The Taekwondo Team competed in their third and final tournament of the semester at Brown University in Providence, RI. The team continued its dominant performance in Division II with both the Men’s beginner (CDTs Baiye, Cho, Smith, Xu, and Valdez) and black belt (CDTs Galea, Nettles, Sawhney) teams winning Gold in their brackets. The Men’s beginners have swept all three tournaments this year with a team record of 15-0 for the semester. The Men’s Black Belts brought home the first gold medal finish for West Point this decade. The Men’s Black Belt record is 15-2, with both loses coming to Cornell, the defending league champion, who they defeated for the gold at this tournament in the finals. With the semester complete and the season at the half way point, the Army Team has already eclipsed its last year’s final points total of 598 points, which has been an Army record. With two tournaments to go, the team holds an over 300 point lead in the division, and is only 160 points short of moving up to Division I (which only has the top three schools in the nation); that would mark a rise from DIII to DI in just two years, and a first in league history. Also of note in the tournament were the silver and bronze medal finishes of CDTs Colin Hwang and Will Xu in forms, as well as the continuation of CDT Alexandra Baker’s undefeated streak stretching to 8 tournaments over the last two years.

The Bowling team travelled to Farmingdale, NY, to participate in the third and final EIBC match of the year. For the fist time ever, the team fielded three full teams, the Army Men’s A and B teams and the Army Women’s A team. A tournament highlight for the Men’s B team was their head-to-head match against Molloy College where they scored a perfect 8-0. Special recognition goes to CDT Pieter Honig ’19 whose performance at the beginning of the day moved him from the Men’s B team to the A team.

The Army West Point Equestrian team competed at the Zone 3 Region 3 ISHA English Hunter Seat competition hosted by Stevens Institute of Technology at Centenary College’s beautiful facility in Pompton Plains, NY. There, they competed against Centenary College, Drew University, Marist College, Sarah Lawrence College, SUNY New Paltz, Stevens Institute of Technology, Vassar College and William Paterson. In beginner walk/trot CDT Katie Guettlein placed third, and CDT Mac Johnson placed first. In beginner walk/trot canter, CDT Julius Smoak took first place, CDT Caroline Harris placed third, and CDT Katie Silecchia placed third. On 22 Nov., the team competed at the Zone 3 Region 3 ISHA English Hunter Seat competition hosted by Marist College of Technology at Crosswinds Farm Equestrian Center in Lagrangeville, NY. There, they competed against Centenary College, Drew University, Marist College, Sarah Lawrence College, SUNY New Paltz, Stevens Institute of Technology, Vassar College, and William Paterson. In beginner walk/trot CDT Katherine Iwanyk took first place, CDT Julius Smoak took third place, and CDT Katie Silecchia took second. In advanced walk/trot/canter, CDT Matilda Brady placed second.

CPT Josh Molgaard took NE300 Fundamentals of Nuclear Engineering students to tour the nuclear power plant at Indian Point, Buchanan, NY. Cadets had an opportunity to see a commercial nuclear reactor in operation and gain a better understanding of what they’ve been taught in class and how it relates to the real world. The trip was very enlightening and rewarding, as it has been in previous semesters. We appreciate the support from Entergy (the company that owns and operates IPEC).

NE452 (Instrumentation and Shielding) cadets conducted radiological surveys to locate, characterize, and identify radioactive isotopes at the Aachen MOUT Site as part of a course laboratory exercise. Cadets formed radiological survey teams and then were required to communicate the results of their radiological survey to an operational commander in a field setting. COL Hartke acted as the notional brigade commander operating in the area and received the cadet briefings. Through the briefing to the brigade commander, the cadets tested their ability to articulate the science, appropriately communicate strategic messages, and integrate their tactical and technical knowledge. In addition, two members of the FDNY (Hazmat Battalion Chief Edward Bergamini and LT Paul D'Ulisse ’96 observed the exercise, spoke to the cadets about FDNY procedures, capabilities, equipment and training, and received cadet briefings on their survey results.

