November 13 was the Sosh Run. Cadets taking International Relations (a required course) find unique ways to dress up and deliver/turn in their required papers prior to the 4:30pm deadline.

A few photos from the “run” can be found at this link courtesy of the West Point Parents Liaison – https://flic.kr/s/aHsk5vembR. Can you spot the surprise appearance?

WEST POINT, N.Y.– Following yet another consistent performance against Navy, Army plebe Nathan Goff has been named the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Rookie of the Week.The Tucson, Ariz., native earned two top five finishes on Saturday, claiming first on pommel horse with a career-best 14.500. He tied for fourth on parallel bars with a score of 13.850.

Goff helped the Black Knights to a season-best team score of 421.600 and a Star victory over Navy (416.550). He also competed on floor exercise (14.000), still rings (13.450) and high bar (13.200). Story

LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Army men’s swimming and diving team ranks third with 91 points after the first session of competition at the Patriot League Championships at the Kinney. The Black Knights won the 200 medley relay and set an Academy record in the 800 free relay.

“I am really proud of the men for winning the medley relay,” said head coach Mickey Wender. “It has been a while since we won a relay at the conference championships. I am also very excited about the record broken in the 800 free. Both the men and women did well and there is a lot that we can build off of as we head into the meat of the meet. It was a solid first night with definitely a lot more swimming ahead of us, the best is yet to come.”

Army won the 200 medley relay when the team of Josh Sembrano, Colin Kanzari, Michael Dustin and Chris Szekely touched the wall in 1:28.12. Read More

WEST POINT, N.Y. - Junior Kelsey Minato made a three-pointer with 1:15 remaining in the second half to break a 45-45 tie before the Black Knights held on to defeat Colgate, 48-47, and grab their 11th straight victory on Wednesday evening at Christl Arena.Army improves to 20-5 overall and 12-3 in the Patriot League, while Colgate drops to 5-21 and 4-11. With three regular-season games remaining, the Black Knights are in sole possession of second place in the conference standings with a 12-3 mark and stand one game behind American (13-2) and three games ahead of Lehigh and Navy, which are each 9-6 in the league.

Senior Missy Repoli converted a three-pointer 26 seconds into the second half to put Colgate in front by three before the Raiders extended their lead to five on two different occasions, doing so for the final time at the 17:58 mark.Army used a 7-2 run during the next 7:17 to climb back to a 33-33 tie before Colgate netted eight unanswered points to take its largest lead of the game, 41-33, with 6:50 to play. Read More

Since 1977, the U.S. Military Academy, through the Corps of Cadets, conducts a dinner in honor of Henry Ossian Flipper, the first African-American graduate of West Point in June 1877. This year’s dinner was Feb. 12 at the Cadet Mess Hall, with Col. John Baskerville, academy professor of Arabic in the Department of Foreign Languages, as the guest speaker. Baskerville spoke about the trials of Flipper during his 47-month experience at West Point.

Baskerville said Flipper, who was shunned by his peers at West Point and spent most of his time alone, overcame harassment, isolation and insults to become the first African-American to graduate from West Point.

“Flipper’s story is one of inspiration, a story of perseverance and a story of great courage,” Baskerville said.

The Flipper dinner also included the presentation of the Henry Ossian Flipper Memorial Award, which is awarded to a First-Class Cadet who has demonstrated the highest qualities of leadership, self-discipline and perseverance in the face of adversity. Read More

Photo Courtesy of Kathy Eastwood

On 30 JAN 2015, three chemical engineering majors, Cadets Dave Brown (’15, D2), Sean Crain (’15, H3), and Lauren Ng (’15, B1) received Army Achievement Medals from the Brigade Tactical Officer, COL Merkel, for their quick-thinking and calm action during a medical emergency. On 15 NOV 2014, the three cadets were in Atlanta for the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AICHE) National Competition. At approximately 2000 local, the three cadets were returning from dinner when they heard a scream. They turned to the sound and saw an elderly woman being hit by a taxi cab. CDT Brown called 911, while Crain and Ng assisted the woman and moved her belongings out of the street. The cadets helped bring the situation under control and cared for the woman until emergency responders reported. Story

