The following classes have added updates this week to their Class Notes pages. 1960 | 1965 | 1968 | 1978 | 1986 | 1988 | 1990 | 1996 | 2000. Class Notes

President Donald J. Trump recently appointed Major General Diana M. Holland as a member and as the 41st President of the Mississippi River Commission (MRC).

MG Holland assumed command of the Mississippi Valley Division (MVD), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), on June 30, 2020. MG Holland serves as the senior military officer in the division, headquartered in Vicksburg, Miss., responsible for water resources engineering solutions in a 370,000-square-mile area, extending from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico and encompassing portions of 12 states. The mission of the division is to serve the Mississippi Valley region by providing vital public engineering services and stewardship of water resource infrastructure, partnering in peace and war, to strengthen our nation’s security, energize the economy and reduce risks from disasters. District offices located in St. Paul, Minn.; Rock Island, Ill; St. Louis, Mo.; Memphis, Tenn.; Vicksburg, Miss.; and New Orleans, La., carry out the division’s work.

The Commission, created by an Act of Congress on June 28, 1879, plans and provides for the general improvement of the Mississippi River. This includes improving navigation, preventing destructive floods and facilitating commerce. The presidential appointees consist of three officers from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, a representative from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and three civilians, two of whom must be civil engineers.

The general duties of the commission include recommending policy and work programs, studying and reporting on modifications or changes to the Mississippi River and Tributaries project, commenting on matters authorized by law, making inspection trips, and holding public hearings that facilitate exchanges of viewpoints and ideas between the public and the MRC. Since 1879, the commission has been “listening, inspecting and partnering” with water resource interests in a watershed that is influenced by the drainage of more than 41 percent of the United States and two provinces of Canada. Read more.

Governor Ron DeSantis and the Cabinet voted unanimously to induct the late, Brigadier General (R) Michael Ferguson ’60 and Colonel (R)  Darryle Kouns ’60 along with 18 other veterans into the Florida Veterans’ Hall of Fame. The names for the Class of 2020 were presented for a formal vote during the September 22 Cabinet Meeting by FDVA Deputy Executive Director James S. “Hammer” Hartsell.

The Florida Veterans’ Hall of Fame recognizes and honors those military veterans who, through their works and lives during or after military service, have made a significant contribution to the State of Florida through civic, business, public service or other pursuits. It is not a traditional military hall of fame, as it focuses on post-military contributions to the State of Florida.

“I was honored to forward the names of these great Americans to the Governor and Cabinet,” said Hartsell, a retired Marine Corps Major General. “These former service members represent the best of the best of our veteran community.”

LCDR Sara Jager ’00 is a commander (O-5) in the United States Public Health Service serving as the chief medical officer (CMO) at one of the largest hospitals on the Navajo reservation in Tuba City, Arizona east of the Grand Canyon. Currently bracing themselves for a possible fall surge. The leadership qualities that she has learned at West Point and in the army have allowed her to keep staff members and patients safe from the coronavirus.

After graduation she was commissioned as a military police officer and deployed to Iraq. Returning from deployment Sara entered into a new service agreement and attended uniformed services University medical school with a public health service commitment. She knew that she wanted to serve the native people of America. Sara became a pediatrician and was a resident at the University of Utah and has been at Tuba City since graduating residency in 2013. She was named the female physician of the year for United States Public Health Service, junior officer category, in 2018.

As a leader of the medical staff during this coronavirus outbreak she has coordinated Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and training, created a COVID ER, ICU and RCU. Sara is responsible for running the triage and testing tent, testing blitzes, telehealth implementation, convalescent plasma drives, PR to the community, rearrangement of dental services and dental care delivery, decentralizing specialty services like orthopedics to less hard-hit areas to get patients the care that they still need, gown sewing (with shipments held up overseas, they had to sew their own), and atypical PPE (homemade masks, bonnets and gowns). This has been some of the hardest work she has ever done in her entire career. Thank you!

Herman Bulls, JLL Vice Chairman, Americas, has been honored with The Executive Leadership Council’s (ELC) 2020 Achievement Award. The accolade recognizes an African American leader whose career achievements highlight personal and professional excellence with noteworthy business success.

“Herman is one of the most genuine, sincere and well-respected members of the ELC,” said Crystal E. Ashby, Interim President and CEO, The Executive Leadership Council. “I’ve had the pleasure of knowing him in my various capacities in the organization. His prioritization of the ELC, coupled with his vast accomplishments are continually applauded by his fellow members. His longstanding commitment to the ELC should be a model for all.”

“It’s an honor to receive the ELC’s Achievement Award and truly a lifetime personal achievement, made even more meaningful to have been selected by my peers,” said Bulls. “The list of past honorees is an outstanding group of highly respected leaders who have set a precedent and paved the way for the next generation of leaders. I’m incredibly humbled to join such an esteemed group.” Herman Bull's Speech.

As an active ELC member for 26 years, he has supported the organization in several capacities, including as former Chair of The Executive Leadership Foundation. During his tenure, he helped build an inclusive business leadership pipeline that empowered global black leaders to make impactful contributions to the marketplace and global communities where they serve. “It’s an honor to receive the ELC’s Achievement Award and truly a lifetime personal achievement, made even more meaningful to have been selected by my peers,” said Bulls. “The list of past honorees is an outstanding group of highly respected leaders who have set a precedent and paved the way for the next generation of leaders. I’m incredibly humbled to join such an esteemed group.” Read more.

The Honorable Mark T. Esper, Secretary of Defense, will receive the Andrew J. Goodpaster Award from the George C. Marshall Foundation at a dinner at the Army Navy Country Club in Arlington, Virginia, on Tuesday, December 1, 2020. Secretary Esper will be recognized for his distinguished career and his many contributions to our nation. He has overseen a rebuilding of our national defense capabilities and been a strong advocate for both military preparedness and our brave men and women in uniform.

In 2008, the Goodpaster Award was established to honor the life and service of General Andrew J. Goodpaster, a longtime trustee and chairman of the Foundation, a champion of the Marshall legacy, an American hero, and an extraordinary public servant. The Goodpaster Award is presented to American heroes in a variety of fields who, like General Goodpaster, have exhibited great courage, selfless service, patriotism and leadership in their lives and careers.

A native of Uniontown, Pennsylvania, upon completion of Ranger and Pathfinder training, he served in the 101st Airborne Division and participated in the 1990–91 Gulf War with the “Screaming Eagles.” He later commanded a Rifle Company in the 3-325 Airborne Battalion Combat Team in Vicenza, Italy. He retired from the U.S. Army in 2007 after spending 10 years on active duty and 11 years in the National Guard and Army Reserve.

Major John Meyer USMA 2005 will receive the Nininger Award this Thursday, October 22. Join in live. Limited Participation  - This event will be lived streamed at 7pm: www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbGB699dyhU&feature=youtu.be

The Nininger Award is named in recognition of the heroic actions of Second Lieutenant Alexander R. Nininger, USMA Class of 1941. After commissioning, Lieutenant Nininger was sent to the Philippines attached to the 57th Infantry Regiment of the Philippine Scouts. During the first month of the Japanese invasion, Nininger voluntarily joined another company because his unit was not yet engaged in combat. He was posthumously awarded the first Medal of Honor in World War II for actions near Abucay, Bataan on January 12, 1942. The Award is given to an exemplar of heroic action in battle. In addition to recognizing the recipient for his or her bravery as an individual, the Association regards the recipient as a given year´s representative of all West Point-commissioned officers who have heroically led Soldiers in combat.

Tony Coaxum ’00 has released The Leadership Playbook: Leadership guide from a former Army officer and Super Bowl Champion Coach. Leadership is a commodity that is always rising in value. INVEST HEAVILY IN IT! As an Army football player, West Point graduate, Army officer, and Super Bowl champion, Tony Coaxum has been surrounded by great leadership and culture his entire adult life. He has a passion for leading and team building with tried and true practices that can be used in all organizations from coaching youth to small businesses to Fortune 100 companies. This book ties all of his experiences together in a concise and very practical manner that benefits individuals in leadership roles for the first time and those who are leadership veterans. Great leadership and culture is the driving force behind every successful organization. This playbook is a MUST HAVE for all that strive to improve their organization's leadership and culture! Available on Amazon.

John G. Powers ’88 has been selected for inclusion in Upstate New York Super Lawyers for 2020. Mr. Powers is a Partner in the Litigation Practice at Hancock Estabrook. Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement and is limited to 5% of the lawyers in the State. To learn more about this ranking, visit SuperLawyers.com.

The following classes have added updates this week to their Class Notes pages. 1949 | 1962 | 1974 | 1985 | 1990 | 1992 | 1996 | 2006 | 2010. Class Notes

Captain Ray Stith III ’06 has released his first book Self-Reflect to Self-Correct. Although society may make you feel differently, it’s the world today that is crazy, not you. As we consume so much information from the various inputs around us, we often lose sight of the most important thing for success…ourselves. That’s where this book comes into play. Self-Reflect to Self-Correct compiles actual circumstances and true feelings, to show you are not alone. This book will guide you through situations you can relate to, to teach a lesson on attitude, decision making, execution, and perseverance. Reading this book and truly taking a look in the mirror will help you confront many things. It will show you that your life is not only similar to those around you, but also similar to those that you admire. You have the same tools as everyone else. And in the end, that is the most important part. Read this book, take a self-assessment, and commit to doing what it takes to change your course. Ultimately, that will change your life! Available on Amazon.

