MISSION FIRST: Profiles of Army Athletics 2014

Mission First PROFILES OF ARMY AT HLET I C S 2014

Mission First PROFILES OF ARMY AT HLET I C S 2014

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The Army Athletic Association

Bob Beretta

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EDITED BY:

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PRODUCED BY:

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Introduction

by Boo Corrigan

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Foreword

by Bob Beretta

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1st Lt. Erin Anthony “Driven To Succeed”

by Tracy Nelson

10 Andrew Avelino “A Profile In Courage”

by Kevin Gleason 14 Herman Bulls “Knowing No Boundaries”

by Harrison Antognioni

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30 Col. Greg Gadson “An Inspiration To Us All”

by Wayne Coffey 34 Becky Halstead “Making A Difference”

by Mady Salvani 38 William “Chico” Hurtado “The Magical Zamboni Man”

by Mady Salvani 42 Sam Lessey “A West Point Man Through And Through”

by Harrison Antognioni 46 The Lichtenberg Family “A Father’s Legacy”

by Brian Gunning 50 Dave Magarity “The Long And Winding Road”

by Mike Vaccaro 54 Bob Novogratz “A Great American Story”

by Mark Beech

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58 Mady Salvani “50 Years Of Hard Work …

And Counting”

by Ryan J.Yanoshak 62 Rollie Stichweh “All About Team”

by Jack Ford 66 Trainor Family “Army Adventures Abound”

by Ryan J.Yanoshak 70 Acknowledgements 72 Dedication

★★★ Please visit the Army Athletics You Tube page at youtube.com/armyathletics for bonus video interview content from each of the subjects featured in this year’s edition of Mission First. This will allow you to hear the voices, see the facial expressions and feel the passion of our subjects as they discuss a myriad of topics related to this way of life we call, Mission First.

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26 2nd Lt. Lindsey Danilack “Excellence Is A Habit”

by Brian Gunning

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22 Dan Christman “True To The Corps”

by John Feinstein

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18 Maj. Ashlie Christian “A Cut Above The Rest”

by Tracy Nelson

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Introduction It’s been nearly four years since my family and I arrived

purpose. Whether on the fields of friendly strife, on a court,

at West Point back in the winter of 2011 and we continue to

in a pool, or on the track, we all need to be our very best that

be humbled by this wonderful institution and the people with

we can be for the team to succeed.

which it is associated.

Each day, I believe, something happens at Army West

“Duty, Honor, Country.” has shaped the lives of so many that have passed through West Point’s hallowed grounds. We

Point that doesn’t happen anywhere else in the country. While

hope that our second edition of Mission First helps to

it may be easy to take some of this for granted, we work to

promote some of the virtues this lifestyle represents.

make sure we keep the people first, for after all the Army is about people first.

This past year, we achieved success in all pillars, as is

And we hope you enjoy reading some of these very special accounts, real-life adventures my family and I have the privilege of experiencing each and every day.

our charge from the Superintendent, and we look forward to continuing these successes.

Go Army!

Whether it is the pride of having, now-second lieutenant Lindsey Danilack, lead the Corp of Cadets as the First Captain (and track and field captain); seeing second lieutenant Alex Brammer being recognized as a Marshall Scholar; or bringing home our first Star Series victory in 18

Eugene F. Corrigan Jr.

years, the 2013-14 year was another example of how we

Director of Athletics

ensure we are always in alignment with the mission of the Academy: to education, train and inspire the Corps of Cadets so that each graduate is a commissioned leader of character committed to the values of Duty, Honor, Country and prepared for a career of professional excellence and service to the Nation as an officer in the United States Army.

In the coming pages, we will share 16 stories of those committed to the same values as our cadets. Some are graduates and some are not, but they all share the common bond of West Point and know that our goal is most easily accomplished if we stay together, trust and have great passion for this place.

We approached this year’s offering with very much the same goal in mind: to feature some of those special athletes, staff members and graduates that have performed amazing feats of selfless service; that have placed their mission before all else.

As athletics administrators, we constantly preach the concept of “Team.” There is no place for selfish thoughts or actions in a successful team environment. Most successful teams feature rosters filled with players and coaches that place the good of the team before any personal goals or agendas. That is the approach our administrators take and certainly the approach echoed by our coaches, no matter what the sport. Everyone on a team has a role and a

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Foreword

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Executive Athletic Director

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by Bob Beretta

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There wasn’t much resistance in the room two years ago when Army Director of Athletics Boo Corrigan suggested to the executive staff that we produce a coffee table-type book similar to a product first developed by the University of Notre Dame athletic department.

The publication would serve as a tastefully presented collection of profiles, celebrating the lives and accomplishments of a number of individuals with strong connections to Army’s athletic program.

The personalities featured would have compelling stories to tell; stories about overcoming tremendous adversity; stories of great personal sacrifice; stories outlining service to a higher calling for the betterment of society. And the one common theme in all of the accounts would be that in each instance, the subject had placed the mission before all else.

That’s how the title for our publication was born. It seemed like a natural fit: Mission First, a perfect depiction of the approach employed by all those displayed in the publication. It all came about quite nicely.

We debuted Mission First last fall. It was a sleek product that championed a wonderful grouping of heartwarming accounts of great personal sacrifice and achievement. The book was collectively received with great acclaim by a host of constituents, by those audiences internal to West Point and by those associates outside the Academy’s granite gates.

Based on the overwhelming positive response to the inaugural edition of Mission First, the next course of action was to produce a follow-up edition.

So we now present the second edition of Mission First.

This latest version focuses on many similar subject matters, all with their own compelling stories of sacrifice and selfless service to tell.

As one of the new elements to this year’s project, we have enlisted the help of several guest authors to help convey these accounts. Each of these gifted writers possesses a unique relationship with West Point or the subject they were chosen to feature.

Best-selling author John Feinstein, a longtime friend of the Military Academy and frequent boyhood visitor to Michie Stadium, was assigned to write a piece on former United States Military Academy Superintendent Dan Christman and the impressive breadth of goodness he has accomplished across a lifetime of public service; nationally renown legal analyst, author and television personality Jack Ford was selected to submit an account of former Army football standout Rollie Stichweh and how the meaning of “team” has shaped every aspect of his life; Sports Illustrated’s Mark Beech, a West Point graduate, was tabbed to pen a script on another former Army football legend, Bob Novogratz and the unlikely path he followed to West Point; Mike Vaccaro, the award-winning lead columnist for the New York Post and longtime colleague of Dave Magarity, contributed the feature on Army’s veteran basketball coach and the unique set of circumstances that resulted in the West Point chapter of his storied coaching career; Wayne Coffey, the award-winning lead feature writer for the New York Daily News, recounts the amazing story of courage and perseverance scripted by former Army football star Col. Greg Gadson; and Kevin Gleason, who has covered the Army athletics beat for more than two decades, provides the narrative behind the incredibly inspirational story of Army gymnast Andrew Avelino.

We also employed some of the talented writers within Army’s Office of Athletic Communications to portray works. Ryan Yanoshak chronicles a lifetime of selfless service put forth by Army Athletic Association staff member Mady Salvani and the wonderful legacy of service established by the Trainor family; Mady Salvani, herself, places personality behind the man who drives Army’s Zamboni at Tate Rink, William “Chico” Hurtado, and delves into the story of the first female to reach the rank of General, West Point’s own, Becky Halstead; Harrison Antognioni profiles the fascinating careers of Herman Bulls and Sam Lessey; Tracy Nelson offers accounts of two fast-rising Army officers destined to follow a similar path as the one blazed by Haltstead in 1st Lt. Erin Anthony and Maj. Ashlie Christian; and finally, Brian Gunning authors inspirational pieces on last year’s U.S. Corps of Cadets First Captain, Lindsey Danilack, and the philanthropic legacy authored by the ever-generous Lichtenberg family.

Another one of our goals in producing the second edition of Mission First was to humanize our subjects to an even greater degree, to allow the reader to engage with those spotlighted personalities in a different manner. We felt the best way to bring these subjects to life was to add a multi-media component to this year’s edition of Mission First, insert a bit of shoulder programming to the written work.

In conjunction with this printed version of the book, we ask you to visit the Army Athletics You Tube page at youtube.com/armyathletics for bonus video interview content from each of the subjects featured in this year’s edition of Mission First.

This will allow you to hear the voices, see the facial expressions and feel the passion of our subjects as they discuss a myriad of topics related to this way of life we call, Mission First.

Once again, the process to identify those represented was multi-faceted. We solicited all members of the athletic department and many friends outside of West Point for subject possibilities. We formed a lengthy list of candidates, reviewed it carefully and finally vetted the list to what appears in the book today.

We settled on an impressive grouping of 16 portrayals (actually 20, considering the Lichtenberg Family and Brig. Gen. Tim Trainor/Donna Brazil family combination), with each subject connected to the Army Athletic Association in some special way.

Through the imagery contained in the book, we hoped to capture the true essence of our subjects in their own environments, wherever that might be. You will see photos originating from Fort Bragg to Tate Rink, from Fort Belvoir to Michie Stadium and countless places in between.

In the end, we hope you enjoy every aspect of the second edition of Mission First, but truly value the publication for what it most represents: the brightest beacons of light who have helped make this world a better place by thrusting the greater good above all else, by firmly and unyieldingly positioning the mission first, every day of their lives.

After all, that is what West Point and the United States Army is all about.

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1st Lt. Erin Anthony E DrIvEn To SuccEED

By Tracy nelson

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hey say to surround yourself with good people and good things will happen.

When recently graduated women’s basketball player Jen Hazlett sought guidance,

leadership and a role model as a wide-eyed Plebe, she looked no further than Erin Anthony.

Now a First Lieutenant in the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Anthony was a senior team captain during Hazlett’s first season with the Black Knights, and while her recent mission was guiding her troops through round-the-clock route clearances in Afghanistan, her mission back then was being the best possible role model to Hazlett and others that she could be.

That’s how Anthony approaches life because it’s the only way she knows how to live.

Tackle it, conquer it and do so to the absolute best of your capability. Whether it’s on the basketball court, in the classroom, on the battlefield or at home, she is a product of an uncanny work ethic and a never-ending drive to succeed.

“Erin is exactly what our Army needs,” Hazlett says now of her mentor, friend and role model. “Her soldiers are some of the luckiest soldiers in the military. She leaves a lasting impression with anyone lucky enough to meet her.”

Army fans remember Anthony for her impressive contributions on the basketball court and a laundry list of accolades. A force to be reckoned with on the Black Knights’ front line for four seasons, including three as a starter, Anthony still holds Army’s career blocked shots record. She became the 15th player in program history to reach 1,000 points and stands as the Black Knights’ fourth-leading scorer of all-time. A three-time All-Patriot League selection who ranks second on Army’s career rebounds ledger, Anthony won the prestigious Army Athletic Association Award, presented annually to the male and female cadet who displays

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the most valuable service to intercollegiate athletics during a career as a cadet, just prior to graduation in 2011. this in perspective, Anthony finished just shy of winning the 2011 Senior CLASS Award, an honor bestowed nationally each year to the women’s basketball player who most embodies the attributes of competition, classroom, community and character. Anthony, Army’s first women’s basketball finalist, finished second to Maya Moore, one of Connecticut’s most

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What Army fans may not remember quite as keenly are her exploits off the court. To put

celebrated players of all-time who became the top overall pick in the 2011 WNBA Draft and a As a two-time team captain, Anthony led from the front always and played a pivotal role in guiding a bevy of underclassmen. When Hazlett considered leaving the Academy during the Black Knights’ 2010-11 campaign, Anthony encouraged her to stick with it no matter how

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2012 Olympic gold medalist.

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“I’ve been surrounded by some pretty amazing people all of my life. I’ve taken something from each one, traits that I value and want to apply in my own life. The people who have cared about me, taught me and supported me are the ones who made me into who I am today.”

— 1st Lt. Erin Anthony

bad things got, confidently knowing the

plucked out of a Norman Rockwell-like

rookie had what it took to succeed as a cadet

painting in her hometown of Allentown, Pa.,

we needed. She helped us in school and

and basketball player. Hazlett wisely listened

and placed in a setting where leaders of

carted us to every activity imaginable. She

to her elder and went on to become a 1,000-

character are fostered.

really nurtured us in that sense.”

point scorer herself, all the while leading the

“I’ve been surrounded by some pretty

Jim and Donna’s efforts have paid major

Black Knights to the 2014 Patriot League title.

amazing people all of my life,” Anthony says.

dividends. Their oldest child graduated from

Fittingly, when that championship buzzer

“I’ve taken something from each one, traits

West Point as a two-time Academic All-

sounded, Anthony stood behind the Army

that I value and want to apply in my own life.

American, while Mac went on to earn his

bench with tears in her eyes and a proud

The people who have cared about me,

degree at the U.S. Naval Academy. Similar to

smile stretching from ear to ear.

taught me and supported me are the ones

his older sister, Mac starred as a student-

who made me into who I am today.”

athlete in Annapolis, Md., garnering Patriot

“That moment was so special for me because Jen Hazlett was my last teammate,” says Anthony, looking back on the historic

The oldest of four children, Anthony’s grit comes from her dad, Jim, a retired

League Swimmer of the Year honors as a junior in 2011. Erin and Mac’s younger sister,

game. “Thinking about how far she came

Colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps. Her

Katy, is working towards a biochemistry

from being a freshman to where she is now

nurturing side is courtesy of her mother,

degree at the University of Notre Dame and

is unbelievable. She truly came full circle

Donna, a former elementary school teacher.

and is going to be a phenomenal leader.

“My Dad was always really driven,” she

looking at medical school, while the youngest sibling, Matthew, is still benefiting

That kind of transition is what West Point is

says. “He was that next generation of the

from his parents’ handiwork as a high-

all about.”

‘American Dream.’ His dad was an hourly

schooler.

It’s no wonder Anthony now thrives on playing the role of mentor. She grew up surrounded by the best role models around,

employee at the cement mill, spending his whole life doing manual labor. My

Mac set his sights on attending a service academy early in life, but Erin

grandfather made sure his kids all had the

wanted no part of the military and aspired to

opportunity to go to college. My dad instilled

follow her mother’s footsteps into education.

that same work ethic with all of us kids.

“We were also fortunate because when

A two-time all-state performer at Parkland High School, Anthony drew the

my older brother, Mac, was born, my Mom

attention of Army Coach Dave Magarity as

decided she was going to stay home and

the Trojans captured the 2006 Pennsylvania

focus on just raising us,” she continues. “We

State Championship. It took just one

not only had my Dad working his butt off,

unofficial visit to West Point to sell Anthony on

keeping up three different jobs to keep our

becoming a crucial piece of Magarity’s first

family afloat, but my Mom was able to stay

recruiting class at West Point.

(PICTURED LEFT) Erin earned three All-Patriot League citations during her playing days at West Point.

special and unique about this place,” she

(PICTURED OPPOSITE) Erin (right) celebrates Army’s 2014 Patriot League championship with her protégé, Jen Hazlett (left), at Christl Arena in March 2014.

(PICTURED OPPOSITE TOP) Erin earned the Army Athletic Association Award, the highest honor bestowed to a graduating senior by the Office of the Directorate of Intercollegiate Athletics, in May 2011.

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home and give us the support and attention

“After my first visit, I saw what was so says. “Meeting the team and seeing their incredible bond made me want to be part of something that meaningful. Even if they didn’t have it all together at that very moment, they had a lot more direction in their life than most 19- and 20-year-olds do. I

really appreciated and admired that.”

Anthony embraced the opportunity and relished the challenge. She authored a nearly unblemished grade-point average as a Plebe and earned All-Rookie honors in her first season along the banks of the Hudson.

She flourished under Magarity’s watch, taking her game to a level even she didn’t know was possible. A veteran mentor and former head coach in the men’s game, Magarity’s tough-nosed approach fit her learning style perfectly.

“We got along really well because I was used to his disciplined and very direct approach to teaching,” she says of Magarity.

“My Dad raised me that way and it was something I embraced from ‘Day One.’ Coach wasn’t a 24-year-old looking to climb the ladder. I appreciated him because he came to West Point because he believed in

Not long after graduation, Anthony

He was somebody I respected as a leader,

the mission, believed in the Academy and

completed Sapper and Airborne schools

but even more than that, I looked up to him

believed in the program. He is here for the

and more recently became a Jumpmaster.

as a role model. He was an amazing soldier

right reasons. So much of who I was while I

She deployed to Afghanistan in February

and a true American hero.”

was a cadet was because of him.”

2013 for a mission that tested Anthony’s

Magarity represented just one of a cast of characters who helped shape the person Anthony became and who she still strives to

Less than a year after Young’s passing

fortitude and toughness perhaps more than

and after returning to American soil, Anthony

ever before.

ran her first marathon in his honor. Not

She and her troops spent many days

straying from her pattern of perfection, she

be, joining countless instructors, officer

and even longer nights, tirelessly completing

completed the 26.2 miles in less than four

representatives and classmates.

route clearance in search of improvised

hours and never once let Young’s memory

explosive devices (IEDs). Her platoon,

drift from her mind.

headed up by Sergeant First Class Ricardo

Anthony, currently stationed at Fort

Young, located eight IEDs during what she

Bragg, N.C., will head to her Captain’s

and Young considered a very successful

Career Course this fall and has her sights on

mission. Anthony remained deployed but

returning to West Point in a teaching role at

moved on to her next assignment after just a

some point in the future.

few months. What happened next would challenge the young Lieutenant like no Not long after her transfer, Young was

her turn to return the favor. She started by pinning Second Lieutenant bars on Hazlett’s shoulders during a May 28 commissioning ceremony, the same gesture Anthony’s father

area, “The Devil’s Elbow” in Farah Province,

performed for her four years prior.