Competitive Clubs

Fencing:

• On 15 Feb., the West Point Men’s Fencing Team competed in their second weekend of MAC Conference Matches and finished on top once again
• The men went 3-1 overall, defeating Lafayette College by a score of 15-12, Rutgers University 19-8, and Drew University 20-7
• The men only dropped one match to Cornell University with a 6-21 score
• The Sabre Squad led the day going 3-1, with top finishes going to CDT Blake Gordon (9-3) and CDT Gus Williams (10-2)
• The Foil Squad also had an impressive day going 3-1 for their record, with the top athlete going to CDT Josh Qualls at 5-3
• In the weapon of Epee, CDT Aaron Mellstrom was 7-5
• The men were behind with Division I Lafayette by a wide margin, however, they rallied and came back with eight consecutive bouts to overtake Lafayette in the last round

Climbing (Mountaineering):

• On 14 Feb., nineteen cadets from the West Point Climbing Team went to the Prime Climb Gym to compete in the second Collegiate Climbing Series competition of the season
• Competitors from Columbia, Rutgers, Yale, Cornell, RIT, WPI, Smith, Wesleyan and Princeton were all represented
• The West Point Team climbed strong, and brought home placements in all three disciplines
• CDT Marcie Jhong took fifth in boulders; CDT Zhaina Myrzakhanova placed third in speed and second in routs; CDT Julian Barker placed second in boulders and third in ropes, as well as third in speed
• Many of the team members showed vast improvements on their performances

Men’s Volleyball:

• On 14-15 Feb., the Men’s Army Volleyball team traveled to UC-Davis to compete against some of the best teams in the country at the Far Westerns Volleyball Tournament
• While the team was unable to come away with a win, the experience of playing against top-flight squads was invaluable
• The team was also able to visit San Francisco and tour one of the last two remaining WWII-Era Liberty Ships in the world

Boxing (Mens):

• On 12 Feb., the West Point Men’s Boxing Team attended the 88th Annual Golden Gloves Boxing Tournament Kick Off as the special honored guest of Mr. Teddy Atlas
• Teddy started the Dr. Teddy Atlas Foundation, named after his late father to help the needy in the NYC area
• Teddy is a famous boxing trainer and a long time ESPN personality; his relationship and reverence with Army Boxing and Dr. Barone goes back several years as Teddy has done the BBO at West Point on numerous occasions

Support Clubs

Glee Club:

• Over President’s Day Weekend, the Glee Club traveled to Philadelphia and to the Washington D.C. area for several performances with the West Point Alumni Glee Club
• While in Philadelphia, the club was treated to a private, guided tour of Independence Hall, complete with a performance of the National Anthem outside its steps
• After seeing one of the original copies of the Declaration of Independence and the famous Liberty Bell, the club performed with the Alumni Club at the historic Christ Church
• The joint performance, entitled “The Spirit of ‘45”, honored the 70th Anni-versary of the end of WWII and the 150th anniversary of the end of the Civil War
• The Cadet Glee Club also premiered a work by British Composer Bob Chilcott, commissioned by the Glee Club, entitled “Everything That Grows”
• This choral piece borrows its lyrics from William Shakespeare’s Sonnet XV and featured the West Point Band’s SSG Yalin Chi on piano and SSG Kristen Mather de Andrade on clarinet
• After Christ Church, the Glee Club traveled to the Crystal City Marriott in Arlington, VA, to perform for the Jewish Military Veteran Society with the Alumni Glee Club
• The cadets and alumni also held a joint concert at the Stilesigner Theater on the Northern Virginia Community College campus in Alexandria, VA

Academic Clubs

Cadet Competitive Cyber Team:

