Last Sunday evening our Affiliation Class of 2015 passed a very important milestone. They affirmed their commitment to a career in the military and the profession of arms. Our Classmates supported this commitment in many ways and showed up in significant numbers to support them as they did so. Pat Kenny organized and coordinated our support and has provided this terrific report on the event so that all of us can see what it was like for those who were able to attend. Here is his report:

August 18th marked an important milestone for the Class of 2015 as that was the night before members of that class committed themselves to the profession of arms.  On the first day of second class academics cadets incur a military obligation.  For most cadets military service is a foregone conclusion as they came to West Point to serve in the armed forces.  However, that moment of commitment is an important milestone.  We, the Class of 1965, the class affiliated with the Class of 2015 played an important role in the event; we provided each cadet a commemorative coin and perhaps most importantly provided a speaker to comment on the milestone, our own Ric Shinseki, currently the Secretary of Veteran Affairs.  Ric provided thoughtful and moving comments that I’m sure were well received by the Class of 2015.  I know that those members of the Class of 1965 present were extremely proud of that distinguished member of the class; I encourage all to read Ric’s remarks. Ric’s remarks are attached for your review, view by clicking here.  Alternatively, his speach is on YouTube here.

Here we have a shot of Robinson Auditorium to give you a feel for what things looked like. And a shot of most of our Classmates who were in attendance, here from left to right, front row:  Russ Campbell, Joe Sanchez, Pat Kenny, and Terry Ryan.  Back row:  Gene Manghi, Art Mark, Emery Chase, Clair Gill, Joe DeFrancisco, Jim Ferguson, Chuck Eckart, Jack Koletty, John Howell, and Dave Mastran.

Prior to the ceremony Strength and Drive had dinner at the Hotel Thayer, which warmed us up to the events about to unfold in Robinson Auditorium (we knew it as South Auditorium).   Normally when a group of 15 or more there is normally at least one person present who carries a camera ready to take some snaps.  Unfortunately that was not the case with the 18 Classmates who attended the Affirmation Ceremony (Campbell, Chase. DeFrancisco, Eckart, Ferguson, Gill, Howell, Koletty, Manghi, Mark, Mastran, Ryan, Sanchez, Shinseki, Talbot, Tomaswick, Wollen, and me).  However, there was one camera and several smart phones so we have some pictures which to share. Here we have our speaker, Ric Shinseki with Joe DeFrancisco. The next photo includes Dave Mastran, Jack Koletty, and Chuck Eckart.

Next we have Jim Talbot, Jim Tomaswick, and Carol Tomaswick. And finally our Class President, Clair Gill with John Howell.

It should be noted that in addition to the main ceremony in Robinson Auditorium there were similar events at other locations for those cadets who could not attend the main event.  One of those ceremonies took place on the soccer field where 6 members of the Class of 2015 were engaged with a woman’s soccer game against Stony Brook.   Five members of our Class shared the moment: Gill, Howell, Manghi, Mark, and Kenny.  Unfortunately no pictures are available.

Those members of the Class of 2015 currently on exchange at the other academies had separate ceremonies at those locations. The USAFA ceremony was organized by Bill Hecker and described in a notice published last week.  The USCGA ceremony was organized by Bob Selkis and conducted on August 20th.  In addition to Bob that event was attended by Russ Campbell, Jim Ferguson, and Terry Ryan each of whom were at West Point on the 18th.  

Pat

Thank you Pat for an excellent report. The ceremony Pat mentioned at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy will be covered in a separate report.

As I wrap up this report I want to leave you with a cute comment that Pat shared separately but it struck me as a totally different way to look at the women at West Point. He said:

As I was leaving Thayer Hall I noticed a group of 6 cadets having their picture taken.  It made me smile and I had to take a picture also.  Looking at the picture I believe that those of us who are part of the Long Gray Line can figure out where they are (which class) in their passage through the Academy.  A thought that hit me is that even though they are cadets they remain college girls – it’s a beautiful thing!

A beautiful thing indeed!