“I’ll be forever grateful to each and every person who has shaped who I’ve become,” she says. “I hope that I can pay it

for his heroic actions.

forward.”

“That was one of the hardest things I’ve

Surround yourself with good people

ever gone through,” she reflects. “Dealing

and you just might become someone’s

with it in theater made it that much tougher.

best. ★

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Afghans. Young, a husband and father of two, was posthumously awarded the Silver Star

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killed bounding under enemy fire along the most vulnerable stretch of roadway in the while trying to help a group of wounded

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hurdle had to that point.

Quick to credit those around her for her perpetual success, Anthony now sees it as

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Andrew Avelino E A ProFILE In courAgE

By Kevin gleason

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ndrew Avelino lost his right leg in about the freakiest of freak accidents for a gymnast. Jumping on a trampoline. Gymnasts torture their bodies almost daily

with hours of pushing flesh to extremes, competing in a physically and mentally grueling

sport because, as Army Coach Doug Van Everen likes to say, others can’t.

Yet the spring of a trampoline couldn’t save Avelino on November 19, 2010, freshman year at West Point, during a workout at Gross Center, Army’s campus facility. He hyperextended his leg when it came down straight, tearing all four ligaments in his right knee. He ruptured the popliteal artery behind the knee, hindering blood flow to his thigh and calf.

“Mind-blowingly strange’’ is how Avelino describes the accident. He had walked away from worse falls. Surgery was performed to try to save the leg. Weeks later, Avelino’s right leg was amputated below the knee.

Connor Venrick got wind of Avelino’s injury the summer leading to Venrick’s arrival at West Point. “Did you hear about that guy, Andrew Avelino, who lost his leg?’’ future classmate and teammate Jeremy Cahill said to Venrick. Avelino had hosted Venrick on his high school recruiting trip to West Point.

“I never thought he could stay (at West Point),’’ Venrick, a senior now, remembers thinking. “I never heard of anyone joining the Army with one leg.’’

Venrick didn’t really know Avelino. Not yet anyway. Van Everen was fast learning his freshman’s fortitude that helped make him one of the top scholastic gymnasts in California.

Van Everen saw the fire in Avelino’s eyes on his hospital bed after the amputation.

“I want to finish what I started,’’ Avelino told his coach.

First he needed clearance from West Point. This was uncharted territory for the Academy. Piles of papers needed signing before allowing Avelino to pursue his degree and can do everything expected of him with no considerations, then why not?’” Van Everen says.

March 2011, just four months after landing wrong on a trampoline. He made his college debut at Penn State as a sophomore in January 2012, stunning teammates and competitors alike with the second-best score on the high bar and placing seventh overall. The crowd gave Avelino a standing ovation and he earned the Gene Wettstone Award, honoring the former longtime Nittany Lions coach, as the meet’s outstanding competitor. Army’s only Venrick was among those shaking his head in awe that day. “After the high bar, I remember everyone on our team and the Penn State team were just amazed at what he did,’’ says Venrick, soon one of Avelino’s best friends. “Especially the dismount. It was

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other Wettstone winner, 1996 graduate Steve Marshall, made West Point’s Hall of Fame.

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Avelino got his prosthetic two months after the injury and returned to West Point in

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five-year postgraduate military commitment. “The Academy’s feeling on this was, ‘If this kid

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incredible. I didn’t know if he could do it and

do too much. One of his best events, the

journey to becoming a successful major-

he shocked the (heck) out of me.

high bar, involves difficult, high-impact

college gymnast on one leg.

“I’ve never seen him actually talk

dismounts. Van Everen cut Avelino’s high

He was at Gross Center with his season

about, ‘Why did that happen to me?’ He

bar competitions to a chosen few, instead

over, his career over, because it was home.

works when other people aren’t looking.

focusing him on the pommel horse.

He was surrounded by teammates that have

Days when we don’t have practice, I see him

“He was kind of (mad) at me,’’ Van

forged an incredible bond. They are

down in gym or in the back of the barracks

Everen remembers. “The pommel horse

reminders of why Avelino fell in love with

running. He’s always trying to better himself

was great because he was good at it and he

gymnastics, perhaps not initially when

was not going to get hurt on that event. The

pointed to the gym by his parents at age six,

skills that these guys are doing to be

but soon enough when the sport and the

and the team.’’

“He didn’t really skip a beat, honestly,’’ Van Everen says. “There were some initial

competitive – they are high level. They are

athletes became linked. Sure, he inspired

mixed feelings right off the bat, but they

no joke.’’

them competing on one leg. But they inspire

were put to rest quickly. There was some education amongst everybody to make sure

Avelino set a personal best in the pommel horse as a junior. He turned in

him as well.

They are bonded by courage, by

that, ‘Hey, he’s in your company; let’s drive

another fine season as a senior this past

pushing and prodding their bodies, and one

on, move out.’ Andrew was never asking for

year despite being unable to crack the

another, 20-30 hours six days a week, every

any help or favors, and he didn’t miss

starting lineup on many occasions.

week, from club to college. They are

anything. Physically, he’s in the upper part of his whole class.’’

So with his senior season finished, his

bonded by the adventure, by flying through

career over, what was Avelino doing at

the air and flipping and twisting and

Avelino was back. But Van Everen

Gross Center on this spring day? The

contorting their frames in ways that seem

worried about Avelino getting hurt trying to

answer crystallizes Andrew Avelino’s

impossible.

And they are bonded by the unspoken virtue that lies deep inside their souls.

Don’t quit.

“It’s different from other sports,’’ Avelino says. “The kind of people you are around all the time, the hours you put in. All of us know each other.’’

Avelino always considered himself an underdog in gymnastics. He thrived by outworking competitors in a sport filled with athletes trying to out-sweat one another. It made him a star recruit out of Tabuco Canyon, Calif., finalist on the pommel horse at the 2010 Junior Olympic Nationals and a Southern California State All-Star. He was destined for greatness, Van Everen confirmed, and would have qualified for NCAA meets.

Avelino’s desire wasn’t going to wilt when he lost his leg. Heck, his adventure was just beginning. He spent his last three seasons arriving at practice early, usually first, and coming in on off days. Never mind that he awoke to pain on many days, that sometimes every step hurt from the prosthetic’s fit or the stump, that the stump would swell and fit uncomfortably in off-

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“I’ve never seen him actually talk about, ‘Why did that happen to me?’ He works when other people aren’t looking. Days when we don’t have practice, I see him down in gym or in the back of the barracks running.

He’s always trying to better himself and the team.”

— Connor Venrick

weather. Never mind the pain he felt almost

Point, I don’t know if he would be able to

degree and head off to Fort Sill, Okla.

every day his first year in the prosthetic as a

have the physical readiness and mental

Unable to branch Infantry because of the

sophomore.

preparation in knowing that he could do

injury, he chose military intelligence and

So he took basketball and boxing that

anything he wants. I think gymnastics

was granted his second choice, Air Defense.

year to prove to himself and others that he

definitely pushed him to do that. He’s not

He wants to work in the CIA or, like his dad,

would be undeterred. So he showed, first

afraid of anything.’’

in the FBI.

semester that sophomore year, that he

So on this spring day, Andrew Avelino

“I feel the injury definitely made me

could still do a standing back flip, despite

is sad. He is not sad because he has one

who I am today,’’ Avelino says. “I enjoy who I

Van Everen’s protests, by taking to the mats

leg. He is sad because he has no

am right now.’’

at Gross Center one day and flipping and

gymnastics career. He is sad because he

flipping and flipping… about a half-dozen in

can no longer announce in classes the first

balcony at Gross Center. It was time to head

all. So he refused to use his crutches in

day of each semester, “Andrew Avelino,

downstairs to join teammates working out.

public, even after another spring day when

Company G-3, I’m on the gymnastics team.’’

Time to practice. There was no meet ahead,

Avelino stood up from his seat in the

he tripped and fell on stairs, landing on –

He will soak up every minute with

what else? – his right knee. So he ran by

teammates in Gross Center, practicing

filled with inner acrobatics. Oh wait,

fellow cadets while passing Army’s

without an upcoming meet, ever. Avelino

Avelino’s new life will be filled with

challenging physical fitness test.

knows his doldrums will pass. Other

gymnastics meets. It’s just that the barriers

but rather the high-stakes playground of life

“It’s been a struggle, for sure,’’ Avelino

challenges remain. He will graduate in

will change, and Andrew Avelino will be

says. “Before, I did all six events. Coach Van

December with a foreign area studies

more prepared than ever. ★

Everen limited me to the pommel horse where there’s no real landing. Missing all five events the last three years hasn’t been fun. I had to relearn how to walk and run. It’s kind of sad sometimes thinking about how far I could have gone (with two legs).

“But the part that I attribute most to coming back on one leg is the support of the team and growing up in the gym.’’

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“When he was a freshman (before the injury), he was one of the leading guys on “The fact that he was able to lose a leg and come back and compete on this team, I feel like this is his life. This team and just the whole gymnastics thing, has made him

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the team, an All-Arounder,’’ Venrick says.

accomplish as much as he can, and all pushed him. I don’t know if he lost his leg and quit gymnastics and stayed at West

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especially the coaches because they have

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Herman Bulls E KnowIng no BounDArIES

By Harrison Antognioni

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pon enrolling at West Point, cadets receive the best leadership training the country has to offer. During their 47 months at the Academy, cadets endure a demanding

and disciplined lifestyle which pushes them beyond their limits. Many choose to add to

those limits by seeking even greater responsibilities, thereby enhancing their leadership growth and strengthening the West Point experience.

Herman Bulls was one of those people. After participating in a number of extracurricular activities and attending Ranger School as a cadet, Bulls went on to serve nearly 12 years as a commissioned officer in the United States Army, followed by 18 years of service as a member of the Army Reserves.

While accomplishments such as those are more than most will hope to fulfill, Bulls added an MBA from Harvard Business School and successful ventures in the private sector in commercial real estate and as a finance professional in the Washington, D.C., area.

After leaving the Army in 1989, Bulls joined Jones Lang LaSalle, a professional real estate services firm, as a developer. In 1996, he founded the Public Institutions division of the firm for which he served as Chief Executive Officer.

In 2001, Bulls began the real estate advisory firm, Bulls Advisory Group, before founding Bulls Capital Partners in 2004. All of these ventures were the result of Bulls’ entrepreneurial experiences gained from the military and perfected during his time at Harvard Business School.

“The military helped in my transition to the private sector,” Bulls says. “The whole idea of accountability is so important and those interpersonal and leadership skills honed in the military were critical. Nobody gives you a book and says, ‘These are the five things you have During his more than 25 years at Jones Lang LaSalle (now known as JLL), Bulls has corporations, federal and state governments, as well as colleges and universities.

Bulls graduated from West Point in 1978 and served a number of military roles in Fort Dix, N.J., West Point and South Korea. Following his time in South Korea, Bulls enrolled in the prestigious Harvard Business School in 1983. At Harvard Business School, Bulls was able to use his teachings from West Point, as well as his organization and leadership skills from his “When I was at Harvard, about the fourth or fifth day of school, students select the president for each of their student sections,” Bulls remembers. “There were nine sections with about 90 to 95 students in each. I had been my company representative at West Point

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four-plus years in active-duty military service.

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helped senior executives design real estate solutions for a number of markets including

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to do today.’ You have to get that from within yourself.”

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“The military helped in my transition to the private sector. The whole idea of accountability is so important and those interpersonal and leadership skills honed in the military were critical.”

— Herman Bulls

and when I learned of this opportunity to lead my section classmates as section president, my leadership skills took over,

his character.

“I probably didn’t have the most natural talent of all, but nobody would out-hustle or

Point that really helped me later in life,” Bulls says. “There were a variety of activities I was able to do as a cadet. I wish I could tell you I

and I decided to compete to lead my

out-try me,” Bulls says. “I believe it’s work

was thinking, ‘Let me go and do this

classmates.

ethic, knowing what it is to be tired and

because it’s going to make me a better

“It was so amazing, getting up and

keep going and putting yourself behind the

public speaker,’ but I wasn’t thinking of it that

needs of the group. I wasn’t getting the

way. I was thinking of it as a passion I had to

people who gave speeches were looking

glory on Saturday afternoons, but putting all

continue to be involved in sports, and it

down at their hands or looking at the floor.

of that effort in gave me my work ethic that

worked out great.”

Having been a Lieutenant and a Captain in

makes me successful today.”

speaking in front of 90 people. Most of the

the Army, I was accustomed to talking to

After hanging up his helmet to focus on

Bulls’ first military position out of West Point, after being commissioned in the

people all the time. After I finished giving

academics and attend Ranger School just

Army’s Adjutant General’s Corps, was at a

my speech, I got a standing ovation from the

before his junior year, Bulls transitioned to a

Personnel Control Facility in Fort Dix, N.J.

students in my section and I was selected

role with West Point’s cadet radio station,

the section president.”

WKDT. Not long after joining WKDT, Bulls

Bulls was set to branch Infantry, but found

Along with his military experiences,

While still enrolled at the Academy,

found himself gravitating back to athletics,

out he was medically disqualified after

Bulls drew on lessons learned from his time

eventually working play-by-play for a

going through the medical exam given to

as a cadet, specifically those from athletics.

variety of Army sporting events.

each cadet as a First Classman.

Bulls was a two-year member of the

Being the radio voice of Army Athletics

“I was diagnosed as having a very

Army football team, playing for the Black

for two years wasn’t necessarily in the cards

extreme high-frequency hearing loss and

Knights as a Plebe quarterback before

for Bulls upon attending the Academy, but

that disqualified me from Combat Arms,”

lettering on the junior varsity squad as a

just like the rest of his experiences up to that

Bulls says. “I was ‘gung-ho’ Infantry and I

defensive back during his Yearling season.

point, Bulls found significance in making the

was waiting to go Airborne and do all of this

Despite never seeing the field as a varsity

switch from the practice field to the

great stuff.

player, Bulls would argue the various roles

announcer’s booth.

he served were just as important in building

“That is another experience at West

“As a result of the medical hearing profile, I did a lot of research with a lot of my professors and one of my sponsors was an Airborne Ranger Adjutant General Officer.

After doing a lot of research, I decided to branch AG. I was a Second Lieutenant, but the assignments officer at Fort Dix knew my sponsor and, based on the sponsor’s recommendation, he assigned me a Captain’s job.”

After a year at Fort Dix, Bulls returned to West Point as an Airborne Ranger to work in the admissions office as a Project Outreach Lieutenant. In that position, Bulls recruited minority high school students from the southeastern United States to come to the Academy.

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“I basically spent a week at West Point and a week on the road,” Bulls says. “I was

One of Bulls’ first major accomplishments at JLL was helping the Army and Air Force

going out and talking to everybody from

privatize their housing. Bulls aided in the

junior high kids to radio stations. It was a

creation and implementation of a plan that

great job for a young person who liked to

would result in 42 Army projects, with a

travel.”

value of over $10 billion being privatized

Upon his return to Fort Dix one year later, Bulls was engaged to his wife, Iris, also

around the nation, including projects at West Point. Working with the Academy was hardly

a Lieutenant, whom he met before the West

a surprise for Bulls, who had dealt with his

Point admissions job. The couple soon

alma mater countless times since

married at West Point before heading out to

graduating in 1978, including many years on

South Korea to continue their respective

the West Point Association of Graduates

military careers. In South Korea, Bulls

Board of Trustees and Board of Directors.

worked for a personnel services company

Working on this project truly exemplified

where he continued to serve in positions

how many close ties he still had to West

generally reserved for ranks higher than his.

Point.

(PICTURED ABOVE) (from left) Jodie Glore, former West Point Association of Graduates Chairman, and Herman Bulls pose at a recent Academy function.

Bulls worked to support troops at the

“When we were getting ready to do the

demilitarized zone in Korea, in addition to

first Army projects, the Pentagon had a Four-

most units around Seoul. After 14 months in

Star General who was in charge of all U.S.

this assignment, he was given responsibility

forces and installations,” Bulls remembers.

for all personnel actions in Korea, including

“His name was Tom Schwartz. I walked in to

Infantry branch. He is currently completing

awards, casualty reporting, marriages and

give him an update and he said, ‘Bulls!’ He

his MBA at Duke and will return to West

Congressional inquiries.

was the officer representative for the football

Point as an Admissions Officer in 2015. Bulls’

After Korea, Bulls returned stateside to pursue a degree from Harvard Business School in preparation for returning to West

(PICTURED OPPOSITE) (from left) Iris, Nathaniel, Herman and Jonathan Bulls gather on The Plain at West Point.

team when I was a cadet and here we were

youngest son, Jonathan played on the

20 years later conducting business together.

football team for four years as a punter and

“It wasn’t two strangers, it was back to

Point as a professor. With his military

Army Football. Completing that program is

obligation up, Bulls had the option of

the seminal professional accomplishment

graduated in 2011, entering the Army’s Field Artillery branch.

Additionally, Bulls’ wife, Iris, completed a tour as an admissions officer at West Point,

attending the business school as a civilian

for me in a lot of ways because it impacted

or going as a member of the Army. Bulls

so many soldiers and their families. I can go

and his sons, Nathaniel and Jonathan, were

considered both options, but remembers

back to an Army Football connection to say

born at West Point.

the decision ultimately being an easy one.

that it helped with communications during a

“I thought about it, but in the end it wasn’t even close,” Bulls recalls. “Having the

very critical time.”