Susan I. Spieth’s ’85 Fall Out – Courage Always Stands its Ground, the fourth book in the Gray Girl series, made the 2020 Eric Hoffer Grand Prize short list. Only the top 5% of 2300 entries made this list. This book also earned First Runner-up in the e-book fiction category. In addition, Fall Out is a 2020 American Fiction Awards Finalist in the military category.

The Gray Girl Series depicts authentic experiences of the early years when the United States Military Academy first admitted women cadets. Jan Wishart is both heroine and troublemaker. She and her friends sometimes create their own dilemmas but mostly solve the larger issues they face while at West Point in the early 1980's. The Gray Girl series has won many awards. More information can be found at: www.SusanISpieth.com

Colonel (Retired) Benjamin Bigelow ’90 has been named VP and DoD/Army/USACE (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) Program Manager at Professional Project Services, Inc. (Pro2Serve). He brings over 30 years of military experience and leadership and will lead Pro2Serve’s support to the Army, the Army Corps of Engineers and other Department of Defense clients. COL Bigelow is a proven strategic leader who builds agile, responsive and cohesive teams, and he develops timely effective solutions that get results for clients and their stakeholders.

“I am thrilled to have this opportunity to serve at Pro2Serve in my new capacity,” said COL Bigelow. “I have spent my entire adult life laser-focused on supporting our Federal government from inside and out, including work for DoD and many of the other federal agencies. The team of engineering professionals at Pro2Serve is fully committed to accomplishing the same mission.”

COL Bigelow’s 30+ year military career has included leadership posts as the Executive Director for Civil Works at USACE Headquarters; the Army North Engineer Director/Army Facility Engineer for Fort Sam Houston, TX; Deputy Commander and Acting Commander for the USACE Great Lakes and Ohio River Division (LRD) in Cincinnati, OH; Battalion Commander for the 9th Engineer Battalion in Germany; and Division Chief for the Systems Engineering Division in the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA).

Chris Molaro ’10 has been named one of Philadelphia’s Entrepreneurs Of The Year by Ernst & Young LLP (EY). Now in its 34th year, the Entrepreneur Of The Year program honors successful business leaders whose ambitions deliver innovation, growth and prosperity as they build and sustain groundbreaking companies that transform our world. Entrepreneur Of The Year is the first and only truly global awards program of its kind. It celebrates entrepreneurs through regional and national awards programs in more than 145 cities in over 60 countries. Winners go on to compete for the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year title.

Glenn Voelz ’92 has released Operation Hermes. Operation Hermes is the dramatic sequel to the satirical novel War Under the Mango Tree. An economic crisis and rioting in the streets threaten to topple the government of the longtime American ally. Amid the turmoil, the country's aging autocrat looks to Beijing for support, raising fears in Washington of a new superpower rivalry emerging in Africa. A mysterious assassination attempt sends rivals scrambling for advantage, each hoping to occupy the executive mansion. With the country's future hanging in the balance, American spies, diplomats, and soldiers race against time and each other to get their candidate into power. Available on Amazon.

“The espionage tradecraft and geopolitical setup are spot on, leaving the reader to ponder where fact and fiction diverge...Operation Hermes is a must-read!” - Dave Edlund, USA Today bestselling author of Valiant Savage.

The final book of the Gisawi Chronicles, The Third Force, will be released in 2021.

The following classes have added updates this week to their Class Notes pages. 1958 | 1962 | 1988 | 1993 | 1996 | 2005 | 2014. Class Notes

Dean Wegner ’93, Founder and CEO of Authentically American, and Captain (Retired) Kevin Byrne ’93, Founder of Never Stop Never Quit, have joined forces to launch the Never Stop… Never Quit… apparel line of clothing. Through Kevin’s foundation, a portion of all sales will go to the National MS Society, in support of the ongoing fight against multiple sclerosis.

The Bass Military Scholars Program at Vanderbilt University welcomed nine scholars to its second cohort of student-veterans pursuing graduate and professional studies programs in Law, Medicine, Nursing, and Business. Evan Kowalski ’14 joins U.S. Military Academy West Point graduate and current Bass Military Scholar, CPT Devin T. Adams ’13, as the second West Point alum to join the program. Kowalski is pursuing a J.D. with plans to become involved in international law.

In addition to a $25,000 per year scholarship, the program encourages scholars to engage the student community and foster military-civilian exchanges. Kowalski is excited to work with students at Vanderbilt and hopes to impart values he has gained through his experiences at West Point and in the Army. He believes there are many lessons to share regardless of one’s career ambitions, such as the importance of integrity and personal courage.

The scholars are extending their service beyond their uniform in the vibrant city of Nashville as part of a distinguished institution in a program unlike any other in graduate and professional studies. The program offers talented veterans like Adams and Kowalski the opportunity to achieve education goals and support the talented Vanderbilt community of students, faculty, and staff. To learn more about the Bass Military Scholars Program visit vu.edu/bass-scholars.

Twice, Raymond Jefferson’s service to his country left him in pain, agony and facing years of recovery.

The first time was in 1995. As an officer in Okinawa for Special Forces training. When he realized a defective hand grenade was about to blow, he cupped it in his hand and held it against his leg so the shrapnel would not hit his comrades.

Jefferson lost all five fingers on his left hand.

Another explosion 16 years later was even more unexpected. Two subordinates at the Labor Department, where he was the assistant secretary for the Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS), accused him of procurement improprieties. An inspector general’s report substantiated the allegations, including that he directed government business to associates.

Jefferson, then a rising star with master’s degrees from Harvard’s Business School and Kennedy School of Government, was forced to resign. Not only did that end his prestigious career as a Senate-confirmed Obama administration political appointee, but the damage to his reputation has followed him since. Read more.

The following classes have added updates this week to their Class Notes pages. 1948 | 1960 | 1970 | 1980 | 1982 | 1985 | 1987 | 2001 | 2005 | 2012. Class Notes

Six-time U.S. Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker received the prestigious West Point Association of Graduates Thayer Award in a closed ceremony hosted by the United States Military Academy yesterday. The Corps of Cadets conducted a review in his honor on the Plain prior to the award presentation dinner.

Crocker served a total of 14 years as a U.S. Ambassador in six countries for four presidential administrations. In September 2004, President George W. Bush conferred on him the diplomatic rank of Career Ambassador, the highest rank in the Foreign Service, equivalent to a four-star officer in the military. Read more.

The Army unveiled a monument to commemorate U.S. Military Academy graduates who were killed in the 1950-53 Korean War, officials said.

The monument, erected at the Korea Military Academy in Seoul, bears the names of 17 fallen officers from the West Point Class of 1948, Army officials said.

That is in addition to two monuments already set up at the Korea Military Academy campus to honor U.S. service members from the Classes of 1949 and 1950 killed in the war, officials said.

The Army plans to build four more for those from the Classes of 1945, 1946, 1947 and 1951 by 2023, and turn the area into a zone to remember the fallen U.S. soldiers.

“The freedom and peace on this land that the young heroes wanted to protect 70 years ago have become the foundation of South Korea's economic prosperity and vibrant democracy today,” the Korean academy's superintendent Lt. Gen. Chung Jin-kyung said.

In a video message, former U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. Walter Sharp paid respect to the soldiers, saying their sacrifice became the basis for the alliance between South Korea and the United States.

Tye Reedy ’05 has been named Director of Business Development at Adams Keegan, human resources, payroll and benefits provider, in their Nashville office. Reedy will be responsible for generating new business, managing existing accounts and expanding the overall awareness and network of Adams Keegan, both in Nashville and nationally.

Reedy has experience working in business operations and government relations roles for both publicly traded and family owned businesses. Reedy spent 11 years as an Infantry Officer, with multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. Reedy was awarded four Bronze Stars, including a Bronze Star for Valor while serving in Afghanistan with the 101st Airborne in 2010 - 2011.

“I knew Adams Keegan was right for me the first time I walked in the door and met everyone,” Reedy said. “The commitment to teamwork, high ethical standards, and relentless focus on client-oriented solutions is evident in everything they do. They were searching for someone truly committed to the goals at hand, with a willingness to grow with the company, which was exactly what I was looking for.”

The Society of Experimental Test Pilots announced Dr. Allen L. (AL) Peterson as the recipient of the 2020 Doolittle Award for his work as President and CEO of the National Test Pilot School (NTPS). The James H. Doolittle award was established in 1966 to honor outstanding accomplishment in technical management or engineering achievement in aerospace technology by a member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots. AL is a Master Army Aviator and Experimental Test Pilot with more than 5000 hours in 80+ aircraft, a test pilot on over 80 flight test programs, a FAA RW/FW/NVG CFI, an EASA Flight Test Instructor, and a Fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots.

Kaitlyn Kelly ’12 has been named an Assistant Coach for the Army West Point Women’s Rugby team for the 2020-2021 school year.

Prior to returning to West Point, Kelly spent 2019 as the head coach of the All Army Women's Rugby team where she led the team to the inaugural Women's Rugby Armed Forces Championship, finished 3rd overall in the Women's Elite Division at Cape Fear (7s) and posted a 5-1 record and a 152-19 point differential. She had three athletes named to the All Tournament team and had Co-Captain SSG Erica Meyers selected as the All Army Athlete of the Year. In 2019, she became the first female recipient of the All Army Coach of the Year award.

From 2013-2016, Kelly was the head coach of the Southern Pines Women's rugby team and the Ft. Bragg Women's Rugby team. She founded the first ever women's rugby team in Southern Pines, NC and raised over $25,000 in donations within the first 3 months in addition to successfully merging the team into the Carolina Geographic Rugby Union as a Division II Women' Club. At Ft. Bragg, she led the team to the playoffs for the first time in club history with a winning record two years in a row and assisted in the planning and development of the annual Airborne 7s Tournament. Read more.

