Superintendent's Annual Fund
I hope this finds you well, and I wish you the best for a healthy, safe, and prosperous 2021. While recent times have certainly been challenging on many fronts, we must continue to move forward and plan for the future. As members of the Long Gray Line, we know that we were uniquely prepared by the Academy to deal with circumstances like these.
As both an alumna (’82) and a parent (son, Logan ’19), I have been able to experience and witness firsthand the benefits of a West Point education. I continue to be impressed by the quality of the values-based instruction and training our cadets receive from the Academy, and I am honored to reach out to you today with an important request.
Growing up, I listened to my father tell great stories about his time in the Army. He joined in 1939 when Black soldiers were segregated into “colored” units, but he stayed in the Army for 33 years because he saw it evolve and even lead our society in change for the good; and because serving our country was important to him. His example gave me a solid foundation for my understanding of character, values, commitment, and service. He believed that so many barriers to mutual understanding were overcome through the Army’s one-on-one interactions between soldiers. That is why he encouraged my brothers and sisters and me to follow in his footsteps and serve in the military as well. For context, when I was growing up in the 1960s and early 1970s, women were fighting for full equality in all aspects of life, including the military. Several of my sisters served in the Women’s Army Corps (WACs). They paved the way for me. So, when I was accepted at West Point, it was into the third class (1978) that admitted women.
My older brother graduated from West Point in 1976, the first year that women were admitted, and he encouraged me to apply. I remember being so excited when, upon my acceptance, I received an admissions packet that included a big foldout poster of a cadet in full dress uniform. I couldn’t wait to start. I was familiar with the beautiful campus along the Hudson River, as I had visited when my brother was a cadet, but when I arrived as a new cadet, I was awed by its history and grandeur once again. I particularly remember looking at the statue of General Patton in front of the old Library. Note that the epic movie “Patton” starring George C. Scott, was released in 1970, and I don’t know how many times I watched it with my Dad. It was one of my favorite movies. When I looked at that statue it hit me, that if I was successful, I would be his fellow West Point alumnus!
Reality sunk in on R-Day when as new cadets, we were lined up in our athletic shorts, black socks, and dress shoes, with tags pinned to our waists to keep track of our in-processing tasks. As new cadets, we were all in the same boat. In my experience, gender and color did not matter — there simply was no time to focus on the possible controversy or historic nature of being there as both a woman and a person of color. I remember thinking, “Just let me make it through the day,” when it was my turn to report to the “Cadet in the Red Sash.”
When reflecting on my four years as a cadet, the sense of camaraderie among classmates is one of the things I loved best about the Academy; and I am still close to my classmates today. They were my lifeline and crucial to my learning the value of teamwork, responsibility for others, and the power that shared experience has in forging lifelong bonds and friendships. Additional important values imparted during my West Point years included being disciplined to complete tasks, skilled at prioritizing requirements under pressure, and being able to challenge myself to do things outside of my comfort zone. For me, that meant overcoming my lack of confidence in being able to disassemble and assemble an M-16 in the required time; and learning how to jump out of a perfectly good airplane. All these lessons and opportunities prepared me for my career in the Army and for life in general.
Had I not attended West Point, I may not have been as successful in my military career. I am convinced that it opened doors that would have remained closed or harder to get through. Being a member of the Long Gray Line meant that I had been steeped in a tried-and-true culture at an institution that educated, trained, and inspired me to be the best officer I could be for our Army and nation.
With its enduring mission and core values, West Point has remained a premiere educational institution. The character and resilience I developed there established a moral infrastructure that supported me throughout my career and life. It gave me the ability to be comfortable with uncertainty and even chaos and to work in unfamiliar environments. Part of the unique Academy experience is that all cadets, past, present, and future, share the same trajectory — to join our Army and to serve our nation; and to that end, every member of the West Point leadership team, faculty, and support staff starting with the Superintendent; have been, are, and will continue to be dedicated to ensuring that is accomplished.
My husband, a 30-year Army Veteran, and I were delighted when our son, Logan, decided to attend West Point. Through his eyes and experience, I was able to see how the Academy has evolved to stay relevant, to ensure our young people will be best prepared to meet the challenges of today and those of the future.
I believe it is important to give back to the organization that gave so very much to me. I feel that the foundation I received at West Point enabled me to accomplish many things. You may remember that the Margin of Excellence encompasses the “extras” that make a West Point experience so special. The Margin of Excellence comprises the additional programs, opportunities, and facilities that the West Point Superintendent and other Academy leaders have determined are crucial to prepare leaders of character and poise. For me, those programs included being a member of the track team, working on the Pointer View magazine, participating in intramurals, and playing guitar in the Catholic folk group, to name a few.
The Academy’s core academic, military, and physical development programs are federally funded, but many valuable projects outside the “core” designation receive minimal to zero funding from the government. Everyone at West Point is committed to the success of every cadet. To ensure that cadets can develop to their highest potential, private funding is necessary.
Your gifts to West Point are more important than ever as they support cadet internships and overseas experiences, athletic teams, and clubs, as well as the Academy’s world-class centers and academic programs. Think back to the “extras” that made your own time there even more valuable. Your gifts enrich every aspect of a cadet’s West Point experience, as gifts from members of the Long Gray Line before us enriched ours.
As grateful alumni, we all share the same values and critical life skills that were instilled in us as cadets. It might have been tough at the time, but we came out of the experience better prepared to succeed outside of West Point. We have gone on to successful careers because of that foundation. Now, we must do our part to help create an even brighter future for current and future cadets. With this in mind, I ask you to reflect on your West Point experience and the opportunities that were afforded to you and join me in making a gift to the Superintendent’s Annual Fund in 2021.
Together, we can ensure that West Point will have the necessary resources to continue graduating the very best forward-thinking leaders that our nation requires.
Beat Navy!
LTG Nadja Y. West, Retired
Class of 1982
Parent, Class of 2019