During his time in the military and in

Along with his duties at JLL, Bulls serves on the Board of Directors of three New York Stock Exchange-listed companies in

the private sector, Bulls achieved a great

having a positive influence on cadets like

deal. Along with serving for nearly 30 years

to football as a board member for the

officers did on this kid from Alabama was

and often being tasked with the

Military Bowl, which is played each year in

worth it.”

responsibilities of a higher rank than he was

Annapolis, Md. Of everything Bulls

to his alma mater as an economics and

real estate, especially in introducing

education and experiences at West Point as

finance professor in the Department of

privatized housing to the Department of

among the important factors in leading him

Social Sciences. He taught at West Point

Defense for both the Army and the Air

to where he is today.

from 1985 to 1988 before beginning work at

Force.

Bulls completed his MBA and returned

the Pentagon in the Office of the Assistant

Bulls’ affinity with West Point has been

“West Point showed me that my limits were much further than I thought they were, and that’s from a physical, as well as a

carried on by two of his sons, Herman Jr.

Management. After serving 18 months in the

and Jonathan, who followed their father’s

mental aspect,” Bulls says. “If I could do it all

Pentagon, Bulls left the Army, but remained

footsteps in attending the Academy. Herman

over again, I would definitely include West

in the reserves and eventually retired as a

Jr. played lacrosse for two years at Army

Point in it 100 percent.” ★

Colonel.

before graduating in 2005 and entering the

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Secretary of the Army for Financial

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at the time, Bulls made impactful strides in

accomplished, he continues to credit his

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opportunity to go back to West Point and

addition to USAA. He continues to stay close

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Maj. Ashlie christian E A cuT ABovE THE rEST

M

By Tracy nelson ajor Ashlie Christian will never forget her first collegiate start. During a spring break trip to Florida, with two outs and no runners on in the second game of the

Black Knights’ 2001 season, the freshman pitcher out of tiny Payette, Idaho, felt pretty good.

That feeling disappeared in a hurry, however, as she let an 0-2 count get away and

surrendered her first career home run to Cornell’s third batter. The next hitter who stepped into the batter’s box ripped a homer as well. As did the next. Three straight home runs later and Christian’s collegiate debut quickly brought her first exit.

The rattled Plebe glanced at the Army dugout and caught the eye of her head coach, Jim Flowers, as if to say, “Take me out, please!” The long-time veteran mentor, who retired after nearly two decades with the program in 2009, sent in a reliever and calmly addressed his freshman pitcher.

“He looked me right in the eye and said, ‘Ashlie, you can’t just throw fastballs in college softball,’ ” Christian recalls. “As soon as we got back from that Florida trip, I knew I needed to add breaking pitches to my repertoire. I could always throw the ball anywhere I wanted, but I didn’t have any movement on it. Once I learned a drop-curve, my entire collegiate career changed.”

That drop-curve helped Christian author an impressive resume that included All-Patriot League plaudits, the conference and program record for career saves (12) and a fourth place national ranking for single season saves (6) in 2004, her final season along the banks of the Hudson. Her single-season and career saves marks still stand atop the league and program record books.

Embracing opportunities and overcoming obstacles are two character traits that have

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followed Christian from the softball diamond, through West Point and currently as a recently promoted Major in the United States Army. Yielding three home runs in her collegiate debut “Ashlie was not a dominating pitcher, but she had so much internal fortitude that she was able to compete at any level and as often as you needed her,” says Flowers of his former star. “That notion carried over into her Army career, too. She is an extremely, extremely strong young woman who has and always will lead from the front.”

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would pale in comparison to the challenges she would face in the future.

Christian spent her formative years on the family farm. The only child of beamingly an hour west of Boise, Idaho.

Not unlike any other farming families, her parents instilled a strong work ethic at a young

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proud parents, Del and Deb, the family still owns the 100-year-old feed mill in Payette, located

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★ FIRST MISSION

Her paternal grandfather had the feed mill

opportunity to go back to the farm when

that has since been passed down to her

leave permitted. As her unit readied for

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age as they, too, had grown up on the farm.

with an Air Cavalry squadron for the next

Christian’s maternal grandfather owned a

five-plus years.

cattle farm, once served as the Angus President of Idaho and raised racehorses.

father, keeping it in the family for 100 years.

Christian was always the “outdoorsy-

deployment in December 2006, she headed back to Payette for the holidays. During her

type.” When she wasn’t throwing around a

visit home, two warrant officers and a soldier

softball, camping, fishing and hunting were

flying her platoon’s aircraft went down. A

regular activities.

“I was the grand champion pig showman of Payette County,” she recalls with a telling grin, but a tinge of pride as well.

Former Army pitching coach Michelle Gerdes, responsible for teaching Christian

combination of poor weather and conditions ultimately led to the fatal crash. All three lives were lost just three days before Christmas.

“That was a huge blow,” she remembers. “We were getting ready to deploy and knew that there was a possibility

that elusive drop curve, first saw the future

of something happening overseas. But you

Black Knight throwing in a Colorado

never expect for it to happen here. It was a

tournament for the Idaho Golden Gloves.

complete shock.”

Impressed, Gerdes took video back to

Christian wept at the foot of her parents’

Flowers and the two began aggressively

bed, thrust into a harsh reality and one she

recruiting Christian. An already stellar

did not yet know how to deal with. She

distraught areas of Iraq. That family, however,

student with a laundry list of traits desired in

learned quickly, however, as she had all her

was about to be tested in a way most of its

a cadet-candidate, Flowers made a bold

life, and that unexpected lesson would prove

members would never imagine possible.

move in presenting Christian with a Letter of

invaluable in the months ahead.

Assurance at a Newark Airport gate upon her arrival for an official visit.

Christian, along with her parents, toured

Christian headed back to Fort Lewis

While Christian served as the Executive Officer and Detachment Commander in Tel

after the holidays, out of which her unit

Afar, a fellow West Pointer commanded the

deployed in early May 2007 in support of

Kirkuk area. Captain Corry Tyler, a Georgia

West Point and left knowing that would be

Operation Iraqi Freedom. The 4th Squadron,

native and member of the West Point Class

the best possible opportunity out there. She

6th U.S. Air Cavalry Regiment soon touched

of 1999, was in the midst of his third tour in

became the first softball player out of Payette

down in Tel Afar, Iraq, located in the

Iraq.

to play at the Division I level. Her success

northwestern part of the war-torn country.

In their short time together, Christian

carried far into her collegiate career as well.

Responsible for patrolling an extremely

and the senior Tyler worked extremely well

Christian became the first player in program

large area, stretching multiple borders, her

together. She says “He was hands-down the

history to serve as the lone team captain as a

unit operated out of Tel Afar and Kirkuk.

junior, and remained in that role during her

Christian, who led the unit’s Tel Afar

best leader I have ever come in contact with.

He was so serious, but had just enough of a

senior campaign. An American legal studies

contingent, was known for her laid back,

funny side to him. He had that perfect

major with a civil engineering track, she

quiet approach with her soldiers. She

balance that is so hard to come by.”

made the Dean’s List every semester, Patriot

learned to become stern, but was always fair

League Academic Honor Roll all four years

and respectful, two qualities Flowers vividly

The two commanders were scheduled to trade locations in late-August, but

and earned National Fastpitch Coaches

recalled her having during her two year

unpleasant weather in the area kept

Association All-America Scholar-Athlete

team captainship.

Christian in Tel Afar for a day longer than

plaudits following the 2004 season.

Christian graduated with honors and

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Thrilled to be stationed closer to her childhood home, Christian took every

“I perfected my stare,” she jokes.

scheduled. In the meantime, Tyler’s group

With an ocean between her unit and

boarded a Blackhawk helicopter and

became a commissioned Aviation officer.

their loved ones, like many, it became a

headed out on another mission, during

Flight school at Fort Rucker followed, where

family. They functioned as one, looked out for

which something went wrong. Something

she powered through flight school in less

one another and fostered deep and powerful

went very, very wrong the night of August

than a year and posted at Fort Lewis, Wash.,

bonds while surviving in one of the most

22, 2007. A mechanical failure in the aircraft

led to a violent crash and Tyler, his co-pilot, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Josh Flynn, two crew

“I was the one in charge, so I had to compartmentalize everything,” she

Department and a volunteer assistant coach with the Army softball team. “They have

chiefs and 10 members of the 25th Infantry

continues. “I had to be strong for my soldiers

done so much for me and always shown

Division perished. Fourteen lives lost.

while we were over there. This gave me a

such unwavering support. Coach Flowers

Christian, now in command, had the unfortunate responsibility of relaying the

chance to mourn.”

Over the next 19 months, Christian

news to the rest of the unit in the wee hours

became an Executioner Troop Commander,

of August 23. She recalls there being very

which was the aviation unit’s Maintenance

little eye contact.

“It was one of the hardest things I have

believed in me, challenged me and got the best out of me. I owe so much of my growth to him.

“In my current role, I hope to give back

Troop, still at Fort Lewis. She then headed to

and do the same Coach Flowers and his staff

Fort Rucker to complete the Captain’s

did for me,” she continues. “I want to

ever had to do and something I hope I never

Course and later earned a master’s degree

hopefully be an Army female role model

have to do again,” she says. “Even today, it’s

in Aeronautical Engineering from Purdue

who they can look up to and ask questions.

so hard to verbalize all that I was feeling at

University in May 2013.

I’m someone who has been through what

that moment.”

“The crashes got me very interested in

they are going through now and what some

With the comforts of her childhood

the maintenance side of flying,” Christian

of them are going to face in the future. If

home half a world away, Christian mustered

explains. “I wanted to know all about how

there is any way that I can help prepare them

the courage to charge on as the unit’s

aircrafts worked and learn how we can

through softball, academics, military and any

commanding officer. Those remaining

redesign them to make them better.”

aspect, that is what I want to do.”

participated in an emotional ramp ceremony in Kirkuk.

“We’d seen ramp ceremonies done

As the small-town girl from Payette walked proudly across the stage to collect a

Coach Flowers knew when to pull Christian, just a few batters into her first

hard-earned degree, she did so with her

college start over a dozen years ago. He also

before because we’d flown them,” she

parents and Flowers, along with his wife,

knew his young pitcher well enough to know

explains. “This one was different though.

“Miss Nancy,” in the crowd.

They were our own.”

A C-17 had to be used due to the amount of bodies headed back to the States

“I have the best parents in the world,”

she had the resolve, toughness and character to prevail. She did just that, and

says Christian, who has since returned to

she’s been coming out on top of anything

West Point as an instructor in the Math

thrown her way ever since.” ★

for proper burial. Christian and her fellow soldiers saluted for over an hour as each made its way onto the massive plane.

Three weeks after the crash, Christian got word from her parents that her paternal grandfather, a former Marine, had passed away. He and his granddaughter shared a love for baseball and his death hit Christian hard, especially given the unfortunate timing.

She returned to the United States in October 2008 and soon after, a group

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internment at Arlington National Cemetery for all 14 lives lost brought everything back addressed the families of the deceased during a moving ceremony at one of the nation’s most hallowed grounds.

“I met their parents and children; it was

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to the surface. Christian emotionally

one of the most powerful experiences of my closure to me personally, but it gave us all a chance to honor the memory of those who we lost that day.

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life,” she says. “It brought much-needed

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Dan christman E TruE To THE corPS

By John Feinstein

D

an Christman never played a down of football during his four years at West Point.

In fact, he knew by his junior year in high school that his chronically injured

shoulder would probably make college football completely out of the question for him.

But it was football that brought him to the United States Military Academy – specifically

the 1958 Army team, which went undefeated in Coach Earl “Red” Blaik’s final season on the sidelines of Michie Stadium. And so, even though Christman was never an Army football player, it was Army Football that launched one of the more distinguished lives – military and civilian – among those who have graduated in the last 50 years.

Christman retired from the Army in 2003 as a Lieutenant General after a 38-year career that included time spent in Vietnam during the war there – he is the owner of two Bronze Stars and four Defense Distinguished Service Medals – and time as an advisor to Henry Kissinger in the 1970s and the No. 1 military advisor to Secretary of State Warren Christopher in the 1990s. His last assignment was as Superintendent of West Point, meaning he had come full circle in a journey that was launched by Army’s last undefeated football team.

“I just loved that ’58 team,” Christman says on a bright Washington spring afternoon, sipping coffee about a block from his office at the United States Chamber of Commerce.

“Back then I didn’t know Pete Dawkins or Bob Carpenter the way I came to know them but I admired not only the way they won but the way they played. I remember saying to my dad that fall, ‘How about if we drive up to West Point and take a look?’

“At that point I had no thoughts about a military career. But when we got there, I not only fell in love with the place but the people. I met all these Captains who were in their mid-20s: teachers, officer reps, coaches, admissions people. By the time I left, there was no question about what my first choice was going to be for college.”

Christman had grown up in Hudson, Ohio (just outside Akron), and attended Western showed up for “Beast Barracks” in the summer of 1961 convinced he was more than ready “I was wrong,” he says with a laugh. “’Beast’ was very discouraging for me, especially the sophomoric behavior of the juniors. (who were the squad-leaders for the Plebes). I still have my first letter home to my mother in which I said this is a lot harder than I thought it would be.

“I never thought of quitting, I was going to stick it out. I thought I’d done my research but He pauses. “That memory greatly affected my approach to being Superintendent 35 years later.”

Life got better for Christman once classes began. From ‘Day One’ he was a star in the

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it didn’t prepare me for the way we were being treated. I was surprised and disappointed.”

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for what was to come.

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Reserve High School. An outstanding student there, he was accepted at West Point and

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“At that point I had no thoughts about a military career. But when we got there, I not only fell in love with the place but the people.”

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— Dan Christman

classroom. A little bit less than four years

made the decision for me. I just thought that

needed to do was change the way “Beast”

after being so discouraged by “Beast,” he

was the kind of opportunity and experience

was conducted. He worked closely with John

graduated No. 1 in the class of 1965. He

that was too good to pass up.”

Abizaid, who arrived as his Commandant a

gives a lot of the credit for his academic performance to his high school.

“I did NOT finish No. 1 in my class at

wanted to look into how Kissinger had

year later, to make “Beast” a different experience for the incoming Plebes.

“I think John put it best,” he says. “He

Western Reserve,” he says. “It was an

operated, the person sent to testify was the

said, ‘tough and demanding doesn’t equal

amazing academic school. I’d had two years

young Major on Kissinger’s staff. “That,”

demeaning.’ ‘Beast’ should be a time to build

of calculus by the time I arrived at West

Christman says, “was not what you would

on the principles of West Point. We

Point. A lot of my freshman year

call an enjoyable experience.”

professionalized ‘Beast,’ made it

academically was review. It kind of set me up for the rest of the 47 months there.”

Christman is not a man who likes to

He survived though and went on to work for Brent Scowcroft and, later, time travelling with President Bill Clinton. It

the re-telling of stories about his life to list the

was shortly before going to work in the

people who made his success at one

Clinton White House that the prospect of

posting or another possible. But one doesn’t

returning to West Point as Superintendent

graduate No. 1 in his class at West Point

first came onto his radar.

“It’s funny because my wife (Susan)

on to accomplish what Christman

reminded me later that I had talked about

accomplished without extraordinary drive. It

wanting to be the ‘Supe’ as far back as when

isn’t apparent in Christman’s demeanor. He’s

I was a Captain,” he says. “I had taught at

outgoing and friendly, almost relaxed in his

West Point after Vietnam and, of course,

approach to conversation. But when he talks

loved being back there and working with the

about issues that are important to him, a little

cadets.

bit of steel creeps into his voice.

He went on to receive postgraduate

“In 1991, I was told that Howard Graves was going to be named the Superintendent

degrees from Princeton University and

that year. The question was: Did I want to be

George Washington University (in law) and

the person to succeed him five years later?

the National War College. Because he had gotten his master’s degree from Princeton

“I thought it through. If I was ‘Supe’ for five years I’d be 58 when I retired. I still

during his required five years in the Army, he

wanted to see what life in the private sector

wasn’t eligible to return to civilian life until

might be like and I thought going back to

1973. By then he was married and had a

West Point would be the perfect way to finish

daughter and there were plenty of

my Army career. There would have been

opportunities in the private sector.

“I was torn for a while,” he says. “I had enjoyed the Army a lot but wasn’t sure with

developmental rather than a weeding out.

When I met with the Plebes’ parents on “R-

Christopher—which meant he spent a lot of

beat his own drum. He constantly pauses in

without extreme smarts and discipline or go

24

It wasn’t always easy. When the House Select Committee on Intelligence decided it

other opportunities but once this came up, those other opportunities became moot.”

And so, in the summer of 1996, exactly

the change-over to an all-volunteer Army

35 years after reporting for “Beast Barracks,”

what the future might hold. I had interviewed

Dan Christman reported for “Beast

for jobs in Washington when I got an offer to

Barracks” again—this time in a different role

join the White House staff, specifically to

and with the notion that one of the things the

work for Dr. (Henry) Kissinger. That really

new Superintendent of the Academy

(PICTURED BELOW) Lt. Gen. Dan Christman encourages Army football players prior to the 1996 Poulan Weed Eater Independence Bowl while he served as West Point’s 55th Superintendent.

(PICTURED OPPOSITE BOTTOM) First Classman Dan Christman interacts with legendary Major League Baseball manager Casey Stengel during the New York Mets’ visit to West Point in 1965.

Day” after they’d said their farewells I would tell them, ‘We’re not going to tear them down, we’re going to build them up.’ ” Christman faced a lot of other challenges when he took over. West Point was just beginning its bicentennial fundraising campaign and that involved a lot of “grip-and-grin” events with alumni and other contributors. He also knew that the athletic facilities were outdated and money needed to be raised to change that.

Christman was so successful that he was actually asked to remain as Superintendent for a sixth year. He loved the job–but turned down the chance to stay.

“Some of it was wanting to try private life,” he says. “But a lot of it was more basic than that: I was exhausted. There are so many aspects of the job that there’s really no down time. It was time.”

