Grad Week 2018 started off rainy and in the low 60s, almost as if it were an extension of the dreariness of Gloom Period, which is perhaps how the Class of 2018 felt when they entered the Academy as lowly new cadets on a stormy R-Day in July 2014. Flash forward four days to Graduation Saturday, and it was all sun and in the 80s—a glorious day that matched the glorious feelings the 972 new second lieutenants must have been experiencing as they exited the Academy on top of the world after 47 months of hard military, physical, academic and character training.
“I remember you stumbling around on R-Day, wide-eyed and wondering what you got yourself into,” LTG Robert L. Caslen Jr. ’75, in his last official duty as West Point’s 59th Superintendent (there will be a change of command on June 22), told the members of the Class of 2018, the only class he has seen from the very beginning to the very end as Superintendent. “I have had the privilege of watching you grow, both individually and as a class, into amazing young men and women and leaders of character.”
The Class of 2018 includes 193 women (nearly 20 percent of the class, 77 branching combat arms), 105 African Americans, 80 Asian/Pacific Islanders, 78 Hispanics, 16 Native Americans, and 12 combat veterans. Of the class, 92 graduates are sons or daughters of members of the Long Gray Line, 17 of who have parents who are both West Point graduates themselves. Thirty-seven members of the class have earned prestigious scholarships—including five Fulbright Scholars, one National Science Foundation Fellowship, and one Rhodes Scholar—and will continue their academic studies after graduation and commissioning.
The graduation speaker for the Class of 2018 was GEN Joseph F. Dunford Jr. (USMC), the 19th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In a short but impactful speech he addressed two themes that should resonate with a class whose motto is “With Strength We Lead.” First, Dunford spoke about the exponentially evolving nature of the Profession of Arms. “There’s no substitute to taking a clear-eyed look at the threats you’ll face and asking how our force will adapt to meet those threats,” he said. “Challenge yourself to be the kind of leader who continues to think about, write about, and to lead change.” Second, he reminded the soon-to-be second lieutenants that, after graduation, it is no longer about individual capabilities, but rather about the team. “Lead from the front and put soldiers’ interests ahead of your own,” Dunford said. “If you take care of your soldiers, they’ll take care of you.”
After the order of "Class dismissed!" and the traditional hat toss, graduates changed uniforms “from cadet grays to Army blues” and headed to various ceremonies across post to be pinned with second lieutenant bars engraved with the numerals “68-18,” commemorating the bond these graduates have with the Class of 1968. That class, which just celebrated its 50th class reunion, has gripped hands with the Class of 2018 as its 50-Year Affiliation Class since that thunderstorm-filled R-Day back in July 2014.