This past weekend the United States Military Academy at West Point Class of 1986 celebrated its 25th reunion. During the reunion Gary and his classmates, particularly those in Company B3 (the Bandits) renewed friendships, reminisced about their cadet years and revived their class spirit, which is so unique among West Point graduates.
Gary’s time at West Point contributed to the formation of his deepest values. Duty. Honor. Country. A Cadet will not lie, cheat or steal or tolerate those who do (the Cadet Honor Code). During reunion weekend I learned that a cadet is introduced to the Honor Code 16 minutes into the 47 month West Point experience. The Class of 1986 Motto is Courage Never Quits. The values Gary formed at West Point direct every decision he faces. Those values served him during his military career. He has brought those values to our marriage, has taught them to our children, and he leads with those values in the workplace. If you know Gary, you know that West Point is at the core of the man he is.
West Point is truly one of my favorite places. The grounds of West Point are stunningly beautiful, located about 50 miles north of New York City, overlooking the Hudson River. The post itself is rich with history. I love to just enjoy the beauty of the grounds, the stately buildings, the statues and memorials, and the military officers and cadets. I especially love all of the “Beat Navy” signs! I’m so proud to be married to a West Point grad who had a very successful military career. I’m also proud of the military accomplishments of his classmates, and our friends and family. For me, each visit to West Point brings about a renewed sense of security that despite all of the troubles and challenges our world faces, the USA is indeed the greatest and safest country in the world because of our military.
The demographics of the Class of 2015 (this year’s first year class) are very similar to Gary’s class, which entered the Academy in 1982. The class of 2015 had 13,953 applications, 4344 congressional nominations, 2554 qualified candidates, and admitted 1249 cadets. The majority of those admitted were high school Valedictorians, class presidents, team captains, and varsity letter winners, usually in more than one sport. West Point retains 79-80% of each plebe (freshman) class. This is astronomically high compared to other colleges.
A day in the life of a West Point cadet has also changed little since 1982. Cadet Basic Training begins on R (Reception) Day in June. The new cadets report to West Point and after a brief welcome are given 90 seconds (literally 90 seconds) to say good-bye to their family before they begin life as a new West Point cadet. Within 8 hours the cadet chain of command will have in-processed approximately 1200 new cadets, who will have received vaccinations, gear, clothing, and haircuts. They will have begun to learn to stand, march and behave like a cadet. The day ends with the new cadets receiving the cadet oath. In just one day the cadets begin the transition from high school students to Army soldiers.
The West Point school day begins at 0600, and breakfast and formation is at 07:05. Taps are played at 2300, and lights out at 2400. During the day there is a rigorous class schedule, and specific times for required intramural or intercollegiate sports, meals, and study hours. Not a minute is wasted. Specific uniforms are required for all activities, even recreation.
West Point is the equivalent of a fully funded Ivy League education. Each cadet receives not only a top-notch education, but also what is widely recognized as the best leadership training in the world. Upon graduation, a cadet is commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. And since 2001, every cadet who enters West Point does so knowing he or she will go to war upon graduation.
On R Day in 1982, the class of 1986 had 1271 male cadets and 149 female cadets, for a total of 1420 cadets. The class of 1986 graduated 1006 cadets. There are presently 125 men and 14 women from the class of 1986 still on active duty serving in the U.S. Army; two of those men and one woman are General Officers, many are Colonels. About 20 active duty members were at the reunion; ten were not able to attend as they are presently deployed in Afghanistan. 36 members of the class of 1986 have children who are or who were West Point cadets and several class members have sons and daughters who are deployed. During the reunion, I heard many mentions of children hoping to attend West Point. The proud tradition of The Long Gray Line will continue.
23 members of the class of 1986 have passed away. Some died from cancer and other illnesses. One died in a car accident while deployed overseas; another died with his family in a tragic ski accident while vacationing in Austria. A few were killed while performing training missions. The first Army officer killed in Operation Desert Storm was a 1986 graduate. The only West Point graduate killed in the World Trade Center on 9/11 was a 1986 graduate, and the highest ranking officer – a Colonel - killed in Afghanistan to date was one of Gary’s classmates and close friend. Gary and “Johnny Mac” played soccer at West Point; they attended flight school, were deployed overseas and played soccer in Germany together. Johnny Mac’s death in Kabul hit Gary particularly hard. The Class of 1986 paid tribute to their fallen classmates who served our Country faithfully during a moving and emotional reunion memorial service. Duty. Honor. Country.
Today there are 48,717 living graduates of the United States Military Academy. All told, there have been 68,196 West Point grads. During the reunion, the Class of 1986 presented the Superintendent of West Point with a Class Gift of $1,000,000, raised over a 5 year period. In 2010, 18,256 individuals donated $35 million to the West Point Superintendent’s Fund. The Superintendent decides the best use of these unrestricted gifts, dividing the funds among all the priorities of the Academy, including academics, clubs, sports, etc. A current priority is the sustainment, renovation and modernization of the facilities (for example, urinals still exist in the ladies’ barracks!). Unrestricted funds are used for enrichment of higher education. An example is the Center for Combating Terrorism. These enrichment activities are not funded by the U.S. Army but are essential for the education of our cadets and future military leaders.