Tom Hand ’82 has started writing a weekly newspaper column entitled “Americana Corner,” for the Bryan County News in Georgia. The column is part of his educationally-based philanthropy focused on promoting the positive aspects of America’s history. Hand’s hope is to offer an uplifting story that reminds Americans of our many heroes and their accomplishments. His weekly articles will detail the lives of the outstanding men and women who built this great country, as well as major American events during our formative years. The goal is to help teach and inspire Americans, especially younger Americans, about the many reasons for which we should be grateful to our ancestors. Read the debut article.

The following classes have added updates this week to their Class Notes pages. 1945 | 1953 | 1958 | 1960 | 1962 | 1996 | 1998 | 2004 | 2007. Class Notes

For the last two years or so, Kevin Offel has been communicating “Classmate Updates” to USMA 1996.

In his own words: “I felt our Classmates needed to know who had made it to that pinnacle of their military careers. So, it started out with me distributing Change of Command info to encourage Classmates to attend these events in support of our brothers & sisters. Then it evolved into what I coined “Classmate Updates,” mostly focused on those still in uniform. Now it has transitioned into including our civilian classmates who have done some amazing things after their Army service. I’ve also been working on incorporating updates on our Classmates who branch transferred and served in the Marines, Coast Guard, Air Force, etc. It really has been an enjoyable experience to hear everybody’s stories!”

“These Classmate Updates have really brought our Class together. It keeps people informed and serves as a mechanism for re-connecting with each other, which is the most rewarding part for me. I get tons of emails/texts from Classmates telling me how much they enjoy hearing these stories about fellow classmates, company-mates, etc. Most importantly, people are re-connecting for a number of reasons: business connections, networking, or just to catch-up and enjoy shared memories! I also benefit from getting candid feedback from Classmates about our Alma Mater, some of whom I would not normally communicate with on a frequent basis. As a result, I feel closer to them as the current Class President and can more effectively represent the group to AOG and Academy leadership.”

Kevin’s favorite update was “The Goat”. Login to read it in ’96 Class Notes.

Malcolm Reid has been Named #5 in Commercial Security – Association Figures/Academics/Thought Leaders on the IFSEC Global Security & Fire 2020 list. The process is a very rigorous one and the most highly regarded candidates from 6 continents are considered based on nominations judged by a panel of highly respected judges.

Defined in the following ways: Someone who has played a key role in driving technological innovation. A driving force in changing regulation, standards/guidance, or best practice. Widely respected and influential in shaping debate around industry issues. Instrumental in the success of their organization and has raised the industry’s profile or been an influential voice in the national media.

This year Malcolm was also appointed to the global board of the largest security management association in the world, ASIS International. He sits on 4 other boards including that of Families of the Wounded Fund which specifically provides valuable support to the families of wounded combat veterans. 100% of their funds raised goes to veteran families with none kept for administration. So far over $5.5M has been given in support to over 704 families. Earlier this year Malcom was also named the 2020 Continuity and Resilience Contributor for the Americas by the Business Continuity Institute.

Calling all West Point Graduate Entrepreneurs!

Join us for our 3rd monthly installment of the West Point Entrepreneur Virtual Speaker Series.

Register Today! https://www.westpointaog.org/2020EntrepreneurSummit

Email alumniconferenes@wpaog.org for more information.

It is amazing what the Long Gray Line network can accomplish, especially on a global scale. In March 2020, Total Courage, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit comprised of former American soldiers and citizens dedicated to educating college and high school athletes with its “Winning with Character” curriculum, found itself as an organization without a mission. “When COVID hit, our client base disappeared,” says COL(R) Darryl “Dee” Daugherty, executive director and founder of Total Courage.

Enter LTC(R) Todd Scattini ’96. Through a mutual Army connection, Scattini learned of Daugherty and his work and helped add humanitarian relief and development to Total Courage’s overall mission just as COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic. Around the same time, Scattini, who spent three and a half years on assignment in Slovenia, heard from a friend who used to be the deputy ambassador to the Republic of Georgia embassy about how the pandemic was devastating the Eurasian country. Upon hearing this, Scattini sought to mobilize his many contacts in the Balkan and Caucasus regions to combat the impact of COVID. Among the grads he contacted were COL Mike Tarquinto ’94, defense attaché to Bosnia, LTC Corey Shea ’97, Chief of the Office of Defense Cooperation in Bosnia, COL Stephanie Bagley ’98, the defense attaché to Georgia, and CPT (GAF) Giorgi Janjalia ’13, president of the West Point Society of Georgia, who brought even more grads into the fight. Scattini notes, “I was compelled to assist in the Republic of Georgia, as I observed their Armed Forces serving in Afghanistan while I was there from 2011-2012 in the CIG with General John Allen (USMC), ISAF Commander. The Georgians had a Brigade there. They were attacked one day in November 2011. They lost around 14 soldiers. The next week, instead of retreating, they sent another battalion to fill in the lines. I think it is important to recognize that bravery, and I hope to honor that here with our activity.” Read more.

The West Point Class Ring of MG (R) Hobart Hewett, Class of 1919, was the oldest ring donated at this year’s Ring Melt ceremony.

Hobey Hewett, the grandson of Major General Hobert Hewett, Class of 1919, and the first presenter at the 20th Annual West Point Class Ring Memorial “Melt,” captured the significance and sublimity of the ceremony perfectly when he told the amazing story of how his grandfather’s ring became part of the Ring Melt for the Class of 2021.

General Hewett died in 1967, and his class ring passed on to his daughter, Hobey Hewett’s mother. The ring was missing for decades, but, about two weeks before the Ring Melt Ceremony, Hewett and his brother were cleaning out his mother’s house and found the ring. He then learned about WPAOG’s Ring Memorial Program and worked feverishly with WPAOG’s Class Services to get the ring into this year’s program on short notice.

“It was the spirit of the ring that got it here,” Hewett said, offering an explanation as to why the ring was serendipitously found. “It wanted to be here, it wanted to come home, and it wants to be worn on the fingers of the cadets in the Class of 2021.” The Class of 1919, as it turns out, entered as the Class of 1921, but they were graduated early due to the need for officers during World War I. Read more.

Physicians and brothers LTC David C. Hostler ’04, M.D. and Christopher J. Hostler ’07, M.D. are both proudly serving on the front lines of the current COVID battle.

David Hostler is a brigade surgeon assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division. From March through July, he was “on loan” to Womack Army Medical Center, designing the hospital’s phased and scalable response to COVID and attending in its ICU. Since mid-July, he has been serving as an intensivist with a task force from the 44th Medical Brigade, which was dispatched to South Texas as part of NORTHCOM’s response to an emerging COVID-19 hotspot. “I have trained my entire adult life for a situation like this and have built a skill set that makes me uniquely suited to help the team here in Texas,” says Hostler, who volunteered for the role. “While deployed, I had brief, intense periods of challenging medical care with limited physical resources. In this assignment the limited resource is manpower and there is no downtime; patients are sick and dying 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This is, without a doubt, the most challenging medical practice environment of my career to date.”

Chris Hostler is an infectious disease specialist and Chief of the Office of Public Health and Epidemiology at the Durham VA Health Care System (DVAHCS). In this role, he directs a team of approximately 55 people to implement pandemic preparedness and infection prevention practices throughout the 27-county DVAHCS catchment area. Early in the pandemic, he and his team successfully contained an outbreak in a VA-attached Community Living Center and reported the lessons learned to the state, encouraging officials to conduct mandatory testing and improve infection prevention practices in community nursing facilities throughout the state. His team then started evaluating non-VA nursing facilities where veterans resided throughout their catchment area, providing education on best practices in infection prevention.

“I have no doubt that our proactive approach to assessing these external entities saved lives,” he says. Hostler, who had been consulting with the NFL and its Players Association on infection prevention practices since 2014, also co-founded Infection Control Education for Major Sports, LLC, which provides infection control education to professional and college sports teams around the country. “We help advise leagues and conferences on evidence-based best practices and recommendations for risk mitigation, and I believe that this pandemic will also lead to an increased focus on infection prevention practices within athletics longitudinally,” he says. Read more.

The following classes have added updates this week to their Class Notes pages. 1946 | 1953 | 1961 | 1962 | 1966 | 1988 | 1991 | 2005. Class Notes

Today is National POW/MIA Recognition Day, a day to honor those service members who were held captive and returned from war, as well as those who remain missing. We are eternally grateful for their courage and sacrifice.

Mike Eggleston ’61 has published a new book entitled The Colorado War 1864-1865. This book tells the history of the war that occurred in Colorado Territory during the Civil War. The major conflict involved the fight between Native Americans and Colorado volunteer regiments in 1865. Others were involved including Confederate regiments and outlaws. This book interrelates activities in the Great Plains with politics in Washington, army headquarters in the field, settlers on the Frontier and the Native Americans. It shows how other Indian wars influenced the war in Colorado and how the war spread to other states and territories. Where ever possible, the conflicts are explained in the words of the participants captured in letters, diaries and newspaper articles. Nearly a hundred maps and photos are included to describe the actions. This history shows the impact of the many treaties signed: how they were violated and the result of the treaties on the way of life of the whites and Native Americans. The focus of this book is on the military campaigns and battles fought in or near Colorado how they destroyed the Native American way of life. Famous battles such as the Sand Creek Massacre and Wounded Knee are covered, but lesser known campaigns such as Red Cloud’s War are also included, since these had a major effect on treaties and on the people involved. The Native American wars ended much as they had started with mistakes, confusion and the tragedy of Wounded Knee.