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the oldest and most prestigious scholarly association in the country, held a workshop for authors at the Thayer Hotel. The workshop is part of the American Academy’s program on New Dilemmas in Ethics, Technology, and War. The program will culminate in the publication of a two-volume special issue of the American Academy’s journal, Daedalus. As an indication of USMA’s standing in the community, the American Academy reached out to faculty at West Point to request the opportunity to conduct the workshop here so that their authors could benefit from USMA faculty feedback. The workshop showcased articles on many urgently important topics, including nuclear weapons, cyber war, asymmetric warfare, counter-insurgency, targeted killing, drones and autonomous weapons systems, the responsibility to protect, and war crimes trials. Approximately 30 scholars from around the world participated in the workshop. These authors included General Officers such as Brigadier General Mark S. Martins and General (ret) C. Robert Kehler as well as numerous civilian scholars such as Michael Walzer, Scott Sagan, Antonia Chayes, and John Fabian Witt. A number of civilian leaders were invited to address the group, including Stephen Rapp (former United States Ambassador at Large for War Crimes Issues), Arafat Jamal (Head, Inter-Agency Coordination Service, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), James Ross (Legal and Policy Director of Human Rights Watch) and Lloyd Axworthy (former Canadian Foreign Minister). Approximately 30 USMA faculty members and 30 Cadets participated in the workshop over the three days. These Cadets and faculty were from a variety of departments, including English and Philosophy, History, Law, and Social Sciences. This event solidifies USMA’s position as a center for the very best scholarship on matters of ethics, war, and peace.

Students in LF475 (French) participated in a Service-Learning experience at the Monroe-Woodbury Middle School. Twelve cadets and Dr. Julia Praud spent the day with Madame Hutter's 7th and 8th grade French classes. For the 7th graders, the cadets prepared a presentation on French-speaking countries. At the end of the presentation, the cadets engaged with the 7th graders through a lively game of jeopardy, rewarding the young students with Swiss francs for remembering new facts about these francophone countries. In the 8th grade classes, the students earned euros while playing a competitive game to review clothing vocabulary. With the money earned, they purchased various clothing items, dressed up a cadet, and put on a fashion show. At the end of the day, Dr. Praud took the cadets to Le Pain Quotidien, an authentic Belgian bakery and café located at Woodbury Commons. While there, the manager offered to give the group a tour of the bakery. He explained each machine, the process of baking bread, and even gave the group samples to taste.

The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) sent 16 Cadets and 1 OIC (from DSE) to New York City for a West Point Leadership and Ethics Conference (WPLEC) at the American Museum of Natural History. At the workshop, cadets mentored local NYC high school students in a variety of ethics-based exercises to help students realize the importance of ethical leadership. Primarily, cadets facilitated discussions on typical ethical dilemmas that high school students might face in their everyday lives. Cadets reinforced honorable living with personal examples of material learned during West Point ethical training. The Cadets also turned this trip into a learning and civ-mil relations opportunity by gaining free admission to the museum for two hours following the end of the conference. The Cadets interacted positively with various civilians inside the museum and even received free tickets to an educational IMAX film.

The EM 411 Project Management course hosted a panel titled “Project Management in the Real World.” The cadets in attendance had the opportunity to hear from some professionals out in industry and the military about their experiences in Project Management and as Project Managers. The panelists included Ms. Toby Johnson, Vice President and General Manager of PepsiCo North America Nutrition Specialty Brands, Mr. Rob Andren, IT Manager at EXSIF Worldwide Inc., LTC Philip Clark, Deputy Chief of Staff for the Program Executive Office Ammunition, and Mr. Scott Doscher, Director, Government Programs at Express Scripts. The panelists discussed their experiences as Project Managers, the tools of Project Management that have been most helpful, challenging experiences and professional advice with the cadets and were able to interact with them after the panel discussion. Cadets gained invaluable insight from this diverse group of professionals while reinforcing course skills and knowledge gained over the semester.

G&EnE faculty (Dr Rick Wolfel, Dr. Amy Krakowka, COL Mark Read, and MAJ Colin Tansey) and geography honors student cadets (Ian Myers, Solomon McGinty, Kelly Kang, and Jordan Bray) attended the geography 2050 conference at Columbia University in New York City. The focus of the conference was on exploring our future in an urbanized world. Dr. Rick Wolfel, Dr Amy Richmond Krakowka and COL Mark Read all presented in a session called: “Complexity, Multi-dimensionality, and Vulnerability: The Future of Urbanization.” They discussed topics focused on how the transnational and multidimensional nature of our future cities will create immense complexity in terms of control and governance.

