5 cadets (2x civil engineers, 2x environmental engineers, and 1x mechanical engineer) and 1 faculty member attended the Lower Hudson Valley Engineering Expo at White Plains High School. This is the 13th annual STEM event targeting middle and high school students to encourage them to consider careers in engineering and technology. The 4,000-plus students and parents had the opportunity to meet first-hand with more than 40 colleges and universities (including USMA, USCGA, and USMMA) and more than 40 engineering firms and public agencies. The expo also included a young engineer’s mentorship panel, several engineering competitions involving robotics and infrastructure, as well as a Boy Scout and Girl Scout merit badge and patch opportunity.

Cadets and 3 faculty members from the Civil & Military Engineering Club toured the Kosciusko Bridge and the PATH-World Trade Center construction sites. The 75-year old Kosciusko Bridge connecting Brooklyn and Queens, NY, is being replaced with New York City’s first cable-stayed bridge; this bridge is scheduled to open before the New NY Bridge – Tappan Zee Bridge. The construction site superintendent from Skanska gave a 2-hour tour of the site emphasizing the benefits of the design-build contract, and the complexity of scheduling and safety of the $550 million project. The group next traveled to the World Trade Center Transportation Hub where another Skanska site superintendent gave a 2-hour tour to the group. The cadets walked through the open-to-the-public Oculus and subway station, and then went into an unfinished subway tunnel where the redundant force-protection barriers and fire-suppression systems were being added.

Twenty members of the Army West Point Climbing team travelled north to the Edge Climbing Gym in Halfmoon, NY, for the CCS Regional competition. College teams from the Northeast and New England were in attendance, to include: RIT, Yale, Tufts, North Eastern Rutgers, Harvard, UConn, Columbia, Colgate, and many more. After three hours of intense climbing by all of the athletes on very challenging boulder and roped climbs, results were posted for the competition and for the season. For the competition, Army took second, with third place finishes by CDT Julian Barker (‘16), and CDT Lyra Kwak (‘17). For the season, Army placed second behind RIT.

WEST POINT, NY - The Army West Point hockey team held its team banquet on Monday night and Parker Gahagen was honored with the Henry "Hal" Beukema Award winner as the team's Most Valuable Player. In addition to the awards given out, the team announced the captain for the 2016-17 season. Defenseman Ryan Nick will wear the "C" next season with Tyler Pham returning as the assistant captain. Gahagen, a Buffalo, N.Y., native, led the nation in save percentage at .937 and recorded a career-high four shutouts, including three in the Atlantic Hockey Tournament. He recorded a career-high 14 victories between the pipes. He was the first non-forward to win the Beukema Award in eight years. The award honors Henry "Hal" Beukema who died in a plane crash in 1954 after attaining the rank of major. The team MVP award has been given out every year since 1955 and is voted on by team members. Senior Joe Kozlak was selected as the Gunning Award winner for academic excellence. Full Story»

OIC visited several cultural sites and landmark civil engineering projects in Abu Dhabi and Dubai during Spring Break 2016. The overarching purpose for the trip was to expose cadets to some of the most significant civil engineering projects in the world and for them to understand how the engineering principles taught in class are applied to actual projects. The visits included the Zayed Military College, US Embassy, Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Burj Khalifa, NYU-Abu Dhabi, the Palm Jumeirah Island, and attending a Founder’s Day Dinner in Dubai. Six cadets participated in this Trip Section, led by Mr. Rahul Verma, an Instructor in CME and CME Club OIC. The trip was planned and developed by the cadets, led by CDT Jonathan Richards (CIC) and CDT Adam Callahan (ACIC), and included weekly meetings for approximately three months. At the various engineering sites, Mr. Verma led discussions on the engineering principles applied at each project, including putting the sheer scale of these projects into perspective. At the cultural sites, the squad discussed how the UAE evolved from an unknown Persian Gulf state to the current status as the leading edge of engineering and development.

42 cadets and two faculty members from the Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering traveled to the Jacob Javits Convention Center to participate in the New York International Auto Show. During the show, cadets witnessed the cutting edge in automotive technology and interfaced with marketing and engineering representatives from industry leaders in both the foreign and domestic auto markets. Additionally, cadets served as ambassadors of the Academy, manning a recruiting booth and providing visitors to the convention center insights into daily life as a cadet as well as the admissions process.

