The first event of our 50 Year Affiliation with the USMA Class of 2020 is now history!
On 19 July, 11 Classmates gathered at the Patton Bar of the Hotel Thayer to begin our participation in R-day for the entering USMA Prep School Class of 2016.
The '70 participants were as follows:
Bob Brand
PC Casto
Rolf Knoll
Jim Price
Gary Thomas
Phil Doleac
TJ Young
Dave Porreca
Gary Conrelison
John Connors
and yours truly, Bruce Nolte
We received a briefing from the Prep School Commandant, LTC John Cross (a former Regimental Tac for the 1st Regiment), followed by a hilarious group dinner. How is that that, after 50 years, I am only now hearing some of these stories...?
Anyway, early the next day (0600!), we assembled at IKE Hall to welcome the incoming prepsters. Our assigned mission: to "reassure the parents." We spent 3 or four hours doing this as the incoming Cadet Candidates and their families came in waves of 30 to 40 to receive the now standard "90 second speech," and begin their in-processing. I do believe us Old Guys were successful in our mission. There was many a teary eye among the Moms & Dads, and I thinks all participating Classmates came away thinking that our being there was a really good thing.
We learned that, of the 241 Cadet Candidates entering this year's class, some 60% represent recruited athletes, while 40% come out of the ranks of the Army. I will say that, as a group, they seemed a lot bigger than us ('course, we're all shrinking now...), and there were two easily identifiable 7 footers headed for the Basketball Team. (I ask you, what could Bobby Knight have done with two 7 footers...?)
After this, we were taken up to the new Prep School , which is now located up by Washington Gate, for a tour and an opportunity to watch the new Cadet Candidates go through their in-processing, which, at least for yours truly, was highly reminiscent of another hot July day some 49 years ago.... I listened to a young man having a lot of difficulty reporting to the Cadet First Sergeant, and watched a lot of good basic marching instruction. The Prep School staff remained distinctly in the background during the in-processing, as a cadre of First and Second Class USMA Cadets led the process. I was told that the Cadets had been given only "mission-type orders," and had basically planned and conducted the process themselves. I got to talk with the Cadet Battalion Commander for USMAPS R-day, an Afghanistan Veteran with a CIB....Pretty impressive young man....The new Prep School facilities are truly spectacular, and a far cry from the abandoned Army Hospital at FT Belvoir that we attended.
Finally, at 1730, there was an Oath Ceremony attended by the Supe, Com, Dean and a host of notables, as well as the Cadet Candidate families. The Class of 1970 representatives were introduced and seated front-and-center.
And just to prove I'm not making all this up, please see the attached photo of a classy looking group of Classmates.
One more thing:
The next event in our 50 Year Affiliation Program, is the Crucible Stakes which will be named after our Fallen Classmate, Randy Carlson, who, you may recall, was killed with the UN in Lebanon back in 1982. It is the custom at the Prep School for each 50 Year Affiliation Class to set up a memorial to their chosen fallen classmate, located in a prominent site at the Prep School, which remains in place there for the entire year. Classmate Mike Jones has worked tirelessly for months with Randy's brother to put together a truly wonderful tribute to a great Classmate, which we managed to get in place before R-day. If anyone reading this message goes up to West Point for any reason in the next 11 months, you should make it a personal mission to go by the Prep School and see Randy's Memorial. It is great, and we all owe Mike Jones a big thank you.
So that's my report. The Carlson Crucible Stakes are scheduled for next week with 7 Classmates scheduled to participate. More to follow after that.
SWI and BEAT NAVY
Bruce Nolte F-4
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