Combating Terrorism Center Senior Associate Dr. Nelly Lahoud recently led a three-week Department of Social Sciences AIAD to Cambodia with CDT Christian Burgos-Sanchez (Class of 2016), CDT Jordan Isham, and CDT Conner Drum (both Class of 2018). The group was immersed in Cambodian culture through community work and cultural study. Dr. Lahoud and the Cadets built a garden for a school that cares for an underprivileged community and taught English to young Cambodians. They also learned about the rich history of the country (e.g., visiting the great temples in Siem Reap) and its dark recent history under the regime of Pol Pot by visiting the S21 Museum (The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum) and the killing fields.
CTC Director

"New cadets from the Class of 2019 conduct rappel training and perform rappel operations at "Ranger Rock," located in the West Point training area, July 22, 2015, as part of Cadet Basic Training, or CBT. U.S. Army Soldiers from U.S. Army Fort Drum & 10th Mountain Division and the 10th Mountain Division Light Fighters School, Fort Drum, NY, provided instruction and oversight of the new cadets during the training, checking for proper harness rigging techniques and observing the new cadets once on rappel. The purpose of CBT is to assist in transitioning the new cadets from civilian to cadet and to provide them with the values necessary to develop as leaders of character, strongly committed to military service. Story
For more photos of CBT and rappel training, visit USMA Flickr page at: https://flic.kr/s/aHskcfaxxC

Photo courtesy of Sgt. 1st Class Jeremy Bunkley, USMA Public Affairs Office

What a great morning for a run! The Class of 2018 officially brought Cadet Field Training to an end, by completing the 7.15 mile Runback from Camp Buckner Military Reservation to West Point proper, July 27, 2015. Following the completion of the run, USMA Superintendent, Lt. Gen. Robert L. Caslen, Jr., provided motivating comments to the class followed up by a gift presentation to U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno. Gen. Odierno followed Lt. Gen. Caslen, thanking the academy for the gift and then providing some motivating words of his own to the cadets. The class will now take some well deserved time off in order to prepare for the start of the new academic year. Story

For more photos from today's Runback, check out USMA Flickr page at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/west_point/sets

Photo courtesy of Sgt. 1st Class Jeremy Bunkley, USMA Public Affairs Office

In 1802, President Thomas Jefferson signed legislation that established the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, NY. George Washington considered this location the most important strategic position in America. The academy is a coeducational, public liberal arts college that requires applicants to have a nomination from a member of Congress in order to be admitted. During the course of their education, students can choose from 36 majors. At the end of their matriculation, they earn a commission into the U.S. Army as 2nd Lieutenants. Students are called “cadets” and must adhere to the Cadet Honor Code, which states that “a cadet will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do.” Varsity athletes, called the Black Knights, dress in black, gray and gold and compete in NCAA Division I athletics. Story

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin E. Dempsey addressed senior Army leaders during the 2015 Army Profession Annual Symposium at the United States Military Academy. The event ran from July 26 through 28 and was themed “Unveiling our Army Ethic and Stewarding our Profession.” To view more photos of the symposium, visit Flickr. Read More

Cadets Addison Bieger and Marshall Kobylski, both senior civil engineering majors, are at Fort Irwin with their faculty advisor, Col. Meyer, deputy department head of West Point's department of civil and mechanical engineering. They are here to work with engineers from Fort Irwin's Directorate of Public Works and from the Los Angeles District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, or USACE, to prepare a new storm water management plan for the garrison involving the design of storm runoff systems. The engineering projects will help prevent the kind of damage experienced during the storm, which hit Fort Irwin, Aug. 25, 2013.

The new management plan, designed to accommodate a 100-year storm, is replacing a previous storm water runoff management plan from over 35 years ago, which was designed to manage 25-50 year storms. "Our academic studies have really helped us," Bieger said. "But it's a lot more challenging to adjust to real-life constraints. The terrain is a lot different, and we have to account for Fort Irwin's isolation, how to get certain materials out here, from a long distance away, and figuring out how we can best do that."

