By Jane Anderson, WPAOG Editorial Content Coordinator

The Founders Day celebration held in March by the West Point Society of Northern Shenandoah bridged not only older and younger members of the Long Gray Line but unified servicemembers across all branches of military service through the inspiring words of an uncommon keynote speaker for a West Point Society: A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy.

“The value of this education—whether it was forged on the Hudson or on the Severn—isn’t that it gives you all the answers. It’s that it shapes how you show up when the answers aren’t obvious,” said David Cattler, a 1993 graduate of USNA, before an audience of about 60 guests at the Inn at Charles Town Races in Charles Town, WV.

“Service academies don’t actually train you for your first job,” Cattler continued. “They train you for moments of consequence….moments where the conditions are unclear, the information is incomplete, and the responsibility is unmistakably yours.”

Cattler’s words resonated, especially since the Founders Day event was attended by a number of USNA and USMA grads. The Shenandoah Valley chapter of the Naval Academy Alumni Association often collaborates with the local West Point chapter on joint events, and members from both sides enjoy a monthly breakfast meeting. At one of those meetings, the new USNA Society President Rex Mbuthia ’93 was introduced. Mbuthia happened to be Cattler’s roommate at the Naval Academy, and when candidates were sought for a Founders Day speaker, Mbuthia suggested Cattler, according to Robert C. Holcomb ’73, who is among the leaders of the West Point Society of Northern Shenandoah along with Tom Hughes ’80. “I thought it was a grand idea, as it would embody jointness,” Holcomb said. Hughes concurred, saying, “We felt that he would deliver a poignant speech covering the roles of both academies in global interactions in the pursuit of peace.”

Cattler is the founder and managing principal of Ironhelm Works LLC. He previously served as the NATO Assistant Secretary General for Intelligence and Security and as Director of the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency.

During a career of more than 30 years in the U.S. Navy, the intelligence community, and senior national security roles, he has worked at the intersection of intelligence, defense, and transatlantic security.

In his keynote, Cattler stressed the importance of unity: “Our adversaries don’t fear us because of a single platform, or a particular weapon system, or even a specific capability. Russia didn’t fear NATO’s weapons. It feared NATO’s unity.”

That unity was grounded in shared values and discipline, and it was made credible by people who were prepared to act together, even under strain, Cattler explained. “That unity…didn’t start in national capitals. It started much earlier—in places like West Point and Annapolis—where people learned to put responsibility ahead of comfort, standards ahead of convenience, and service ahead of self.”

The values that are taught at all of the academies continue to matter long after the uniform is put away, Cattler said. “What the academies really give you is something more durable: a way of thinking and behaving when the conditions are uncertain and the stakes are real,” he stressed. “The values we talk about–responsibility, integrity, trust–only matter if they hold up under pressure.

“The mission has no interest in where you came from,” Cattler concluded to the crowd. “It doesn’t care what patch is on your shoulder, or what flag is on your sleeve. The mission doesn’t care what service you come from. What it cares about is whether you’re competent. Whether you’re trustworthy. Whether you can be relied on when the situation is messy and the stakes are high.”

Since its first observance in 1902, Founders Day has become more than a commemoration of the day Thomas Jefferson signed the Military Peace Establishment Act on March 16, 1802, solidifying the U.S. Military Academy’s place as an academic institution. Founders Day is a reaffirmation of the values that have shaped countless leaders: Duty, Honor, Country.