 15 points and a season-high 14 rebounds to lead the game in both categories. She followed up that performance with a strong showing in front of the home crowd on Wednesday night, after putting up a season-best and game-high 21 points and 13 boards against NJIT. Her double-double versus the Highlanders was the 20th of her career. Seven of her 21 points came from the charity stripe as she went 7-for-8 from the line. Read More

West Point’s reigning national champion Ethics Debate Team finished second place at the Northeast Regional Ethics Bowl Competition. The team, consisting of five debaters, Carolyn Kehn '18, Jessica Boerner '18, Reed Johnson '19, Brett Yelverton '18, and Noe Gallegos '20, went 4-1-1 on the day, beating teams from James Madison University, University of Baltimore County Maryland, Rochester University, Sacred Heart University, and Franklin Pierce College, before losing in the final round to Tufts University. West Point also fielded a team composed entirely of plebes and yearlings who had never competed in Ethics Debate before. This team, consisting of Viviana Gonzalez '20, Jake Hohmann '20, Sophia Maliscke '21, AnnMarie Moolenaar '21, and Elijah Brown '21, went 2-1 on the day and nearly qualified for the quarterfinals. The performance of both teams was especially remarkable because only two members of the teams had ever competed in Ethics Debate before and one of the team’s experienced debaters was unable to travel to the competition at the last minute. In his place, Sophia Maliscke '21 competed with only a few hours to prepare. Despite these disadvantages, the team excelled, winning a spot at the National Competition in Chicago in March in the hope of defending their title. This is another example of the department’s commitment to developing cadet’s ethical reasoning, civic responsibility, and effective communication.

The United Nations convened the Group of Governmental Experts on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems in Geneva, Switzerland. Various panels met to discuss issues with LAWS such as emerging technologies, legal and ethical concerns, and military effects. LTC Christopher Korpela, Director of the Robotics Research Center, was selected to be part of the U.S. Delegation and presented on the military effects panel on LAWS in terms of doctrine, future operational environments, test and evaluation processes, and commander’s responsibilities in the employment of weapons systems.

The panel on military effects was made up of military and academic experts from around the world to include Brigadier (Armament corps) Patrick Bezombes - France, Professor Heigo Sato - Takushoku University, Tokyo, Lieutenant Colonel Alan Brown - Ministry of Defence, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Dr. David Shim - KAIST Institute for Robotics, Republic of Korea, and Ms. Lydia Kostopoulos - National Defense University, Washington D.C.

Over 120 countries were present with questions on reliability, proliferation, artificial intelligence, and the role of command authority and control over LAWS. Non-governmental organizations and academic universities also asked questions on collateral damage and the potential for errant behavior of these systems. The Campaign to Stop Killer Robots presented concerns of LAWS during a side panel and has been live tweeting each of the panel events (https://twitter.com/BanKillerRobots/status/930377369768153089).

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) sponsored "SUSTAIN X" multi-disciplinary capstone design team conducted a series of meetings with various industry professionals in Silicon Valley. Civil and Mechanical Engineering (CME) cadets Brandon Wilson, Troy Shuman, Dallas (Stowe) Faircloth, Brian Feeney, Jonathan Morton, and Dan Gerson, investigated the innovative and entrepreneurial culture of Silicon Valley by conducting information meetings and social engagements with industry professionals at Slack, DIUx, Google X, and the West Point Society of San Francisco that were facilitated by LTC Novoselich and LTC Jones.

Highlights included a discussion of design thinking at Slack, the innovation and counter-drone efforts of DIUx, and a technical panel discussion of engineers from Google X’s Project Wing and Project Loon. West Point graduates and friends of the academy facilitated the meetings. The cadets gained valuable insights into the future of autonomous aerial delivery platforms, user-centered design thinking, and the rapid pace of innovation to better inform their solution to the DARPA-sponsored sustainment challenge.

A team of nine cadets and two staff executed a drone flight test event at West Point Range 11 as part of the Post-Nuclear Blast Forensics Swarm capstone project. During this activity, five quadcopter flights, and one fixed wing aircraft flight were conducted. Cadets experienced first-hand the preflight process, aircraft control, and emergency procedures. This exposure was invaluable to understand elements of system design for their DTRA funded capstone effort. This event was also notable as it marked West Point's "return to flight" for drone operations. These operations were paused earlier this year due to the evolving regulatory landscape for unmanned aircraft. The Civil and Mechanical Engineering (CME) department took the lead for West Point to establish a safe, effective, and legal process to operate small drones in pursuit of Academic efforts, welcomed by the Supt.

The chemical engineering cadets attended the bi-annual Chem Show at the Javits Center in New York City. The Chem Show is a showcase of many of the most modern and innovative technologies involved in the chemical process industry. Exhibitors range from unique equipment vendors, displaying the most modern pumps, valves, and other ancillary equipment, to virtual reality demonstrations of simulated heat exchange equipment. "Everyone was friendly and eager to talk and explain or demonstrate their equipment," said one cadet, while another worried that "it showed me how much I don't know, yet."