Almost 30 years after first looking for work in Washington, he finally landed there: first as the Senior Vice President for International Affairs at the Chamber of Commerce and now as Counselor to the President of the Chamber, a job in which he is frequently asked to make certain United States businesses are aware of the dangers in the world that may lie ahead and how to prepare for them.

Three years into his new life as a civilian, he had a serious scare that he now looks back on as a stroke of luck.

“Shortly after President Clinton had his bypass surgery he was on “The Larry King Show” talking about it,” Christman says. “He

night was because of people like you.’ ” These days the 55th Superintendent of West Point is quite busy both with work and

described himself as being like a lot of men

family. Two grandchildren live a mile away

in their 50s and 60s who were in denial

from his home. In an act of bravery that

about the symptoms they had. When he

probably merits some kind of medal he and

started talking, I realized he was describing

Susan voluntarily took both of them – ages

me: Feeling like I had an anvil on my chest

six and eight – on an eight-day vacation last

after working out; getting short of breath

spring to give their parents some down time.

sooner than I should. I had rationalized it all telling myself I was tired, not in the shape I

He meets often with officials from the CIA, FBI, Homeland Security and the NSA to

should be in. When I heard President Clinton

be kept abreast of what is happening

talking I told Susan what I thought. Needless

worldwide and still has a very high security

to say, she had me at Walter Reed soon

clearance. He enjoys doing what he knows is

afterwards.”

important work. But there’s one thing he

Sure enough, Christman had a blockage in a key artery: the left main

wants to see happen in the world perhaps as much as anything.

coronary. He had surgery right away and, 10

“I just KNOW,” he says, the steel coming

years later, is in great shape at the age of 71.

back into his voice, “that we’re going to start

All those decorations, all those stars, all those achievements and Christman is still

‘General, how are you?’ I said, ‘Well Mr.

very much the 16-year-old Ohio kid who fell

President, I’m fine and I owe my life to you.’

in love with Army Football 56 years ago.

“He turned very serious, said to the people he had been talking to, ‘Give me a

Which, if you think about it, makes perfect sense. Army Football is critical to life within The Corps. And, like another former West Point Superintendent, Dan Christman’s heart

he actually became a little emotional. He

and mind will always be with The Corps. ★

said, ‘The reason I went on Larry King that

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minute with General Christman,’ and took me aside. I told him what had happened and

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Initiative conference,” Christman says.

“When he saw me, the President said,

winning in football again. That simply HAS to happen and I know it will very soon.”

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2nd Lt. Lindsey Danilack E ExcELLEncE IS A HABIT

By Brian gunning

I

t isn’t often that a picnic lunch is a life-changing event, but for 11-year-old Lindsey Danilack one afternoon on the banks of the Hudson was all it took for her to

determine her future.

While not from a military background, Lindsey’s father decided that a trip to West Point would be a good place for the family to learn about some of the most important events in the United States’ early history. One look at a group of new cadets practicing combative exercises on Daly Field, and the oldest of the three Danilack children knew she had found her place.

“At the time I had no idea what the new cadets were or what they were doing, but I was so interested in everything I saw,” Danilack recalls. “I went home, and talked to my parents about West Point a lot. My mom constantly reminded me that I needed to get good grades and excel at everything I did. Literally, from that point on it was the only school that I wanted to go to. Coming out of high school, it was the only school I applied to. I wanted to come here so badly. It was the only thing that I wanted to do.”

It may have been the past that originally brought Danilack to West Point, but since her arrival she has charted a track that portends a bright future.

A four-year member of the Black Knights’ track and field team, the Montville, N.J., native not only became the captain of that team, but was chosen to serve as the First Captain of the United States Military Corps of Cadets for the 2013-14 academic year, achieving the rank held by such historical figures as John J. Pershing, Douglas MacArthur the fourth woman to serve as the Brigade Commander. While such a prestigious list of “I will reflect on this past year, and the opportunities provided to me, later in life” she says. “I know that it’s an honorable position, and I know it’s a blessing, but for me right now, I am focusing on doing the job well. I greatly appreciate the opportunity provided to me. I love being the one who makes critical decisions. I just want to get the job done and get things working for others. I think most of my reflection will come when people I was able to meet, and hopefully, some of the lives that I’ve impacted.”

Danilack’s journey to the top rung of the Corps of Cadets’ chain of command began midway through her Cow year when she was nominated by her Tactical Officer for a key

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I’m older and I can sit back and think of the things I was able to do and some of the

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predecessors may leave some star-struck, Danilack prefers to remain humble.

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and William Westmoreland. Since women were first admitted to West Point in 1976, she is

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assault programs aimed at cadets.

Point because you really can’t pursue

Danilack was originally unsure she would

Whatever the initiative, Danilack’s goal was

excellence unless it is a habit,” Danilack

be able to take on any additional roles as a

to better the lives of her fellow cadets.

explains. “In everything you do, you really

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development of sexual harassment and

leadership profile on the track team rising,

Firstie. She ultimately decided to move

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summer leadership position. With her

“We changed a lot of things from

“I think it has gotten me through West

have to strive for excellence or you’re

forward and after going through the

previous years,” she explains. “I think we

going to fall into the mediocre path where

rigorous selection process, she was

definitely made a difference in The Corps

you’re accepting something below the

named the Cadet Basic Training I

and bringing life back into The Corps,

standard. I don’t think any cadet should go

Regimental Commander, guiding the

However, I don’t think I’ve done anything. I

through West Point that way.”

cadet candidates through their Reception

think it’s the Superintendent, the

Day experience. After turning over the

Commandant and the entire brigade staff.

Point wasn’t without its challenges. After

reins for the second half of “Beast,”

Everyone works tirelessly, and for them to

finally reaching the goal she set for herself

Danilack was informed last August that she

be able to put these new policies in place,

since that day at Trophy Point, Danilack

had been selected for her lofty position.

enforce them and see the outcomes has

had to learn to navigate the cadet lifestyle

been impressive. I definitely think it’s

while balancing her academic, military

made a difference.”

and track and field responsibilities.

“I got a call from the Commandant congratulating me on being selected First Captain,” Danilack recalls. “I didn’t know

While obviously driven to succeed

The path through the rigors of West

Admittedly shy and nervous as a Plebe,

what to say. I knew the competition was

from an early age, it was a quote from

the eventual leader of The Corps broke

between me, the (Cadet Basic Training) II

Aristotle that Danilack came across as a

out of her shell and found her voice.

Commander and the Buckner Commander.

Plebe that has shaped her approach to life

Those guys are the most incredible

at West Point. It has become so ingrained

but study,” Danilack remembers. “I didn’t

people. They are beyond qualified for the

in her mindset, that the last line adorns the

really even want to come out of my room to

First Captain position. I was blown away

signature of her e-mail correspondence:

socialize at all. I was so focused on

and just so excited. I was so eager to start

“Excellence is an art won by training and

academics and track that I set myself up in

the academic year and start leading The

habituation. We do not act rightly because

a small bubble. Starting my (Yearling)

Corps.”

we have virtue or excellence, but we

year, I realized that wasn’t how I wanted to

Her leadership was utilized working

“My Plebe year, I barely did anything

rather have those because we have acted

live my life. I realized I needed to branch

on issues ranging from the cadet alcohol

rightly. We are what we repeatedly do.

out, seek some mentors and take

policy and civilian dress code to the

Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.”

advantage of the experiences that West Point can provide.

“Once I began to come out of my bubble, make some friends and find mentors, I was really able to start to develop my leadership style and realize that I like working for others. Those slow, progressive steps really pushed me to always want to jump up to the next level, help more people and find a bigger goal. I think that it definitely sprung from a desire to help others, as well as seeking out really good mentorship from some of the officers that are here who helped shape my perspective of the Academy and what vision I wanted to pursue.”

That vision is one of service to others.

Danilack had plenty of opportunity to do things for her fellow cadets both in her First Captain role and as one of the leaders

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of the track and field team. However, doing

second, it was a life-changing experience.

so much for so many was often a challenge.

It was everything we’d been working for.

“I think I managed my time to the best

We have two opportunities every year,

of my abilities, but was one of the most

indoor and outdoor, to beat them, and

complicated things,” she says. “There are

we’d never done it. The last meet ever, we

so many people asking for so many

beat Navy!”

different things that there literally isn’t

Danilack certainly has many thrills in

enough time in the day to take care of it all.

her future. True to her belief that

Balancing academics, making sure I can

leadership is best expressed in the

always be there for The Corps and being

service of others, Danilack, a political

the best track captain I could be was the

science major, will soon join the Aviation

hardest thing.”

branch of the United States Army.

Danilack had to learn the valuable

“I’ve wanted to branch Aviation since I

lesson of making sacrifices to ensure that

was a Plebe,” she says. “As soon as I found

her leadership skills were being applied in

out we had the opportunity to fly

the best possible way.

helicopters, I said, ‘Sign me up.’ I want to fly

“When I sit back and think about the

Apaches because it’s the most combat-

decisions I had to make in order to take on

oriented, and that’s really where I see

the responsibility of the being the track

myself. Right now, females can’t branch

captain as well as First Captain, there are

Infantry, so I want to be as close to the

sacrifices that have to be made because

action as possible, and being in that

you can’t do everything,” Danilack

that day on the top line of her favorite West

Apache will allow me to support those

explains. “You have to find the decisive

Point memories.

troops on the ground.”

point of the day. Where is my leadership

“Beating Navy was the highlight of my

Eleven years later, Danilack couldn’t

needed the most? In the first semester, my

entire cadet career,” she remembers. “I

be more grateful for that afternoon picnic

leadership was definitely needed with the

cried when the last leg of our 4x400-meter

overlooking the Hudson.

Corps. Second semester, I was much more

relay was passing the Navy runner. It was

tailored to the track team. Once we were in

the most exciting and energetic

West Point are unreal, and I know it’s a

season and really starting to compete, that

atmosphere I’ve ever been a part of. When

blessing.” ★

is where the leadership was needed. My

we finally got to sing our alma mater

“The experiences that I had at

teammates expected me to be there, and that is where I wanted to be.”

The track at Shea Stadium was certainly the place to be on April 5, 2014 when Navy visited West Point for the annual Star Meet. Winless during her career, both indoors and outdoors,

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Danliack and the Black Knights upset the favored Midshipmen, 103.5-99.5. The final

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result came down to the last event, the 4x400-meter relay. Navy held the lead for most of the race, but Samantha Reid’s kick over the last 100 meters secured the victory. Even with the opportunities to meet some of the nation’s most highexperiences such as ringing the bell at the New York Stock Exchange, Danilack puts

In her role as United States Corps of Cadets Brigade Commander, Lindsey Danilack presents a Cadet Sabre to Medal of Honor recipient Staff Sgt. Ty Carter in August 2013.

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profile military leaders and have

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col. greg gadson E An InSPIrATIon To uS ALL By wayne coffey

I

t is moments before the 108th renewal of the greatest rivalry in college sports, the clouds gray and thick over M&T Stadium in Baltimore. The Army football team is on one

sideline, Navy’s on the other. Near the center of the field, a square-jawed man, in full fatigues and a black beret, is about to preside over the coin toss. He has the unmistakable bearing of an athlete, a football player’s muscled physique, even with the two canes that are helping to steady him. He is surrounded by the some of the top military leaders in the country, among them West Point Superintendent Buster Hagenbeck; Chief of Staff of the Army, Gen. George Casey Jr.; and Secretary of the Army, Pete Geren.

Still, the sturdy soldier with the canes is the focus of most everyone’s attention on that first day of December, 2007, and how could he not be?

Just over six months before, Lt. Col. Greg Gadson was lying in the roadside dust in Iraq, his legs mangled, blood pouring from him as if from a spigot, his survival in grave doubt. It was 9:30 p.m. in Baghdad. A former outside linebacker for the Black and Gold and by all accounts one of the toughest football players in Army annals, Gadson had been part of a four-vehicle convoy when he was blown out of his passenger’s seat by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED).

He saw the flash of light, heard the muffled boom, and in the next instant his body was flying and then rolling and finally coming to a stop, the shock overriding the pain in the initial seconds.

“I was angry. What is going on? How could this happen?” Those were Greg Gadson’s first thoughts. They did not last long, as acute awareness of his plight hit him like a tank.

“God, please don’t let me die here,” Lt. Col. Gadson said.

His prayer was answered. And now here is Greg Gadson at the center of M&T Stadium, where Lt. Col. Charles Schretzman, his friend and former Army teammate, is among those cheering for him, one of the few on hand who knew there were two powered prosthese where Greg Gadson’s legs used to be.

(But) that’s how Greg is. He leads by example, by toughness, and by playing through pain.” and being back out there brought back all those memories.” He pauses.

“Privately, I think a lot of people didn’t think I could do it. But I did,” Gadson says.

Growing up in Chesapeake, Va., Greg Gadson, now 47 years old, knew virtually nothing about the United States Military Academy. A career in military service was not an aspiration; a career in the National Football League was. Gadson was an all-state football athletes as former National Basketball Association standout Alonzo Mourning and NFL stars Plaxico Burress and Deangelo Hall. His goal was to play collegiately at the highest level possible, then get drafted by the NFL. The only problem was that no big-time football powers were keen

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player at renowned Indian River High School, the same school that turned out such

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Says Gadson, “Football is like a gladiator sport. There’s so much power, so much energy,

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“It was amazing to see him out there after everything he’d been through,” Schretzman says.

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Gadson came to embrace the rigors

5’11 ½” and 195 pounds to play the line or

and demands of West Point life, and ultimately

hospital in Landstuhl, Germany and then to

even linebacker – his preferred position – and

became a three-year starter and co-captain

Walter Reed National Military Medical

not fast enough to play in the secondary.

from 1985 to 1988, wearing No. 98 at outside

Center in Bethesda, Md. Heavily sedated and

linebacker for Army teams that won three

still unconscious, he remained in Intensive-

straight games over Navy. Schretzman played

Care for days, his wife, Kim, on one side of

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When the University of Virginia offered

Gadson was transported to a military

West Point assistant coach named Ted Gill

and his emotional leadership, inspiring

suffered a traumatic brain injury. Schretzman

happened to show up at an Indian River

teammates with his unrelenting effort and

would sit by his friend’s bedside and read

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on him, thinking Gadson to be too small at

game. Gill, on the staff of Coach Jim Young,

generosity of spirit.

was recruiting a teammate of Gadson’s, but

him a scholarship and then withdrew it, Gadson was devastated. His football future

alongside him at linebacker, regularly

the bed, and Chuck Schretzman on the other,

was suddenly in serious flux, at which point a

wowed by Gadson’s strength and tenacity

concerns mounting that Gadson might have

“He’s probably one of the most inviting

came away deeply impressed by Gadson’s

people I know,” Schretzman says. “He invites

ferocity and passion, and wound up inviting

you in. He has a radiant smile. People love

Gadson up for an official visit.

Gadson’s knowledge of West Point was so skimpy he didn’t even associate it with

emails, touching messages that were full of love and prayers and encouragement.

Schretzman privately wondered if Gadson would ever be able to comprehend

him. People migrate to him. He just has a

any of them. One day, an email came in from

radiance about him that makes people

Jim Young, Gadson’s former West Point

gravitate to him.”

football coach. Schretzman noted it with

Army Football. He just knew he wanted to

Gadson had a gift for being in the heat

play at the NCAA Division I level, and this

of the battle as a football player, and was no

seemed to be his best shot. He applied and

different as a solider, serving in every major

Schretzman said. He began to read it. After a

was admitted, and almost before he could

area of combat in the last 20 years. He was

few moments he was interrupted by a voice.

say “Plebe,” he was on the west bank of the

deployed to Iraq for Operation Desert Storm,

Hudson, his life changed forever.

“I went there with a chip on my

interest.

“Here’s one from Coach Young,”

Greg Gadson’s voice.

and was subsequently deployed to Bosnia, Afghanistan and then to Iraq again. The

“Golden Rule,” Greg Gadson said, speaking just above a whisper.

shoulder,” Gadson says. “I was going to show

Commander of the 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field

these guys that I am not too small and that I

Artillery, Gadson was returning from a

each other, incredulously. What did this

am not too slow. The value and prestige of a

memorial service for two fallen soldiers who

mean? What was he trying to say?

West Point education was really kind of

he’d known from Fort Riley, Kansas, on the

secondary to me at that point. I was a typical

night the IED detonated. The date was May 7,

18-year-old teenager who wanted to play

a Monday. Three of the five people in his

football.”

Schretzman and Kim Gadson looked at

“Be on time!” Greg Gadson said, in the same low voice.

Coach Young used the phrase “Golden

vehicle were untouched by the explosion.

Rule” often, reminding his players of the

Gadson and his interpreter were not so

importance of punctuality. Schretzman and

fortunate. Gadson quickly lapsed into

Kim Gadson locked eyes again, this time with

unconsciousness and when a soldier in

smiles, and a few tears, on both sides of the

another vehicle rushed to help him, Gadson

bed.

woke up, saw somebody in his face and punched him. He was rushed back to the base they’d just left, unable to feel his legs,

“He’s good to go,” Schretzman said to Kim Gadson.

Gadson had his left leg amputated

knowing something was desperately wrong,

above the knee shortly after, and his right

but little more. Medics told Gadson later that

leg, which doctors told him would never

he went through 129 pints of blood that first

function properly and posed a risk of

night. The last thing he remembers in Iraq is

infection, amputated a week later. He also

hearing the whir of a helicopter that would

had sustained a serious injury to his right

evacuate him to a Level 1 Medical Treatment

arm. Now it was all starting to sink in, and a

Center.

torrent of emotions was sinking in, too, the anger and sadness and self-pity and the rest.