• On 29 Jan. - 1 Feb., the Cadet Competitive Cyber Team (C3T) competed head to head with other service academies at CyberStakes Live; the DARPA sponsored event took place at the Soldier and Sailors Memorial Hall in Pittsburgh, PA
• Cadets and Midshipmen from the Military, Naval, Air Force, and Coast Guard Academies participated as team and individuals in a variety of security challenges
• Highlights from this year’s competition were the new Joint Capture the Flag event in which mixed participants from each of the academies moved into new groups on the second day of competition
• This year also introduced a complex and challenging Cold Boot challenge
• This event gave participants the task of extracting keys directly from memory by chilling the memory to help preserve its state and then transferring it to another system in order to bypass memory protections
• The competition was organized and hosted by For All Secure, a company founded by a team of computer security researchers from Carnegie Mellon University
• CyberStakes is an Olympic style event with awards for each event, but no overall rankings are given
• Members of the C3T won awards in the Cold Boot, Live CTF, Joint CTF and Lock picking events and performed admirably throughout the competition
• This event was designed to give students from each of the academies an opportunity to network, engage in friendly competition, learn new skills, and sow the seeds for future joint cyber operations

Hobby Clubs

Scuba:

• On 13-16 Feb., the USMA Scuba Team traveled to Key West Florida for its annual advanced dive training
• Thirteen cadets, an OIC and the NCOIC, took advantage of the warm weather to hone advanced skills by diving at deep depths on The Vanderbura, a well-known and large World War II shipwreck
• During the dive training, the team’s instructors (Firsties) focused on evaluating the instructor candidates (Cows) and Divemasters (Yearlings)
• NCOIC, SFC William Rothrock also gave cadets a tour of Key West’s Special Forces Underwater Operations School (SFUOS)

Alpine Skiing:

• On 16 Feb., the Army Alpine Ski Team hosted Navy and Cornell's’s alpine race teams at the annual Army Navy Alpine race Invitational at the Victor Constant Ski Slope
• Army is the winner this year against Navy, beating Navy in Giant Slalom by one second and Slalom by nearly four seconds
• Cornell, once again, showed that they are one of the fastest race teams in the Eastern Collegiate Ski Conference
• The cadets and middies both enjoy the relationship that they share with Cornell, as they raise the level of play for all competitors
• Individual standouts for Army include CDT Sawyer Harkins (‘18) who placed 9th in Giant Slalom (GS) and 8th in Slalom (SL); CDT Josh Ische (‘16) placed 10th in GS and 9th in SL of 30 total racers
• Also racing very well were Team Captain CDT Chris Emerson (‘15), CDTS Ayrne Riley (‘17), Patrick Kearny (‘17), and Logan Trust (‘18)
• The cadets along with the mids and Cornell worked alongside together to set up the race
• LTG Caslen was in attendance for the race; he ran some gates with the racers, as well as presented the trophy to the Cadets at the Award Ceremony

Military Clubs

Pistol:

• The West Point Pistol Team hosted the Coast Guard and Merchant Marine Academies this past weekend for an Intercollegiate Sectional Pistol Match
• Results from this match and sectional matches fired all over the country, were the qualifying events for Nationals that will be held at Ft. Benning, GA, on 22-27 March
• West Point swept all five events for the match; for the three open events (Free Pistol, Standard Pistol, and Air Pistol) West Point shot an aggregate score of 6289 to Coast Guard’s 5903 and Merchant Marine’s 5821
• West Point won the Air Pistol event with a four person team score of 2208 to USCGA’s 2114 and USMMA’s 2072
• West Point shot a team score of 1967 in Free Pistol; USMMA shot a 1800 and USCGA shot a 1769
• West Point won the final Open Event, Standard Pistol, with a team score of 2114 to USCGA’s 2020 and USMMA’s 1959
• West Point won both Women’s events with an aggregate score of 2717 to USCGA’s 2653; Merchant Marine did not field a women’s team; West Point won the Women’s Air Pistol event with a three person team score of 1092 to USCGA’s 1074
• West Point won the sport Pistol event with a team score of 1625 to USCGA’s 1579; Minhee Pak led the scoring with 555 out of 600; Sophomore Haana YU shot a 536 and Melody Yap shot a 534

