On Mar. 24, the third annual John Calabro Night of the Arts was presented by the Department of English and Philosophy and the Cadet Fine Arts Forum. Endowed by Fred Gretsch (a childhood friend of John Calabro ’68) and his wife Dinah, the event showcases cadet talent and achievement in the arts, including music, film, poetry, prose, photography, and studio arts. Among the awards presented that evening, Cadet Austin Lachance ’17 received the John Calabro Award for Excellence in Leadership in the Arts. The award and the Night of the Arts are named in memory of COL(R) John A. Calabro ’68, a former professor in the department who was an exemplary Army officer as well as a skilled artist, musician, and writer. Calabro also served at WPAOG from 1998 to 2013. Pointer View Story.

Held Mar. 21-23, this year’s conference theme was “Diversity and Inclusion: Achieving High Performance.” Highlights included a “sneak peek” tour of Gen. Benjamin O. Davis Jr. ’36 Barracks, remarks by USMA Board of Visitors Chair Ms. Sue Fulton ’80, LTG (R) Rick Lynch ’77, MG (R) Ronald L. Johnson ’76, and Olympic Gold Medalist Dr. Melvin Pender Jr., and a variety of panel discussions. Robert Sigmund ’70 traveled from Virginia to attend his first Diversity Leadership Conference, which opened his eyes to the changes in the Academy over the last 40-plus years. “(The conference) really helped me a lot to understand other people’s points of views and understand the world I live in, so that’s why I came,” Sigmund said. “I’ve learned that there’s an incredible, systematic program to improve diversity across the board and how everybody keeps track of this in very much detail. I’m very impressed.” Full Story.

International Space Station Expedition 50 Commander R. Shane Kimbrough ’89 has been living in space since Oct. 19 and completed his sixth spacewalk on Mar. 30. He and two flight engineers will be returning home to Earth on Apr. 10, ending a 173-day mission in space. The crew departure and Soyuz landing in Kazakhstan will be televised live on NASA TV.

Five cadets from the Kosciuszko Squadron spent spring break in Gdansk, Krakow, and Warsaw, Poland. Enjoying traditional Polish meals, exploring historic cities, and touring castles, cathedrals, and museums provided an opportunity for the cadets to become fully immersed in the atmosphere and culture of Poland and its people. Among the highlights of the trip were a horse-and-carriage ride to a frozen lake in the Tatra Mountains, and a sobering visit to the Auschwitz-Birkenau internment camps. In Warsaw, cadets met with Army Attache COL Ray Wojcik, and with U.S. Ambassador to Poland, Paul Jones. They also participated in a 5K run with Poland’s MOD and General Command, U.S. Embassy DoD staff, and members of the Warsaw Attache Corps. Building this relationship with the Embassy was an important facet of the trip and will hopefully lead to future Margin of Excellence opportunities for the Kosciuszko Squadron.

LTC Rick Black ’94, Department of History, represented USMA at a rededication ceremony of the LT Henry O. Flipper, (class of 1877) gravesite in Thomasville, GA on Mar. 17. GEN (R) Lloyd Austin ’75, a Thomasville native, served as the guest speaker at the event. This ceremony culminated several years of work on the part of the West Point Society of Tallahassee, FL in conjunction with the City of Thomasville. Both entities were well represented at the program, where LTC Black offered brief and appreciative remarks on behalf of USMA.

All graduates and guests are invited to attend the Alumni Exercises and Alumni Review on May 23, followed by the Alumni Luncheon (registration required) in the Cadet Mess Hall. West Point’s oldest living graduate, LTG(R) William Ely ’33, is scheduled to participate in the wreath-laying and the 2017 Distinguished Graduate Awards will be presented during the review. The luncheon honors the Distinguished Graduates and the reunion classes of 1942, 1947, 1952, 1962 and 1967. Check our website for other alumni events scheduled at West Point.

It’s almost time for the fourth annual All Academy Challenge! USMA will once again compete against Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard for the highest alumni giving participation rate. Help West Point win by making a gift between May 31 and June 6. No matter the size of your gift or where you choose to designate it, your participation counts! In doing so, you will also support Margin of Excellence programs at West Point that are vitally important to the education and development of the Corps. Stayed tuned for more information on how you can participate.
GO ARMY!

The Gift Shop would like to thank everyone for their support. The response to the Gym A Shirt was overwhelming! Your orders will begin to ship mid-April. For those of you that missed out on our first run, we’re willing to place one more order if we make our minimums! Please place your order no later than April 14th for delivery in June. We promise, we won’t order the matching shorts!

All around the world, West Pointers are celebrating the 215th anniversary of the founding of USMA! So, as of Mar. 16, you can get the 2015 Register of Graduates & Former Cadets at a special discounted price. The Register, updated every five years, is West Point Association of Graduates’ most historic publication, and is the ultimate West Point reference book. It contains a wealth of information on the careers of 72,413 West Point Graduates from 1802-2015, including 218 class mottos and crests, West Point generational family ancestry, USMA leadership, Medal of Honor Graduates and more! Deluxe clothbound edition with custom-designed West Point map endpapers. Visit our Gift Shop online to order your copy! Offer ends May 27, 2016.

TAPS is the official and unique annual memorial magazine of the Long Gray Line. In it, you will find the fascinating and inspiring life stories of West Point graduates. The 2017 edition will be our largest ever, with over 250 Memorial Articles! Advance orders may now be placed online. We will determine the size of our print run by orders received in advance. A limited number of copies of the 2016 edition are still available for purchase. Please call 845.446.1545 to order now.