Kobylski said that their first job was to work with USACE and Fort Irwin engineers to prioritize a list of projects required as part of the storm water management plan. They are now designing the number-one priority projects - the repair and expansion of the North Tank Trail Channel, and creating new basins above the channel, which will serve to collect debris and water during a storm event. As an added benefit, water pooling in the basins during storms will help recharge the aquifer that supports Fort Irwin. Read More

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Army West Point men's lacrosse team is well represented in this year's Major League Lacrosse playoffs with four players with West Point ties vying for the league title. Former standouts Jeremy Boltus (USMA '11), John Glesener (USMA '15) and Sam Somers (USMA '15) will be competing, while assistant coach Justin Turri is among the competitors going for the championship. Both semifinals are this Saturday, Aug. 1, and will be live on CBS Sports Network.

Glesener is the lone player among the group that is not on the Rochester Rattlers as he just finished his first regular season with the Boston Cannons. He appeared in four games for the Cannons and tallied 12 points on seven goals and two assists. He was recently named the MLL Rookie of the Week after tallying five goals and an assist in the loss to Ohio in an epic scoring battle. Two of his goals were two-point scores. The Cannons and Glesener take on the New York Lizards on Long Island this Saturday at 6:30 p.m.

Boltus has enjoyed a great season with 21 points on 11 goals and 10 assists as a member of the Rattlers and was named the All-Star Game's Most Valuable Player. He returned this season after missing 2014 after serving in Afghanistan and is currently a Captain in the U.S. Army. Boltus has played with four different teams since being drafted in 2011 by the Hamilton Nationals. He will be making his third appearance in the playoffs after making the second season with the Nationals and Denver in 2013. Read More

A report released by The Princeton Review ranked West Point, in its “Top 10” in 13 categories and “Top 20” in four others, including No. 1 in “Most Accessible Professors” in their annual college guide “The Best 380 Colleges - 2016 Edition.”

Other notables include No. 2 in “Best Health Services,” and No. 3 in both “Best College Library” and “Most Politically Active Students.” The new 2016 edition profiles only about 15 percent of America’s 2,500 four-year colleges and four outside the U.S. Click here for the full release.

Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering

Interdisciplinary Research Team Conducts Second Large-Scale Data Collection While Supporting the Cadet Class of 2019 Boot Fit: On 30 June and 1 July, the research team comprised COL Michael Neary (KACH), Dr. Becky Zifchock (CME/CIE), and LTC Donald Goss (KACH), and their staff, along with their collaborators from the New York College of Podiatric Medicine (New York), the Hospital for Special Surgery (New York), Temple University (Philadelphia), Novel (a corporate partner from Munich, Germany), and over eighty student volunteers conducted a research study of the foot structure of the incoming cadet Class of 2019, while simultaneously supporting the Boot Fit on R-Day +1 and R-Day +2. More than 1150 incoming cadets volunteered to take part in the study, which is designed to assess static and dynamic foot structure.

Several measurements of each participant’s feet were taken at five discrete measurement stations in Washington Hall, while the cadets waited to be fitted for their boots. This provides information about both static and dynamic foot structure and function for this cadet class. The participants will be tracked throughout their four years at USMA. This will provide prospective data to support research questions such as the relationship between foot structure and susceptibility to overuse injury, and whether intense military training changes foot structure.

This is the second time this research team collected data during Boot Fit. This data collection was also carried out for the incoming cadet Class of 2017 in the summer of 2013. As in previous years, the Center for Innovation and Engineering provided funding to support volunteer travel, but the study and the cadet boot fit could not have been accomplished without major volunteer efforts of the teams from the New York College of Podiatric Medicine, the Hospital for Special Surgery, Temple University, and Novel.

Cadet/Faculty Research Presentations at International Conference: On 12-16 July Cadet Willahelm Wan and Dr. Becky Zifchock attended the 25th Congress of the International Society of Biomechanics in Glasgow, Scotland. CDT Wan presented his own research, and Dr. Zifchock presented an abstract on behalf of CDT Regina Parker who was unable to attend the meeting. The presented research was based on the independent study projects that Cadets Wan and Parker conducted under the mentorship of Dr. Zifchock, which looked at the effects of foot structure on the shapes and magnitudes of ground reaction forces of running. Cadets Wan and Parker will continue this line of research in their final year at USMA, with the intent of submitting a manuscript for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

In addition to attending scientific sessions and seminars on high quality research and scientific topics during the conference, the trip was an excellent opportunity for Cadet Wan and Dr. Zifchock to interact with professional peers and colleagues. Cadet Wan made connections with students from Finland, Taiwan, South Africa, the US, and several other countries.

