West-Point.ORG, The West Point Connection

A Livermore couple left the Presidio of San Francisco by bicycle Sunday in a ride that is expected to end at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, NY, in early October. With some 4,300 miles of mountains, deserts, narrow roads and variable weather ahead of them, Tom and Rose Ramos are part of a national effort to raise funds for wounded military veterans through CAUSE, Comfort For America’s Uniformed Services. They are also en route to Tom Ramos’s 45th class reunion at West Point. Ramos, 67, graduated in the Class of 1969. He has served in the U.S., Germany and Korea. Today, he is a physicist working at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

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WEST POINT – Sexual harassment/abuse response and prevention (SHARP) was one of the top priorities identified by West Point Superintendent Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen Jr. in his update to the Board of Visitors at West Point met Monday in their second of three yearly meetings.  The board made up of presidentially appointed elected official and members of the public who are charged with overseeing morale and discipline, curriculum, instruction, and other matters relating to the academy that the board decides to consider. Caslen discussed his priorities and the possible effects of the military drawdown and sequester at the meeting.  Since taking over command of academy one year ago, Caslen’s vision for the academy hasn’t changed; it remains to educate, train, and inspire leaders of character who are committed to the values of duty, honor, and country.

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Johnny Smith, of Clear Fork, fulfilled a long-time dream this summer, traveling to Vietnam to visit the site of his brother’s Feb. 15, 1971, death. First Lt. James L. Smith, a 1969 graduate of West Point Military Academy, was among the victims of a helicopter crash, following a dangerous rescue mission in a driving rain storm. The rescue team took a McGuire rig down through the Vietnamese jungle canopy to extract a wounded soldier, Smith said of his brother’s last hours.

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WEST POINT – Two Hudson Valley veterans were honored for their military service in a private ceremony Friday at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. PV2 David Michael Barry was posthumously awarded a Bronze Star Medal, as well as other medals, he earned, but inexplicably never received, during the Vietnam Conflict. Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney (D, NY-18) presented the medals to Barry’s sister, nephew, and brother-in-law who were at the ceremony to accept the military honors on his behalf. The Bronze Star Medal is awarded to members of all branches of military service and may be awarded either for combat heroism or for meritorious service.

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Picatinny Arsenal's senior commander has stepped down, completing 31 years of military service and his second tour at the arsenal. Brig. Gen. John J. McGuiness both leaves behind his role as the arsenal's top official and as its program officer for ammunition, also known as the PEO Ammo. According to an announcement from the arsenal, he officially retired from active duty and relinquished command of the PEO Ammo post to James Shields Wednesday. McGuiness received several awards including the Humanitarian Service Medal for Hurricane Sandy relief efforts and the Distinguished Service Medal, the announcement said. Prior to taking Picatinny's top post in 2012, McGuiness, a U.S. Military Academy graduate who served combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, was deputy commanding general for the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland.

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One came from an aristocratic family in Virginia; the other, a working-class home in Ohio. Each attended West Point, earned commissions and participated in the Mexican War of 1846-48. And both would face off at the head of opposing armies in one of the bloodiest campaigns of the American Civil War. Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee and Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant hailed from dissimilar backgrounds, and would later travel different roads during their Civil War experiences. But their one and only face-to-face meeting during the war in Appomattox, Va., in April 1865 would help bring the war to a swift close.

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WEST POINT, N.Y. - Not too long ago, dozens of cadets at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., became very ill and missed classes.  According to the academy, what caused this is the fact that almost half of the Cadets are living in uncomfortable, crowded dorm rooms and that additional barracks are needed to relieve this situation. They tapped the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District, to construct a new barracks since the agency has already successfully built numerous structures on the historic campus.

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WEST POINT, N.Y. – Task Force China, a task force comprised of soldiers from throughout 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, has been at Camp Natural Bridge, a training area at the United States Military Academy at West Point for the past few months, assisting with USMA’s summer cadet training program. Task Force China is named for 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 4th IBCT, 3rd ID, who provide more than half of the soldiers, as well as the command team for the mentoring and training mission. There are also soldiers from 1st Battalion, 76th Field Artillery Regiment, and 703rd Brigade Support Battalion providing support and expertise in their fields, not only for the cadets, but also for each other.

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You might think of it as Spy School. This week the National Security Agency -- NSA -- selected five more universities to offer special training to select students. The NSA National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Operations Program, now offered in a total of 13 schools, screens and trains students to enter the U.S. cybersecurity and intelligence workforce. The five new schools are: New York University, Towson University, United States Military Academy, University of Cincinnati, and University of New Orleans.

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KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany – A cadet from the U.S. Military Academy recently participated in a 20-day mentorship program with junior officers of the 212th Combat Support Hospital, 30th Medical Brigade at the Miesau Army Depot from June 23 to July 13.  Cadet Richard Price, who is currently between his junior and senior year at West Point, worked alongside multiple lieutenants in the 212th CSH through the cadet troop leader training program in an effort to experience leadership and learn about the various staff functions he could work in as a newly-commissioned Army lieutenant.

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