CPT Antonio Salinas provided a lunchtime lecture to second- and third-class history majors. His lecture discussed Siren's Song: The Allure of War, his wartime memoir about his experiences as an infantry platoon leader in Kunar, Afghanistan. CPT Salinas not only shared his combat and leadership experiences but he also gave a brief outline of about future class offerings for cadets interesting in studying Greco-Roman Warfare for their thesis research. 35 cadets attended this voluntary event, which was the third installment of the Cadet History Advisory Council (CHAC) mentorship series.

The Cadet History Advisory Council (CHAC) hosted a paper tutoring session for cadets enrolled in HI108, International History. 25 plebes (5% of the core class) benefited from the tutelage of volunteer history majors, who advised the underclassmen on writing style, organization, and clarity of argument. CHAC will also conduct a paper tutoring session for HI105 in the upcoming weeks.

WEST POINT, NY - Freshman David Mitchell of the men's tennis team and sophomore Dean Sakata of the men's golf team have each earned the AAA Athlete of the Week for their respective performances in helping their teams secure Patriot League Championships. Click here for the video. Mitchell garnered Patriot League MVP honors after going 3-0 in singles in the league tournament. The IMG Academy product played all three of his matches in the third flight. In the championship match against Navy, he had to overcome a first set loss while the match was tied 2-2. Mitchell ultimately won 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2. Read More

Cadet Community on Civil-Military Operations (C3MO) NYC Engagement. The Cadet Community on Civil-Military Operations (C3MO) travelled to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, in Brooklyn. The cadets sat in on proceedings by Judge Sterling Johnson and Senior Judge Jack Weinstein and toured the offices of the U.S. Marshals. The cadets discussed the difference between civil and military justice with the judges and learned about the judges’ legal careers. The club strengthened the Academy’s bond with New York City and demonstrated the professionalism of the Corps of Cadets. This event will create opportunities for future engagements between West Point and the Federal Court system.

25 firstie environmental science majors enrolled in EV487 Environmental Security participated in a field trip to the US Mission to the United Nations and to the United Nations itself. The cadets were briefed by a USUN staff member (LTC David Macdonald) who works in the Military Affairs branch of the US Mission, by a USUN Political Section expert (Ms. Tashawna Smith) on the role of the UN Security Council in pursuing US national security interests, and by a USMA graduate (Mr. Brian Conroy) who is employed in the USUN Management Reform Section on reform priorities for UN Peacekeeping. After lunch, the cadets toured the United Nations building with the highlight being visiting the Security Council and General Assembly chambers. The briefings and tour tied directly to class discussions on how military and NGO organizations can promote stability and security in developing nations and thus limit the global spread of terrorism and the ultimate involvement of the US military.

EV 488 Field Trip: cadets from the Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering traveled to Brooklyn, NY to visit an ExxonMobil remediation site near Newtown Creek. The trip was hosted by Mr. Scott Wybro, Class of 2003. Scott is the ExxonMobil Area Manager for the northeast and a graduate of the D/G&EnE Environmental Geography major. The trip supplemented their environmental remediation studies as a part of EV488, Solid & Hazardous Waste Treatment and Remediation. The cadets were able to view full scale remediation systems that target one of the largest subsurface petroleum spills in the United States. The tour included several on-site remediation technologies, such as the free-product recovery wells, a catalytic oxidizer, an air stripper, carbon adsorption vessels, and an oil/water separator. This rewarding experience allowed cadets to see these processes first hand and talk with practicing engineers about their careers and the on-going waste remediation and recovery processes. Cadets also experienced cultural emersion by eating at the Karczma Restaurant, which is located in a Polish neighborhood in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

Radiological Engineering Design students took a trip to STERIS Isomedix, in Chester, NY to see an example of how radiation is used in industry. Cadets experienced first-hand how gamma rays from a Cobalt-60 radioactive source sterilize medical supplies and food, remediate mold, cross-link polymers, and perform many other applications. During the visit, STERIS Isomedix loaded about 500,000 Curies of new Co-60 sources into one of their gamma-ray sterilization machines, reshuffled older sources, and removed the oldest ones which were no longer sufficiently radioactive. Cadets watched the shielded containers as they were lifted by crane off a flatbed truck and lowered into a 25-foot deep pool of water where they were safely opened and loaded into the machine. Mr. Mark Thomas, the Director of Operations, was very knowledgeable and a great teacher as Cadets asked him many questions about the business aspects of using radioisotopes in industry.