Greg Gadson poses with National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell along the New York Giants’ sideline.

32

Gadson had them all, and came through the other side.

Commander at Fort Belvoir, Va., presiding

the sideline for their first playoff game, a

over the daily operations of some 50,000

victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

military personnel and employees, and yet

Gadson missed the next game – a victory

still finding time to do motivational speaking,

over the Dallas Cowboys – because he had to

before soldiers and civilians alike.

have surgery on his arm – but made it to

Perhaps Gadson’s most memorable talk came in front of the New York Giants football

Conference Championship game. Gadson

team, scarcely four months after his

and Harry Carson, the Hall of Fame

amputations. Mike Sullivan, then a Giants’

linebacker, were the honorary co-captains;

assistant coach, was a West Point teammate of

Gadson’s son, Jaelen (then 13 and now a

Gadson’s. Sullivan visited Gadson at Walter

sophomore lacrosse player at West Point)

Reed, and on a return visit, came with a

pushed him out in a wheelchair. On one of the

Giants’ No. 98 jersey with Gadson’s name on

most frigid days in NFL playoff history, the

the back, signed by several Giants players.

Giants won in overtime to advance to Super

Sullivan asked if he could do anything else,

Bowl XLII in Phoenix against the undefeated

and Gadson said it would be great if he could

New England Patriots.

bring his family to a Giants game. Sullivan arranged for the tickets for Week Three of the 2007 season, the Giants’ visiting the

the team again the night before the big game, reprising a few of his earlier themes and

Coughlin, Sullivan asked Gadson if he would

was in a knife fight every single down,”

consider speaking to the team at their hotel

Gadson says. “The other guy was always

on the Saturday night before the game.

bigger and stronger. I had to be tougher.

That’s where I built my tenacity and my never-

By then it was a given that Greg Gadson would be on the Giants’ sideline. He spoke to

Washington Redskins.

After consulting with Coach Tom “Being an undersized football player, I

Lambeau Field for the National Football

Gadson said, “Sure.” He wrote some

telling the Giants that there are no shortcuts and this moment was there for them to seize.

The New York Giants won Super Bowl XVII, 17-14, in a stirring upset. Greg Gadson would never claim credit for that, any more

notes on a three-by-five file card, but barely

than he would claim to be inspirational – a

quit spirit. People see me as a larger-than-life

needed them. He talked to the Giants about

label he is acutely uncomfortable with.

guy, but inside I was a smaller-than-life guy. I

appreciating their blessings, and about poise

had to fight for everything.

“It’s hard for me to look at myself as

and pride, and about the unmatched power

inspiring,” he says. “I never once got up and

and bond of team - a team comprised of

said I want to inspire anyone. I want to do my

something like this,” Gadson continues. “You

players who sacrifice for each other and

job and do the best I can. I am not a perfect

don’t go through life and say, ‘I wonder what

protect each other and are focused wholly on

person. I probably fail more than I succeed.”

happens (if my legs get amputated)?’” And

the greater good.

“There’s nothing that prepares you for

yet, Gadson believes all of us have the

“I told them that truly great teams usually

Col. Greg Gadson is entitled to his opinion, but it might not be shared by another

capacity to endure, and even prevail, over

form that bond by going through something

person on the planet, least of all Tom

such life-altering circumstances.

together, and how whatever they were going

Coughlin.

“If you live life to the best of your ability,

through at that point in the season that no

"Greg is a tremendous leader, a fighter, and he has an indomitable spirit. I will never

happens. If you take shortcuts, when you have

finally I reminded them that nothing is

forget the example he provided for us in

adversity you are not going to be prepared

promised to anybody in this life, starting with

2007,” Coughlin says. “He epitomizes the

for it.”

tomorrow."

vigilance, the unselfishness and the

Those who know Col. Greg Gadson best

Tom Coughlin canceled the rest of the

toughness it requires to be a true champion.

team meeting, rightly figuring nothing more

style. Since his injury, he has earned master’s

needed to be said. The Giants, 0-2, at that

definition of commitment. Greg represents

degrees in information systems from Webster

point, defeated the Redskins the next day,

the greatness and the absolute best our

University and policy management from

starting a six-game winning streak that led

nation has to offer. The greatest example of

Georgetown University. For two years, he

them to the playoffs. Their honorary

valor that I could present to my grandchildren

served as the director of the Army’s Wounded

teammate, Greg Gadson, joined the Giants on

is Greg Gadson." ★

Warrior Program. Now he is Garrison

"He is a living example . . . of the absolute

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can attest to the fact that shortcuts are not his

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success ever came easy,” Gadson says. “And

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you are preparing yourself for whatever

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Becky Halstead E MAKIng A DIFFErEncE

By Mady Salvani

F

uture One-Star General Becky Halstead was a typical teenager growing up in the small hamlet of Willseyville in upstate New York where she shined on the athletic

field garnering nine varsity letters.

“As a junior in high school, my plan was to attend Ithaca College to be a physical

education teacher and be like my high school coach, Miss Carole LaVena, who was my mentor,” explains the first female in United States history to have a combat command at the strategic level.

But life has a way of throwing curves at you, and though Halstead has encountered many obstacles over the years, she learned to become resilient at an early age and it has proven an invaluable leadership tool.

Halstead admired her high school coach and went through a devastating experience when she tragically died in a parachuting accident. Family, friends and teachers helped her through that crisis.

Thirty years later, that event helped her as a commander in Iraq when a soldier experienced the death of his buddy.

“I understand what it felt like to lose a best friend,” notes the first female Commanding General of Army’s Ordnance Center and Schools. “I feel I would never have known how to deal with my soldiers if I had not experienced what I did.

“Every single day you are being prepared for something in the future – good or bad.

Whatever change is happening today, you might not understand it, but down the road you know that is why that person was in your life or that’s why that event happened.”

Halstead’s mother, B.J. Halstead, was the guiding force for her to attend West Point. In the spring of 1976 her mother read in the newspaper that women were being admitted to the service academies that summer.

“I filled out the application papers to appease my mother, but I didn’t think I would get

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in,” smiles Halstead when thinking back to that time. “I could not believe it when I received the acceptance letter.”

letters of recommendation, including one from the late coach who had written it prior to her death.

The letter from LaVena showed how much faith and confidence she had in the future “My coach could not say enough about how I was the right person to attend. For her to see that potential in me, got me out of the funk I was in. I have carried that letter with me since. Sometimes you are the one encouraging people and sometimes you are the one

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General, and how excited she was about the opportunity Halstead had to attend West Point.

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Helping her decision to come to West Point was an interview with Senator Jacob Javits. When he realized Halstead was from the same town where LaVena died, he sent her

who needs encouragement. “

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knew it would be difficult to continue to play sports because of the academic workload.

So she turned her attention to being a

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team manager, first for women’s swimming her Yearling year and then joining the women’s basketball staff her final two years doing in-game statistics (by hand), calculating game and season statistics along with filling water bottles, picking up

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towels, cleaning up the locker room and carrying equipment.

“I liked managing,” remarks Halstead whose words would prove to be prophetic.

As one of the first classes of women at West Point, she knew then what kind of leader she wanted to be. Being a team manager taught her to be humble and helped shape Halstead arrived with the second class

has to be a tough environment and has to

her career as an officer who would make a

of women to attend West Point in the

be a disciplined one because West Point is

difference in the lives of others.

summer of 1977, and her experience was

creating and developing leaders who are

“Each year it did get better at the

the complete opposite of her final days at

going to lead men and women, sons and

Academy for both men and women. “I often

home where family and friends were proud

daughters, into combat.”

and thrilled for the hometown girl.

“Since everyone was excited in my

say that we helped people to accept women at West Point, and today’s

members of the Army women’s basketball

generation is helping people appreciate it,

hometown about me attending West Point, I

team, Dena Caradimitropoulo and Mimi

and that is a big difference.

kind of thought that maybe they were

Miles. There were team get-togethers in

excited at West Point,” laughs Halstead. “I

their room, but unlike her roommates,

remained close to my classmates who also

knew I was going to be hazed, but I didn’t

Halstead was not a member of that elite

continued to serve because we worked

know it was going to be so personal when a

group and thus could not call the

together and went to war together.”

large percentage was trying to run you out

upperclassmen by their first name like the

of ‘this man’s Army.’ ”

players could.

Halstead didn’t think of herself as a

Female sports were just starting at

“I stayed in the Army for 27 years and

Following graduation, the newly commissioned Second Lieutenant joined a “man’s Army,” which still had its

trend-setter, she just realized it was hard at

West Point at the club level in 1976.

reservations about women. Halstead was

West Point for everyone. She did not see

Women’s basketball was the only team the

not planning on making it her career. She

women her first eight weeks of “Beast

next year to join the varsity ranks.

knew she had a five-year commitment. She

Barracks” as the first class of women at

Halstead, a star athlete in high school

had kept in touch with her grade school

West Point was spending its summer at

whose favorite sport was basketball, did not

and high school friends who were getting

Camp Buckner.

try out for the team because anyone under

married and settling down to normal lives.

When the Yearling class of women arrived back at West Point, life was just as difficult as very few were interested in

5’4” would not be considered and the future Army General was just 5’1 1/2“ tall.

“That was very humbling for me to go

“I could not wait to be a Lieutenant and live life, but I figured after five years I would leave; that never happened,” notes Halstead

accepting the new class as they didn’t want

from being a star athlete in high school to

whose first assignment was in Italy. “It is a

to appear to show favoritism.

not even playing at West Point,” notes

beautiful country and I loved it, but I was at

Halstead.

a weapons site. We did not see the light of

“They went out of their way to make our lives miserable,” notes Halstead, “which

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Halstead’s roommates were two

Instead, she played club volleyball and

day. It was hard work and very sensitive.”

at the time I thought was wrong. I

softball (where she batted .550, collecting

When her three-year tour was up,

understood it later because they were

11 hits with a triple, eight runs scored and

Halstead still had two years left on her five-

trying to prove themselves in another way. It

six runs batted in) her Plebe year, but she

year commitment. During her time in Italy,

Halstead married a fellow officer before

and it was difficult for her to perform

women’s coaches. “I wanted to be a

rotating back to the States. Eventually her

everyday tasks. She ached, could not run

basketball coach and here all these years

husband joined her at Fort Lewis, but

and had flu-like symptoms so there was

later I get to speak to coaches. I told them

divorce is one of the hazards faced by those

thought of Lyme’s disease, lupus and even

I learned more about being a leader in

in the military, and Halstead’s marriage

multiple sclerosis.

the Army by being a manager than I ever

would soon become a statistic.

Life was at a low point for Halstead, who was not only coping with the divorce,

The prognosis was chronic fibromyalgia and she was given a

did as a player in any sport.

“Everyone doesn’t get to be the star

multitude of prescriptions. Again life threw

player, but everybody has value and it is

but facing surgery for a hysterectomy as

another curve as the year Halstead was

just a matter of finding that strength,

well.

diagnosed was also the year she was

which I learned being a manager.”

She found solace in her career and her Army friends. Just before reaching her five-year mark, Halstead found her niche when she became a Company

offered deployment as a Commanding General in Iraq.

Halstead kept the diagnosis to herself

Among her mentors was Maj. Gen. Dewitt T. Irby Jr. who assigned Capt.

Halstead command of a problematic

and deployed with her troops in 2005.

Ammunition Company. Her Battalion

Commander and was in the midst of

While in Iraq, she commanded 20,000

Commander felt she was just a “bitty girl”

competing for her second command,

soldiers, 5,000 civilians and was

who the solders would run over. It was far

which would put her past the five-year

responsible for 55 locations providing

from the truth as the diminutive Halstead

commitment, when she received her

logistical support for all coalition forces.

stood tall with her troops. She would not

orders for Washington, D.C. “I decided to go to my next duty

Upon returning to the United States,

only draw their admiration but Irby’s as

Halstead felt she could manage her illness

well, combining the lessons she learned

assignment to see if I could regroup my

now that she was out of the combat zone,

growing up back home, and as a cadet

life and my health, and when I moved to

but instead it spiraled out of control. She

and team manager at West Point.

D.C. I was picked up early for Major,”

had taken command of Army’s Ordnance

states Halstead. “It was exciting to get that

Center and Schools, but after 21 months

“make a difference” by placing others

early promotion and the next thing I knew

she faced the reality that the pace and

first. There’s a long list of soldiers that can

I had 10 years in the Army.

responsibilities were increasing and she

attest to her success in achieving that. ★

“I was promoted early; I liked the military and best of all I seemed to be good at it. I loved serving soldiers and leading solders, so I never looked back

did not have the ability to recover. So Halstead submitted her retirement papers.

At first the brass would not accept her retirement as the plucky Halstead was

and never thought ever again of getting

already being looked at for her second

out. I knew I was going until retirement.”

Star, so she had to write a letter

Halstead’s rise continued with an early promotion to Lieutenant Colonel and

explaining her medical condition.

“Emotionally I was not ready to retire,

even earlier to Colonel. By the time she

but I knew I had to if I wanted to live to be

was awarded the General’s star, she was

100 like my grandmother.

the first one in her class to achieve that “Congratulations came in and

You Must Lead Is You, and figured out what I wanted to do. I became an inspirational

promoted early to Major, but a few felt I

and motivational speaker and developed

had played the ‘female card’,” continues

leader training programs, leader coaching

Halstead. “At first, I let that mess with my

and mentoring programs. I am still

mind a bit as women were in traditional

helping soldiers, working with veterans, and sometimes I feel I am helping more

over it and were not able to build that

people in this capacity than when I was in

bridge.”

the military.”

Shortly after her selection as a Brigadier General, Halstead became ill

One of Halstead’s’ fondest memories was addressing a group of NCAA

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male roles and some men could not get

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everyone was gracious when I was

“I spent the first six months getting well; I wrote a book titled, The First Person

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lofty rank.

Becky Halstead has always wanted to

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william “chico” Hurtado E THE MAgIcAL ZAMBonI MAn

By Mady Salvani

D

riving the Zamboni might not make the U.S. News & World Report list of the 100 best jobs, but to William “Chico” Hurtado of the Army Athletic Association, it is

his “dream” job.

It never gets old for Chico. No matter how many times he climbs onto the Zamboni, he feels a

special rush driving the ice resurfacing machine around the rink and laying down a fresh sheet of ice that turns the rink into a magical arena when the lights are dimmed.

Chico joined the Office of the Directorate of Intercollegiate Athletics (ODIA) in 1986 as a maintenance worker for the newly minted Multi-Purpose Sports Facility. Two years later, it was renamed Holleder Center, home for Tate Rink and Christl Arena.

Hurtado started working for ODIA just a year after the hockey team left venerable Smith Rink, its home since 1931, and the men’s basketball team departed the Field House for its new home just across the street from Michie Stadium.

When Chico came on board under Facilities Manager Gene Uchacz, this young man’s ambition was to drive the Zamboni.

One of the many duties for the staff at Tate Rink is getting the ice ready for practices or resurfacing it between periods at home hockey games where two Zambonis follow each around the rink during an eight-minute span.

“I was always interested in driving the Zamboni as I used to travel to my brother Dave’s games when he was playing hockey,” says Chico. “I thought it was something cool to do and it is

Facilities Director Lou Federico about learning to drive the Zamboni.

“Mr. Uchacz was a kind person and was a really good boss,” notes Hurtado. “He told me that they would teach me and I said, ‘That’s great.’ ” Shortly after, Uchacz was promoted to Associate Athletic Director overseeing scheduling, and with it came a change of venue. Chico then turned to Federico, who took over as Holleder Center The thumps up sign was flashed and now, 28 years later, he is the main driver for the Zamboni and is in charge of the crew. Present-day supervisor Randy Baglieri has words of praise for Chico stating that not only does he drive the Zamboni, but he is the most knowledgeable and

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Manager, and asked him if he could take the Zamboni out for a ride.

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Once he became acclimated to his position, Chico approached Uchacz and Assistant

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what I always wanted to do ever since.”

experienced person on the staff about maintaining the ice surface.

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Claus suit, then hopping onto the Zamboni next to me and throwing candy to the crowd.

The fans loved it and so did I.“ Chico’s duties are not just confined to

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Tate Rink as he oversees work in the basketball arena and across the street with the football program at Michie Stadium. He has performed a variety of duties over the years from helping set up and break down tables and chairs for football, basketball and

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hockey players’ meals to driving the tractortrailer that transports football equipment to the Army-Navy game. Presently, on home football Saturdays, he is part of Army’s crew setting up tailgates and barbeques.

During the winter months, in addition to home hockey, and men’s and women’s basketball games, he helps turn Christl Arena into a venue for wrestling and gymnastics as huge mats transform the arena.

“The surface and thickness of the ice

Chico’s journey to the Hudson Valley

varies in different parts of the rink,” explains

outs of driving the Zamboni, and Chico took it

began when his family moved to the United

Baglieri. “Though we have multiple operators,

a step further becoming an expert. He

States from Guatemala when he was 14 years

none is as experienced as Chico, and

learned everything from the hydraulics, to the

old. He spent his first few months in the United

sometimes that lack of knowledge could be

conveyor performance, to the turning radius,

States living with his grandmother in New

detrimental causing more problems than can

and to the shaving blade for a machine that

York City before moving to the idyllic town of

be solved.

weighs over 6,930 pounds empty and 9,530

Highland Falls, located just outside West Point.

“However, that has never been a

pounds with water, and moves around the

Since Spanish is the official language of

problem as Chico is definitely the ice expert

rink with a top speed between nine and 11

Guatemala, English became Chico’s second

and widely acknowledged as the most

miles per hour.

language. To better understand how to tackle

experienced about creating the correct ice surface, especially for games.”