23 Cadets enrolled in Dr. Krakowka’s EV391a, Land Use Planning and Management, visited the first environmentally friendly residential tower in Manhattan, the Solaire. Cadets got a tour and were able to experience the technology used to make this a “green” building. In the afternoon, Cadets explored the highline to see how this once functioning elevated streetcar was turned into a park and tourist destination, thereby transforming the urban space.

2015 American Indian Science and Engineering Society’s (AISES) National Conference. LTC Jared Ware, Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering, served as the Officer Representative for the trip section to Phoenix, Arizona from 19-22 November 2015 for the American Indian Science and Engineering Society’s National Conference. This trip was in support of the Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Equal Opportunity (ODIEO) to educate Native American students with STEM backgrounds on the mission, culture and academic program of the United States Military Academy. Cadet Mike Murray, Officer-in-Charge of the ODIEO Native American Heritage Forum, and Cadet Rachael Dehlinger attended the conference and provided information at the USMA-sponsored booth. The AISES conference, the largest in recent years, attracted more than 1800 conference registrations, which included students, educators, universities, businesses, government agencies and other influencers. The conference received support from various government agencies to include the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the United States Air Force, the United States Navy, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the United States Geological Survey. The conference also had participation from top tier academic institutions to include Harvard University, Yale University, Dartmouth University, Cornell University, Columbia University, the United States Air Force Academy, and Queen’s University (Canada).

Dr. Claire VerHulst and COL Bret Van Poppel, Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, joined Cadets Jonathan Spirnak, Eric Youn, and Benoit Gaillard (St Cyr) at the American Physical Society (APS) Division of Fluid Dynamics Annual Conference in Boston, MA, 22 – 24 November 2015. The CME faculty and students delivered three presentations and two technical posters highlighting faculty and cadet independent study and capstone project work. Dr. VerHulst also served as a session chair.

COL John Graham, LTC Dave Siry, MAJ Scott Handler, and four Cadets (Christian Nattiel, Gabriela Barrera Gutierrez, Carolyn Kehn, Ed Fullerton) from the USMA Graduate Scholarship and Thayer Honors Programs attended the Anglosphere Society’s sixth annual Winston Churchill Birthday Symposium and Dinner at the Colony Club in New York City. The group was graciously hosted by Mr. Bill Murdy ’64 and Mr. Timothy Tyson ’74. The dinner honored Mr. Arnold Fisher, a philanthropist who is responsible for the Fisher Houses on military posts world-wide and the National Intrepid Center of Excellence at Walter Reed which helps veterans who are suffering from TBI-PTS. In addition to honoring Mr. Fisher, the evening started with a discussion between Generals (Retired) Jack Keane and David Petraeus ’74, moderated by Ms. Judith Miller.

Business Law Cadets spent a fantastic day visiting at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in New York City. Cadets learned about the SEC’s critical mission of protecting investors and maintaining market integrity through lively presentations from the Clearance & Settlement; Enforcement; Broker Dealer Examination; and Investment Advisor Divisions. After the presentations, cadets spent some valuable time getting to know the dedicated folks who work at the SEC, their career progressions, and the culture of the institution. The visit complements the Cadet’s classroom study of the 1933 and 1934 Securities Acts and establishes a solid foundation for a future visit from Mr. Vincent Walden, Partner, Assurance Services, Ernst and Young, LLP.

MILFORD, CT - Nick DeCenzo scored with 37 seconds left in the third period to break a 3-3 deadlock and gave Army a 4-3 win on the road at Sacred Heart on Friday night. Army (3-6-4, 2-5-4 AHA) is now unbeaten in six of its last seven games with a 3-1-3 mark. The Black Knights had four different scores in the win and was able to fight off two different comebacks by the Pioneers. Brendan McGuire, Trevor Fidler and Ryan Nick joined DeCenzo as goal scorers.