As we prepare to publish the 2020 edition of the Register of Graduates, we encourage you to make sure your service to the nation, in and out of uniform, is included. You can log in to the website and submit updates at your convenience.  For many of you, all you will see is your first assignment. There’s a box on the page for you to provide a list of all your assignments and the awards received during each one. Please do not use acronyms; we will format your entry.

The Register of Graduates is one of West Point’s longest-standing traditions. It is an indispensable treasury of military history, recording the names and careers of every West Point graduate from 1802 to the present.

Thank you for helping us to preserve the history of the Long Gray Line. Update your entry by November 15, 2020, to guarantee inclusion in the 2020 printed edition. Career histories are also available online (login required).

Small communities were hit hard back in March of 2020, when the first wave of COVID-19 spread across America. During those first few weeks, La’Berrick Williams ’05 reached out to help feed his community in Huntsville, Alabama, drawing upon his family values, recipes and the West Point call to service.

Williams owns and operates Jell’s 4 Ever BBQ food truck, named for his grandparents Jell and Ever Scruggs, who owned the Jell’s 4 Ever BBQ restaurant in Huntsville. His grandparents taught him how to make their signature “Magic Red Sauce,” and he also witnessed how his family helped feed anyone who came into the restaurant hungry.

So, on March 25, 26 and 27, for three straight days, Williams began giving away meals from his food truck to help students who suddenly had no school and people who suddenly had no jobs. These meals were home-cooked southern plates that included BBQ pit chicken, pulled pork, or brisket with a side of baked beans, potato salad, green beans, or buttered corn with a roll.

“It's part of my DNA from how I was raised by my parents and grandparents. West Point instilled in me ‘Duty, Honor and Country.’ Serving in the Army taught me leadership, along with selfless service. For this, I am forever grateful,” says Williams. With his team and local volunteers, Williams was able to serve more than 150 plates a day before the mandatory shut-down in their state. Williams says they plan on doing this again in the future but have remained closed for the past couple of months due to safety protocols.

When the pandemic hit the U.S., cardiac nurse Monique Washington ’91 began managing a team of nurses that was converted into a dedicated COVID-19 unit at the VA North Texas Hospital in Dallas. Since March, the VA has been accepting and treating Veterans who caught COVID-19, and Washington has been at the forefront in making sure that the front-line nurses are being taken care of as well.

As the staff worked around the clock, Washington implemented a “Got your 6” system to care for her team. This system included measures like monitoring the time spent in patients’ rooms, ensuring PPE supplies for everyone, and maintaining a regular break schedule. “This has been a humbling experience and we are battle weary. I have a great team and I took their safety, health and welfare very seriously. My focus was to provide psychological safety to the team so that they felt supported,” says Washington. “I wanted the team to treat COVID-19 as an ‘enemy’ that must be respected and never underestimated at all times.”

Washington also connected with the Long Gray Line and received meals almost daily from the women of West Point Class of 1991, who “gripped hands” with their classmate and showed the team of nurses lots of support by providing meals and supplies.

Washington, who also holds a BSN from the University of Texas, then took her experience of caring for nursing teams a step further and teamed up with nurses Zeyneba Mustafa, Doreen Ekwerike and Dr. Vetta Sanders-Thompson, co-director of the Center for Community Health Partnership and Research at the Institute for Public Health at Washington University to create a COVID-19 ‘Survival Guide for Nurses’ to help navigate the changes and updates that have resulted from the pandemic.

Today, WPAOG remembers and honors the members of the Long Gray Line who lost their lives as a result of the attack against our country on September 11th, 2001, or have given their lives in the defense of freedom while fighting the Global War on Terrorism. https://www.westpointaog.org/inmemoriam

The following classes have added updates this week to their Class Notes pages. 1946 | 1953 | 1961 | 1974 | 1980 | 1981 | 1988 | 1992 | 1996 | 2019. Class Notes

Looking for a way to share the excitement of West Point’s victory over Louisiana-Monroe while still maintaining social distancing? Join us this Saturday, September 12 at 1:30pm EDT for a virtual tailgate gathering! Simply turn on the game and join the online party, using a Chrome browser for the best experience. Chat with fellow fans, learn some West Point facts, enter raffles, and take advantage of some special WPAOG Gift Shop flash sales all from the comfort of your own home! Space is limited so please RSVP today to reserve your spot. For questions, please email alumni-services@wpaog.org. Go Army!  Beat LA-Monroe!

General (Retired) Keith Alexander has been named the newest member to Amazon’s Board of Directors. Alexander was previously director of the National Security Agency and chief of the Central Security Service from 2005 to 2014. He also served as the commander of U.S. Cyber Command from 2010 to 2014, and is currently co-CEO of IronNet Cybersecurity, a Maryland-based company he founded in 2014.

Army West Point Football games will be available to be streamed for free for current active duty and reserve duty members of the military through Army's website provider SIDEARM Sports. Current active duty and reserve duty members can use this LINK to set up an account through SIDEARM.

All internet browsers are compatible with All Access, though Army West Point strongly suggests using Google Chrome for the most optimal streaming experience. It is also recommended to stream the game using a wired connection with a bandwidth of at least 1000-2000Kbps (1-2Mbps). Further instructions and recommendations are detailed on sign up page.

For fans not currently serving as active duty or reserve duty members, all eight of Army's home games at Michie Stadium will be televised nationally either on CBS Television Network or CBS Sports Network.

The Cadets will play on CBS twice at home. First, against BYU at 3:30 p.m. ET on September 19 and then again in their first Commander-In-Chiefs trophy matchup versus Air Force at 11:30 a.m. ET on November 7. The six games scheduled to air on CBS Sports Network will all kick off at 1:30 p.m. ET.

2LT Max Bodde, CE '19, is getting it done in Poland, applying his geotechnical and transportation engineering skills to develop infrastructure for a key NATO partner.

The following classes have added updates this week to their Class Notes pages. 1952 | 1959 | 1964 | 1970 | 1971 | 1974 | 1989 | 1992 | 1996 | 1997 | 2019 | 2020. Class Notes

The Army Scholarship Foundation announced the award of over 200 scholarships to U.S. Army family members. The nonprofit Foundation was established in 2000 by a group of classmates from the Class of 1992 in the spirit of the USMA mission of a lifetime of service to the nation. The mission of the Foundation is to provide college scholarships to the sons and daughters of those who have served our nation honorably as soldiers in the United States Army and to provide college scholarships to spouses of enlisted soldiers serving on active duty in the United States Army. Since its founding, the Army Scholarship Foundation has awarded hundreds of scholarships valued over $1 million to sons and daughters of U.S. Army soldiers and spouses of active duty enlisted soldiers. Current board members for the Foundation include KC Brown ’69, Chris Lepp ’92, Rick Knight ’92 and Jeff Gault ’70.

Article submitted by Jeff Gualt ’70.

2LT Olivia Beattie ’19 and 2LT Tripp Waller ’19 recently started the UH-60M course where they will learn to fly the aircraft together with their Instructor at Fort Rucker, putting the Civil & Mechanical engineering they’ve learned at West Point to the test. As cadets, they learned how helicopters fly in ME388 and conducted an in-flight laboratory in the UH-72 Lakota. They were also capstone design partners and built a device to capture a Shadow unmanned system.

Congratulations to West Point’s newest Fulbright Scholar, 2LT Sarah Morrow, who will study International Security Studies at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. Through the Fulbright Program, Sarah hopes to combine her love of cultural immersion with her passion to use strategy and policy to improve the lives of vulnerable populations around the world.

Colonel (Retired) Gregory Gadson has been appointed to the MVPVets Board of Directors. MVPVets is a nonprofit that assists and prepares transitioning veterans for employment in medical device and life science companies.

Gadson was also recently named to the Board of Directors of the Gary Sinise Foundation. Gadson has been serving as the Ambassador for the Gary Sinise Foundation since 2015.

Greg served in every major conflict of the past two decades. In 2007, during combat operations in Iraq an improvised explosive device (IED) cost him both legs above the knees and normal use of his right arm and hand. Since his injury, he has served as Director of the United States Army Wounded Warrior Program and founded a management consulting business, Patriot Strategies, LLC. Gadson's experience as a wounded warrior that successfully transitioned back into the civilian workforce will serve as a great resource for fellow wounded veteran MVPVets members who face unique challenges.

“I am excited to be a part of an organization that is adapting its programs virtually to meet the needs of transitioning service members. The Academy and MedTech Conference will help MVPVets in its mission to connect military veterans with engaged mentors and careers in the medical device and life science industries,” said Gadson. Read more.

The following classes have added updates this week to their Class Notes pages. 1945 | 1953 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 | 1962 | 1966 | 1968 | 1969 | 1983 | 1996. Class Notes

POSTPONED: Our West Point Entrepreneur Virtual Speaker Series featuring Jarvis Hollingsworth, Class of 1985 has been postponed to next Thursday, September 3rd due to expected connectivity issues we may experience with Hurricane Laura which has stuck Texas.

You still have a chance to register until 5pm next Tuesday, September 1, 2020. Just visit the WPAOG link below:
Registration

There is no need to re-register for this event and we will send out Zoom details early next week. We hope you can still attend.