Taking care of the ice is not confined to

“When I first started driving the Zamboni, I would get nervous with the crowd

and speak it fluently, he attended Highland Falls Middle School before heading to James

screaming,” shares Chico, but then he quickly

I. O’Neill High School where he shined,

the Army hockey season; it is year-round,

responds with a dazzling smile and laughs as

setting records on the soccer field.

spanning seven days a week, a lot of nights,

he says, “but then I got used to it and I like it

weekends and holidays, too. In addition to the

when they scream.”

hockey team’s practices and games, youth

The Zamboni is a crowd-pleaser and is

“I spoke very little English when I first arrived,” explains Chico. “There was a guy named Brian who said, ‘You know, you look

programs use the facility, local teams have

mesmerizing as it enters the rink slowly going

like this guy I have seen on television.’ I

leagues, along with general skating which

around and around shaving the ice, washing

looked at him and said, ‘What are you talking

results in a need for a fresh coat of ice on a

the surface and laying down hot water all at

about?’ He was surprised and said, ‘You have

daily basis.

the same time. A system of refrigerated pipes

never seen the program called Chico and the

under the floor flash-freezes the hot water that

Man?’

“Just making ice, which is more than putting down water, can be tricky and sometimes comes out too thick,” explains

turns the rink into a glistening mirror.

“Everyone wants to take a ride on the

“Then he said, ‘That is your name’ (Chico). Everyone started calling me that and

Baglieri. “That is where Chico’s expertise

Zamboni,” states Chico. “The fans keep

no one knew me by my real name, which is

comes into play. He knows when and where

asking me what they have to do; I just say, ‘Ask

William.”

to shave the ice and lay the new ice. Some

the Boss.’

days he just shaves the ice an ‘X’ number of millimeters and lays down a fresh coat.”

40

Ed Gardner taught Chico the ins and

“Years ago we had ‘Santa on Ice’ with Mr. Uchacz skating around the rink in a Santa

“I didn’t want to come to the United States, but I had no choice. A lot of people I

knew would talk about West Point. Then I

Association title in 2012,” beams Chico with

started working in ODIA and it has been a

pride.

dream job not only for me, but also for my family. My mother, my wife, my brother, my

Chico enjoyed the time he spent

Officer Representative.

“I knew TK and Derek Hines (former Army hockey standout killed in action in

attending his sons’ games that ran the gamut

2005) as cadets,” says Chico. “We are a family

niece and my youngest son have at one time

from fall soccer to winter hockey to summer

here. It is very personal and hurts when you

or other worked at the U.S. Military Academy.”

baseball, but there also were many occasions

lose one of your own.”

Chico’s first job at West Point began at the Officers’ Club, washing dishes as a

when he could not be there when the boys

For the hockey athletes, past and

were young due to 16-hour work days.

present, it is important to Chico that the ice is

teenager. A year later, he was transferred to

Following his regular eight-hour shift at

perfect and he makes certain of that by

the Hotel Thayer where he worked in the

Holleder, Chico worked another eight hours

maintaining the Zamboni. He uses different

kitchen, set up banquets and learned to cook.

supporting his family.

features: one that enables him to shave just

Even though he is a great chef for family

“My family understood the long hours,

two-and-a-half to three inches off the ice,

barbeques, it was not a job he saw himself

but by the time I arrived home, the boys were

another that enables him to edge the ice by

doing for a long time.

already asleep and when I would get up in

the boards and the other that lays down the

A maintenance position at Holleder

the morning, they were headed off to school.

water that makes it glisten on the ice.

Center opened, Chico applied and the rest is

It was hard and time flies by so quickly. Now

“Sometimes it takes two to three hours if

history. Over the years he married and raised

they are grown up and I don’t see them as

I am by myself. But to do the job right, you

three robust boys who played several sports,

much.”

have to put more time into it,” states Chico.

to include hockey.

“J.B. Spisso was my boss when my boys,

Chico picked up additional “sons”

“Our facility is second to none because

bringing home players to family barbeques

of the preparation provided by Chico and his

Chris, Jonathan and William, were young. He

and the young men of West Point proved

staff who work tirelessly to make it what it is

mentioned to me about them playing hockey

excellent role models for his boys.

today,” states Army head coach Brian Riley,

for the Junior Black Knights. I told him they

The hockey, basketball and football

didn’t know how to skate, but he said they

athletes, along with former players who have

would learn quickly.

“He was right, and the boys loved it and

fallen on far-away battlefields are part of

whose brother Rob was the first Army hockey coach with whom Chico worked.

“Chico is and has been our biggest fan

Chico’s extended West Point family. The

and gets excited at every home game and

also played for the Bear Mountain Hockey

hockey community has suffered several

with every win. Not only is he there for our

Club and O’Neill High School. Two of my sons

losses, most recently the untimely death of

players, but he is a great friend of the program.”

played hockey in college. Jonathan was on the

Major Tom Kennedy (TK), who was killed in

Monroe Community College hockey team

action in Afghanistan in 2012. TK played

that won the National Junior College Athletic

hockey and returned later as the team’s

Over the years Chico has regaled his family with stories of the players, and some of his proudest moments are when former

The Hurtado family: (from left) Christopher, Jonathan, Sylvia, William (Chico) and William Jr.

athletes return and come looking for him and members of his staff.

“That's what makes you feel good – when they remember you and come up and talk to you. I think it is great when people say,

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‘Wow, you are still here,’ ” chuckles Chico. "I have a good life and I can’t complain.” and going to work, so retirement is still a few years off for Chico, who goes back once a year to Guatemala where he says the “food is the best.”

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He still enjoys getting up every morning

Chico etched out a place for his family in for himself at Tate Rink as the “Man” with the magical job of driving the Zamboni. ★

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the Hudson Valley, but also carved out a place

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Sam Lessey E A wEST PoInT MAn THrougH AnD THrougH

By Harrison Antognioni

A

s he sits among the tributes to past heroes in the Kenna Hall of Army Sports, the Honorable Samuel Lessey Jr., reflects on a multitude of events in his life,

ranging from being an Air Force pilot to serving various roles in the Reagan Administration.

A period in his life that keeps coming back to the forefront is the cherished time he spent at West Point, a place he learned to appreciate and respect even before becoming a cadet.

Growing up in Chappaqua, N.Y., some 30 miles southeast of West Point, Lessey made frequent trips with his family to witness cadet parades and football games. It was during these trips to the Academy that Lessey began to develop a sense of the importance and value of the traditions West Point had to offer.

“Seeing it as a youngster, it was a very impressive place,” Lessey remembers.

“There was substance. It stood for something, and it represented order and discipline.”

Lessey entered West Point in July 1942. He relied on the camaraderie he shared with fellow classmates to survive the difficult adjustments for first-year students attending a service academy. Lessey credits his peers as a vital resource during his time as a cadet, as well as throughout life after graduation.

“I thought, if the guy on my left can make it, and the guy on my right can make it, I sure as heck can make it,” Lessey recalls. “From an institution like this, there’s a great loyalty and companionship in sharing everything with your classmates, which carries Along with participating in a number of activities as a cadet, Lessey was a for his last two years.

Upon graduation in June 1945, Lessey was commissioned in the United States Army Air Corps, which would become the United States Air Force on September 18, 1947.

“We received our Pilot’s Wings at Stewart Field three days before graduation,” He took B-25 training in Douglas, Ariz., and B-24 training in Smyrna, Tenn., before heading overseas to serve in the Army of Occupation in Germany.

Soccer continued to be a part of Lessey’s life during his military service. He and

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Lessey says.

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member of the ski team and became the goalkeeper on Army’s varsity soccer squad

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right on through your life.”

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After his time in Japan and Korea, Lessey accepted a commission in the Air Force Reserve and returned to Harvard, this time to earn a MBA degree from

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Harvard Business School. After graduating in 1956 with his business degree, Lessey pursued a 17-year career on Wall Street, which made it geographically easy to attend events or visit friends and classmates at West Point.

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He held a director position with the National Aviation Corporation trust and was an officer of the investment banking firm Shearson, Hammill & Co. In his Reserve career, after graduating from the Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama as a Distinguished Graduate, the Chief of Air Force Reserve called him to active duty to conduct a review of the entire management structure of the Air Force Reserve.

“We changed from a geographical to a functional organization, bringing the Reserves closer to the Active Force,” Lessey says. “We implemented the gaining command concept and improved readiness and mission responsiveness.

All this left the Air Force Reserve in good some classmates played on the U.S. Army team in Europe.

“Our international record was

graduated from Harvard Law School in 1951, just prior to being assigned to the

horrible as essentially a pick-up team,

U.S. Naval Academy to author and teach a

but it gave me some visibility,” Lessey

new course in Military Law because of

says. “A Belgian team wanted to hire me,

the passage of the new Uniform Code of

which led to my being assigned to the

Military Justice.

U.S. Olympic squad for five months in

“It was an exciting and sensitive

1948. Unfortunately, a broken bone in my

assignment and additionally, I was able to

left hand, which happened during a

qualify in the various aircraft at the Naval

game, precluded my making the team for

Air Station as well as their sailboat fleet,”

the trip to London.”

Lessey says. “I convinced a lot of top

Lessey later played on the Harvard graduate school team, and in Alumni games at West Point. In 1971, he

44

After his European duty, Lessey

midshipmen to select the Air Force for their service careers.”

Following his tour at the U.S. Naval

established the Col. Edward H. White II

Academy, Lessey headed to Japan to the

Award, which, since that time, has been

1503rd Air Transport Wing, where he

awarded annually to the outstanding

replaced former Army quarterback

graduating member of the men’s soccer

Arnold Tucker as a pilot in the 99th Air

team.

Transport Squadron.

shape for the vastly increased role it played in the coming Gulf War. “A most stimulating part of my life was serving in the Reagan Administration, being part of the ‘Reagan Revolution,’” Lessey says.

The President first appointed Lessey as Inspector General of the U.S. Synthetic Fuels Corporation from 1982 to 1986, and later as Director of the Selective Service System, where he served from 1987 to 1991.

“Each appointment required Senate confirmation, an experience in its own right, and each brought its own set of challenges and goals,” Lessey remembers.

After leaving Washington, Lessey was appointed Civilian Aide to the

“I thought, if the guy on my left can make it, and the guy on my right can make it, I sure as heck can make it. From an institution like this, there’s a great loyalty and companionship in sharing everything with your classmates, which carries right on through your life.”

— Sam Lessey

Secretary of the Army for New

Awards Convocation ceremony. Lessey

appointee, Lessey will always consider

Hampshire. He later was elected New

also serves on the selection committee

West Point a welcome place full of some

Hampshire State President for the

for the Army Sports Hall of Fame.

of his best memories.

Association of the United States Army.

Among his roles following his time in

“The pattern of my life has been

“Everyone needs a home plate and

beneficial because I’ve been in a variety

West Point is my home plate,” Lessey

public service or government, Lessey

of fields and each one was new and

says. “It has great significance in my life.

has served on the Board of Directors of

different,” Lessey says. “Therefore, there

It plays a huge role for me, both in the

the National Stroke Association since

was always a mental challenge. That has

fundamentals of life and in its spirit.

1990, working as Chairman from 1994 to

made life interesting. Some of it has been

Coming here is a special experience. I

2000. He now serves as Chairman

military, some of it has been business and

love the place.”

Emeritus.

some has been charity, and I think that

“My father suffered from right-side paralysis and speech loss for the last five

has been healthy for me.”

Even after all he has accomplished,

years of his life as a result of a stroke,”

whether as a general in the Air Force, a

Lessey says. “The mission of the National

business executive, or as a Presidential

His devotion to West Point is probably best expressed by the closing remarks from his speech at the 2013 Association of Graduates Donor Day Banquet: “To know West Point is to love it.” ★

Stroke Association is to ‘reduce the incidence and impact of stroke.’”

Lessey had continued to stay active in the West Point community when, in 2003, he was appointed to the Board of Visitors by President George W. Bush. He served on the Board for six years.

“That really brought me back to West Point and enabled me to observe firsthand how much the leadership development process has improved over the years,” Lessey says. “It confirmed my belief that West Point is clearly the best

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leadership development institution in the world.”

Lessey continues to be active at West Point, often making the trip down from his New Hampshire farm. Five times he was the senior graduate marching in the

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Along with his other endeavors,

alumni portion of the August ‘Plebe member of the Athletic Director’s Circle, was presented the Army “A” Club Award in 2012, and participates annually in the

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March-Back’ from summer camp. He is a

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The Lichtenberg Family E A FATHEr’S LEgAcy

By Brian gunning

A

nyone who has happened by the front steps of the Holleder Center on an Army Football Saturday has witnessed the legacy of Herb Lichtenberg. It is a legacy of

generosity and philanthropy that lives on today through his sons, Michael and Scott.

“Ever since I can remember, my father would tailgate,” Michael recalls. “At the time, all the cars parked on Howze Field. We used to throw the football around, and my mother and father would bring deli sandwiches. Then we started bringing a small hibachi. My father would bring extra hot dogs and hamburgers, and when cadets came by, he would pass them out. The one thing you can guarantee is that when a cadet gets a hamburger or hot dog, they’re going to show up at the next game with some friends.”

The Army men’s basketball team was one of the first groups to take up Herb’s offer of a free meal. That in turn led the women’s basketball and hockey teams to his spot on what is now the Black Knights’ practice field. When parking was discontinued in that area, Herb was able to parlay his relationship with then-Men’s Basketball Coach Les Wothke, into a spot in the parking area behind the Holleder Center. That is, until one rainy morning.

“One day it was raining ‘cats and dogs,’ and I was cooking with my father,” Michael remembers. “He told everyone to move it to the front patio underneath the overhang.

Everyone was saying, ‘You can’t do that,’ but my father said, ‘It’s easier to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission.’ We lifted the grills up and went under the overhang, and nobody ever asked him to leave.”

What started as a family tailgate on Howze Field has blossomed into an event where hundreds of cadets now enjoy a hamburger or hot dog on “Lichtenberg Plaza.”

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“When Herb was a cadet, the food was very mediocre,” his widow, Trudy, says. “He always said that he wanted to feed these kids good food. That was his original incentive. It more exciting for him. It was an evolution of interest. With each project, he became more and more interested. It became a second home to him, and the people up here that at first he was just working with, became his friends. He just loved everything about it.”

Despite Herb’s passing on October 27, 2009, the tradition still continues through the

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started out as a hobby, something to do on a Saturday. It just evolved. It became more and

generosity of his family. did. Coming up here is a small gesture to say, ‘Thank You’ for everything everyone up here does. They are the ones that will ultimately be putting themselves in harm’s way when they

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“It comes down to the cadets,” Michael says. “My father served, and Scott and I never

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Herb Lichtenberg (wearing hat) was responsible for feeding tens of thousands of cadets at his famous Army Football tailgates over the years. His legacy lives on today.

for that same building, the purchase and

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installation of a pipe organ in the Old Cadet Chapel and the renovation of windows, floors and pews of the facility.

It wasn’t just Herb’s financial resources that enabled him and his family to contribute so much to the West Point community. His

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ability to rally others around a project was just as vital.

“That’s why he was always successful in what he did,” Michael says. “He was the life of the party and always fun to be around.

People enjoyed being with him and doing things with him. I think that was part of his leadership and what he was about.”

While Herb’s “magnetic” personality often made him the center of attention, Alan’s involvement in the family’s graduate. I don’t think there is any way to

Lichtenberg brother to join the “Long Gray

philanthropy to West Point often gets lost, a

appropriately thank and appreciate them, so

Line.” Herb’s older brother, Alan, was a 1951

fact Herb’s sons and widow are quick to

this is our way. It certainly has to do with my

West Point graduate, who excelled

point out.

father’s legacy, but for me personally, it’s a

academically and joined the Engineers

way to say, ‘Thank You’ for the commitment

branch of the U.S. Army. It was that success

here has been overlooked,” Trudy says,

and sacrifice they make.”

that led to Herb’s enrollment at West Point.

“They were really a team in so many ways.

Echoing his brother’s sentiments, Scott

He was very active in building the Jewish

also added extra incentive for continuing the

University, he received a call from his

Chapel and the Tennis Center. He too was

tradition.

congressman who knew of his older

extremely dedicated to West Point.”

“The mission really is to provide

brother’s accomplishments. Based on that,

That Tennis Center, completed in 1999,

something for cadets, but it’s actually a lot of

he offered Herb an appointment to the

stands as one of the most visible signs of the

fun,” he says. “It’s a great way to spend a

Academy.

Lichtenberg family’s dedication to West

football Saturday in the prettiest college football location, bar none.”

Herb’s connection to West Point went well beyond tailgating. Herbert S. Lichtenberg graduated from West Point in

“He always said that if they asked him

Point. From his original tailgating days, Herb

the next day or the day before, he’s not sure

began to develop relationships with the

what he would have answered, but that day

athletic department, and his prior

he said, ‘Yes,’ ” Trudy says.

generosity provided him with access to the

The family’s generosity has contributed

Academy’s leadership. It was during a

1955, and after serving his country in the

to a long list of projects, most notably the

dinner with then-Superintendent Lt. Gen.

United States Air Force, joined the family

construction of the West Point Jewish Cadet

Dan Christman that the idea for the facility was first brought up.

business, S. Lichtenberg and Sons.

Chapel. In 1965, Herb joined a group whose

Recognized as one of the leaders in the

mission was to erect a Jewish chapel. That

home fashions industry, he became one of

group’s mission was finally realized when

Christman and his wife,” Trudy explains. “He

the most generous benefactors of the United

the building was completed in 1984.

and Herb talked about West Point, and he

States Military Academy and earned the 2006 West Point Association of Graduates Distinguished Graduate Award.