Parker Gahagen was solid in net when he had to be and moved to 3-3-4 overall. He stopped 23 shots with 16 coming in the first two periods. "I am real pleased on how our guys never really panicked," head coach Brian Riley said after coaching his 400th game. "Even in the third period, when Sacred Heart tied the game and a couple of times we were on our heels, guys were confident and calm on the bench and obviously a great play by DeCenzo and his line to get us the win." Read More

WEST POINT, NY - The Army West Point women's basketball team rebounded from a 12-point deficit early in the third period and came away with a 65-62 victory over UAlbany on Saturday afternoon at Christl Arena. Army battled back from a double-digit deficit in the third quarter for the second game in a row after it trailed by 11 in its win at Yale on Dec. 3. The victory sends the Black Knights to 6-1 on the season, while the Great Danes, who are receiving votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll, drop to 5-2. Click here to watch the video.

Both teams shot at least 50 percent, with Army finishing with a season-best 50 percent (23-of-46) and UAlbany shooting 52.1 percent (25-of-48). The Black Knights also made 11 three-pointers, going 11-for-17 from deep. Senior Jean Parker was one of four Army scorers in double figures and led the hosts with a season-best 20 points. Parker was a perfect 6-of-6 from beyond the arc and also added four rebounds. Classmate Kelsey Minato registered 16 points and four assists, while sophomore Janae McNeal netted 10 points after scoring 11 at Yale. Read More

WEST POINT, NY - Down two goals after the first period, the Army hockey team scored five unanswered to earn a 5-2 win over Sacred Heart to sweep the weekend series from the Pioneers. Army (4-6-4, 3-5-4 AHA) got goals from five different skaters and C.J. Reuschlein led the way with a three-point night on a goal and two assists. Trevor Fidler and Ryan Nick added two points each on a goal and an assist. Parker Gahagen stopped 26 shots, including 12 when the Pioneers put on the pressure in the final period. Click here to watch the video.

Sacred Heart (5-9-2, 4-7-1 AHA) saw goals by Justin Danforth and Coltyn Hansen. Nathan Perry equaled Gahagen's numbers with 26 stops with 14 coming in the first period. After going down 2-0, head coach Brian Riley said his team didn't panic. "I told the team we still had 40 minutes left," Riley stated. "We had been in this situation before and have been able to battle back, so our guys felt good and once we got that first goal, you could see that there was a spark and the guys took over from there." Read More

WEST POINT, NY - The Army West Point women's track and field team had a strong showing at the season-opening Crowell Open at Gillis Field House on Saturday. "I feel good about what happened today," said Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Mike Smith. "I saw great competitive efforts, and today isn't about individual performances. It's about getting back into competition and seeing where we are physically from our fall training. I was really pleased to see where some of our people are, especially our plebes, it gives me a good feeling about where we are headed."

Five Black Knights etched their names in to the program's record book while four personal records were set as well. The season's first event was the weight throw. Rebecca Cousens finished at the top of the field at 13.05 meters, three meters better than the second-place finisher. The Black Knights also captured the top-two spots in shot put as Briayah Brown won with a distance of 13.04 meters. She was followed by Cody Rothschild who shot 12.56 meters. Read More

Click here to read highlights for Men's Track and Field.

WEST POINT, NY - The Army West Point rifle team closed its fall season with a win over VMI on Saturday morning. The Black Knights topped the Keydets mixed team 4636-4502 in aggregate scoring. The VMI women's team also shot and finished with an aggregate score of 4364. Army improves to 2-5 while VMI falls to 1-6. "I think if you compare this performance with the rest of the year, its right in the middle," Army head coach Web Wright said afterwards. "Still working on tying it all together but we're getting much better."

The Black Knights had a commanding performance in smallbore. They took the top nine spots as Danielle Cuomo tied a personal season-high with a 582 score. Army's NCAA scoring team tallied a 2309 in smallbore while the VMI mixed team had a 2205 and the women's team 2142. Senior Alyssa Gestl led the way in air rifle. The Black Knights took the top five spots in the event as they won 2327-2297 while the VMI women shot 2222. Gestl's 590 consisted of five scores 98 or above and one 100. Read More