Drill Team:

• This past weekend, the Black Knight Drill Team traveled to New Orleans, LA, to compete in the Tulane Mardi Gras Drill Meet
• The event featured several schools from across the nation such as North Georgia University, Norwich University, and Texas A&M University
• The team placed second in the platoon exhibition category, and CDT Michael Leinen (‘16) placed second in the individual exhibition category
• After the event, the team was hosted for a dinner of traditional Cajun Food by the local chapter of the VFW; the dinner allowed the team to bond as a unit and share experiences with a group of veterans from another generation
• The following day, the team visited the WWII museum
• The national competition served as a capstone for the drill team’s preparation over the course of the last year, allowing them to showcase all of the hard work they have put in since August

DCA Happenings

Tickets are now available for the
100th Night Shows at the Eisenhower
Hall Box Office.
Tickets for Cadets are free, and are
$15 for guests and/or anyone else.
Show time for Friday, 20 Feb. is 2000
Show time for Saturday, 21 Feb. is 1900

Click the Cover to read the entire update.

Department of English and Philosophy

Bard’s Seminar. On 10 February, seventeen cadets and five faculty members from EP395 Special Topics in Philosophy attended the first of four joint sessions with their colleagues and counterparts at Bard College. This multidisciplinary course examines the complex nature of human intolerance through the diverse perspectives held by faculty and cadets from four West Point departments (English and Philosophy, History, Law, and Social Sciences) and their counterparts at Bard, who are drawn from a comparably wide range. The Bard students graciously hosted the cadets for lunch and an informal “meet and greet,” which was followed by a two-hour seminar at which Bard students presented commentaries in response to essays in the course reader written by West Point faculty. Each commentary generated excellent discussion by both students and faculty. Near the end of the course a second joint session at Bard will take place at the Bard campus in preparation for Projects Day at West Point. In between, there will be two joint sessions hosted by West Point. The first of these takes place on Tuesday, 17 February, in the Haig Room, during which COL Ty Seidule (Head of the Department of History) and Professor Jonathan Becker (Vice President and Dean of International Affairs at Bard) will speak.

The Poetry of T.S. Eliot, Art, and Architecture: EN102 Cadets visit NYC. In order to understand and contextualize both the adherence and deviation from poetic conventions in the work of T.S. Eliot and his contemporaries, twenty Cadets from EN102 spent the day analyzing various forms of art and architecture at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Modern Museum of Art, and St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. The visit enabled them to see how traditional focuses upon form in representing ideas in poetry as well as classical, Gothic, and Renaissance art were not abandoned but heightened in modernist works. At the same time, students explored concepts identifiable in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale that relate to the ethics of art forms subservient to a state or ideology through study of futurist paintings, sculptures, and writings.

Department of History

The History Department hosted another successful “Night at the Movies” event on 4 February 2015. It featured the 2005 film Kingdom of Heaven, which depicts the events of the Second Crusade in the 12th Century. Cadets enjoyed not only the film itself, but also the valuable insights and analysis provided by a lively panel that included Professor Rasheed Hosein, Professor Dan Franke, Cadet Bryan Houp, Cadet Troy Szwaczkowski, Cadet Jacob Sanborn, and Cadet Francis Ambrogio. The panel provided a far-reaching and fascinating discussion of the depiction of the Crusades in the film, and also an incisive analysis of how leaders and states have motivated soldiers throughout history to sacrifice their lives for causes that move beyond individual interest. The History Department’s next “Night at the Movies” event will take place on 18 February and will feature a screening and discussion of Stanley Kubrick’s 1957 World War I drama Paths of Glory.