West Point cadet Peter Kim made the most of a brief summer break, winning the 113th Met Amateur Championship on August 2nd with a tense 1-up win over Ryan Snouffer in the 36-hole final on the Upper Course at Baltusrol Golf Club.

The 20-year-old from Royce Brook C.C. in New Jersey was down early in the match, but came back and built a 3-up lead with seven to play. Read More

WEST POINT, N.Y. - Army West Point Director of Athletics Boo Corrigan announced today that the men's and women's basketball programs will host Navy in a doubleheader on Jan. 23 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

"We are very excited about taking our best basketball rivalry to the 'World's Most Famous Arena,'" said Corrigan. "This is a special opportunity for our players, coaches and fans, and a great chance to showcase our teams in New York City. Army has a lot of history in Madison Square Garden, dating back to the successful National Invitation Tournament teams of the 1960's and participating in the Maggie Dixon Classic in 2007 and 2008. This event will add to an already great basketball tradition with the Academy at Madison Square Garden."

The Army West Point men's basketball team last played at Madison Square Garden during the 1985-86 season when it met La Salle, and also appeared there on multiple occasions with Bob Knight at the helm for games in the National Invitation Tournament. In 1969, Knight and Mike Krzyzewski, a senior captain for the Black Knights, led Army to a fourth-place finish in the N.I.T., including a victory over South Carolina, which Knight considers one of his greatest-ever triumphs. Read More

Superintendent of the United States Military Academy, Lt. Gen. Robert L. Caslen, Jr., recognized the academic achievements of cadets from last semester in a ceremony at Robinson Auditorium, Aug. 12. Gen. Caslen presented the Superintendent’s Awards for Excellence, Achievement, and the Distinguished Cadet Award.

Cadets earn the award for excellence by demonstrating outstanding performance in all three programs: academic, military, and physical. It is awarded annually, based on the cadet award score which is a combination of the three program scores, with equal weight applied to each. There are two levels of recognition: excellence and achievement. The top 5% of each class earns the award for excellence which is a gold star encircled by a wreath. The top 15% (after the top 5%) of each class earns the Superintendent's Award for Achievement which is a gold wreath.

The Distinguished Cadet Award reflects achievement of a term quality grade point average of 3.67 or higher for the past semester and consists of a gold star.

Congratulations to all cadets who received awards and honors! Story

Photo courtesy of Anthony Battista/ DPTMS

The Corps is whole once again!

In a ceremonial parade Aug. 15, 2015, USMA2019 officially joined the United States Corps of Cadets, signifying not only their acceptance into the Corps, but their promotion from new cadet to cadet private as well. The Acceptance Day parade is the first parade of the year, officially bringing together the entire Corps of Cadets.

Congratulations to the Class of 2019 and welcome to the Corps! Story

For more photos from today's Acceptance Day Parade, visit USMA Flickr page at: https://www.flickr.com/ photos/west_point/albums

Photo courtesy of Sgt. 1st Class Jeremy Bunkley, USMA Public Affairs

The three members of the West Point Taekwondo Club were part of a 20-person contingent, including 13 cadets, led by the academy’s head coach, Master Ji Ho Choi, president of the Pan American Taekwondo Union. The delegation, who visited Korea on July 28 for a nine-day run, were undertaking their first-ever tour of Korea this August.

On a battlefield swept by the fearsome killing force of automatic weapons, high explosives and laser-guided airpower, empty handed martial arts have minimal combative utility. This obvious reality, however, does not make taekwondo a redundant skill for a 21st century soldier. How so? Ask cadets at the United States’ premier military academy, West Point.

“Because we are soldiers, taekwondo translates pretty well – it is like one-on-one combat, or one country versus another country,” said West Point Cadet Anthony Chargualaf.  “And it teaches determination; how to persevere through the pain.” “We have a warrior ethos in the U.S. Army – ‘Leave no man behind,’” Cadet Jacqueline Parker said. “If you are a in a fight, you have to be the last one standing: that translates into the warrior ethos.” Full Story»

The U.S. Military Academy Class of 2017 gathered together in Robinson Auditorium, Aug. 16, 2015, to affirm their commitment to complete their final two years of study at West Point and at a minimum to serve five years of active military service thereafter. View more photos

During the ceremony, the Class of 1967, the 50-year affiliate to the Class of 2017, presented each cadet with a commemorative coin bearing the class crest and motto. The ceremony is both symbolic of their commitment and representative of the goal which they are seeking to attain over the coming two years. Story

Junior defender Christian Clark was named the Patriot League Preseason Defensive Player of the Year when the conference announced its men's soccer preseason poll and all-league team on Monday. Preseason voting was compiled by the league's head coaches and sports information directors, who were not permitted to vote for their own teams.