If you know anyone who may be affected by Hurricane Laura, please email grippinghands@wpaog.org so the WPAOG can help facilitate support.

This message is from Second Lieutenant Bennett Taylor '20. In this video, recorded during the COVID quarantine, he shares details from his internship at NASA working on drone traffic management patterns.

Thank you again for supporting last week’s All Academy Challenge, which make Margin of Excellence experiences like these possible.

If you have any questions or would like to learn more about Margin of Excellence opportunities, please contact our team at annualgiving@wpaog.org and Go Army, Beat Navy!

Thank you to the 11,575 West Point graduates who participated in the 2020 #AllAcademyChallenge! Given the difficult and unprecedented time we are living through, it was all the more meaningful that graduates from all the service academies rallied together to show their support for the future leaders of our military and nation.

The West Point community came together in record numbers to strengthen the #MarginOfExcellence with gifts totaling $2.1 million. It was a close race with Merchant Marine for all five days. We narrowly came in second, with 22.2 percent of the Long Gray Line supporting the Challenge. Every year we have increased West Point participation during the Challenge, which is something to celebrate and will benefit the Academy tremendously.

Congratulations to all the academies! Check here to see the 2020 All Academy Challenge by the Numbers and the final class standings: westpointaog.org/academychallenge

Join us for our 2nd monthly installment of the West Point Entrepreneur Virtual Speaker Series.

Register Today: https://www.westpointaog.org

Email alumniconferenes@wpaog.org for more information.

The following classes have added updates this week to their Class Notes pages. 1953 | 1955 | 1960 | 1962 | 1966 | 1974 | 1993 | 1996. Class Notes

It is the final day of the All Academy Challenge (AAC). We are blowing Navy out of the water, pun intended, and currently running neck and neck with the Merchant Marine Academy, who has won this the past four years! A 2020 victory for West Point would be our first time winning the Challenge. Please consider donating even $5, participation is what will help us WIN! Donate.

Tom Carhart has released the new book, Barricades: The First African-American West Point Cadets and Their Fight for Survival available on Amazon. The prominent role of African Americans in the nation's public life now includes many graduates of West Point, but it was not until well into the twentieth century that West Point became fully integrated, and the backstory of how this came about is the subject of this compelling work. It is a story that is both shameful and praiseworthy, a tale of young African Americans finding themselves up against often insurmountable barricades. Events most Americans were all too ready to ignore, but several of these pioneers persisted against all odds, and it is their stories that make this both a sobering yet inspiring book.

“Tom Carhart vividly portrays the travails of the first black cadets at West Point during the post-Civil War generation who broke through the barricades of racism to begin a long and difficult journey toward the U.S. Army's ultimate success as the most racially integrated institution in American society. An important contribution to black history and to military history.” - James McPherson

Twice-wounded Vietnam veteran, Tom Carhart holds a law degree from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. in history from Princeton University. The author of nine previous military history books (website: tomcarhart.net), Tom and his family live in Massachusetts.

Bill McWilliams ’55 has released his new book “Scrimmage for War: A Story of Pearl Harbor, Football, and World War II”. In late November 1941, two college football teams—Willamette University and San Jose State—set sail for Honolulu for a series of games with the University of Hawaii. Instead of a festive few weeks of football and fun, the players found themselves caught up in the first days of the United States’ war with Japan. For two weeks after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, the young men were recruited to dig and man trenches, string barbed wire, guard hotels, and join patrols as martial law took hold in Honolulu. They arrived home on Christmas Day after a dangerous journey back across the Pacific. Almost all of the players would go on to fight in the war.

This is a different kind of war story, blending battle and gridiron—along with a strong dose of human interest, of college-aged young men unexpectedly caught up in the world war. This is a story of war and football, of Pearl Harbor and the first moments of the U.S. in World War II. It is a story of the very first days of World War II as experienced by a group of young men who witnessed it firsthand—and would soon be fighting it (indeed, who were already fighting it). This is a story of heroism, courage, self-sacrifice, and duty in the maelstrom of war. Available on Amazon.

The following classes have added updates this week to their Class Notes pages. 1947 | 1953 | 1962 | 1966 | 1968 | 1987 | 1994 | 1996 | 2005. Class Notes

Lee Rivas was named Chief Executive Officer at Revint, a technology-enabled revenue integrity solutions for healthcare providers. Mr. Rivas joins Revint from RELX, a global provider of information analytics solutions, where he has served as a senior leader for the last 14 years, most recently as CEO of all Healthcare and Public Sector businesses across the LexisNexis Risk Solutions and Elsevier Divisions.

“I look forward to working with the management team to continue Revint’s impressive growth trajectory,” commented Mr. Rivas. “I deeply value the Company’s commitment to high-quality customer care, innovation, and operational excellence, and I am excited about the opportunity to expand our offerings and apply technology to enable the continued growth of the business.” Read more.

The seventh annual All Academy Challenge begins this weekend! From August 16-20, West Point will compete against the Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and Merchant Marine Academies for the title of highest alumni participation. No matter the size of your gift, or where you choose to designate it, your participation counts and will support Margin of Excellence programs. The All Academy Challenge takes on special significance this year as West Point joins together with the other military academies to support the future leaders of our nation during this challenging time. It truly is 5 Teams. 5 Days. 1 Mission. Do you see one of your classmates in WPAOG’s Spirit Video? Will your class (or your decade!) come out on top in 2020? During the Challenge, please go to AAC.WPAOG.org to donate and see your class Leaderboard. GO ARMY!

We are doing it again! The upcoming Aug 17-21 Service Academy Career Conference (SACC) in San Diego is going virtual! Now in its 25th year, SACC is the ONLY job fair exclusively for service academy alumni and can help you prepare for your next career transition.
Due to popular demand the SACC webinar series will again be three days, from 17-19 August.

The virtual career fair will be held on 21 August. Register now at: https://bit.ly/3fNRiAz

Wouldn’t it be great if you knew exactly what questions a hiring manager would ask you in your SACC job interview? Check out this list of the top 40 interview questions - and how to answer them. Click here - https://www.themuse.com/advice/interview-questions-and-answers

Text “careerservices” to 51555 to stay up to date on hot jobs, webinars and announcements from the WPAOG Career Services team.

The digital edition of the Summer 2020 issue of West Point Magazine is out!

In this issue, read “The Story Behind ‘All for the Corps’: Directorate of Cadet Activities.” Learn how the hundreds of dedicated staff and volunteers at the DCA work to provide comprehensive and diverse extracurricular, social, cultural, and recreational programs that enhance the leader development of the Corps of Cadets.

These programs include 138 cadet clubs and dozens of class and brigade-wide social events. The DCA offers a variety of programs for the social development of cadets, as well as operates Eisenhower Hall, the second-largest performing arts center on the East Coast. Plus, the DCA is also involved in operating a dozen restaurants, cafes, concessions, catering and stores at the Academy. Approximately 40% of DCA's annual Extracurricular Club program budget comes from Margin of Excellence funding provided by graduates and friends of West Point.

Read more about how the DCA programs have become and continue to be an integral and enriching part of the cadets’ 47-month experience at West Point: https://bit.ly/dcastory

LTC (R) Dave Wise ’94 recently completed his goal of hiking all 2193 miles of the Appalachian Trail. His journey started in Georgia and finished in Maine. This summer on Monday, August 3, 2020 he completed the final 670 miles and summited Mt. Katahdin. Dave is the Event Planning Committee Chair for the West Point Society of Western North Carolina. Congratulations Dave. Well done!

The American Bar Association (ABA)’s House of Delegates announced at its annual meeting on August 4 that it elected Beveridge & Diamond Principal John C. Cruden (Washington, DC) to serve on its Board of Governors. In this role, John will represent District 4—covering the District of Columbia and Virginia—and be the liaison to the ABA’s Center for Human Rights and Government and Public Sector Lawyers Division.

John is a long-time member of and contributor to the ABA, having served in various leadership positions in the organization, including as former Chair of ABA’s Section on Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources. Prior to joining B&D, John had a long and distinguished career in public service, most recently serving as Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). He was also the first government attorney to serve as the President of the District of Columbia Bar, currently the largest bar in the nation.

As a liaison to the Center for Human Rights, John will work to mobilize lawyers in support of the Center’s mission to promote and protect human rights worldwide, including protecting advocates and vulnerable communities. He also will coordinate with the Government and Public Sector Lawyers Division to serve the unique needs of public sector attorneys.

“I am honored to have been elected to the Board of Governors, representing the District of Columbia and Virginia. The ABA remains one of the largest professional organizations in the world with a unique mission—defending liberty and delivering justice. Today, in our difficult times together, we should all join to promote ABA's goals of eliminating bias and enhancing diversity as well as advancing the rule of law,” John said. Read more.

The West Point Association of Graduates is pleased to announce that Major John Meyer, Class of 2005, has been selected to receive the 2020 Alexander Nininger Award for Valor at Arms. Read more about Meyer’s heroic actions on July 27, 2007 for which he was awarded the Silver Star.

This year WPAOG won 2 Gold Stevie Awards and 2 Silver Stevie Awards from the American Business Awards Program. There were over 3,600 nominations from many notable companies like Forbes Media, Comcast and Microsoft. The virtual Stevie Awards ceremony for 2020 took place Wednesday, July 5, 2020, at 2pm EDT. The awards ceremony stream link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhTT5JcYG5A&feature=youtu.be

"Thank you for recognizing our work with two Gold and two Silver Stevie Awards. These Awards are an opportunity to acknowledge our dedicated staff and the service & contribution of West Point Graduates to our Country, in war and peace. Thank you & Go Army!" - Todd Browne, President and CEO, of the West Point Association of Graduates.

