The Class of 2023 affirmed their commitment to service on August 15, 2021, and took the Oath of Affirmation, binding them to complete their next two years of study and a minimum of five years of active-duty military service thereafter. Astronaut William S. McArthur Jr. ‘73 was the guest speaker for the evening.

Members of the Class of 1973, the 50-year affiliates of the Class of 2023, presented the cadets with commemorative coins to mark the occasion of their affirmed commitment.

“Regardless of your academic focus, you will graduate having majored in leadership. The good news is that you will leave this hallowed institution well-prepared to meet the challenges your careers will place before you. When you graduate, look at your diploma. Understand what it represents. It doesn’t mean that you are ready to conquer the world any more than one from an Ivy League school, an MIT or Ga Tech, a Notre Dame, Michigan, Texas, or Stanford. It means you are ready to learn your profession through hands-on experience. It means you are ready to make your own luck.”

—Astronaut William S. McArthur Jr. ‘73