The Water Polo team travelled to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to participate in the RPI Alumni Tournament. The team played four games and won all handily. The first of the team’s three games on Saturday was against the University of Massachusetts; after the Army team gained a quick four goal lead, the starters were subbed out and the team began to integrate some of the younger players into the game. Leadership provided by CDT Hayden Ward as whole set defense allowed the team to pressure UMass defensively, and goalie play by Plebe’s CDT Jeffery Stark and CDT Elizabeth Challenger, kept the Army team in the lead. All of the members of the team were able to get in and produce opportunities as Army cruised to a 21-5 victory. After a short break, the team came back to play against RPI. Superior defense allowed the team to counterattack successfully and shots by CDTs Leonid Milman and Brendon Cagney set the team up for success. As younger players were subbed into the game, the team focused on offensive movement and were able to continue to score with ease; Army would go on to win this game 19-5. The third and last game of the day against Adirondack was to be the Army team’s most challenging game of the competition. Set up by good whole set play from CDT Colin Stone, the team was able to jump start to an early lead, but at times struggled with ball control on the offensive side of the ball. In the second half, the team was able to correct these mistakes and went on to a dominating 17-9 victory. After a team dinner and a nights rest, the team came back on Sunday for the last game of the tournament, which was against the RPI alumni team. Army dominated this game from the start, and contributions from newcomers CDTs Patrick Cowley and Seth Nordell on both ends of the pool kept the team in the lead. Every member of the team swam hard and showed the strength of their character as members of the opposing team looked to undermine their victory. Army went on to finish their unblemished weekend with a score of 18-8.

The Center for Enhanced Performance hosted LTG Robert Brown ’81, Commanding General of the Combined Arms Center at Ft Leavenworth, KS for the first annual GEN Albert Wedemeyer Strategic Lecture. LTG Brown’s presentation, “The Army Human Dimension Strategy: People Are Our Advantage”, was attended by over one hundred cadets, faculty and staff, and emphasized the importance of maximizing human capital and individual talent for ensuring success. The Wedemeyer Strategic Lecture Series lecture series honors the intellectual and strategic legacy of General Albert Wedemeyer ’19, one of America’s most significant and under recognized military strategists, by bringing to West Point subject matter experts on the role of the individual leader in complex operations.

The Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership planned and hosted the 4th annual McDonald Cadet Leadership Conference (MCLC), which welcomed 83 student leaders from around the world from March 30-April 3rd 2016. This transformational leadership experience sponsored by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Bob McDonald, and his wife Diane, encouraged students to explore the theme of “From Failure to Inspiration and Change.” In addition to the 22 USMA cadets selected to attend, 37 domestic student fellows attended and 24 international students attended, representing a total of 22 countries. Senior Fellows included notable world leaders Ms. Elizabeth Birch, Dr. Daniel Polisar, Mr. Don Yaeger, Ms. Maria Contreras-Sweet, Mr. Xiao an Ji, Ms. Sheila Khama, Mr. Anshul Arora, Mr. Dominic Barton, Ms. Rosanne Haggerty, Sir John Hood, Mr. Mike Maddock, Mr. Ray Jefferson, and Mr. Tom Tierney.

This conference is unique given its student-centric focus and active participation, MCLC is able to develop students’ leadership skills using the framework of assessment, challenge, and support. Four panels were developed to explore the guiding question from the lenses of Vision, Governing, Adversity and Learning. After engaging panel members, student fellows participated in four “break-out” sessions where they explored topics in more detail with smaller groups. The Senior Fellows served as mentors who helped students to challenge their own assumptions and to explore areas of uncertainty. Outside of the conference panels and sessions, student heard introductory remarks by LTG Caslen, saw the highlights of the West Point landscape, experienced The Core of the Corps by the USMA Band, and heard keynote addresses by Mr. Mike Maddock and Secretary McDonald. At the conclusion of the event, student fellows collaborated on a group Opinion Editorial. These final 12 OpEds will be published in the New York Times this summer.

Army Crew hosted the Royal Military College at the United States Military Academy. The visit to West Point was requested by the team and the RMC leadership as a result of the positive experience during the Indoor Rowing Competition that was a part of the RMC/USMA exchange weekend. Visiting RMC athletes were paired with Army Crew cadets of the same year, staying with them in their rooms, as well as joining them for morning classes on Friday. The RMC cadets also observed a morning Varsity practice on Friday from 0530-0700, and then conducted a supervised first practice in an Army Crew shell that afternoon, finishing with a joint practice with the novice team Friday afternoon from 1620-1800. Due to the experience gap between the RMC athletes and the Army team, the planned Saturday morning race was replaced with a joint scrimmage/practice, followed by a BBQ hosted by Army Crew.

Cadets from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) talked to over 500 local residents, families, and students interested in West Point at Fort Hamilton’s West Point Day community event. Cadets from Directorate of Cadet Activities clubs showcased different aspects of cadet life, including club involvement and academics. Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn is the Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) for the New York City metropolitan area.