Our *Gold* Awards:

WPAOG 150th Anniversary Video (click on the link to watch the video) https://vimeo.com/322807700
The Parent Handbook (click on the link for the current handbook) https://www.westpointaog.org/parentresources

Our *Silver* Awards:

Non-Profit Organization of the Year https://www.westpointaog.org/home
Human Resources Team of the Year
The New Career Services Team https://wpaogcareers.org/

*Outstanding job, everyone!*

http://www.westpointaog.org/classnotesThe following classes have added updates this week to their Class Notes pages. 1953 | 1958 | 1968 | 1974 | 1996. Class Notes

WPAOG is now planning the 2020 edition of the West Point "Register of Graduates & Former Cadets," and we need you to update your career information.

The "Register" is WPAOG’s oldest publication, dating back to 1850, when the first edition was compiled by George W. Cullum, Class of 1833. It is an indispensable treasury of military history, documenting the service to the nation of every West Point graduate since 1802.

Click on the link to review and update your Register of Graduates profile: https://www.westpointaog.org/registerofgraduates

Dr. Charles N. Toftoy is excited about the upcoming release of his book, Blunnders: Shocking Mistakes That Altered History. The Alpha Team is back! This time they explore little known facts about History’s worst Blunders, a series of mistakes causing and leading up to a disaster or horrific event, where numerous lives are lost that could’ve been saved.

Six years of research has brought forth the truth about what really happened, the cover-ups and more!

A portion of the proceeds will be donated to: Wounded Warrior Mentor Program. (Dr. Toftoy is a mentor in the program.)

The book will be made available at Amazonand all major online bookstores everywhere. Get your copy when it comes out and please, pass this information onto your contacts, too, so they can enjoy reading all about the history of these disasters that most people do not know.

Dr. Charles N. Toftoy has worked in three sectors: military (20 years), corporate (12 years), academic (17 years). He was a U.S. Army airborne ranger, infantry officer. Toftoy is a highly decorated (wounded twice) Vietnam veteran (two tours).

The following classes have added updates this week to their Class Notes pages. 1953 | 1958 | 1962 | 1965 | 1966 | 1973 | 1974 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1996 | 2002 | 2019. Class Notes

Congratulations to 2LT Grant Hall ’19 and colleagues for their publication in The Lancet on their relevant and timely research on the “Rapid implementation of SARS-CoV-2 sequencing to investigate cases of health-care associated COVID-19: a prospective genomic surveillance study”. For his stellar academic achievements and dedication to research, 2LT Hall was awarded a Rotary Global Grant and is currently pursuing his M.Phil. in Biological Sciences (Pathology) at the University of Cambridge.” https://www.thelancet.com/…

Your West Point Association of Graduates (WPAOG) Board recently convened a special meeting on the subject of racism. Led by a professional, outside facilitator, our dialogue prompted genuine retrospection. Discussion ensued on the definitional aspects and inter-connectivity among the various facets of racism, diversity, and inclusion. Perhaps most importantly, it underscored the necessity for policy changes and positive action. From a WPAOG perspective, the meeting was a natural follow-on to the Chairman’s June 15th letter to the Long Gray Line (LGL) on racism. It was a bridge to continued coordinated efforts to acknowledge, identify and eliminate racism in all forms within WPAOG. On-going efforts include a thorough review of all policy documents, concerted efforts to improve diversity in WPAOG governing bodies, and greater attention to inclusion and outreach to all members of our extensive graduate body. While the entire Board and WPAOG leadership is engaged in this work, a designated committee of Board and Advisory Council members and other graduates is providing focused attention to these matters. In support of our mission to Serve West Point and the Long Gray Line, we stand ready to support the Academy when asked to do so by its leaders. Concurrently, we never forget the equally important part of our mission to serve the entire LGL. In that regard, we ask again for your ideas and advice on how to eliminate all forms of racism and advance diversity and inclusion within the WPAOG community. We will listen.

The following officers were confirmed by the Senate:

LTG Edward M. Daly ’87 for appointment to the rank of General and assignment as Commanding General, U.S. Army Materiel Command, Redstone Arsenal, AL.

MG Dennis Scott McKean ’90 for appointment to the rank of Lieutenant General and assignment as Deputy Commanding General, Futures and Concepts, U.S. Army Futures Command, Austin, TX.

For promotion to the rank of Brigadier General: COL (USAR) Christopher Z. Barra ’89, COL Robert L. Barrie, Jr. ’90, COL Christopher G. Beck ’93, COL Trevor J. Bredenkamp ’92, COL Paul G. Craft ’93, COL Matthew L. Eichburg ’93, COL David C. Foley ’94, COL Patrick L. Gaydon ’94, COL Clair A. Gill ’94, COL James P. Isenhower III ’92, COL Ryan M. Janovic ’93, COL Thomas W. O’Connor, Jr. ’94, COL William A. Ryan III ’94, COL David C. Trybula ’89 and COL Richard L. Zellman ’92.

Buffalo Soldiers Day on July 28th commemorates the formation of the first regular Army regiments comprising African American soldiers in 1866, seventeen months after the end of the Civil War. Buffalo Soldiers of the 9th and 10th Cavalries were frontier regiments that protected unsettled lands as pioneers moved westward as they endured the hardships of the Wild West. They were recognized for their strong efforts during the Spanish-American War and other engagements in the late 1800s. During World War I, each unit received stateside assignments, with some exceptions. Neither unit saw action during World War II. In 1944, the Army activated both regiments and transferred service members to other units, as integration in the military began. 

Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress

NASA and its international partners have selected NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough to serve as spacecraft commander for the Fly on SpaceX Crew-2 Mission, which will be the second operational SpaceX Crew Dragon flight to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

NASA astronaut Megan McArthur will serve as spacecraft pilot for the mission. JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet will join as mission specialists.

Crew-2 is targeted to launch in spring 2021, following the successful completion of both NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 test flight mission, which is expected to return to Earth August 2, and the launch of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission, which is targeted for late September. The Crew-2 astronauts will remain aboard the space station for approximately six months as expedition crew members, along with three crewmates who will launch via a Russian Soyuz spacecraft.

This will be Kimbrough’s third trip to space and his second long-duration stay at the space station. Born in Killeen, Texas, and raised in Atlanta, Kimbrough was selected as an astronaut in 2004. He first launched aboard space shuttle Endeavour for a visit to the station on the STS-126 mission in 2008, then aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft for Expedition 49/50 in 2016. He has spent a total of 189 days in space and performed six spacewalks.

The following classes have added updates this week to their Class Notes pages. 1945 | 1953 | 1962 | 1974 | 1975 | 1986 | 1996 | 2012 | 2020. Class Notes

The George W. Bush Institute is proud to announce the appointment of Robert A. McDonald as one of four Endowed Fellows to help further the mission to develop leaders, advance policy, and take action to solve today’s most pressing challenges. As the April and Jay Graham Fellow, McDonald  serves as a key member of the Bush Institute’s Military Service Initiative team, advocating for post-9/11 veterans and building awareness for the issues that affect their successful transitions to civilian life including employment, education, and health and wellbeing. Read more.

Looking to broaden your West Point Alumni network or reconnect with your Classmates? Grad Link is now a feature of Sallyport that offers a one-stop shop for all your Grad communication needs. Activate your account and maintain your West Point relationships with the most highly connected alumni body in the world! Download our enhanced WPAOG Sallyport mobile app on your device and take it wherever you go! Watch this video tutorial and learn how to use the Sallyport App: https://vimeo.com/440534082/c8992cab33 Download now to learn how we maintain our vision to be the most highly connected alumni body in the world!

*Log in and activate your account here: https://sallyport.westpointaog.org/login
*Download our App on the Apple App Store here: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/wpaog-sallyport/id1485739170
*Download our App on Google Play here:https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wpaog_sallyport.app

If you have questions, please email sallyport@wpaog.org or call Alumni Support at 845-446-1612 or visit our website at https://sallyport.westpointaog.org

The Summer edition of West Point is at the printer now, and should be arriving in mailboxes in early August. Meanwhile, the digital edition is now available online. Read all about Graduation 2020 and Operation RESILIENT KNIGHT, describing how the USMA team mobilized to help cadets successfully complete the spring semester working remotely. We think you’ll share our sense of pride reading stories of fellow grads on the front lines of the fight against COVID-19, and you’ll discover how the Directorate of Cadet Activities supports the entire Corps of Cadets.

Lieutenant General Daniel Hokanson was confirmed as the 29th chief of the National Guard Bureau by the Senate. Hokanson, who will also be a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will be promoted to four-star general, the highest-ranking officer in the nation's oldest military force.

He is currently the director of the Army Guard. Before taking the helm of the Army Guard in June 2019, Hokanson served as the NGB’s vice chief from November 2016. 

The Guard Bureau chief is responsible for ensuring nearly 450,000 Guard soldiers and airmen are ready and able to conduct their combat and homeland response missions. The chief also serves as a military adviser to the president, secretary of defense and National Security Council. In addition, he is the Defense Department’s official channel of communication to the governors and state adjutants general on all Guard matters.

His combat deployments include operations Just Cause (Panama), Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan) and Iraqi Freedom. Hokanson served as Oregon’s adjutant general from 2013 to 2015. “General Hokanson knows the Guard. He knows the Guard Bureau. And he knows Washington,” said retired Brig. Gen. J. Roy Robinson, the NGAUS president. “He will be a very effective advocate for Guard soldiers and airmen in the Pentagon. We look forward to working with him.” Read more.

