2nd Week of Classes

The second week of classes was full of unexpected excitement as the plebes not only dealt with the rigorous academics environment, but an earthquake and hurricane. The earthquake was hardly noticed and it appears the hurricane (now a tropical storm) will be the same. The cadets were placed under "code red" which means they must stay in their barracks and all activities are canceled. They are getting more comfortable in their new living space and after many request Michael sent a few pictures of his room. He even included his basketball locker.

Look at Michael's Room

Pictures of West Point

A-Day Pictures

Acceptance Day - Class of 2015

A very special event for West Point took place on August 13, 2011. The class of 2015 was accepted into the Corps of Cadets during a full brigade review; also known as the Acceptance Day Parade. The A-Day parade is rich in symbolism, as the soon to be plebes are in formation in front of the upperclassmen. They are given the order to join their new company and soon disappear into the mass of 4,000 cadets. Each complete company then parades pass the reviewing stand and head back to the barracks. Many feel the A-Day parade is second only to the graduation parade in which the first class graduating cadets march with their company for the last time.
The six weeks of beast barracks in now but a memory. No longer new cadets, they are now Plebes looking forward to the challenge of college academics. Go Army!

March Back Video

Take a few minutes and watch a video clip of the March Back. It made me cry. You will see Company H around 2:00 minutes into the video. Michael is on the left side and comes into view around 2 minutes and 11 seconds. Look for the tall guy on the left side.

Beast Is Over!

Congratulation to all the new cadets as they completed Cadet Basic Training with a 12-mile ruck march also known as the March Back. The West Point community lined the roads and welcomed the cadets back to post with cheers and well wishes. The cadets have a busy week getting ready for the academic year to start. They have moved to their new rooms and will soon have their computers and communication with the outside world.

Michael got his cell phone back on Monday night and reported the road march went well. He said the basketball coaches marched the 12 miles with the NCs to encourage everyone on.Michael and his roommate from CBT will remain roommate during the academic year. Michael was very excited about that. He got along well with his roommate.

The re-orgy week will keep the new cadets busy with setting up their new room for inspection, picking up class schedules, books and additional uniforms.

Being assigned to a new company brings the challenge of greeting all new upperclassmen and learning their ranks. In addition, they will drill every day in practice for the Acceptance Day ceremony scheduled for Saturday morning. They will take part in the traditional plebe pillow fight on Friday where all the soonto be plebes suit up in helmets and take to the court yard to do battle. The A-Day ceremony will mark the change in status from "new cadet" to "cadet" as they become officially a part of the "Long gray line."Terry and I would like to thank all of you who sent cards and letters during beast. It was your words of encouragement and prayers that help Michael get through it.

May God bless all the cadets in our service academies and all the men and women who serve our country with honor and pride! GO ARMY!

It's Almost Over

This is Michael's last week of Beast. Over the past five weeks he has become skilled in marksmanship, land navigation, live fire, rappeling and much more. Check out this video created by WPAOG.

One Week To Go!

The final week of basic is upon the new cadets and soon they will be accepted into the corp of cadets as plebes. Here are some recent pictures with Michael and his friends looking happier than earlier photos. Michael made his 3rd and final phone call of beast barracks to us on Saturday evening. Except for a slight cold, he is in good health and determined to make it through the week. He was in good spirits and looking forward to moving to his new academic company, especially since he learned his entire squad of 10 will stay together. He was looking forward to "live fire" on Monday and on Wednesday everyone heads out to Camp Buckner for the final days of field training ending with a 12 mile march back. He again thanked everyone for the cards and letters. We asked if he was getting too much mail and he replied "Oh no, we can never have too much mail. It's the highlight of our day."

Last week we learned of the death of New Cadet Jacob Bower during field training. Please pray for Jacob, his family, and all the service men and women who serve our country.