Northeast Astronomy Forum (NEAF) Expo Cadets Abigail Daniel ’18 and Kris Korzan ’16, along with their PH489 individual research project advisor, Dr. Paula Fekete, attended the NEAF Astronomy and Space Expo held at Rockland Community College in nearby Suffern, NY. As part of their research project, the Cadets are performing visual observations and acquiring astrophotography images in the new West Point Observatory. They visited the expo to be acquainted with the latest astronomy and astrophotography gear available. More than 150 astronomy equipment vendors were represented. In addition to being the largest expo of specialized equipment in the field, NEAF is also a forum for numerous scientific presentations. Cadets attended two of the scientific talks. NEAF talks are given by the most brilliant personalities in the fields of space and astronomy. The first talk was contributed by Alan Stern, principal investigator of the New Horizons Mission to Pluto and it was entitled Mission to Pluto and What Planethood Really Means. The second attended talk was The Confirmation of Gravitational Waves, and it was presented by David Shoemaker, senior research scientist at MIT, director of the Advanced LIGO project. Attendance allowed a great opportunity to cadets and their instructor to enlarge their horizons by attending talks given by researchers at the forefront of science today.

WEST HARTFORD, CT - After sweeping Hartford in a non-conference doubleheader Tuesday evening, the Army West Point softball team has reached 35 regular season wins which ties the program record. The Black Knights defeated the Hawks by scores of 7-0 and 5-3. Caroline Smith pitched her first career no-hitter and was one batter away from the perfect game. The 2016 squad ties the 2012 record of 35 regular season wins with three more games on the docket. Read More

The Department of Physics and Nuclear Engineering hosted their Annual Awards Banquet at the West Point Club to induct cadets into the Society of Physics Students and the American Nuclear Society as well as present certificates for excellence in physics and nuclear engineering coursework throughout AY16. The guest speaker for the event was BG Timothy Trainor, Dean of the Academic Board, USMA.

The Army ultimate team (Frisbee), coached by Dr. Stephen Finn (CFE), trounced the Navy team in Annapolis. The game was close until half time (8-5), but the cadets outscored the midshipmen in the second half 7-3, leading to a final score of 15-8. This was the second annual Army-Navy ultimate game. Navy beat Army last year by a 1 point margin in New York City.

Two cadet capstone teams from the Department of Systems Engineering visited COL Courtney Cote, the Army’s Project Manager for Unmanned Aircraft Systems, to brief him on projects they performed for his organization this academic year. Cadets Joshua Olivas, Luke Jenkins, Ramsay Talmadge, and Drew Hidalgo briefed their recommended solution for GPS denied navigation for small unmanned aircraft. Their advisor is Dr. Roger Burk. Cadets Brady Carroll, Pierre Archambeau, Creighton Monson and Nebyou Abera briefed him on tradespace analysis for the design of the Short Range Micro unmanned aircraft. This project is a collaborative effort with a mechanical engineering team consisting of cadets James Glover, Matt Denison, and Joe Lipshutz. The advisors are COL Rob Kewley and MAJ Brent Pafford. COL Cote thanked the teams for these efforts, which will have significant impact on the designs of small unmanned aircraft used by the Army. He also highlighted the importance of leadership and Army Values as they become leaders for the Army. These projects are part of a multi-year cooperation between PM UAS and USMA to address engineering challenges while also providing valuable developmental experiences for the cadets.

Powerlifting Competitive Club traveled to Providence, Rhode Island to compete in the USA Powerlifting Collegiate National Championships. Over 20 schools competed for the title of best in the U.S., including Ohio State, Penn State, Rutgers, Northeastern University, University of Texas, and Texas A&M, Firstie Shaina Coss led off Army’s scoring, making 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 Army West Point, becoming a two-time All-American with a fourth place finish off a huge 579 lbs deadlift (at 163 lbs body-weight), improving on his fifth place finish from last year. These two upperclass leaders did a great job setting the tone for the rest of the team and setting the conditions for success on the following day of competition, when most of the team lifted. The next day featured some outstanding performances, beginning with Firstie and Team Captain James Haworth. CDT Haworth 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. Following Haworth’s lead, next year’s Team Captain Bryson Randall had a monster day, punctuating a second-in-the-nation finish and All-American award with a huge 640 lb. deadlift at 205 lbs. bodyweight. Last, but equally impressive - this year’s other Co-Captain Clay Barone had the best Powerlifting meet of his life, setting the example for the rest of the team by coming through when it counts the most to be-come an All – American with a fifth place finish; he set a huge personal best in the deadlift to achieve his fifth place, pulling 628 lbs. at 205 lbs. bodyweight. The fireworks finale occurred in the afternoon session of lifting, as Army West Point swept the top three spots in the 231 lb. weight class. Yearling Morgan Willcox captured the national championship with a dominant performance, achieving over 1600 lbs. for his three lift total. Yearling Justin Byers took second place and Class of 2017’s Jacob Weiss was third in a masterful performance by these three All – American athletes. Rounding out Army West Point’s scoring, Class of 2017’s Seth Kirchner put together a masterful meet at 264 lbs, capturing second place and securing his own All-American status. When the final results were read the men’s team succeeded in winning their first National Championship since the early 1990s. Every single individual performance was absolutely critical as the scoring was very tight – Army West Point beat Ohio State by two points. The women’s team, in their first recent national competition, notched their first All-American in over a decade and placed in the top 10 in the nation with an eighth place finish. The hard work by these men and women paid off; every cadet that made the trip represented USMA superbly and with class the entire weekend and came away champions.