Clark was named to the All-Patriot League first team last season after appearing in all 20 games and finishing with two goals and two assists. He is Army West Point's lone player recognized on the Preseason All-Patriot League squad. Read More

Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering. Israel AIAD. Two iterations of USMA cadets, along with cadets and midshipmen from sister service academies, visited Israel this summer to tour and study historical, cultural, and religious sites that included Jerusalem, the Negev Desert, and the Dead Sea basin. In addition, the groups observed training exercises, received briefings, and participated in staff rides with officers from the Israeli Defense Force while visiting various military installations and border outposts. Cadets completed special readings and attended lectures by representatives from Hebrew University, the Israeli Defense Force, and the U.S. Embassy in order to gain insight to relevant social, economic, and cultural issues. These complex issues were presented in strategic and diplomatic contexts as the drivers of geo-political concerns affecting security in the region.

G.I. Film Festival AIAD. From August 3-7, Cadets Sarah Gold and Mackenzie Riford served as interns under the tutelage of USMA alumnus Laura Law-Millet (’94) at the G.I. Film Festival (GIFF) Headquarters in Arlington, VA. According to Law-Millet, one of the primary goals of the GIFF is to highlight diverse film portrayals of American service members, rather than ones that stereotypically represent Soldiers as universally afflicted with PTSD. Cadets Gold and Riford as well as Ive Velez and Zachary Hout previously assisted organizers with the daily operations and red carpet events from May 19-25 in the Washington, D.C. area during the first half of the AIAD. Last week, Gold and Riford traveled back to Arlington where they conducted marketing research for next year’s event, searched for venues for Gary Sinise’s Lt. Dan Band, wrote blogs and developed social media products for community and press engagement, and attended a meeting with former USMA graduates from the D.C. area who provided the group insights on marketing strategies and approaches to funding major events. Law-Millet hosted a similar internship last summer for Cadets and indicated she looks forward to continuing the relationship with USMA Cadets in the future.

Army West Point Director of Athletics Boo Corrigan has announced that construction is set to begin on the Foley Enners Nathe Lacrosse Center, which will be the new state-of-the-art home for the Black Knights' men's and women's lacrosse programs. The 15,000-square-foot-facility will feature two floors nestled in the northeast corner of historic Michie Stadium, game venue for both programs.

The first floor will contain locker rooms for Army West Point's men's and women's lacrosse teams in addition to equipment and athletic training rooms, and coaches' locker rooms. While the equipment room will feature a rolling rack storage system and laundry room, the training room will include six treatment tables, a physician's office, ice machine and Grimm dual therapy pool. Read More

Construction began today on the Foley Enners Nathe Lacrosse Center, starting with a groundbreaking ceremony involving the West Point Association of Graduates (WPAOG) and West Point’s Directorate of Intercollegiate Athletics. “Everyone should feel enormous satisfaction in this accomplishment,” said COL (R) Robert McClure ’76, WPAOG’s President & CEO. “This is a giant step forward for Army West Point athletics, and it is tangible evidence of what WPAOG does so well: connecting the passion of our graduates with the needs of West Point and giving cadets the best facilities in the nation at the best value.”

The Center has been a priority for the Superintendent within the West Point Association of Graduates For Us All Campaign and was fully funded by West Point graduates and friends.

The Superintendent expressed his gratitude, “I'd like to thank all those who generously donated to make this project happen, in particular Bill Foley, Gary Giglio, Randy Quirk and Will Weathersby.  Because of their and many other’s generous support, we can break ground on what will be a first-class facility for our men’s and women’s lacrosse teams.  When you stop and think about what Bill Foley, Class of 1967, is doing to honor two great lacrosse player classmates, Rick Enners and Mike Nathe, Bill deserves a lot of recognition and thanks.  Rick and Mike took the mental, physical and leadership skills they developed as lacrosse players to the fight in Vietnam where they gave their last full measure of their devotion. Because of Bill’s respect and love of his classmates, this facility will forever honor them and their memory.”