HAMDEN, CT - An eight-run fifth inning in the first game fueled the Army West Point softball team past Quinnipiac 12-4 before downing the Bobcats 3-1 in the final game of the doubleheader. The Bobcats (16-22) came out with an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second, but the Black Knights (27-16) came back to take a 3-1 lead in the next inning. Taylor Gaff, who made her first appearance since the teams played in Florida, notched a single through the left side to get onto first.

Tyler McKinney pinch ran for Gaff as Ashley Yoo enabled her to advance to second. Mae Wadyka's bunt forced a runners at the corners situation with one out before she stole second. Kasey McCravey stepped up to the plate and blasted her first triple of the year to center field. She sent in both McKinney and Wadyka and scored herself on a Quinnipiac error to give Army a 3-1 lead. The Bobcats re-tied the game at 3-3 with two runs off two hits in the home half of the third. Read More

17 cadets and 1 management instructor visited the headquarters of the New York Life Insurance Company. The cadets benefited from remarks by the CEO, Ted Mathas, on topics related to the firm, its performance during the financial crisis, and its ability to lead over 12,000 field agents during a tumultuous business environment. Over lunch, the cadets also spoke with the firm’s Head of Agency, Executive Vice President Mark Madgett, about leadership development and the challenges associated with assessing leadership capacity and performance in its general offices. In the final session of the day, cadets participated in an interactive discussion about organizational structure and agent recruitment and training with Vice President and National Sales Officer, Sonali Virendra.

The Black and Gold Leadership Forum (Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership) continued its relationship with Prudential Financial by conducting a Leadership Exchange in Newark, NJ. 16 members of the Black and Gold Leadership Forum visited Prudential Financial Headquarters in Newark, NJ to engage in Leadership Development discussions with 26 Prudential leaders. The visit included a Prudential Financial Business overview by the Vice Chairman (Mark Grier), a discussion led by their Chief Talent Officer (Mr. Sekhar Ramaswamy), and two panels (Senior Manager Leadership Challenges and Mid-Level Manager Leadership Challenges). During the visit, the Cadets were able to process the discussions using a design of Explore (What), Reflect (So What), and Project (Now What). At the completion of each session, Cadets reported their biggest takeaways from the session crystalizing the importance of engaged leadership. This leadership exchange is part of an ongoing relationship that began in the fall of 2015 when the CEO of Prudential Financial, Mr. John Strangefeld, visited West Point and served as a Distinguished Lecture Series guest speaker.

The Army West Point Judo Team competed at the Collegiate National Championships at San Jose State University in San Jose, CA. University and college Judo teams from all of over the United States competed in the Collegiate National tournament including USMA, San Jose State University, Texas A&M, University of South Florida, UC Berkley, UC Davis, Schenectady College, UC Santa Cruz, UTK, University of Washington, Ball State University, Iowa State University, the University of Minnesota, Southern Methodist University, CSUS, Stanford University, University of Texas, Glendale College, UC San Diego, and others. There were four divisions at the tournament to include a men’s and women’s senior divisions, which consists of all brown belts and above, and the men’s and women’s novice divisions, which is white belts to green belts. Overall, the Army West Point Men’s senior team won first place in the men’s senior division, tying with San Jose State University. The Army West Point Men’s novice team won first place in their division, and the Army West Point Women’s novice team won second place in their division.

The Army West Point Judo team won an overall of 51 matches, and 18 medals; seven gold, six silver, and five bronze. In the senior division, the first place medalist was CDT Ishmael McGinty; the second place medalists were CDTs Mason Kumashiro, Bradley Mikinski, and Megan Kinsey; the third place medalists were CDTs John Santos, Ryan Roth, and Jarryn Villegas. In the novice division, the first place medalists were CDTs Sheldon Dillman, Aiden Baxter, and Rikki Fearon; third place medalist were CDTs Araceli Sandoval and Zachary Towne. For the students that placed first in the senior division, the National Collegiate Judo Association qualified those individuals for the International United States Collegiate Judo Team. The International US Collegiate Judo team will compete in the summer of 2017 in Taipei, Taiwan, against collegiate Judo teams from all over the world. CDT Ishmael McGinty will represent the US and USMA in Taipei, Taiwan; CDTs Mason Kumashiro, Bradley Mikinski, Megan Kinsey, John Santos, Ryan Roth, and Jarryn Villegas will all be considered as alternates for the International US Collegiate Judo team.

