West Point

Rumsfeld speaks to West Point graduates
WEST POINT, N.Y. (Army News Service, June 9, 2004) — Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld gave the commencement address to 935 West Point firsties and thousands of family, friends and spectators May 29 at Michie Stadium.

Two Soldiers earn berths on Olympic pentathlon team
First Lt. Chad Senior and Capt. Anita Allen are scheduled to compete Aug. 26 and 27 respectively for Team USA in the one-day, five-sport event that includes pistol shooting, fencing, swimming, equestrian riding and cross-country running.

Senior, an infantry officer from North Fort Myers, Fla., finished sixth in the 2000 Olympics at Sydney, Australia. He was leading after three events before a skittish horse refused two jumps in the equestrian event, ruining his golden moment.
Senior, an infantry officer from North Fort Myers, Fla., finished sixth in the 2000 Olympics at Sydney, Australia. Hewas leading after three events before a skittish horse refused two jumps in the equestrian event, ruining his goldenmoment.

“I don’t think the same thing can happen now; I’m a much stronger rider than I wasin 2000,” said Senior, who returned to the sport after 18 months of soul searching following his heartbreaker in Australia. “I just hope I can have the same day I had in Sydney, aside from the ride. If I have the same fence, I’ll feel pretty good about things.
“What sticks out most about Sydney was what might have been,” he said. “I was just so close to winning, and then to lose it all so quickly. That will haunt me forever.”

Senior won a silver medal in the 2003 Pan American Games and is ranked 7th in the world by the Union Internationale De Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM). He recently finished 13th in the World Championships at Moscow, Russia, where he teamed with Sgt. Scott Christie and three-time Olympian Vakhtang “Vaho” Iagorashvili to win a silver medal in the men’s relay.

West Point cadets participated in the procession of former President Ronald Reagan’s casket to the Capitol Building to lie in state. The cadets were third in the procession, followed the U.S. Army Band.By John Runyan
June 10, 2004

Cadets toss their caps into the air at the conclusion of their graduation ceremony at the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., May 29, 2004. This photo appeared on www.army.mil. >>

Afghan officers visit West Point

By Spc. Eric S. Bartelt
Maj. Gen. Abdul Razaq, commander of Afghanistan’s National Military Academy, and his interpreter, Daud Ayazi, listen to Cadet 1st Class Scott Boone explain how his artifical intelligence vehicle works. Razaq visited West Point with other members of the Afghanistan National Military Academy April 30 – May 8 to get ideas how to operate their academy.

WEST POINT, N.Y. (Army News Service, May 14, 2004) –Three Afghan officers from the National Military Academy of Afghanistan visited West Point April 30 through May 8.

The Afghan commander, dean and admissions officer got a firsthand look at academy life, from academics to dining facilities.

In October 2003, Col. George B. Forsythe, West Point’s assistant dean for education, and Lt. Col. Casey Neff, special assistant to the commandant for Systems and Planning, traveled to Afghanistan to help develop a military academy.