CDTs Cale Brewer, Robert Marsh, Michael Willis, and Michael York traveled to INSCOM to brief MG Franz, INSCOM CG, on the results of their Systems Engineering capstone project. The cadets worked for the past academic year on helping INSCOM identify ways to improve recruiting and advertising for one of the INSCOM programs. The cadet team provided options for integrating social media into the process. MG Franz commended the cadets for a job well done and awarded them INSCOM coins.

DSE/CME Capstone Team Earns 2nd Place at the University Student Design and Applied Solutions Competition. MAJ Craig Brewer and Dr. Mike Deible took six cadets from the Department of Systems Engineering and Civil/Mech Engineering to Houston, TX to compete against other universities in the first University Student Design and Applied Solutions Competition (USDASC). The competition required the team to build a system that can identify and monitor corrosion in hard to reach areas along with detecting the humidity and presence of water in a structure. The teams were judged on their tech report, a presentation, and a demonstration of their system in the competition structure. Overall, the USMA DSE/CME capstone team earned 2nd place in the first USDASC!

LTC Eric C. Schmidt gave a lecture to the Philosophy Forum titled “Remotely Piloted Aircraft: The Role of RPAs in the War on Terror.” The next day, LTC Schmidt gave a secret brief on the same topic to select Cadets and faculty. LTC Schmidt serves as the Deputy Commander, 27th Special Operations Group. The 27 SOG provides combat ready forces to joint force commanders around the world. Its Airmen perform a variety of specialized airpower missions including lethal strike, ISR, fixed wing and tilt rotor battlefield mobility, helicopter aerial refueling, and other specialized combat support missions. The 27th SOG directs the training and readiness for ten squadrons operating various special operations aircraft. LTC Schmidt’s visit to USMA is linked to a DEP-run Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) AIAD this summer. The AIAD will discuss the ethical implications of the US and Great Britain’s use of RPAs with just war theorists at Oxford and a Royal Air Force RPA pilot in London.

Ten Cadets from the USMA Opera Forum attended Bartlett Sher’s production of Giuseppe Verdi’s 1887 masterpiece Otello at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. The Italian opera is based upon Shakespeare’s play Othello in which the heroic title character is overcome by jealousy leading to the work’s tragic ending.

Six cadets participated in DFL Persian Section’s Spring Immersion program to Southern California. They volunteered for a week at a Persian-community Adult Health Day Care center where they spoke Persian to elderly Iranians with no English. In the afternoons, cadets got involved in events in the large and growing Persian community where they learned about Persian culture and participated in cultural activities leading up the Persian New Year, which fell on 19 March this year. Activities included the Los Angeles Persian Parade; a Persian professional association’s New Year gala; a Persian elementary school’s New Year performance; the House of Iran Cultural Center events; Westwood Persian New Year Fire Ceremony; and the Los Angeles Public Library’s Persian New Year event. They also visited several Persian bookstores, a publishing house, and the IMAN Iranian-Islamic center of Los Angeles. While there, they visited Persian art and rug galleries, clothing boutiques, and jewelry stores, in addition to a number of Persian grocery stores and restaurants. Cadets participated in several Persian-related private events, including one on Persian New Year’s Eve.

The new Meade 16-inch telescope in the Cadet Observatory has taken its first images with the SBIG STX-16803 full-frame camera. The camera is designed for imaging deep-space objects and it is not yet set up to work fully robotically. The first images were taken “manually,” without an electronic focuser or filters. Our target was the Whirlpool Galaxy, also known as Messier Object 51 (M51). M51 is the first galaxy to be classified as a spiral in 1845. It is located in the constellation Canes Venatici (Hunting Dogs) not too far from the third star in the handle of the Big Dipper asterism. According to some sources, M51 is in the process of merging with the smaller galaxy seen at the bottom. The image, capturing light that left the Whirlpool Galaxy about 30 million years ago, was taken by CDT Abigail Daniel and Dr. Paula Fekete with assistance via Skype from Mr. Patric Knoll, an amateur astronomer from CA.

Cadets from DFL Spanish’s Advanced Conversation (LS470) visited with students at Entrada Academy (Bronx, NY) for the course’s annual service-learning trip. Entrada Academy is a Title I NY public school where over 85% of students identify as Latino and receive some form of English language support. During their visit, Cadets had the opportunity to work with multiple levels of English Language Learners in support of the Entrada students’ upcoming language proficiency exams. In addition, Cadets had the opportunity to visit with students participating in the Chess Enrichment program and discussed opportunities related to college education and the military. After the visit, Cadets remarked that they have gained a new appreciation for the challenges experienced by English Language Learners and those who instruct them, as well as the importance of mentorship and the opportunity to interact with our regional community on a personal level.