He was actually the second

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Already a student at New York

“A lot about my brother-in-law’s legacy

Improvements at many of the Academy’s faith-based buildings followed, including floor repairs at the Holy Trinity Chapel, design of an air conditioning system

“We were out to dinner with General

mentioned the need for a tennis center. My husband said, ‘I’ll build it for you.’ ” A quick call from Christman the next morning confirmed the plans.

“It comes down to the cadets. My father served, and Scott and I never did.

Coming up here is a small gesture to say, ‘Thank You’ for everything everyone up here does. They are the ones that will ultimately be putting themselves in harm’s way when they graduate. I don’t think there is any way to appropriately thank and appreciate them, so this is our way.”

— Michael Lichtenberg

“His line was, ‘I said it. I’m going to do it,’ ” Scott says.

It was not just the Lichtenberg family

basketball programs. From there, he turned

got up in the morning for, to come up here

his attention to the construction of on-post

and say, ‘I’m going to make something

housing for West Point’s intercollegiate

happen.’ In each case, there was a need for

who helped bring that original vision to

athletic coaches. In addition to the first wave

something, and somebody had to step up

fruition. Herb was able to rally tremendous

built under Herb’s supervision, Scott and

and do it. That’s really his legacy.”

support for the project from the Class of

Michael have been heavily involved in the

That ability to make things happen has

1955. The entire group’s willingness to

opening of several more. The project

been passed down to his sons. In addition to

provide for the project led to what remains

concluded with construction on the last of 17

their involvement in the tailgate and

one of the nation’s premier facilities. The

head coaches’ homes completed this spring

coaches’ housing project, Scott and Michael

building stands as the Class of 1955’s 50th

and turned over to the athletic department,

have been generous benefactors of planned

reunion gift to the Academy.

courtesy of the Lichtenbergs’ generosity.

upgrades for Army’s lacrosse facilities and

The building had immediate impact.

“All these projects required bringing a

additional practice fields.

Both the men’s and women’s teams have

lot of people together,” Scott says. “You

established themselves as the premier

needed to bring all sorts of constituencies

and fortunately, we’re in a position to help,”

programs in the Patriot League. The men’s

together, and he had that knack and ability

Scott says. “I think it’s similar motivation. We

team captured the 2014 conference

to get everyone in the same room and get

look forward to continuing the relationship.”

championship, its fourth in the last 12 years,

everything lined up. That’s how he made

while the women’s squad won nine straight

these things happen. That was what he really

“There is more that needs to be done,

So do hundreds of hungry cadets on Saturday afternoons in the fall.

★

league titles from 2005 to 2013.

“It’s a good feeling knowing all that my father accomplished and all that he was able to do here,” Michael says. “You hear the stories from (Army Men’s and Women’s Tennis Coaches) Jim Poling and Paul Peck about the days before the tennis center.

They would have to travel 45 minutes each way to practice each day, and they didn’t

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have as many courts. Now, you see the great

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run of the men’s and women’s teams, and a lot of that has to do with the tennis center.

Athletics is such a part of the education of the cadets that to have this facility here, it really shows what he accomplished and the lasting effect.”

Sports Center, the 23,000-square-foot home of Army gymnastics which also contains a practice court utilized by the Black Knights’

(From left) Michael and Scott Lichtenberg take time for a photo outside the Lichtenberg Tennis Center. The brothers have continued the family legacy of generous philanthropy toward the United States Military Academy scripted by their parents, Herb and Trudy Lichtenberg.

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Following the completion of that project, Lichtenberg began work on the Gross

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Dave Magarity E THE Long AnD wInDIng roAD

By Mike vaccaro

D

ave Magarity had lived in the Hudson Valley long enough to know he was going to have a splendid day anyway on that eighth of October, 2005. His assignment for the

day: make the half-hour drive from his home in Wappingers Falls, N.Y., cross the river, and attend a football game at Michie Stadium between Army and Central Michigan as a representative of the Mid-American Conference (MAC), Central Michigan’s league, for which he served as Assistant Commissioner in charge of Men’s Basketball Operations.

“It was a pretty easy work day, watching a football game in this magnificent setting,” Magarity says, “that only wound up changing my life forever.”

Magarity had spent 18 years coaching the men’s basketball team at Marist, and every other season he’d brought his Red Foxes to Christl Arena to play Army in what was generally a spirited contest between natural geographic rivals. In those years, he’d gotten to know many of Army’s coaches, administrators and support staff, and he’d developed friendships with several of them, so there were many familiar faces to greet when he walked into the press box that morning. One of them was Bob Beretta, who’d grown fond of Magarity when he ran the Academy’s sports information office for many of those old Marist-Army bouts, who

by October 2005 had been promoted to Senior Associate Athletic Director.

“If you get a moment,” the old SID told the old coach, “there’s someone I’d like you to meet.”

Her name was Maggie Dixon.

And Magarity was right: his career – and his life – was about to change. Forever.

“Here’s the thing,” Dave Magarity says, “I had already come to terms with the fact that

Magarity sips from an iced tea and he smiles. A few weeks earlier, he had led Army’s women’s basketball team to its second-ever berth in the NCAA Tournament at the Division I level, taking the Black Knights on a terrific run that included the 2014 Patriot League championship and a first-round date with Maryland, a powerful team that would go on to qualify for the 2014 Final Four but would also call its first time-out of the tournament with nine minutes

“I think everybody who was with us made sure to take a picture of that,” Magarity says, laughing.

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and nine seconds remaining in the first half, look up at the scoreboard at Comcast Center in College Park, Md., and note a most surprising set of numbers: Army 18, Maryland 15.

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administration, get a ‘real’ job.”

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the coaching part of my career was over. And I was at peace with that. My kids were almost grown. I was getting older. It seemed natural that it was time to try something else, go into

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(Pa.), at the tender age of 26 and in 1981 led the Red Flash to 17 wins; in the 33 years since, only one St. Francis season has ever yielded more victories. Yet Magarity was

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fired only two years later, and for the first time learned the harsh realities of the sport’s bottom line – and also, for the first time, faced the prospect of leaving coaching.

Pat Kennedy made sure he wouldn’t have to, hiring Magarity to be an assistant for

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some very good Iona teams in the mid-‘80s, setting him up to get the Marist job in the spring of 1986. It was a wonderful sense of serendipity for Magarity, who would inherit a junior-to-be named Rik Smits and would guide the Red Foxes to a 20-10 record and a bid in the NCAA Tournament. It was Magarity’s first taste of the NCAAs, and it left a permanent impression.

“But it was such a blur,” he says. “We It didn’t much matter that the Terrapins

in the myriad emotions of a 40-minute game,

had this incredible player (Smits would play

would soon seize control of the game and

reflecting every made three-pointer, every

12 successful seasons in the National

advance with a 90-52 win, sparking their

missed defensive assignment, every blown

Basketball Association, all with the Indiana

march to Nashville. For Army, what mattered

referee’s call, every fateful twist and every

Pacers) and were on this incredible ride and

was the journey through the regular season,

fretful turn.

I remember thinking even as it was

through a heartbreaking near-miss at Ohio State in December that illustrated how good they could be to the finals of the Patriot

“And to think,” he says, “I thought I was over all of this.”

You can understand why. By the time

happening, ‘I wish I could enjoy this a little more.’ ” Those feelings would only intensify as

League championship game, a 68-58 victory

Magarity took his first meeting with Maggie

his tenure at Marist lengthened. Almost

that proved it, their 25th win of the season

Dixon, he’d spent almost every second of his

immediately the good feelings of that rookie

and seventh in a row down the stretch.

adult life – except a brief hitch in the (gasp)

ride were sabotaged by an NCAA probation

Navy reserves – around basketball. He’d

meted out due to transgressions by the prior

been hired by his alma mater, St. Francis

coaching staff and a ban from the 1988

Through all of it there was Magarity – coaching, coaxing, cajoling, his face a study

Tournament, Smits’ senior year. Over the next 15 years Magarity produced some terrific teams, experienced the dry spells that every mid-major endures in the years in between, and always had to work against the enormous standards that had been set early in his time there. But NBA lottery picks don’t arrive at a school like Marist more than once in a lifetime. By 2004, Magarity was coaching for his job. And by season’s end, had lost it.

“I had a good run,” he says. “It was disappointing, but you learn from things like that. I had 23 years as a coach. The overwhelming majority of coaches never get that long. I was lucky. And now it was time for

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something else.”

He dabbled in broadcasting. He took an administrative job locally with the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, then got hired by the MAC, and even though he’d only been on the job a few weeks when he took his trip to West Point, he had to admit to himself: he missed coaching. What can you say? It gets in your blood, it stays in your blood.

And then Maggie Dixon said, “I’d really like you to be my assistant coach.”

Magarity knew Dixon’s brother, Jamie, who by then was the head coach at Pittsburgh but in 2001 had been an assistant there when Magarity brought Marist to Pitt and took the Panthers to overtime.

Immediately, he felt comfortable with Maggie. But to start coaching women’s basketball? After all those years with the men? And as an assistant? And what of his family; his wife, Rita, had experienced the

with something beyond joy. And also

coaching roller coaster, all of it. What would

convinced him that he still had plenty left to

she say?

give to the game.

“Does this mean we don’t have to move to Cleveland?” Rita asked. So she was in.

Which is why he was in Portsmouth, Va., on April 6, watching NBA prospects and

Dave enjoys a special moment with his granddaughters, Charlotte (left) and Taylor (right), inside Christl Arena.

But wanted him to stay anyway.

He stayed.

And Maggie kept making a compelling

sitting next to his old assistant coach at

argument: she was only 28 years old. She’d

Marist, Jeff Bower. Bower was the newly

he says. “I don’t think you can ever predict

never been a head coach before. What she

named general manager of the New Orleans

the path you’re going to take. And when

needed was something baseball managers

Hornets, and he’d offered Magarity a job,

Maggie died … there’s almost a guilt that

have sought for years: a bench coach, a wise

and Magarity had agreed though he hadn’t

takes over. But what we’ve done here is try to

and wizened old hand. And there was

signed anything yet. At some point, his

make this a program she would’ve been

something else, too.

phone rang with impossible news: Maggie

proud of. She built the foundation. And

had died. An enlarged heart. Magarity was

inspires everything else.”

“You spoke to Maggie for five minutes,”

“It’s really amazing, if you think about it,”

Magarity says, “and you knew there was

on a plane back to West Point, shaken with

something special about her, something

grief, when an Academy official approached

Not only has he won 146 games in his eight

special about what she was doing, and you

him.

years at the helm – to go with the 313 he

And it was a glorious ride. Army went

he said.

It was the players who convinced him. It

compiled as a men’s coach – but he helped launch the career of his daughter, Maureen, who assisted him his first few years and is

win over Holy Cross in the Patriot League

had been a rocky courtship at first, the gruff

now a successful head coach in her own

title game. A raucous crowd came to Christl

and opinionated assistant coach and the

right, at New Hampshire.

that night, and Maggie was carried off the

green players, but they’d quickly clicked,

floor by giddy members of the sprint

and as a group devastated by their coach’s

And this year, he finally made it back to the NCAA Tournament as a head coach, 27

passing, they told Magarity how much they

years after his first trip. And this time, he

wanted him to coach them. They understood

knew what to do.

play in the NCAAs at the Division I level, and

he had an opportunity to work in the NBA.

it was a moment that filled Magarity’s heart

Told him they understood if he took that job.

“I savored every second of it,” he says. ★

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football team. It was the first time any basketball team representing Army would

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20-11 that year, capped by a thrilling 69-68

“We want you to take over for Maggie,”

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wanted to be a part of it.”

It has been a splendid run for Magarity.

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Bob novogratz E A grEAT AMErIcAn STory

By Mark Beech

B

ob Novogratz knows all about being part of something bigger than himself. He grew up in a family of six children. He and his wife, Barbara, have seven of their own. As a

member of the “Long Gray Line,” he played on one of the finest teams in the history of Army

Football. And after he graduated from West Point in 1959, he served his country for 30 years.

Easy-going and unassuming, Novogratz speaks in a hushed tone that is just above a whisper.

While his personality might be modest, his principles are not. In three decades, he had a number of chances to leave the United States Army, sometimes for more lucrative pursuits, but he always declined.“He was too idealistic to get out,” says Barbara. “[Whatever jobs he was offered] didn’t seem to him to be as important as what he was doing in the Army.”

An Infantry officer, Novogratz specialized in logistics, contracting and international programs. He rose to the rank of Colonel, and his final active-duty tours were as the Head of Army Contracting in Europe and as an Assistant to the Secretary of the Army. Along the way, he and Barbara raised a family that has become not only prominent, but also influential. The seven Novogratz children are an eclectic, highly successful bunch.

Jacqueline, the oldest, is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Acumen Fund, a non-profit venture capital enterprise with the goal of creating “a world beyond poverty;” she is also the best-selling author of The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World. Bob and his wife, Cortney, have their own successful design business in New York City and, along with their seven kids, star in the HGTV series “Home by Novogratz.” Michael is a principal at the hedge fund Fortress Investment Group. Elizabeth is a freelance writer. John is the Global Head of Marketing and Investor Relations at the Millennium Partners hedge fund. Amy, who was formerly the director of the TED prize – awarded annually at the Technology, Entertainment, and Design Conference – is now a Managing Partner of Aqua-Spark, an investment fund focused on sustainable aquaculture RBC Capital Markets in New York. raise a brood of such super-achievers Novogratz pauses to think, and then says, “We don’t have a good answer.” But Barbara, for her part, is adamant that the size of the family had something to do with it. Bob completed two tours in Vietnam and one in Korea from 1964 to 1971, leaving Barbara on her own for extended periods with the couple’s four oldest children. where they came from. They were part of a tribe.”

The son of Austrian immigrants, Bob Novogratz grew up in eastern Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley in the mill town of Northampton, home of the Universal Atlas Cement Company.

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“They helped each other,” she says of her kids. “I told them about their Dad. They knew

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When asked how he and Barbara, whom he married in February 1960, managed to

★

and ocean technologies. Matthew, the youngest, is the director of Foreign Exchange Sales at

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into a top-flight university, he set his sights on

a very big thing to him. Not until later in life

Bob was a boy, Frank would arrive home

Blair Academy, a prep school in

did it really occur to me why that was: He

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★ FIRST

of cement in the mill’s pack house. When after work covered in the gray dust that hung

northwestern New Jersey. Two of Bob’s older

was an immigrant, he worked in the mill, and

in the air at the place. Frank Novogratz, with

brothers had been good high school players,

this was an important opportunity for me

★

His father, Frank, was a gruff, taciturn laborer

High, he had not been recruited to play

mentality,” says Novogratz. “He was not a

for Universal who spent his days filling bags

college football. Determined to earn his way

very communicative guy, but I knew this was

his thick Austrian accent, was a passionate

and two of his cousins who had spent a year

from his perspective. Him getting my

believer in the American ideal, and along

at Blair had ultimately earned football

appointment to West Point was probably his

with his wife, Stella, he raised his six children

scholarships to Virginia. Novogratz worked

proudest achievement.”

to trust in the virtues of hard work and

as a day laborer on the Northampton and

Novogratz had wrestled for the first time

representative democracy. He had been a

Bath Railroad the summer after his high

at Blair, where his long arms and powerful

loyal member of the local chapter of the

school graduation and scraped together

upper body made him a natural grappler.

Democratic Party since the early years of the

about $3,500, enough to cover most of his

But two surgeries on his right knee in his first

Depression, when, to earn extra money, he

tuition. The school also provided him with a

18 months as a cadet had interrupted his

had driven voters to the polls in his Essex

small financial aid package when he was

mat career. Novogratz was wrestling as a

Super Six sedan. Bob worked throughout his

admitted in the fall of 1954.

heavyweight in the winter of his Third Class

childhood and held down three jobs when he was in high school, delivering

That year at Blair turned out to be everything Novogratz had hoped for. Playing

year when Earl “Red” Blaik, Army’s legendary football coach, spotted him

newspapers in the morning, shining shoes in

offensive tackle for Coach Steve Koch, he put

during a practice and ordered defensive line

the afternoon, and setting up pins in the

40 pounds on his skinny frame. By the

coach Frank Lauterbur to “get that kid out for

evening at the bowling alley attached to the

spring, he had scholarship offers from the

football.” Novogratz jumped at Lauterbur’s

Liederkranz, Northampton’s bustling

University of Pennsylvania and the University

offer, and thus began his meteoric rise to the

German social club. During the summer, he

of Virginia. But Frank, through his political

top of the depth chart: He made the “A

earned extra money delivering ice.

contacts, had secured him an appointment to

Squad” during spring practice, and

Novogratz desperately wanted to go to

West Point. Bob had not been recruited to

supplanted classmate Bill Rowe as the

college, but he needed a scholarship in

play football at the Academy, and the

starting left guard after Army’s opening 42–0

order to afford school. As a skinny,

appointment was a surprise to him.

undersized defensive end at Northampton

“My father had a real cement worker’s

victory over Nebraska in 1957. Novogratz earned All-East honors, but a right ankle sprain hampered him during the bitter loss to Navy at the end of the season.

Novogratz was hardly an unknown entering the 1958 season – when Blaik unleashed his “Lonely End” offense on an unsuspecting nation – though he was usually singled out as the lone returning starter on Army’s offensive line. The substitution rules of the time, however, dictated a form of ironman football, and it was on the other side of the line of scrimmage where Novogratz, a linebacker, truly stood out. Blaik described him as the “sword and flame” of the Army defense.

(PICTURED LEFT) Bob receives his Army Sports Hall of Fame induction plaque from Army Director of Athletics Boo Corrigan (left) and then-United States Military Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. David Huntoon Jr. (right) in September 2011.

