Combating Terrorism Center
The Irregular Warfare Group conducted a challenge event for Cadets to test their team building and leadership under highly physical events. The key aspect of the event was that Cadets did not know the events in advance and were required to communicate and adapt to the changing physical and cognitive demands. Competing in 3-person teams, the Cadets started the day with a road march to the top of the ski slope, which included wearing gas mask during part of their movement. Following the road march, the cadets conducted the IOTC as a team while carrying a 5-gallon water jug. From the IOTC, they competed in shooting engagements at the EST and then immediately a Kim’s “recall” game to test their memory. Their final event was various swimming challenges as a team in the pool. After the event, Special Forces Officers and NCOs led an AAR of the event to highlight for the Cadets key learning points on physical fitness, leadership, team work, and adaptive thinking.
Department of Law
US District Court Judge Richard Sullivan visited with cadets in the Advanced Constitutional Law seminar. Judge Sullivan, appointed to the bench in the Southern District of New York by President George W. Bush, discussed sentencing and the “Cruel and Unusual Punishments” Clause of the 8th Amendment to the Constitution. The seminar is taught by Department of Law Asst. Professor and Constitutional Law Chair, Tony DiSarro.
Mobile Robotics Workshops in Tampa
The Center for Leadership and Diversity in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (CLD_STEM) partnered with College for Every Student (CFES) to hold two Mobile Robotics workshops last week. Two faculty members and two cadets traveled to Tampa, Florida to conduct two workshops held on 4-5 December 2014 for 4 middle schools in the central Florida region. Dr. Kendall Williams and Lori Sheetz, of the Department of Mathematical Sciences, assisted by Cadets Timothy Park and Jennifer Cabanas, led a total of 67 middle school students and 10 educators through the workshops as they assembled and programmed an autonomous robot using LEGO® MINDSTORMS® technology. The workshops ended with a competition to see who programmed their robot to complete a task most successfully.
Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership
Former director of ticket sales for the Developmental Basketball League Team, the Westchester Knicks, and author of "Seven Tips for Breaking into the World of Sports" visited the PL371 Introductory Sociology class. On Monday, 8 December 2014, Ms. Earlina Green, former director of ticket sales for the Developmental Basketball League Team, the Westchester Knicks, and author of "Seven Tips for Breaking into the World of Sports" visited the PL371 Introductory Sociology class to share her personal experiences and insights from the professional Sports world. The class as a whole challenges cadets to view society and its various social institutions through a sociological lens. It broadens their perspectives and understanding from personal experiences to see cultural dynamics, institutional structures, sources of inequality, and the ways people interact with each other and society. Earlina Green shared personal stories about the sports world and individual athletes, highlighting the impact sports has on our personal values, family interactions, business structure, and opportunities based on gender, race, and sexuality from the player to the manager and owner levels.
Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK) National Leadership Honor Society presented a check to Marines from Orange County, NY in support of the annual Toys for Tots campaign. BS&L Management majors of the Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK) National Leadership Honor Society presented a check to Marines from Orange County, NY in support of the annual Toys for Tots campaign. Management-ODK cadets raised close to $6000 for boys and girls in Orange County on behalf of the West Point community. These Cadets will also be presenting toys to low-income children in Newburgh, NY as part of the campaign. These same Cadets will shift their effort to the West Point Special Olympics in the spring semester.
Department of Systems Engineering
The Capstone Team of Cadets Abe Jun, Jake Thomas, Bratton Benfield and Benjamin Ficke (center) completed a project for Highland Falls in support of the “Highland Falls Sculpture Walk: Leadership and Wisdom”. The team provided Highland Falls leadership with recommendations for sculpture placements around town. Mayor Patrick Flynn presented the Cadets with Certificates of Appreciation from Highland Falls for their work.
Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering
A Net Zero Forward Operating Base (FOB) at Camp Buckner? On Wednesday, 10 Dec 14, Firsties in Applied Systems Design and Decision Making (the Systems Core Engineer Sequence capstone course (SE450) presented to representatives from the West Point Energy Council and USCC their final brief on evaluating the West Point Reservation for a potential site for a Net Zero FOB. The FOB would provide a 24 hour rest/refit area for two companies (~360 cadets) during summer training. Team 1, comprised of Cadets Jakob Brooks, Vincent Kennedy, Seth Pinkston, and David Currey evaluated location and mission. Team 1 recommended a tactical FOB in the vicinity of Lake Popolopen, guarded during 24 hour operations by a group of cadets coordinated by a central command post. Team 2, comprised of Cadets Hunter Norton, Danielle Gordon, Harold Earls, and Fernando Weiner evaluated structure type and power. Group 2 recommended tents or B-huts powered by solar panels.
Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
IT105 Tech Tour. The 560 cadets taking IT105 this semester saw how the concepts learned in class are applied in the electrical engineering, computer science, and information technology disciplines during the IT105 Technology Tour. The Tech Tour, held every semester, highlights cutting edge technologies used in today's field Army. Cadets participated in four different stations that included: the demonstration of lasers as a line-of-sight communications system, the operation and control of various robots used and/or programmed by department cadet majors, security concerns with social networking and learning about software used to intercept wireless internet traffic and an interactive approach to understanding how data transmissions can be verified using parity bits and how public key encryption is used for secure transactions.
Cadets Test GPS Projects. Computer Architecture students recently evaluated their GPS projects. Using what they had learned about connecting sensors and display screens to Arduino microcontrollers, they configured their devices to provide current location and navigation information. This marked the last of five course projects that took student knowledge from theory and simulation to device implementation.