On 10 February 2015, the History Department hosted its inaugural edition of History Trivia Night at the Firstie Club. The event was a phenomenal success. Over one hundred cadets filled the club and competed in 26 teams for the top prize of $100 in DCA gift certificates. An additional prize was also presented to the team that came up with most creative team name, which went to "Kosciuszko’s Garden Gnomes." Teams of four competed in three rounds of history trivia, and the team with the most points from all three rounds were awarded the top prize. A team of history majors, creatively named "Chicago Style," scored the highest and won the DCA gift certificates. The History Department and DCA plan to host another History Trivia Night in March.

Department of Foreign Languages

Arabic: Eight Arabic students continue their studies in Morocco and Jordan. In Morocco, cadets got a chance to escape the snowy weather in wintry Ifrane to visit the desert city of Meknes, only an hour away. Meknes is an ancient city that is also home to the Moroccan Military Academy. In Jordan, our five Cadets continue to pursue their studies and continue their service-oriented outreach work with the orphanage.

Spanish: Cadets Benjamin Greif, Brian Fydenkevez, Nathan Swanson, Jeremy Tetro, and Connor Wernecke are settling into Mexican university life. They are enjoying local food, customs, and sports. Several of the cadets have joined club teams, such as water polo, at the university and they are having no trouble meeting local friends as well as fellow international students. The cadets are enjoying their classes and the slower pace of life in Mexico, especially the slower pace of food preparation and eating! In Mexico City, they have visited the Zócalo, the historic city center of Mexico City, which was the ceremonial center of the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan. They have also visited local markets and are enjoying the ease-of-use of the Mexico City metro system. They spent last weekend visiting cultural sites, including the pyramids at Teotihuacan, the site of the Aztec Empire during the 15th and 16th centuries.

ANNAPOLIS, MD– A fifth straight title for Clyde Wilson was the highlight for the Army men’s track & field team as they wrapped up the Patriot League Indoor Championships on Sunday in fourth place overall. Wilson turned in a Patriot League Championship meet record time of 1:50.70 in the 800m to take home his fifth straight individual title in the event, dating back to his sophomore season.

The senior wasn’t done there, as he led off the 4x400 relay team that cruised to first place with a time of 3:15.41. Running behind Wilson was Patrick Taylor, Bradley Gibson and Jose Santana. Santana was the leading individual scorer for the Black Knights on Sunday, finishing second in the 60m with a time of 6.88 and third in the 400m, crossing the line in 48.68. He was one of three scorers for Army in the 400m, with Taylor joining in fourth place with a time of 48.73 and Bradley Gibson finishing with a personal best time of 49.58. Read More

WEST POINT, N.Y. - Army used a 20-2 run surrounding halftime and rode Kevin Ferguson's career-high 23 points to a 72-63 victory over American on Sunday afternoon at Christl Arena. The Senior Day win helped the Black Knights complete the season sweep of American. Ferguson also led Army (15-12, 6-10 Patriot) with a career-best 12 rebounds for his fourth-career double-double as Army held a 35-27 rebounding advantage. Kyle Wilson scored 17, Tanner Plomb had 15 and Dylan Cox finished with nine for the Black Knights in a 52.3 percent shooting performance.

Charlie Jones netted a team-high 16 points for American, while Jesse Reed and John Schoof also scored in double figures, with 13 points and 12 points, respectively. Army reached 15 victories for the third consecutive year, marking the first time the Black Knights have had three straight 15-win campaigns since Bob Knight's teams each won at least 15 from 1967-70. Full Story»

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army wrestling team came away with a 21-10 victory over Navy to end the Midshipmen’s winning streak in the series in front of 1,004 fans on Sunday evening at Christl Arena.

Army’s win is the first over Navy since the 1996-97 season and snaps the Midshipmen’s 14-year winning streak and 17-year unbeaten streak in the series, as the teams tied during the 1999-00 campaign.