Representing the donors that made this day a reality, Gary Giglio ’89, a former Army Lacrosse team captain and himself a lead donor for the new lacrosse building, said, “It is fantastic to be part of a project that represents the tradition of Army Lacrosse.”

Commenting on that tradition, Joe Alberici, Army West Point Men’s Lacrosse Head Coach, said, “One of our team quotes is, ‘Always honor the tradition,’ especially the players who have come before and helped build it with eight national championships.”

The Foley Enners Nathe Lacrosse Center will become the new home of Army West Point Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse. It will feature office space for coaches, team meeting rooms, film breakdown facilities, men’s and women’s locker rooms, a training room, and on-site equipment storage. It will also offer players space to study and socialize, allowing them to build relationship among one another off the field. “The lacrosse team culture has always been one of cohesion,” said Giglio. “Helping each other on and off the field, professionally and personally, helps form that common bond that is essential to an elite program.”

Summing up the project, Alberici said, “Thanks to WPAOG and the Long Gray Line, Army West Point Lacrosse will now have the greatest lacrosse facility in the nation for the next 25 years.”

The Combating Terrorism Center was pleased to host several AIAD opportunities this summer for cadets. The Elizabeth Ann Gilmore AIAD program was established to enhance cadet understanding of, and exposure to, counter-terrorism policy and strategy at the local, state, and federal level. This opportunity enables cadets to apply theory to practice and elevates their comprehension of the dimensions and challenges embedded in the democratic struggle against terrorism and similar threats.

This year, the following selected cadets were placed at agencies with counter-terrorism missions and assigned to projects that exposed them to key decision makers involved in the development and execution of counter-terrorism strategy and policy:

• CDTs Daniel Reape and Jack Rector joined the FBI Kansas City Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) for six weeks and assisted in investigations related to terrorism financing.
• CDT James Delahunty joined the Bureau of Counter-terrorism at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., for four weeks and worked on issues related to international aviation and mass events security.
• CDTs Abigail Jeffers and Paul Min spent three weeks at the Chicago FBI office and were introduced to the various missions of the office.
• CDT Conor Smith joined the CT division at FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C., to learn about its various CT missions.
• CDTs Eric Colburn and Tomas Hinds spent three weeks at the Defense Combating Terrorism Center at the Defense Intelligence Agency in Washington, D.C., working with groups of intelligence analysts on identifying terrorist threats in the Middle East and Africa.
• CDT Mario Contreras spent a month at the National Counter-terrorism Center in Washington, D.C., working on analyzing intelligence related to terrorist threats.
• CDT Blayne Hollist spent a month at the Center for Counter-terrorism Studies at JSOC at Fort Bragg analyzing various aspects of the role of special operation forces in CT operations.

Additionally, Cadet Patric Carstens and Cadet Brendan Short were both selected by the Combating Terrorism Center Irregular Warfare Group for the U.S. Army Special Operations Command AIAD. The cadets joined two 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) Special Forces Operational Detachment- Alphas at the National Training Center as they infiltrated into and executed a four-week Unconventional Warfare Exercise to prepare the environment for a larger Army Joint Force Entry Exercise. This was a unique training experience that exposed the cadets to special warfare, special operations forces as well as conventional force integration and mission command.

Cadet Joseph Presti and Cadet Austin Smith from the Combating Terrorism Center Irregular Warfare Group joined three other cadets at Fort Campbell to train alongside members of 5th Special Forces Group for one month during the Special Forces Advanced Urban Combat (SFAUC) Course. Training highlights included M4 and M9 Combat Marksmanship Skills training, Close Quarters Battle training, mechanical and ballistic breaching of exterior/interior doors and outer walls, and several culmination training events.

This summer, 20 USMA cadets also participated in a program sponsored by Gold Star Teen Adventures Foundation, which seeks to help the children of fallen Special Operations Service Members. Sixty-six Gold Star teens took part in four separate adventure camps throughout the summer. These camps were centered on scuba diving (open water, advanced, NITROX, and Rescue training) and basic and advanced outdoor survival; camping; leadership; and orienteering skills. The cadets acted as mentors for the teens throughout each of the camps.

Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership

Cadet Capstone Project Being Constructed in Afghanistan: Following the 2015 Mechanical Engineering Capstone Design Project entitled “SIP-Hut 4.0” sponsored by Natick Labs and the subsequent publication of an US Army Corps of Engineers Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) report covering ongoing development and testing of the structure, MG Semonite, Commander of CSTC-A, approved the purchase and construction of 20 SIP-Huts in Afghanistan in support of ongoing operations in the Badakshan Province. The SIP-Huts were selected as an economical, easy to construct and very energy efficient alternative to previous lodgment solutions and will be used to house 200 Afghanistan National Army Soldiers.

Department of Physics and Nuclear Engineering

Astronomy Club participates at Club Night. Members of the Astronomy Club including Cadets Sam Hartford, Jesse Mills, Jonathan Roche, Montana Bilger and Daniel Mauldin as well as OICs Dr. Paula Fekete, COL Dave Harper, Dr. Roger Burk and MAJ Danny Thebeau participated in the recruiting opportunity provided by Club Night on Monday, 18 August, 2015 at Eisenhower Hall. This year’s event was a great success as more than 100 new cadets signed up to join the club. Several of our smaller telescopes were showcased at the event. We are delighted to announce that this is the first semester when the new Observatory will become fully operational starting early October. The first official meeting of the club is at 1900 on 24 August 2015. According to plans to be finalized at that organizational meeting, in addition to astronomical observations performed locally, the club will continue its tradition of visiting the Planetarium at the Museum of Natural History in New York City and launching a balloon satellite.

Department of History

Department’s first staff ride to Vietnam. Departing on May 28 and returning on June 11, COL Greg Daddis, Prof. Jen Kiesling, MAJ Rory McGovern, and CDTs Meredith Shea, John McCormick, Rachael Agwunobi, Zachary Chaikin, Joy Schaeffer, Josh Martindale, Simone Askew, and Annalee Tokarsky. The group was joined in country by U.S. Air Force Academy Cadet Nate Hausman. Hosted by Vietnam’s Ministry of National Defense, the staff ride explored Hanoi, Halong Bay, Hue, Da Nang, Hoi An, and Ho Chi Minh City, visiting significant sites and museums related not only to Vietnamese history and culture, but also to the history of the long Vietnam War. Such sites included the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum and museum, the Vietnamese History Museum, the Women’s Museum, the Museum of Ethnology, the My Son Sanctuary, the Cao Dai Cathedral, the Hanoi Hilton, the old Presidential Palace in Ho Chi Minh City, the Hanoi Hilton, and the Cu Chi Tunnels, among others. Cadets and faculty alike found the experience to be very enriching, particularly as a means of studying the relationship between society, culture, and the construction of national identity and historical memory. Additionally, as official guests of the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense, cadets and faculty participated in meetings and exchange visits with the commander and headquarters staff of the Department of Foreign Relations within the Ministry of National Defense, as well as Vietnam’s Military Science Academy, Army Officer Training School No. 2, and 108th Mechanized Infantry Regiment. We could not be more proud of our cadets, each of whom effortlessly balanced the demands of being soldiers, scholars, and diplomats throughout the entire trip. Combined with coursework prior to the trip, the Vietnam Staff Ride cadets earned three credit hours as part of the department’s initial execution of HI399: The Staff Ride.

LTC Franz Rademacher, MAJ Andy Visser, and MAJ John Zdeb led 10 cadets on the “Germany Attacks” Staff Ride in Belgium, Luxembourg, France, and Germany from 19 May to 12 June 2015. Cadets spent the initial two weeks conducting intensive study of two major operations in the Ardennes during World War II, and then traveled to Europe to walk the terrain from 1-12 June. The study of the German invasion of France in 1940 and the Battle of the Bulge in 1944, both fought over much of the same terrain, provided a unique study that allowed comparisons between the operations and tactics of three different national armies, the evolution of weapons and their employment on the battlefield, and the importance of leadership at both the tactical and operational levels. Cadets attending The Germany Attacks Staff Ride also earned three credit hours towards their history major in the initial implementation of the new summer course, HI399: The Staff Ride. The course culminated with an extensive research paper where cadets integrated the knowledge gained from classroom study and the terrain analysis on multiple battlefields.