The leadership qualities developed in a West Point cadet and matured in our military officers are evident in the endeavors many in the Class of 1986 have embarked upon following their military careers. Among Gary’s classmates: the CEO of 7-11 (you might have seen him on an episode of Undercover Boss); a Congressman; a couple of actors (the Sopranos); several West Point professors; the COO of the Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper; as well as ministers, doctors, bankers (not just Gary!), advertising executives (think Mad Men), and leaders of businesses such as Sherwin Williams, Nike, Frito-Lay, and many other well known corporations.
The United States Military Academy began the tradition of class rings, and I think every grad at the reunion was wearing his/hers. Most West Point grads wear their rings regularly, if not all the time. Many males wear their class ring on their left hand, in front of their wedding ring (Gary does this sometimes).
No West Point visit is complete without experiencing Army football, which has some of the greatest traditions in all of college football. Unfortunately, the unusual October snowstorm forced us out of New York earlier than planned, and we weren’t at the Army game in the falling snow when they defeated Fordham 55-0!!! However, we have been to many Army football games so I shall describe the experience as if we had been able to stay for the game during reunion weekend.
Every Army game day begins with the Cadet Review and March on The Plain, the parade field at the Academy. The Plain is flat, in stark contrast to the rest of the Academy grounds, which are very hilly. Just about all 4000 cadets march in full dress uniform for review by the USMA Superintendent (“The Supe”), his distinguished guests, and many spectators. The march instills discipline and order with the Corps of Cadets and fosters esprit de corps and camaraderie. The rifle team performs, the sword team performs, and the band plays. This parade of West Point cadets is one of the most impressive and moving military sights I’ve ever seen.
The football teams plays in Michie (pronounced Mikey) Stadium, named for Dennis Michie who organized and coached the first West Point football team, in 1890. The playing field is named for Earl “Red” Blaik, Army’s head coach from 1941-1958 who led the cadets to a national title in 1944 and 1945. Cadet attendance at football games is mandatory and the Corps stands for the entire game. The game ball is usually brought to the field by the Black Knights parachute team. What a way to start the game! Plebes do pushups for every point scored by the Black Knights. The rabble rousers are also an important part of the Army football experience. Dressed in unique West Point outfits, the rabble rousers hype the crowd and get the fans in the stands cheering.
Despite the spirit of Army football, the team doesn’t appear on any BCS lists. Don’t judge Army football by its W-L record. By the time they graduation, every single West Point cadet will have the knowledge, skill, strength and leadership to face any opponent in combat. As newly commissioned Second Lieutenants they will lead their soldiers out of harms way in remote places very far from home.
During the reunion class meeting the Superintendent’s office gave the class an update on what’s happening at the Academy. In addition to the Honor Code, West Point now has a Respect Code, to educate and create awareness among the cadets about sexual harassment, assault prevention, and ethic, ethnic, cultural and diversity issues. The Supe’s office didn’t spend much time talking about the Respect Code, as it is a fairly new initiative at West Point. My own suspicion is that the Respect Code has something to do with the military’s recent (good) riddance of the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy and allowing gays and lesbians to openly serve in the military. I hope the Respect Code is successful.
I was disappointed by a few comments I overhead about one classmate who attended the reunion with her same sex partner; and another off-handed but insensitive comment about gay marriage. I hope the Respect Code will help the next generation of cadets to all have attitudes of acceptance and inclusiveness. There was also talk of 3 or 4 classmates who haven’t been seen or heard from in some time – women and men. I wondered if the experiences of those individuals at West Point and/or in the military wasn’t as positive as it was for everyone else at the reunion. Could these women perhaps have been sexually harassed, or worse, during their years at West Point? The entering class of 1982 was only the 6th class of women at the Academy. I suspect there were senior officers at that time who were resentful of the female presence. Are there men from the Class of 1986 who have been absent from reunion gatherings because they are resentful of having to keep their true selves secret for so many years?
Overall, the reunion weekend was a huge success and a fabulous time. Despite 25 years, distance, deployments and distinguished careers as General, Colonels and business leaders, Gary and the Bandits fell right back into step. They still call each other names like Cecil, and The Narrator, Bucket Head, Wizzy, and Mooky. And they talked and laughed about their “Beast Barrack” experiences, and who could and couldn’t pass the SAMI inspections (Saturday A.M. Inspection – a white glove room inspection).
There is always one story that comes up when Gary is with his West Point buddies. A form of punishments for cadets who commit an infraction is “walking the area.” Cadets are “awarded” walking tours as punishment for infractions. Being late to class or not passing a room inspection might result in a 5 hour walking tour, while more severe misconduct can result in upwards of 60-80 hours. The tours are “walked off” by wearing the dress uniform and walking back and forth in a designated area. Cadets who walk more than 100 hours during their time at West Point are affectionately known as Century Men. Gary is a DOUBLE Century Man – a legend at West Point. He never had to walk the area for an infraction such as not passing a room inspection, or his uniform not being appropriate. He had just three infractions, but they were big ones, (code: beer). Today’s cadets ractually look at Gary in awe when they find out he’s a “Double Century Man!”
As I mentioned, the unusual October snow forced us out of New York earlier than we had planned. But it was a fabulous 25th reunion weekend, and we’ll look forward to seeing all of our West Point friends again soon.
Until then, well done. Go thou in peace.
Just sayin’.
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