The match opened at 157 pounds, with No. 18 Russell Parsons winning a 7-1 decision over Navy’s Drew Daniels to give Army (3-6, 3-4 Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association) an early 3-0 advantage. Navy (3-5, 1-3) answered with a 5-3 victory at 165, as 16th-ranked Peyton Walsh defeated Chandler Smith. Read More

Congratulations to the West Point Boxing team on dominating their 2015 Home Show.

The team won 16 of their 17 bouts, and will compete next in the Brigade Boxing Open here at Crest Hall, Feb. 27. West Point Boxing

LAS VEGAS, Nev.– Competing in the consolation bracket, the Army women’s rugby team claimed the tournament’s Plate award, defeating BYU and Ottawa. Army earned its first victory over BYU by a score of 17-12 in overtime and moved on to the Plate final to defeat the Ottawa Ravens by a score 12-0.

Against BYU, the Cougars got up by five early on, but a try from Ashley Mohr halfway through the first half tied the game at 5-5 heading into the half. BYU jumped out to a 12-5 lead in the opening minutes of the second half, but a try from Allison Wilson and a successful conversion from newcomer Nicole Heavirland tied the game up at 12-12 and sent the teams into overtime. Read More

WEST POINT, N.Y. – After a hard-fought game at No. 2/3 Syracuse last night, the Army lacrosse team made moves in all three national polls, including a jump to ninth in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Coaches’ Poll.

The Black Knights are ranked in the top 10 for the first time since the 2011 season when Army was ninth in the nation at the beginning of April. Army is ranked 9th by the coaches and moved up two spots from 11th last week. The Black Knights earned 131 points in the poll and are the highest ranked Patriot League team in the rankings. Denver remains in the top spot, followed by Syracuse. Loyola dropped from eighth to 14th after losing to Holy Cross on Saturday. The Crusaders made their first appearance in the poll at No. 19, while Colgate held steady at No. 20 as the Raiders are off to a 3-0 start. Read More

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army men’s tennis team defeated St. Bonaventure, 7-0, to grab its eighth win in a row on Sunday morning at Lichtenberg Tennis Center. The Black Knights move to 8-3 on the year following the win.

The Black Knights claimed the doubles point after victories from junior Harrison McCormick and sophomore Grant Riechamnn (No. 1), junior Austin McCasin and sophomore Kyle Barnes (No. 2) and freshmen Michael Sienko and Daniel Zheng (No. 3). Read More

The West Point Department of History and the Center for Oral History were honored to have Mr. Hank Thomas, a Civil Rights Activist, Vietnam Veteran, and Businessman, visit on February 23rd. Mr. Thomas was at West Point speaking at the African American History Month luncheon, and then sat in on an American History class, provided an oral history interview, and discussed The West Point Guide to the Civil Rights Movement with COL Seidule.

Logan Everett Takedown vs. Navy.

WEST POINT, N.Y. - The Army club women's lacrosse team will hold a free clinic at the Foley Athletic Center next to Michie Stadium on Saturday morning before its home opener against Northeastern's club team later in the afternoon. The clinic is available to girls in grades K-8 and will run from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Army women's lacrosse players and coaches will be on hand to provide lessons and instruction to participants throughout the clinic.

The event will precede the team's contests against Northeastern (1 p.m.) and NYU (3 p.m.), which will take place at West Point's Shea Stadium. Both games are free to the public. The Army men's lacrosse squad will also play at home, as it hosts Lafayette at noon at Michie Stadium. Read More

The USMA Black Knight Drill Team traveled to Ithaca, NY to participate in the Cornell University Invitational Drill Competition, Nov. 15. They competed against several schools including the United States Naval Academy and Norwich University. Congratulations to the Drill Team!

The Drill Team won first place in exhibition platoon, exhibition tandem, and regulation squad. CDT Austin Neal won third place in individual knock out drill. We placed in every event we entered.