West-Point.ORG, The West Point Connection

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How Can I Help WP-ORG?

Donate to one of WP-ORG's semi-annual fund drives.

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LTC Anne McClain. USMA 2002 ,GO for launch on Soyuz MS-11

LTC Anne McClain. USMA 2002, Launch is scheduled for tomorrow (Dec. 3) at 6:31 a.m. Eastern Time. If you would like to give McClain a shout-out of encouragement you can post something using her official Twitter: @AstroAnnimal

You can watch the launch, and later hatch-opening ceremony (2:35 p.m. Eastern Time), live on NASA TV's Youtube page using this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwMDvPCGeE0

Three special operations troops killed by IED in Afghanistan

CPT Andrew Ross, USMA 2011 among those killed.

Capt. Andrew Ross, from left, and Sgt. 1st Class Eric Emond, both Green Berets with 3rd Special Forces Group, and Air Force Staff Sgt. Dylan Elchin, of the 26th Special Tactics Squadron, were killed Nov. 27, 2018, when their vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device in Andar, Ghazni Province, Afghanistan. (DoD)

The Department of Defense on Wednesday released the identities of three U.S. special operations troops killed during combat operations in Afghanistan.

Two Army Green Berets and an Air Force combat controller were killed Tuesday by an improvised explosive device in the eastern Afghan province of Ghazni.

The two Army Special Forces soldiers were Capt. Andrew Patrick Ross, 29, of Lexington, Virginia, and Sgt. 1st Class Eric Michael Emond, 39, of Brush Prairie, Washington. The two were assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

â€œAndrew and Eric were invaluable members and leaders in 3rd Special Forces Group and the special operations community. Our most heartfelt condolences go out to the families of these brave men,â€ Col. Nathan Prussian, 3rd Group commander, said in a statement.

WP-ORG EULOGY PAGE FOR CPT ROSS

GEN General Abizaid Named US ambassador to Saudi Arabia

President Donald Trump on Tuesday (Nov 13) tapped General John Abizaid, a top US general from the Iraq war who has studied the Middle East for years, as ambassador to Saudi Arabia amid growing friction between the longstanding allies.

Gen Abizaid is a fluent Arabic speaker of Lebanese Christian descent who headed US Central Command - which covers the Middle East - during the Iraq war from shortly after the US invasion in 2003 through 2007.

The 67-year-old wrote his master's thesis at Harvard University about Saudi Arabia, studying how the kingdom makes its decisions on defence spending, in a paper that won acclaim in academic circles.

Amazon Smile

It's almost Black Friday - one of the busiest shopping days of the year! Remember to shop at smile.amazon.com, and support WP-ORG at the same time!

A '58 grad wrote to WP-ORG and asked if we would mind reminding our users to update their profile information with the WPAOG (Association of Graduates), so that the Register of Graduates is up-to-date. We're more than happy to pass this request on. Everyone gets busy with day-to-day life, and some things slip through the cracks. Please use this reminder to update your graduate profile or former cadet entries.

As this particular user stated:
"I think this is a subject that is one measure that demonstrates one's love of West Point and respect for the traditions of the Long Gray Line. "

Click on "Old Grads" and in the center of the page, you will find the link to "Update your Register Entry". Here is a direct link: https://www.westpointaog.org/profile

If you have any problems, write to: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

WP-ORG Fund Drive - Mission Complete!

Thanks to your financial support, we have concluded our semi-annual fund drive. WP-ORG continues to operate year after year through your donations, combined with an army of volunteers including advisors, moderators and many others.

I would like to give special thanks to the class of '64 which donated over $11,000.

Any additional donations received will accrue to fund drive 45. The final donation report may be seen at:
https://secure.west-point.org/donate/report/

In addition to donation reports, we archive fund drive daily tallies, charts and tables comparing performance measures of current and past drives, and additional data which you may find of interest: http://www.west-point.org/service/fd44/program/

Thank You Again!!!

Cameron Price

USMA '96, on behalf of WP-ORG Advisors

Street Receives Honorary Name For Fallen Veteran

The Class of 2002 attendees of a 9 Nov 2018 ceremony in Renton, WA during which SE 185th Place was dedicated to our fallen classmate, 1LT Michael Adams, who was killed in action in Iraq in March 2004. Michael grew up on this street and we were all honored to attend.

Photo courtesy of Nick Kardonsky

Lining the street that now bears his name, more than 100 community members, family, and current and former U.S. Military service members joined in the honorary naming of a road in memory and recognition of First Lieutenant Michael R. Adams.

The street where Adamsâ€™ childhood home is located, at Southeast 185th Place in the unincorporated community of Fairwood, was given the honorary road name designation "1LT Michael Adams Place," to honor Adams' life, dedication and service to his country.

â€œIt is my privilege to dedicate this road in honor of First Lieutenant Michael Adams,â€ said Metropolitan King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn, who sponsored the road dedication legislation and whose district includes the Fairwood community. â€œWe will never forget his sacrifice and dedication to serve.â€

In his last email to his family, Adams talked about how much he loved his job and how dedicated he was to getting the 15 soldiers he led back home. He remained with his platoon longer than he had to because he wanted to return with them to Fort Carson, Colo. on the unitâ€™s last boat home.

Adams was killed on March 16, 2004 in an accident in Asad, Iraq.

