The mothers and fathers of America will give you their sons and daughters... in confidence in you that you will not needlessly waste their lives. And you dare not. That's the burden the mantle of leadership places on you. You could be the person who gives the orders that will bring about the deaths of thousands upon thousands of young men and women. It's an awesome responsibility. You cannot fail. You dare not fail.
--General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, USMA class of 1956
Someone might ask me about my decision to go to West Point, or the United States Military Academy, in terms of my motivations and reasons for going there. It actually took me two years to get in for a variety of reasons, some of which are my fault and some of which are not. Knowing this you might ask me the justification for spending all of that time and money in attending MTU when no credits transferred to the academy. My reasons for going to West Point are very complex and only a few people really understand why. The short answer is that Eric went to USAFA out of high school and I thought about his commitment to a noble cause and wanted to follow in his footsteps. I actually tried to get into the US Naval Academy first but they didn't want me. Their loss. So I inquired about West Point and demonstrated a concrete desire to go there over the course of those two years. I still remember getting my appointment papers during finals week at MTU. Let's just say that I broke 'Quiet Hours' rules that day.
West Point had a fundamental impact on nearly every aspect of my life. While I still believe that a solid foundation of moral upbringing is indispensable throughout all phases of existence, I certainly carved out my concept of duty, honor, and country while there. I also believe that my life is immeasurably better now than if I had not gone to West Point. Some of you will understand this better than others, but if I had the opportunity to go back in time to remake the decision to join the army or not- I would do it all over again, without a minute's hesitation.
This page, while dealing with the experiences I had at West Point, will actually consist mostly of photos of my friends during our times there. Those are most interesting anyway, and it is very difficult to capture on film the concept of learning and growing.
These next two pictures don't really need much introduction. The first is a picture that my folks took of the march-on at one of the Army-Navy games. West Point won all four when I was there, ha ha! The second picture is a group of my privates when I went to Fort Benning, Georgia for Drill Cadet Leader Training. I was their drill cadet for six weeks. I don't like some things about Fort Benning, but I couldn't complain much about these men. Although at the time I was pretty rough on them, I learned very much myself about effective and ineffective leadership. Doesn't the guy sitting on the floor in the very front look like Private Pile from Full Metal Jacket? I still remember you, Jewett!
The next two years proved to be plenty of fun as well. I was blessed with Christian roommates which was really good. After the first two years at West Point, the class scrambles companies in order to meet new people and distribute different styles and traditions throughout the Corps. After two years in H-1, I went to E-1 (Dammit!) and made some really close friends there almost immediately. I worked for Chris Warner (Warndog) and roomed with Donnie Braught my first semester Cow (junior) year. Then I roomed with Chris for a year. This picture was actually taken in 1998, but it is a good one of me, Chris and his son Jacob.
I actually got a chance to spend a little time with Eric at West Point. He came out to a football game during my Cow year. I went to see him during Yearling year in Colorado but no pictures survived the mass destruction we caused. The first one is a throwback to my childhood days where my mother would be so proud of my professionalism. The second is during a visit my Firstie (Senior) year with Eric to New Orleans during my spring break. He was trying to shock on, but the spirits impaired his natural abilities. I'm actually surprised that I aimed the camera in the right direction.
As all things must come to an end, my time at West Point eventually closed. We chose our major, where I chose Electrical Engineering (ouch) we chose our branch, which I chose to be an engineer. We chose our post, where I chose Fort Hood, Texas. During branch night, my roommate Dave Johnson had a good time. I have a lot of respect for Dave which doesn't show up in this picture very well since he is passed out. We had a great time as roommates. OK, I did, but I can't speak for Dave-o. He is one of those guys that is smart enough to barely squeak by classes- oh yeah, did I mention that he is a Marshall Scholar with two Master's Degrees from Oxford? You could say that my little WP EE degree looks pretty pathetic next to that and Doctor Warner, but again they seem to think that I have some small redeeming quality that validates spending time with me. I won't ever complain about that. With Dave are my good friends Wes Young and Tami Spicer. Tami and I spent some time together at Fort Hood. I didn't see her much due to Bosnia deployments until I convinced her to move in down the street and then we went running a lot. More on Tami during Lieutenant Years. The other picture is actually a group of friends during a reception during Graduation Week. They are Chris, myself, Tori Campbell, Dave, and Jim Smith. What a solid group of people.
Time wound down and our time at West Point came to an end. It was very bittersweet since many of my closest friends were scattering to the four winds, but we had to move on. It is no different than any other college graduation, but it tends to be a bit more poignant at West Point with all of the pageantry and circumstance. My family made it to the ceremonies. Mark and Laura had never been there so I enjoyed showing them where I lived and worked and played for so long. By the way, that isn't me making the plebes do pushups to touch my class ring. I did do it, but no direct pictures.
Bowling take me away from this horrible web site!
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On to my Officer Years