Former Army West Point Baseball captain Jacob Hurtubise signed a contract to continue his baseball career with the Cincinnati Reds, the team announced Friday.

The Zionsville, Ind., native becomes the first baseball player to sign a professional contract after Secretary of Defense Mark Esper endorsed a policy in November making it possible for exceptionally talented athletes who have graduated from a military service academy to pursue employment as professional sports athletes following graduation. He will be permitted to delay his commissioning and subsequent service obligation to pursue employment as a professional sports athlete.

“We are exceptionally proud of Jacob,” said Mike Buddie, Director of Athletics, Army West Point. “He has earned this opportunity through his hard work and determination while representing the Corps of Cadets on the field. After spending 47 months training to serve our country, I am thrilled for Jacob to get this incredible opportunity and am convinced this will only make him a better officer when that time comes. The fact that Jacob lost his Firstie season due to COVID makes this opportunity even sweeter, and I know the Reds organization will appreciate his incredible work ethic and talent.”

Over the course of his career at West Point, Hurtubise established himself as one of the program's all-time greats. The outfielder graduates as the Army and Patriot League all-time leader in stolen bases (105) and walks (142). In 2019, he set the program's single season records for runs scored (71), walks (69) and stolen bases (45). He earned ABCA All-American honors and Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2019 and was named a CoSIDA Academic All-American in 2020. The two-time First Team All-Patriot League recipient entered his shortened senior campaign as the Patriot League Preseason Player of the Year.

“We are very proud and excited for Jacob to get this opportunity with the Cincinnati Reds,” Army baseball head coach Jim Foster said. “He has been a huge part of our baseball program and will be remembered as one of the greats in program history. He has been the definition of what we want in a player and, more importantly, a person and a leader. He will be a tremendous representative for Army at the next level and we wish him the best going forward!”

Following the 2019 season, Hurtubise was drafted in the 39th round by the Seattle Mariners before ultimately deciding to return to West Point for his firstie season to complete his degree and training. He is the first Army baseball player to join a professional organization since Jon Rosoff signed with the Detroit Tigers in 2018.

The following classes have added updates this week to their Class Notes pages. 1958 | 1959 | 1962 | 1966 | 1973 | 1974 | 1982 | 1996 | 2001 | 2008 | 2014 | 2018. Class Notes

When a soldier has made the ultimate sacrifice, there is a group of fellow soldiers specially trained to care for their remains with dignity and honor. Taking care of those soldiers who take care of the fallen was a critical part of James Sutter’s job in the U.S. Army.

“The mental fortitude that all my soldiers had to be able to do that mission over and over again, it astounded me,” said Capt. Sutter, 28, of St. Louis County.

“To relate it to people who aren’t in the military — every time you’ve seen a movie about the conflicts in Iraq or Afghanistan, every single time you see a helicopter crash or a soldier get killed, one of my soldiers took care of them. Every single one was a real person that had family left behind...”

The creed of the Army’s mortuary affairs specialists is “Dignity, Reverence, Respect.” Those words were at the forefront of the sacred mission that fell to Sutter’s soldiers as they readied each fallen comrade to be returned to their families.

From properly recovering and identifying the remains of the deceased, to safeguarding their personal effects, to preparing the uniform a fallen soldier will wear, even in a closed casket — these are among the sensitive tasks that must be performed just so, before a hero’s body is sent on its final journey home.

The job is not for everyone, Sutter said, but knowing the impact the role has on family members back home is powerful. Read more.

The WPAOG Ring Memorial Program is now accepting donations of West Point class rings for the Class of 2022’s Ring Melt ceremony. The deadline to donate the rings is October 1, 2020.

If you are interested in donating a West Point class ring you can email us at RingMemorialProgram@wpaog.org or call us at 845.446.1614.

Be sure to watch the Ring Melt video on our website, but get a tissue ready, you might just get something ‘in your eye’ while watching it.

Visit: https://www.westpointaog.org/RingMemorialProgram

In October 1975, in observance of his 50th class reunion, Brigadier General Charles P. Nicholas ’25 published “West Point—Then and Now: Fifty Years of Growth and Change,” an eyewitness account of the most fundamental changes at West Point from the time he arrived in 1921 to 1975. In between describing the “massive array of new buildings” required by the successive increases in the size of the Corps of Cadets, and the reasons why cadets who were once “found” were now resigning from the Academy before separation procedures occurred, Nicholas penned a passage that is as true today as it was then: “The Corps of Cadets is a microcosm of American youth, and the impact of national attitudes at West Point is strong. Certainly these attitudes have changed since fifty years ago.”

Given the milestone nature of 2020—it is the start of a new decade, its repeating digits represent a phenomenon that occurs only once a century, and it marks several historical anniversaries (100 years since the 19th Amendment and women’s suffrage and 400 years since Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower arrived in the New World)—West Point magazine decided it would be a good time to look at today’s Corps of Cadets and see how it compares to “the Corps of an earlier day.” Read more.

After Brendan Mullen’s boyhood dream of attending Notre Dame was shattered, West Point recruited him, the pitch was: If you can’t play football for the Irish and Coach Holtz, then come to West Point and play against them. Impressed, Mullen signed a letter of intent. “Ultimately it was the best decision I could have ever made. Attending West Point and kicking for the Army football team for four years was a path I never anticipated, but one I cherish.” Mullen recalls.

After graduating from West Point, Mullen moved from the gridiron to the battlefield, serving in the U.S. Army for five years as a combat engineer officer. This included a stint in Washington, DC, where he supported the White House and Naval Observatory, serving President George Bush. He was ultimately deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom as a Military Transition Team member, where he earned the Combat Action Badge in 2006.

That same year, Mullen traded the military for civilian life, joining forces with a fellow West Point classmate and Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran in a cyber security startup. When Mullen joined the company, he was the first employee and chief operating officer. When he left three years later to launch his own startup, MKS2 Technologies, the consultancy had grown to over 105 employees and $12 million in products and services. Read more.

Army West Point Women's Basketball head coach Dave Magarity announced the addition of Major (Retired) Margaree King Richard to the coaching staff on Monday. A former standout for the Black Knights from 2004-08, King Richard will be joining the staff as an assistant coach.

“I'm thrilled to welcome back Margaree to Army West Point and to the women's basketball staff as an assistant coach for the upcoming season,” Magarity said. “Margaree had a tremendous impact on our program as a cadet-athlete and her experiences will be invaluable as a coach, teacher and mentor to our current players.”

King Richard served a variety of roles over the course of her Army tenure, which spanned over a decade before retiring at the rank of major in April. Most recently, King Richard served as an Assistant Professor of Military Science in Clarksville, Tenn., for three and a half years. She previously deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan, during 2010-2011 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. There, she supported over 100 tactical missions.

In addition to her Army career, King Richard has taken on several coaching responsibilities. Her most recent endeavor was serving as the head coach of the high school and middle school girls' basketball teams at the Clarksville Christian School from May 2016-April 2020. Tasked with the challenge of coaching a newly established program, King Richard brought Clarksville Christian to prominence as the team captured three consecutive Tennessee Christian Athletic Association Girls High School & Middle School titles from 2018-20. King Richard also served as the head coach for multiple AAU teams. Additionally, she was the co-owner of Hustle Hard Athletics, a company that specializes in providing a holistic approach to sports specific training for the youth of Clarksville at all levels.

As a member of the Black Knights, King Richard earned a reputation as a player with strong presence on defense, earning Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year as a senior in 2008. She was an integral part of an Army defense that ranked 20th in the nation in scoring defense in the regular season of her final year, allowing just 55.7 points per game. She was a member of the 2005-06 team, the first squad to claim the Patriot League title and advance to the NCAA Tournament.

After graduating from the Academy with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, King Richard remained at West Point for the 2008-09 academic year, participating its athletic intern program. She assisted with the strength and conditioning staff, working with numerous teams including women's basketball.

The Service Academy Career Conference (SACC) is dedicated to assisting our alumni in their career transitions, no matter the location or platform. Now more than ever, we recognize how important it is for our alumni to make valuable career and educational connections. Register now to join us online!

• Participate in three days of employer webinars August 18-20.
• Connect virtually with recruiters from industry-leading employers on August 21.
• Meet with companies who are actually hiring!
• New & improved virtual career event platform!
• Employers are already reaching out to prospective candidates for introductory, pre-screen phone calls.
• Don't miss out on this opportunity to get a job offer during this financial crisis.

Text “careerservices” to 51555 to stay up to date on hot jobs, webinars and announcements from the WPAOG Career Services team.

The following classes have added updates this week to their Class Notes pages. 1957 | 1959 | 1962 | 1964 | 1965 | 1970 | 1986 | 1991 | 1996 | 2004 | 2010 | 2012. Class Notes

Lieutenant Colonel Laura Keenan ’04 served in a variety of capacities but notably worked with the team that built the Alternative Care Site and then was embedded into Children's National Hospital in the District of Columbia helping them partner with the city and other interagency to secure critical supplies and pharmaceuticals.

Her unit worked to support the community by manning testing sites, augmenting morgue missions, providing security and support to food missions, transporting critical equipment such as ventilators from partner states, and partnering with our active duty colleagues.

Calling all West Point Graduate Entrepreneurs! Registration is open for our Virtual WPAOG Entrepreneur Summit on Thursday, July 23. Joining us is keynote speaker, Anthony Noto ’91, CEO of SoFi, as well as other experts in the entrepreneur ecosystem. Register today—it's free!