Cadets Ryan Wright and James Pontius gave a presentation on military leadership, in German, to the Jahrgang Nova (plebes) of the Theresian Military Academy in Wiener Neustadt, Austria. They also volunteered to lead an hour-long question and answer session in the Austrian cadets English class. Wright and Pontius gave the Austrians an overview of USMA and answered their questions about traditions, curriculum and daily Cadet life.

Civil and Mechanical Engineering (CME) Launched the first monthly High Performance Computing (HPC) Brown Bag lunch this month to highlight HPC-related research and curriculum development, and to encourage collaboration within the Academy and beyond. Every month moving forward, faculty, staff, and cadets interested in HPC will have a forum to highlight their work, exchange ideas, build collaboration, and learn more. The first speaker was Dr. Aaron Freidenberg of CME who spoke about Finite Element Analysis (FEA) simulations using HPCs.

Behind a pair of noteworthy scoring performances by Libby Tacka and Madison Hovren, the Army West Point women's basketball team cruised to a 71-56 victory over Dartmouth on Wednesday night at Christl Arena. Hovren led the way with her fifth consecutive double-double, putting in a season-high 24 points on 11-of-14 shooting to go along with 11 boards. Tacka finished the game against Dartmouth (4-1) with 15 points and five rebounds, while Janae McNeal added nine in the scoring column. Click here to watch the video: https://youtu.be/7KTswfbZ9LQ. Army dominated the painted area, outscoring the Big Green, 44-14, down low. The Black Knights also won the turnover battle and capitalized off of Dartmouth's mishaps, putting in 23 points off of the Big Green's 20 turnovers. The Black Knights improved to 4-0 at Christl Arena this season. Hovren posted her sixth double-double of the season and 22nd of her career. The cow put up her third 20-point performance of the season and 15th of her career. Hovren's 11 made shots was her most in a single game since Jan. 11, 2017 against Colgate. She eclipsed the 800-point mark for her career and now has 814 career points. Tacka's 15 points was a career-high. Read More

The West Point Humanities Center, along with the Department of English and Philosophy (DEP) and the Department of Law co-hosted Professor Randall Kennedy for a discussion entitled, "Racial Reconciliation and Beyond." A Rhodes Scholar and distinguished author, Kennedy is a professor at Harvard Law School and served as a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. In the Haig Room at Jefferson Hall, Kennedy and DEP instructor Major Trivius Caldwell participated in a ninety-minute dialogue in front of more than sixty cadets, faculty, and staff – including the Dean of the Academic Board, Brigadier General Cindy Jebb. The two scholars discussed a wide-range of topics related to past and present concerns about race relations in America.

Army West Point Director of Athletics Boo Corrigan and head football coach Jeff Monken along with select players traveled to Lincoln Financial Field on Wednesday for the Army-Navy press conference. Firstie captains Ahmad Bradshaw and John Voit joined Corrigan and Monken in speaking with local, regional and national media in preparations for the Army-Navy Game presented by USAA, which is now only 10 days away.

Navy's head coach Ken Niumatalolo was also on hand at the home of the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles, while Darryl Bonner and D.J. Palmore took questions for the Midshipmen. The 118th Army-Navy Game, presented by USAA, is set for 3:10 p.m. on Dec. 9 at Lincoln Financial Field. America's Game will be broadcast live on CBS with Brad Nessler, Gary Danielson and Allie LaForce on the call.

Firstie Co-Captain and Quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw
(Ref.: on breaking the streak last year and carrying the momentum forward)
"It is just like any other game. Coach always talks about making it not a good season, but a great season. In order to do that we have to end victorious and get that (CIC) trophy back here."

Firstie Co-Captain and Defensive End John Voit
(Ref.: on what it means to play in this game)
"It means everything. When I was being recruited here and came to this game, it was surreal. To be able to play in my fourth game makes me excited. I can't wait to do it here in Philly where it all started for me." Full Story»

Fourteen Cadets of the Model Arab League traveled to Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts to compete in the 2017 Northeast Regional Competition (NERMAL). The club represented the country of Sudan in six councils and a Joint Cabinet Crisis Simulation. Cadets Kai Kizzie and Jonathan Lee earned Outstanding Delegate honors for their representation of Sudan in the Environmental Affairs Council. This competition qualifies the Model Arab League club to participate in the National Model Arab League competition in Washington, D.C. in April 2018.

CPT Daniel led a section of four first class Cadets who attended the The United States Army Pacific (USARPAC) Disaster Management Exchange at Camp Rilea, OR. The Chinese People's Liberation Army was also in attendance. Cadet participation and data collection on cultural and linguistic dynamics will enable follow-on work for their spring capstone exercise. The capstone will be a joint project between the Army Research Labs and the University of Virginia to create a cross-cultural simulator with the potential for utilization by soldiers in future international exchanges. During the visit, the Cadets conducted an office call with the USARPAC Commander, General Robert Brown.