8 members of the VALOR group (including 2 USMA Grads) from McGraw Hill Financial (S&P500) visited the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership Department to engage members of the Management Major. The visit include a PL300 classroom visit, an experiential “In-Extremis/Cultural” discussion, lunch in the Mess Hall, West Point tour, and case discussion on Trust using the Leader Challenge framework. 17 Management Cadets from three cadet classes participated and joined the discussion. This leadership exchange is part of an ongoing relationship that began in the fall of 2014 when 30 Management Cadets toured McGraw Hill Financial and engaged in leadership discussions.3

The 2016 IACS was held on 31 March this year at Annapolis and pitted the work of cadets and midshipmen from West Point, Air Force, Navy, and the Coast Guard Academies against each other. The cadets and mids presented their posters and defending their work to the all-service judging panel. While the students from the younger academies were all Firsties, the West Point cadet contingent included: Aaron Alindogan (2016, Life Science), Brandon Konarik (2017, Life Science), Bridget Matsas (2017, Life Science), Minhee Pak (2017, Life Science), and Haana Yu (2017, Life Science). LTC Luis Alvarez, PhD (1997), COL John Burpo, ScD (1992), LTC Rich Comitz, PhD (1996), Dawn Riegner, PhD, and J. Kenneth Wickiser, PhD (1992) accompanied the cadets to the event and participated in the leadership panel to discuss the different approaches the Academies take in the Chemistry education and research programs. COL Burpo, LTC Alvarez, and Dr. Wickiser also met with a program manager from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) to assess the role of Synthetic Biology and Metabolic Engineering in the curriculum of the Service Academies. Congratulations are in order for Cadets Aaron Alindogan and Brandon Konarik and their research advisor, Dr. Dawn Riegner, who placed as runners up in the poster competition. We enjoyed competing in this annual academic competition and look forward to next year’s event at the Coast Guard Academy.

They competed in the USA Powerlifting Collegiate National Championships at the Rhode Island Convention Center last weekend. This year was the first year in at least a decade that West Point had women competing at Nationals, and all involved were eager to see how they would fare. Competition began on Thursday 14 April with the lighter weight classes of men and women. Firstie Shaina Coss immediately made a splash for the team and for women’s powerlifting as she achieved All-American status with a fourth-in-the-nation finish in her first National Championships. Firstie and Co-Captain Tom Evans also scored for West Point, becoming a two-time All-American with a fourth place finish off a huge 579 lbs. deadlift (at 163 lbs. bodyweight), improving on his fifth place finish from last year. These two upper-class leaders did a great job setting the tone for the rest of the team and setting the conditions for success the next day. Most of the team competed on Friday 15 April. The heavier weight classes of West Point men came prepared to do some damage, and did not disappoint. The morning session was led by three outstanding performances. Team Captain, Cadet James Haworth battled through injuries and other adversity throughout his three years on the Powerlifting Team, and put together an incredible performance (including a competition bench press personal record) to become an All-American with a fifth place finish in his final collegiate competition. Read More

WEST POINT, NY - Fourteen members of the Army West Point women's soccer team, including four-time honoree Katie Holder, were among 158 student-athletes named to the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll on Thursday. It is the third straight year the Black Knights have had at least 10 cadet-athletes recognized. To be eligible for the Academic Honor Roll, a student-athlete must earn a 3.20 grade-point average in the semester of their sports' competition. Holder, who was voted to the 2015 Academic All-Patriot League Team, posted a 3.215 GPA in Mechanical Engineering during the fall semester.

Senior goalkeeper Jessica McAllister collected her third Academic All-Patriot League citation with a 3.624 semester score in Systems Engineering. Junior Kayla Swasey joined McAllister as a three-time recipient after recording a 3.740 GPA in Kinesiology. For the second straight year, juniors Pam Wishart (Systems Engineering, 3.692) and Carly Katalinic (Life Science, 3.691) landed on the list. Sophomores Clare Shea (Operations Research 3.854) and Kimberly Comstock (Kinesiology, 3.600) both added the second Academic All-Patriot League award of their careers. Read More

Two thousand, nine hundred and nineteen miles separate West Point and Beaverton, OR, but nothing could come between the special bond that comes from having a twin. Born in the middle of a January blizzard in Louisville, KY, Justine Rennekamp and Morgan Rennekamp have always done everything together. From which schools they attended to their extracurricular activities, Morgan and Justine have been inseparable. By age 10, the Rennekamps had found a new hobby; track and field. "I've always loved to throw things," said Justine. "We played softball for a while, and I was just always throwing whatever implements I could find as a kid. They gave me a javelin in elementary school and said 'throw this', and I fell in love with it."

By the time she got to high school, Justine knew that she wanted to pursue a career in the military. Her recruitment process would take a unique turn, however, and worked out for the best. "It started out that my sister was recruited to throw javelin here, and when the Academy asked for her transcripts our high school actually sent mine," admitted Morgan. "The coach here called and asked who Morgan was, and I explained that I did track as well. I never did the heptathlon before, which is what I ended up getting recruited for, but I had done all the individual events so they were able to look at my different scores and figured that I would be pretty good at it. Before that, I hadn't really considered coming to West Point, but I really enjoyed it here when we came on our visit." Full Story»