Lant Fogarty ’10 works for Clark Construction in Chicago, Illinois. From March 30 to April 24, Clark and its trade partners worked on a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project to convert the MetroSouth Medical Center on Chicago's South Side into an Alternative Care Facility for COVID-19 patients. As the project manager for Clark’s architecture squad, Fogarty oversaw the carpenters, painters, and floor installers for the project. “We had daily meetings with our subcontractors, internal team, and the overall team, which included our design partners and the Corps of Engineers, to resolve issues, define scope, and drive the work,” says Fogarty. “As the overall project manager to our senior project manager and project executive, I provided project updates, helped to implement and steer the team toward their vision, drove the quality and punch list process, and handled some miscellaneous duties such as contracts, security, and medical screenings to ensure that everyone on site did not show symptoms of COVID-19.”

In just 22 days, four days ahead of schedule, Fogarty and Clark Construction delivered a 585-patient bed facility, with 265 beds providing ICU level service to support critically ill patients. “It was a fast-paced and an extremely tiring project, but it has been the most rewarding thing I have done outside of my Army service,” says Fogarty, who deployed to Afghanistan as a Field Artillery officer with the 2nd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division during Operation Enduring Freedom. The construction of the MetroSouth Alternative Care Site was one three facilities supervised by Colonel Aaron Reisinger ’94, Commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Chicago District.

WPAOG won two Gold Stevie® Awards and two Silver Stevie Awards in the 18th Annual American Business Awards®. The competition included more than 3,600 nominations from organizations of all sizes and in virtually every industry. WPAOG’s Gold awards were for Public Relations: NonProfit Fund Raising (150th Anniversary Video), and Other Publication – Association or Non-Profit (Parent Handbook). The Silver Awards were for Organization of the Year – Non-Profit or Government – Small, and Human Resources Team of the Year (The New Career Services Team). Read More.

LTC (R) Michael Ellis '91, MD is the Chief Medical Officer at the University of Toledo Medical Center in Toledo, Ohio. Since January 2020, Ellis has helped develop and lead the hospital’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, as an Infectious Diseases physician, Ellis has spent approximately half of his time caring directly for COVID patients. He notes, “My experiences as a Field Artillery Officer and then Army Infectious Diseases physician have prepared me well for responding to the pandemic. Army physicians have been integral in combating COVID-19: leading the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Dr. Robert Redfield), leading the U.S. Coronavirus Task Force (Dr. Debra Birx), and serving in many other ways as physician-leaders, clinicians, and scientists around the country.”

As restrictions for Covid-19 ease up in some parts of the U.S., West Point Grad Captain Dymon Boeckmann ’12 is taking time to make sure soldiers under her command have steady training and employment.

Boeckmann is Commander of the 355th Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear (CBRN) Company near Las Vegas, Nevada. This is where she started implementing a plan that would keep soldiers trained, facilities supplied, and soldiers paid.

“A large majority of my soldiers are college students, and some of them work in the hospitality industry, which has been impacted tremendously by COVID 19” said Boeckmann. Starting in April, Boeckmann took responsibility for virtual training for the soldiers under her command and ensured that they all received virtual training in safety, security, and discipline.

Boeckmann also used the opportunity and time to take on and complete needed tasks around post to help the company continue with mandatory duties such as inventories, vehicle maintenance, and supply operations during Covid-19.

Dr. John Callahan ’86, a practicing physician at the Syracuse, New York VA Medical Center, closely monitored the emergence of COVID-19 and was concerned with the number of patients requiring ventilators due to acute respiratory failure. He realized the United States would be facing a ventilator shortage if it did not act quickly. Callahan found a decade-old study from MIT on a student-designed, low-cost ventilator and tracked down the lead project engineer, Dr. Alex Slocum. They spoke in March, and Callahan proposed combining a medical “respiratory circuit” to the technical actuator device designed by the MIT team. The MIT effort expanded with the goal of creating an “open-source” design. Callahan, however, sought to produce commercial-grade ventilators. He took his respiratory circuit design to Syracuse University and, through the Dean of Architecture, came to work with JMA Wireless, a cell phone manufacturer.

In just 10 days, Callahan and JMA engineers created the PREVAIL NY ventilator, mating commercially available, off-the-shelf components with Callahan’s respiratory circuit. “What I am most excited about is its familiarity to physicians around the world and that it has many of the same technical components that are common to ventilators that currently exist,” says Callahan. After successfully ventilating three pigs with COVID-19 induced Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome, the JMA Wireless corporate counsel submitted the PREVAIL NY device for “Emergency Use Authorization” to the FDA. While social distancing measures have mitigated the need for emergency ventilators in the United States, PREVAIL NY is ready to be deployed inexpensively whenever it is needed. “I credit my West Point education with helping me to succeed in getting this product fielded,” says Callahan. “In seeking help on this project, I was told by many that it could not be completed, but I think West Point imbues all graduates with persistence, which is learned though our many trials—successes and failures—as cadets.”

WPAOG thanks Dr. Callahan and all of the West Point Grads doing their part to help during this pandemic.

The following classes have added updates this week to their Class Notes pages. 1950 | 1958 | 1987 | 1990 | 1996 | 2000 | 2013 | 2020. Class Notes

Dr. John Thurman ’00, Medical Director of Great River Hospice House in Iowa, could see the COVID-19 outbreak was heading in his direction. So he doubled down, continuing his work on Hospice care for his patients and at the same time joining a team to create a COVID-19 Drive-Thru Clinic in West Burlington, Iowa. As more resources were diverted to COVID-19 testing and treatment, Thurman worked around the clock to keep Hospice patients taken care of and safe during the pandemic. He says “our clinic is working to resume normal operations with proper social distancing, mask wearing and cleaning all rooms before and after each patient visit. I still manage and monitor the Hospice house, admit patients and care for them to ensure comfort before passing.” He also connected with fellow West Point Grad Gary Williams ’00, who helped supply the hospital with proper PPE gear for the medical staff.

When the hospital CEO reached out to Thurman for guidance on planning a COVID-19 testing site, Thurman stepped up to the plate. He and his colleague Dr. Michael Abouassaly quickly decided that the fairgrounds across the street from the hospital would be an ideal location, and determined that a ‘Drive-Thru’ clinic model would be the best use of the space for a COVID-19 testing site. Construction for the official “Test Iowa” site started on March 24, and the drive-thru clinic officially opened on May 26. The staff at the clinic have been seeing more than 100 patients a day since it opened. Thurman says that once the COVID-19 outbreak is contained, the test site can continue to be used for disaster relief initiatives.

WPAOG thanks Thurman, Williams and all of the West Point grads doing their part to help during this pandemic.

As of 7/2/2020

Fall Reunion Update:  On July 2^nd, the Academy made the difficult decision to cancel all class reunions scheduled this Fall.  The decision was made out of the concern for the health and welfare for our Alumni, their families, and the West Point community.

Cloth face-covering required at USMA.

For updates on academy operations, restrictions or cancellations go to www.westpoint.edu/coronavirus.

Read WPAOG President's COVID Update March 23, 2020

The following Alumni events are affected by the situation to date:

• Entrepreneur Summit – Virtual July 23
• Leaders Conference - Virtual August 13th
• Society Events – check with your local West Point Society for the status of events
• Class of 1945, 1950, 1955, 1960, 1965 & 1970 Reunions have been rescheduled

Charles Kuyk has released “West Point Graduates and the U.S. Air Force”. West Point graduates played a central role in developing U.S. military air and space power from the earliest days of mechanized flight through the establishment of the U.S. Air Force in 1947, and continuing through the Persian Gulf War. These graduates served at a time when the world's greatest wave of technological advancement occurred: in aviation, nuclear weapons, rocketry, ICBMs, computers, satellite systems in inner space and man in outer space.

This history traces the advancement of weapons and space technology that became the hallmark of the U.S. Air Force, and the pivotal role that West Point graduates played in integrating them into a wide variety of Air Force systems and programs. Many became aircraft commanders, test pilots, astronauts and, later in their careers, general officers who helped shape and implement technologies still in use today. Available at Amazon.

Dr. Bob Underwood ’87, Chief Medical Officer at the San Juan Regional Medical Center in Farmington, New Mexico and his team established an emergency operation center before there was a single COVID-19 case in the state. They curtailed elective surgery, established dedicated COVID-19 areas of the hospital, closed the normal ICU to all patients except for COVID patients, and converted a "stepdown" unit into a fully functional ICU for non-COVID patients. In March, the Center set up a drive-through "External Assessment Area" where patients could be tested for COVID-19.

As of May 20, 2020, 44 of their 123 patients were either COVID-19 positive or suspected of having COVID-19 pending test results. “We are feeling the surge here in the Northwest corner of New Mexico more than other parts of the state. We believe we have passed the “peak” of that surge. We are adjacent to the Navajo Nation, the largest Native American reservation in the country. The COVID-19 infection is having a very serious impact on the Navajo Nation, in terms of total numbers as well as the intensity of the disease. That is a large proportion of the COVID-19 patients that we are currently seeing. We are working directly with the Indian Health Services (IHS), a federal health service, to care for this at-risk population.” The team is also working with local businesses to produce 3D printed face shields to augment their PPE. Underwood notes, “The response of our community, our providers, and of the local businesses to the needs of the healthcare organization have humbled to me in the sincerest way. I have not seen this level of unity and common goal before.”

WPAOG thanks Dr. Underwood and all of the West Point grads doing their part to help during this pandemic.