Tuesday, May 24, 2011

My Son and West Point -- How Did Four Years Pass In the Blink of an Eye?

copied from FOX NEWS


How do four years pass in the blink of an eye?
That's what I wonder as I sit alongside the hallowed ground of The Plain, a wide, flat, manicured lawn on the grounds of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. Story goes that, of all the expanses of green grass in this great country, only that at the White House costs more to maintain. 
On this Friday morning, The Plain is groomed to perfection

Monday, May 16, 2011

USMA Graduation Day Info

Saturday, May 21 - Gates will open at 7a.m. Arrival of Graduating
class 9:30, Graduation Ceremony begins 10a.m. There will be a link on
the West Point home page that will go live on Graduation Day. It will
also be shown on the Pentagon Channel. Check your local listings.

Graduation Details:  http://www.usma.edu/class/2011/gradinfo.html

Friday, May 20
10:30 a.m. Graduation Parade - The Plain
                 Tickets required for bleacher seating
2 p.m. Awards Convocation – Eisenhower Hall
4:30 - 6 p.m. Pre-Banquet Reception - Eisenhower Hall
7 p.m. Banquet Washington Hall /West Point Club/Thayer Hotel

Saturday, May 21
7 a.m. Stadium gates open
9:30 a.m. Arrival of graduating class
10 a.m. GRADUATION CEREMONY

(Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen will be the
graduation speaker.)

Saturday, March 26, 2011

First lady to address West Point cadets

Michelle Obama will address West Point cadets at a banquet just prior to their graduation.The May 20 visit will be Obama's first visit to the U.S. Military Academy. Commencement exercises are the next day. It also will be the first address by a first lady to the cadet corps in at least 20 years, according to school spokesman Francis DeMaro......

http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20110326/NEWS/103260330/First-lady-address-West-Point-cadets?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|PoughkeepsieJournal.com|s

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Army Men's Soccer Alumni & Friends Event Invitation

To All Alumni & Friends of West Point Men’s Soccer,

Hello again from sunny West Point, NY.  As a follow up to the recent newsletter distribution, we wanted to pass along the attached invitation to this year’s Alumni Weekend. 

Our staff was overwhelmed by last year’s response and look forward to building on that momentum; we’ve streamlined the weekend in question to consist of an early morning  ‘golf outing’, followed by the annual Alumni Match on Clinton ‘A’ featuring a post-game cookout.

Similar to last spring, we’ve created a number of ways for each of you to participate, contribute, and/or support this fantastic event.  The program all of you worked so hard to build is heading in an extremely positive direction and yet we’re all aware of the need for continued involvement from each and every alum, family & friend who recognizes the impact soccer had on their experience as a West Point cadet.

Thank you in advance for your consideration and for your commitment – we have merely scratched the surface on this journey as ‘Partners in the Process’ and appreciate all that you have done while at the same time look forward to seeing what WE can do together in the future.

Let’s keep building the tradition!

Hope to see each of you end of April.

Russell Payne
Head Men's Soccer Coach
USMA West Point
845-938-2420 office
845-938-7061 fax
240-997-8913 cell


Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Message From Maryellen Picciuto, WP-AOG

Dear Society Leaders,

This past summer at our annual Class of 1967 West Point Alumni Leaders Conference, many of you learned of the WPAOG’s ongoing comprehensive campaign “For US All” for West Point.  After the conference, so many of you pointed your membership toward our website for the conference summary, or to your own notes and summaries.  For that, we’re very grateful.  Your efforts have helped to make grads aware of this important fundraising campaign.

This comprehensive campaign is our number one priority at the WPAOG.  We need your help to keep (or get) this effort on everyone’s radar screen.  To that end, I ask that you mention it at your Founders Day event this year.  Suggested text is:


As some of you may know, the West Point Association of Graduates is spearheading a $350 million comprehensive fundraising campaign to meet the Academy’s key “Margin of Excellence” needs into the future.  The WPAOG has secured 34% of the goal to date, and looks forward to working with graduates and friends across the country to make the campaign a success. 

I am now pleased to introduce [West Point Guest Speaker] who will update us on what is happening at the Academy today and remind us why it is deserving of our involvement and support.


Should you have any campaign questions, don’t hesitate to contact the WPAOG’s Campaign Director, Vivian Shannon, Vivian.shannon@wpaog.org or 845-446-1542.

VP of Development, Kristin Sorenson, will update all alumni leaders again this summer on campaign progress at our leaders conference.

Thanks so much for your consideration.  Good luck and best wishes as the Founders Day events get under way.

Best regards,

Maryellen

Maryellen Picciuto ’86
Senior Director, Alumni Support ï West Point Association of Graduates
698 Mills Road    West Point, NY 10996
Phone: 845-446-1569 ï Fax: 845-446-1695 ï Email: maryellen.picciuto@wpaog.org 
Serving West Point and the Long Gray Line
P Please consider the environment before printing this email.

Friday, February 25, 2011

The Hon. Robert Gates address to the Corps of Cadets

Thank you General, for that introduction.  It’s a pleasure to be back here at West Point, although as I often say, it’s always a pleasure to be away from Washington, D.C.
One of the greatest privileges of serving as Secretary of Defense over the last 4-plus years is the opportunity to visit the service academies – to speak to and hear from the future leadership of the finest military in the world.  This will be the fourth – and final – time that I address the cadets of the U.S. Military Academy as Secretary of Defense.  The last time I spoke to the entire corps of cadets in 2008, it was an evening lecture on strategy and leadership that ran to nearly 50 minutes.  Rumor has it that there were a few stalwart cadets still awake at the end.  Knowing most of you have been up since dawn, and knowing that the Firsties get to start their 100th Day weekend celebrations when I’m done here, I’ve decided to make this presentation much shorter.
Nonetheless, I did want to take this last opportunity to share some thoughts with you, and through you to the Army as a whole, about the institution you will someday lead – the United States Army – and how it can better prepare itself, and in particular its leaders, for a complex and uncertain future.  No doubt the Army’s challenges are daunting and diverse – supporting families, caring for wounded warriors, dealing with post-traumatic stress, doing right by soldiers, strengthening the NCO corps, training and equipping for the future, and finding a way to pay for it all.  Today, I’d like to focus on three interrelated issues:

To read the rest of this speech, click here

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

West Point Distinguished Grads Announced

Chairman and the Board of Directors, we are pleased to announce the 2011 Distinguished Graduate Award recipients:
GEN (R) William Richardson ‘51
MG (R) Carl McNair ‘55
Dr. Lewis (Bob) Sorley ‘56
GEN (R) Dennis Reimer ‘62
COL (R) William McArthur ‘73

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

From BG Rapp's Facebook

Cows are flocking to Ike Hall this week to meet with the USAA Bank reps and secure their "cow loans." I know this will shock old grads like me who got $8500 at 10.5% in 1984, but the cows this year can secure $35,000 at 0.49%! I am hoping that they paid attention in Personal Finance class and won't spend all of the cash during this coming Spring Break! Here is a pic of some of the cows signing up for their loans.