The Cadets of West Point
web site is designed to help high school students, serving soldiers and others
learn about today's West Point Cadets.
This effort began in
1999 and was originally created to promote closer relationships between West Point alumni
and current cadets. A secondary purpose was to help inform high school students
and guidance counselors. As more cadets chose to participate, support was
solicited
from West Point Admissions and the Cadet Public Relations Council (CPRC). An informal survey of CPRC
cadets revealed that cadets endorsed the idea of continuing this effort.
The Admissions office informed me that
participation by individual cadets must be voluntary since West Point cannot
release
personal information about individual cadets.
Hopefully this site is a valuable resource
for West Point's Admissions Field Force, members of Congress and their staffs, high school
guidance counselors, Army
recruiters, cadet families, West Point Alumni, West Point Societies, veterans
and the cadets themselves.
For the Admissions Field Force, Cadet Public Relations
Council, West Point
Societies and West Point Parents Clubs, a
slide show is available for use at local
gatherings of high school students, Founders Day Dinners and Parents Club
activities. The slide show can be downloaded from
http://www.westpointcadets.org/SlideShow.htm.
Much of the content on this site is available in the public media (newspapers, congressional records,
varsity team rosters, other web sites, etc), however personal information is not displayed unless
cadets specifically agree to have it displayed. Most, but not all,
include information about their:
|
High school activities and
achievements
Academic major or Field of
Study
Military Awards
Cadet Awards
Extra-curricular activities
Varsity Sports
Branch preference |
USMA Prep School attendance
Prior Service
General Comments
Photo*
Email connection
Cadet photo
Class crest & motto |
Since many visitors may not be familiar with military
and cadet
awards, award images are linked to information about what those awards
represent. Each class crest is also linked
to a page explaining the meaning of that crest. For
international cadets there are links to maps showing their country's geographical location.
Following Branching Night each November,
I encourage
First Classmen to let me know their branch assignments. An image of the
cadet's
branch insignia is then placed directly below the cadet's name and linked to
information about that branch.
Upon graduation all graduated cadets are immediately removed from the
site. Because of the cadets’ busy schedules, I try to limit
correspondence to only a few messages each semester. When an email
message is returned as undeliverable, I have to assume that the cadet is no longer at
West Point
and I remove him or her from the site.
Since 2003, when i first started tracking new visitors, there have been nearly 160,000 visitors to the site.
No matter how effective West Point's
Admissions Field Force may be, nothing can really substitute for
direct contact with West Point's very best ambassadors – today's cadets. As more of our nation's
youth discover these outstanding young men and women, we hope to see an
increasing number of
qualified applicants pursuing a West Point appointment.
As webmaster I assume full responsibility for
the content of this site.
Note: Each year I create a memo for new cadet parents informing
them of this site and requesting their support.
The memo may be viewed here.