"Receiving the Thayer Award makes me feel closer to West Point than I've ever felt before," said General Ann Dunwoody (Retired), in an interview just prior to receiving the 62nd annual Sylvanus Thayer Award. A remarkable statement given that Dunwoody, the first women in U.S. military history to achieve the rank of four-star general, comes from a four-generation legacy of West Point graduates: her father (Harold H. Dunwoody, Class of 1943), her grandfather (Halsey Dunwoody, Class of 1905), her great-grandfather (Henry Harrison Chase Dunwoody, Class of 1866, and her brother, Harold "Buck" Dunwoody Jr. '70). Full story. Photos.

WPAOG continues to present daily “On This Day” facts, for a historical look at the impact of WPAOG and members of the Long Gray Line over the past 150 years. For example this post from October 6, the birthday of COL(R) Bill Knapp ’50, who is currently the oldest member of the West Point Society of Great Britain. Learn the story behind a simple telegram with a message to inspire the Army Football team which eventually became part of Plebe Knowledge in Bugle Notes. Check out all our 150th Anniversary posts at #WPAOG150.

On Saturday Oct. 26, West Point Parents Clubs will be hosting tailgates all around campus for cadets and their families. WPPCs of Greater Houston and Northern Texas are jointly hosting the 17th Annual Texas Tamale Tailgate (T3) at the ‘49er Lodge immediately after the Army-San Jose State football game, with country music and familiar tastes of Texas BBQ and tamales. Several WPPCs will each host Saturday tailgates from 4-6pm with unique regional foods. Be on the lookout for Shelisa Baskerville and Deb Dalton, who will be visiting the tailgates in the Spirit Cart and distributing spirit gear! Don’t forget to stop by Cullum Hall on Friday morning from 7:45-8:45am for coffee hour with apple cider donuts at the Family Weekend Welcome Center, sponsored by WPAOG.

Nearly 2,000 West Point cadets and USMA leadership members participated in the 18th annual Tunnel to Towers 5K Run/Walk on September 29 in Manhattan. The cadets volunteered to run and be flag bearers alongside 30,000 other participants from the mouth of the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel to the grounds of the One World Trade Center. The route is the same one New York City Firefighter Stephen Siller took on 9/11 after hearing the radio dispatch that a plane had struck the Twin Towers. He gathered nearly 60 pounds of firefighting equipment and ran to join his brethren at Ground Zero. Siller, along with 342 other firefighters, made the ultimate sacrifice on 9/11. Read this moving account of the event written by CDT Trevor Harker ’23.

Family Weekend 2019 is just around the corner. The WPAOG Gift Shop has everything your family needs to show your West Point spirit all weekend long. Shop early at  WPAOGGiftShop.com, and pick up in store. Open Monday-Thursday 10am-5pm; Friday 9am-5pm; and Saturday (gameday) 8am-5pm. Go Army!

On September 25, the WPAOG Class Services team hosted a breakfast for the Class Officers from the USMA Classes of 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023. At the breakfast, cadets had the opportunity to meet with WPAOG staff in addition to others from the Academy with whom they will work. Following the breakfast, breakout sessions were held for each of the classes to provide time for the class officers to engage in discussions of how WPAOG serves them and their classmates now and in the decades ahead. The cadets provided valuable feedback and insight into their experiences and we are thankful for their time and participation. More.

In a dramatic five-setter, it was the Army West Point Volleyball team taking down service-academy rival Navy, 3-2, to secure the star in the annual Star Series on September 27 at Gillis Field House. “That's how an Army-Navy fight should be,” Head coach Alma Kovaci Lee said. “I am very proud of this team for staying calm towards the end. The crowd definitely helped as well. There were people on this team who were like ‘we are not going to lose this game. We are going to get this block right now and we are going to get this dig.’ This team was confident, and they were saying ‘we will’ and not ‘we hope.’” Read more. Video.

The Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership recently announced Indra Nooyi as the Class of 1951 Chair for the Study of Leadership. Nooyi retired as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of PepsiCo, where she served with distinction for more than a decade. In 2018, she was named one of the “Best CEOs in the World” by CEOWORLD magazine and was ranked each year from 2008 through 2017 on Forbes magazine’s list of the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women. The Class of 1951 Leadership Chair (a two-year position) is made possible by a generous endowment from the Class of 1951, established in 2002 to enrich the study and practice of leadership and leader development at West Point and throughout the U.S. Army.

As the world changes at a quicker pace than ever before, particularly in the realm of technology, the leadership of West Point graduates will play a key role in preparing America, as well as its allies and partners, to defend itself from adversaries, said Jens Stoltenberg, the Secretary General of NATO. Stoltenberg gave a lecture and took questions from cadets in West Point’s core international relations courses September 25 during a stop at the academy while visiting the U.S. for the United Nations General Assembly. Full story.

Join us in congratulating BG Curtis A. Buzzard ’92, the 78th Commandant of Cadets. Buzzard was promoted from the rank of colonel on October 4 during a ceremony presided by LTG Darryl Williams ’83, the 60th Superintendent. Look for an article introducing BG Buzzard in the Fall issue of West Point magazine. Full story.

On September 20, GEN(R) Martin Dempsey ’74 delivered the 4th Annual 2019 Zengerle Family Lecture in the Arts and Humanities. Dempsey spoke about “Living a Felt Life,” on the connection between the humanities and leadership. The Zengerle Family Lecture Series, endowed by Joe Zengerle ’64 in honor of his wife Lynda and their sons, brings a leading figure in the arts and humanities to West Point each year to enhance faculty and cadet intellectual development, facilitate interdisciplinary scholarship and bridge the civil-military divide. Full story. Video.

The 17th West Point Diversity and Inclusion Conference began with remarks from LTG Darryl Williams ’83, USMA Superintendent, and the USMA leadership team. Themed “Embracing the Differences Among Us,” the three-day event brought together cadets, staff and faculty, and alumni, as well as representatives from academia, businesses, the U.S. Army, and our sister services. The keynote speaker was GEN(R) Vincent Brooks ’80, pictured with Todd Browne ’85, WPAOG President & CEO; LTG Darryl A. Williams ’83, USMA Superintendent; and Terry Allbritton, USMA Chief Diversity Officer. Photos. Video.

As USMA cadets prepare to become future leaders in the Army, they must be ready to work alongside America's allies and partners to combat threats in an increasingly interconnected world. Building the connections and skills necessary to operate in a joint force starts during their cadet careers, including opportunities for American cadets to study abroad at foreign military academies. Foreign cadets from countries throughout the world also attend USMA for four years as members of the Corps of Cadets or take part in semester-long programs at West Point. On October 2, those cadets, along with select members of the Corps of Cadets, were able to meet with the current class of international fellows attending the Army War College during the international officers’ visit to West Point. Read more.