CLICK HERE for 1LT Adam's eulogy page.

Support WP-ORG through your purchases at Amazon

via the AmazonSmile program

WP-ORG Members:

I get to follow a great Army football victory over Eastern Michigan on Saturday -- making the Black Knights bowl-eligible yet again -- with more good news...

First, as of today, we're over 70% to our 6-month fundraising goal! That's awesome progress and our sincere thanks to all who have donated. Your contributions keep the servers running for all who use WP-ORG!
Second, Amazon is donating 10x their usual amount to designated charitable organizations on purchases made in the next 5 days. How, you ask? It's simple. Click on this link - https://smile.amazon.com/ch/51-0387132 - and confirm that you want to designate WP-ORG as your Charitable Organization. From that point on, a portion of your purchases will be donated to WP-ORG. It's an easy way to contribute throughout the year. And for the next 5 days, it's even more powerful at 10x the usual amount, so start your holiday shopping early!

You can help us reach our goal by donating at our secure online donation link - https://secure.west-point.org/donate/ - and also by setting WP-ORG to be your Charitable Organization at Amazon - smile.amazon.com/ch/51-0387132 - for all your purchases!

Important links:

Fund Drive 44 Credit Card Donation Link: https://secure.west-point.org/donate/
Fund Drive 44 PayPal Donation Link: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=7W7EVNJ3NYEG6
Fund Drive 44 Budget: http://www.west-point.org/budget/
Fund Drive 44 Report: https://secure.west-point.org/donate/report/

Donations by check should be sent to our new address:

WP-ORG
c/o Megan Klein
23802 Oscar Road
Spicewood, TX 78669

Let's help close this fund drive out soon!

Sincerely,
Warren Hearnes '89
for WP-ORG Advisors

From Megan Klein - WP-ORG Fund Drive 44

Hello WP-ORG,
It's Fund Drive time, here's the link: http://www.west-point.org/donate

My name is Megan Klein - I am Jack Price's daughter. Jack was WP-ORG's CFO for 20+ years right up until his death on the 4th of April, 2018.

You didn't hear from me during our last fund drive because I was scrambling to keep my dad's responsibilities from falling through the cracks around here. Proof that we exist on a shoestring budget, just four days after my dad left us, we kicked off the fund drive to carry on his work without him.

Dad and I worked together managing all of WP-ORG's online registration and payment sites. Ours was a well-oiled machine and we were a fantastic team. Suddenly everything fell apart. Dad became sick and was hospitalized while I was on a ski vacation. I bought a plane ticket to Virginia from the top of the mountain at lunch on the first day and caught a flight out of Telluride three hours later. By the time I got to Dad in Virginia he was in ICU and ventilated. My brother was there. Mom has dementia and Dad was her caregiver. Cameron was trying to manage both parents. We were in Virginia for a month. We had a succession of family and friends come stay at Mom and Dad's to look after Mom during the day so we could get to the hospital.

After nearly two weeks Dad came off the ventilator and out of his fog of sedation. His first concern was Mom - was she okay? "Yes," we said. His second question was, "Is WP-ORG still alive?" Oh, for Pete's sake, "Yes, Dad, WP-ORG is still alive." Those two questions answered, he visibly relaxed.

Dad loved West Point; he adored his Class of '64 classmates. He felt blessed to be an American and to be alive. He loved people and easily developed deep, lasting friendships. He loved connecting people and took great pride in WP-ORG and all the personal connections it has fostered over the years.

Since my dad's death, my brother Cameron Price '96 has joined the WP-ORG Board of Advisors. I know this development would make Dad's heart sing if he were here to see it.

Please help us keep this dream alive. We're committed. We need your support.

Fund Drive 44 Donation Link: http://www.west-point.org/donate

Fund Drive 44 Budget: http://www.west-point.org/budget/

Fund Drive 44 Report: https://secure.west-point.org/donate/report/

Donations by check should be sent to our new address:

WP-ORG
c/o Megan Klein
23802 Oscar Road
Spicewood, TX 78669

Sincerely,
Megan Klein
WP-ORG INC

Konaâ€™s Youngest Competitor

USMA 2020 Cadet Wolfgang Drake

Baltimore, Maryland native Wolfgang Drake is the drivenâ€”some might say overachievingâ€”type, an asset that serves him well in both triathlon and in his studies at the United States Military Academy.

"In high school, I was very involved in cross-country, track, and swimming," says Drake. "As I was entering West Point, I knew I wanted to join the triathlon team. Iâ€™d heard so much about the professionalism and the general culture."

But Drake's first attempt at getting a spot on the team was fruitless. He quickly realized that he wasn't the only one at West Point with a strong fitness base.

"I was surprised to see how incredibly fit they all were!" says Drake. "They were absolute studs." But instead of feeling deterred by not making the cut, Drake doubled down on his desire to become a member of the team. He worked harder, not only on his swim-bike-run, but in building a reputation as a solid team member by joining West Pointâ€™s obstacle-course racing team. Within a semester, his hard work had paid off. His initiation into the team was quintessentially triathlon:

The team captain congratulated me on making the team while simultaneously informing me of 5:30 swim practice the next morning!" Drake laughs.

UPDATE:
BIG BITES, CADET DRAKE
Completed Ironman time: 13:02:18

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