(PICTURED OPPOSITE TOP) Bob and the extended Novogratz family gather for a portrait.

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At 6’2” and 210 pounds, Novogratz was quick, aggressive, and prodigiously strong.

Indeed, he might have been one of the most powerful players, pound for pound, in college football. He had skinny legs but long, muscular arms that were, in the words of fullback Harry Walters, “like two axes.” In addition to being one of the strongest players on the team, Novogratz was an anaerobic marvel who rarely failed to give Blaik more than 50 minutes a game. In Army’s 14-2 defeat of fourth-ranked Notre Dame on Oct. 11,1958 Novogratz played 56 minutes in an 18-tackle performance.

The win over the Fighting Irish was one of the highlights of the last truly great season of Army Football. The Black Knights, led by halfbacks Bob Anderson and Pete Dawkins, and end Bill Carpenter – who became a national sensation by splitting at least 10 yards wide of the offensive line on every play and never returning to the huddle – went 80-1, led the country in passing offense and finished the season ranked third nationally.

Their defense, led by Novogratz, gave up only 5.4 points per game. Dawkins won the Heisman and Maxwell trophies as the best player in college football, and he, Anderson and Novogratz were each named AllAmerica.

“As far as his position,” says Rowe, the team’s center and nose guard, “Bob was better than Anderson or Dawkins.”

Lauterbur – who, before he came to West Point coached All-Pro defensive linemen Eugene “Big Daddy” Lipscomb and Art Donovan with the Baltimore Colts – says

that Novogratz was “probably the best all-

cooperation and getting people to do

around defensive player I ever coached.”

things.”

Novogratz won the Knute Rockne

After he retired from the Army,

Award, given by the Touchdown Club of

Novogratz continued to work as a consultant

Washington, D.C., as college football’s

on international defense issues. He retired

outstanding lineman. In late-January, he went

for good in 2008, but he and Barbara are as

to the nation’s capital for the awards

busy as ever, splitting their time between

ceremony, where other honorees included

their homes in Arlington, Va., and

Baltimore Colts quarterback Johnny Unitas

Amagansett, N.Y., and shuttling back and

and Cleveland Browns running back Jim

forth in support of their children’s efforts.

Brown. During the dinner, Brown took a moment to admire Novogratz’s trophy, a wooden square base topped by a lineman in a three-point stance, and said, “I dig your trophy, man.”

Novogratz had brought his parents to

“We never stop,” says Barbara. “We’re continually doing something.”

Both Barbara and Bob have been active in their support of the Acumen Fund, which is run by their oldest daughter, Jacqueline, who cites her father as a source of

the banquet, and after the meal was over, he

inspiration. “I think that he always felt as if

was surprised to see his father, whose

he’d won the lottery,” she says, noting that he

command of English was not strong,

was the son of immigrants.

engaged in a friendly conversation with Vice

Bob Novogratz may have indeed been into something special – something more

President in 1960. When his appalled family

than a story of a West Point graduate made

asked him why he did not vote for John

good.

Kennedy, he said, “I never met Kennedy!”)

“My father came here as an immigrant

Novogratz is adamant that lessons he

on a ship when he was 15,” says Novogratz.

learned as a cadet, on the “fields of friendly

“He spent his life working in a mill. I went to

strife,” have been integral to his success at

West Point and became a Colonel in the Army. Our seven kids are doing amazing things. Barbara and I think this is a great

“I learned a lot,” he says, “from my gym teachers and coaches about teamwork,

American story.” ★

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the head of large groups – both in the Army and in his family.

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lucky, but his idealism has turned that luck

lifelong Democrat, cast his vote for Nixon for

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President Richard Nixon. (Frank Novogratz, a

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Mady Salvani E 50 yEArS oF HArD worK …

AnD counTIng By ryan J. yanoshak

T

he People Who Make A Difference Scholarship Breakfast is a perfect place to learn about the distinguished career of Mady Salvani.

With more than 50 years of service to the United States Military Academy, Salvani

knows a bit about developing leaders of character, helping others and selfless service.

She was honored recently, on a beautiful spring day at the West Point Club, applauded for her work in “the Hudson Valley communities who make a significant different in the lives of others.”

How Salvani manages to juggle her work in the Athletic Communications Department in the Office of the Directorate of Intercollegiate Athletics (ODIA), tend to her pets, both at her house in Highland Falls, N.Y., and around West Point, continue her strong relationship with her brothers and give back to the community is a testament to her tremendous work ethic.

Whether it is doing statistical work for Army women’s soccer, basketball or softball programs, producing media guides, collaborating with the media to publicize one of West Point’s athletes or helping an office co-worker, Salvani always finds a way to complete the job not only on time but also to the best of her ability.

It started when Salvani was hired in West Point’s Civilian Personnel Office to assist with processing finger prints of new employees. Just 18 years old at the time, Salvani quickly expanded her job responsibilities before moving to the Gifts Program Office in Headquarters Building. She was tasked with typing letters to people who made donations, no small task because typographical errors are unacceptable for anything the Salvani then moved to athletics, joining what was then referred to as the Sports Communications, many of the goals of the department remain the same. The office is responsible for generating publicity for West Point’s intercollegiate athletes, working with league officials weekly, monthly and yearly, keeping live statistics, generating media guides and game programs, providing research for the Kenna Hall of Army Sports and many more tasks. and had the opportunity to call watching a basketball game “Work.”

While the technology has changed – she now updates Twitter and Facebook social media sites, writes blog posts and handles desktop publishing with ease – the quality of

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She found her passion working in athletics, loving the competition and camaraderie

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Information Department. While the name of the office has been changed to Athletic

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Superintendent signs.

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Salvani was honored by the Eastern

Caslen, now a Lieutenant General and Superintendent at West Point, when he played on the football team and is quick to share a laugh with he and his wife, Shelly, any

winning The Bob Kenworthy Award and the

time she runs into the couple.

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College Athletic Conference Sports Information Directors Association twice,

the organization. The Marsh Award is given

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her work has remained a constant.

to those, in the opinion of the membership

working closely with national media on the

and Executive Board, has exhibited

emerging story of women competing at West

excellence in the field of sports information.

Point.

Irving T. Marsh Award. The Kenworthy Award is only given out at the discretion of the

started in athletics around the same time

Executive Board and in 2008, it honored

women began competing in athletics at West

Salvani for her contributions to the mission of

Point in 1976. While she worked with both male and female athletic programs, she was

Salvani collected that honor in 2001.

Don’t let the long hours she spends in her office at ODIA fool you though, Salvani is

She was also among the first females in West Point’s football press box. Media credentials used to specify that no women or

about much more than basketballs and

children were allowed in a working press

softballs.

box, and in fact, that statement was posted on

Any time there is an event, the first call is

the pass Salvani wore to work football games.

The list of tremendous athletes who

usually to Salvani, to lend her expertise with

She served as a “runner” when she started

have competed for Army during Salvani’s

a camera. Any time someone in the athletic

working in the athletic department, hustling

time is long, so long she hates to mention

department is honored, you can hear Salvani

between levels of the press box. Then, she

names for fear of leaving someone out.

asking for “Just one more shot,” ensuring she

moved onto typing the play-by-play, a

Football players Joe Albano and Charlie

captures the perfect image to document a

challenging task before the days of word

Jarvis and men’s basketball standouts Gary

signature moment.

processors.

Or, you may see Mady out and about at

She was a part of the athletic

Winton, Kevin Houston and Mike Silliman certainly come to mind, though.

West Point, ensuring a hungry cat is fed or

department when all of its coaches were

has some sort of shelter during a brutal New

housed in the same building, before offices

about the growth of women’s athletics, a

York winter.

were built at specific facilities. She remembers

favorite running back from back in the day

walking past Bobby Knight, Jack Riley,

or cadet-athletes that did amazing things

When she returns to her long-time home just outside Thayer Gate, Salvani is taking care of her own pets, one dog and one cat, but always subject to additional expansion.

Eric Tipton, Bill and Don Parcells.

“You got to know all of the coaches, in all

She can spend weeks telling stories

after graduation. She is quick to point out the first female General, Rebecca Halstead,

sports,” recalls Salvani. “To be around people

was a manager for the women’s basketball

like Bobby Knight and Bill Parcels was

team, one of the sports Salvani was

Salvani might check in on a neighbor or offer

special. They are all great to work with and

responsible for covering and with whom

assistance at Sacred Heart Church.

it’s amazing to see how successful our

Salvani worked closely.

Once the animals are taken care of,

While her years of experience have increased, Salvani has barely slowed down.

coaches became.”

Salvani and then-recent West Point

She can tell you about the incredible energy in 2006 when Maggie Dixon led

She did give up coaching the Sacred Heart

graduate Mike Krzyzewski used to spend

Army to its first Patriot League women’s

youth basketball team, preferring instead to

hours talking basketball.

basketball championship. She should know

concentrate on work instead of teaching

“I would always go to Mike to talk

because she was in the middle capturing

basketball,” Salvani remembers. “Especially

images as Dixon was carried off the court

technique or how to play defense, two

with how to deal with parents. He always told

by members of the U.S. Military Academy

signatures of the teams she coached for 45

me to keep it simple. To have a few plays and

Corps of Cadets.

young boys and girls the proper free throw

years.

Salvani has experienced a lot during

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Salvani was a trend-setter as well. She

run them over and over and not to make it too complicated. His office was close by and

Those years of experience have been valuable in one of Salvani’s secondary

her career and she is at the point now where

he was a young coach. It’s always nice when

duties, as the historian of the athletic

cadets are returning to West Point in

he comes back because he always says,

department. Need to know who is Army’s

leadership positions. She remembers Bob

‘Hello.’ ”

all-time leading rusher? (Mike Mayweather

“You got to know all of the coaches, in all sports. To be around people like Bobby Knight and Bill Parcels was special. They are all great to work with and it’s amazing to see how successful our coaches became.”

— Mady Salvani

with 4,299 yards), where to find the box

thrill. I come back from a big win and I am

Salvani. “I go to a lot of athletic events and

score from a women’s basketball game in

walking on air and my fingers are flying

when everyone stands at attention, it never

1996, or how to find a head shot of famed

across the keyboard I am so excited. The

gets old. I usually think of Francis Scott Key

football coach Earl “Red” Blaik? Call Salvani.

downside is when there is a tough loss and

and how he wrote the “Star Spangled

She will either know exactly where it is, or

it takes me twice as long as write a story. I

Banner.” I always think of that when I see the

make three phone calls to find out for you.

have been lucky. I get to watch sports and

cadets standing at attention. That’s the most

work with incredible people. Our office has

thrilling part, and it never gets old.”

Last summer, Salvani was presented with a 50-year citation by thenSuperintendent Lt. Gen. David Huntoon. A huge contingent of friends, co-workers and

always been like a family.

You get to know people, husbands, wives and children, and watch them grow

A mimeograph is no longer part of the tool kit and the way statistics are complied has changed throughout Salvani’s tenure.

staff were on hand for the special event.

up, and that’s special. Our office has always

Interestingly enough, Salvani knew Huntoon

been like another family. To me, it’s more

stats by hand,” Salvani recalls. “They were

from his days as an All-American fencer, a

than just a job.”

just coming out with small calculators. You

sport for which she handled Army’s publicity.

The family atmosphere is one of the things that keeps her going.

“I love sports,” Salvani says. “There is nothing more exciting. It is such a great

Despite providing statistics and writing

“When I first started, we used to do

couldn’t take an adding machine to a game

game stories on thousands of events, she

so we used this book to help you figure out

always looks forward to the start of the

percentages.

competition.

“When I go to any athletic event, I love when they play the National Anthem,” says

We didn’t provide halftime basketball statistics, we needed that time to figure them out. We would take hand-written notes and create a box score and if you were good, you had them compiled at halftime. Now, there is a computer program that does all that.

“The other change is Social Media.

Years ago, people on the West Coast couldn’t get the scores of Army football games until Sunday. We used to do the Army “A” Line (a telephone number you can call for scores) and would leave a long, detailed report. The long distance charges That’s how you found out the score of the Internet, it’s immediate.”

What hasn’t changed though is Salvani’s commitment to building future leaders of character. ★

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Mady receives a certificate commemorating her 50th year of government service from the then-United States Military Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. David Huntoon Jr. in July 2012.

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game. Now, with Twitter, Facebook and the

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were cheaper so people called on Sunday.

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rollie Stichweh E ALL ABouT TEAM

By Jack Ford

A

s the final seconds ticked away, the throng of jubilant gray-clad cadets swarmed the field. It was November 28, 1964, West Point had just beaten Navy, 11-8, ending

the ignominy of a five-game losing streak at the hands of the arch-rival Midshipmen. The

cadets hoisted the star of the “brave old Army team” upon their shoulders and, as the milky dusk settled upon the cavernous John F. Kennedy Stadium, paraded Rollie Stichweh around the field. With yet another spectacular performance in the final game of his Army career, having been named the “Outstanding Player” in this greatest of traditional rivalries for the second year in a row, Rollie Stichweh was now firmly established as one of the most accomplished Army players in the Academy’s long and rich history. And yet, in the midst of the elation, his thoughts – of joy and satisfaction, and even relief – were focused, not on his individual heroics, but on his team. For Rollie Stichweh, it was always about the team.

The value of teamwork was reinforced the moment he entered the Academy. As Stichweh recalls: “On the very first day of that intense first summer of cadet training, our ‘Beast Barracks’ squad leader emphasized one thing. He said, ‘Men, you need to understand this. None of you will make it through these first two months as a Plebe if you try to do it by yourself. You need each other in this first summer and, in fact, for the entire four years as a cadet. If you work together, you will succeed.’ And he was right. Learning to reach out to help, and to be helped by others, was the secret to success as a cadet and as a football player.”

Heralded as one of the most talented all-around athletes to emerge from the high school playing fields of Long Island, N.Y., Stichweh was a highly recruited prospect. But he had been attracted to West Point when he was young and, when it came time to choose a college, that attraction trumped the overtures of a number of major football programs. “As a young kid growing up on Long Island,” Stichweh remembers, “My Dad took me to an Army home football game. He was an Army Captain in World War II and a huge admirer of General Eisenhower. Nothing could have been more exciting than being at Michie Stadium on a

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beautiful October day to watch the Army team compete. My new heroes suddenly became Pete Dawkins, Bob Anderson, Bill Carpenter, Bill Rowe, Joe Caldwell, and others on that great an opportunity to attend West Point and to play for the Army football team. It meant the world to me.”

When Stichweh entered the Academy in the summer of 1961, the only question surrounding his football talent seemed to center upon what position would be best suited to defensive backfield. Entering his junior year in the fall of 1963, Coach Paul Dietzel decided to install him as the starting quarterback. Dietzel, who would later proclaim that Stichweh was the “greatest quarterback in Army history,” wanted the ball in his best player’s hands as often

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his prodigious skills. In his first year of varsity eligibility, he excelled as a starter in the

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1958 team. Thanks to support from my folks and high school coaches, I was lucky to be given

as possible. And, for the next two seasons, Dietzel’s confidence was rewarded as Stichweh

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exceeded even the lofty expectations of his legendary coach.

The 1963 Army team was one of the inspirational national stories of that football season. Preseason predictions had not been particularly kind to the Black Knights but, from the beginning of fall practice, the players sensed that the team had the capability and chemistry to be something special. And they quickly began to prove it on the field. The season began with shutout victories against Boston University and Cincinnati as both the offense and defense established themselves as dominant forces.

And Rollie Stichweh quickly established himself as the next great Army player, knifing through defenses on the ground, effective in the air, a threat returning punts and kickoffs, even continuing to play a stellar role in the defensive backfield as he rarely left the field.

As the annual clash with Navy

The game, which would become one of

second quarter score and the game was

the classics in this storied rivalry, was nearly

tied at halftime, 7-7. The second half,

never played. Following the assassination of

however, belonged to the Midshipmen as

approached, the Army team sported a 7-2

President John F. Kennedy just days before

they scored twice to take a 21-7 lead with

record and a national ranking, with losses

the game was scheduled to take place, the

less than 10 minutes remaining in the fourth

only to Minnesota and Pittsburgh and an

military establishment had considered

quarter. It appeared that Navy was on its way

upset victory over ninth-ranked Penn State.

cancelling the contest in deference to the

to a date in the Cotton Bowl.

But this was no ordinary Navy team. Ranked

loss of the Commander-in-Chief. But the

No. 2 in the nation, the Midshipmen, led by

Kennedy family, aware of the great love the

But Rollie Stichweh and the Black Knights were not finished. The Army offense

recently anointed Heisman Trophy winner

fallen President had for the traditions of the

put together an impressive drive, ending

Roger Staubach, were expected to play the

Army-Navy game, insisted that it should be

with Stichweh again plunging in for the

No. 1-ranked Texas Longhorns in the

played. And so the nation, searching for

score. Following Dietzel’s decision to try a

Cotton Bowl for the mythical national

some solace, watched, along with more than

two-point conversion, Stichweh dropped

championship – if they got past Army.

100,000 fans in Philadelphia’s Memorial

back, looked for a receiver, and then

Stadium, as “a game fit for a President”

scrambled across the goal line to make the

unfolded.

Army stopped the vaunted Navy

score 21-15 with barely six minutes left in the game. And then, in one of the more

offense on its first possession, and then drove

astounding moments in Army’s fabled

the length of the field, with Stichweh diving

history, its ensuing onsides kickoff was

into the end zone for the first score of the

recovered – by Rollie Stichweh. Taking over

game. Staubach led his team to a late

near the 50-yard line, Stichweh and the Army

(PICTURED LEFT) Rollie Stichweh scores a touchdown in the 1963 Army-Navy contest.

The play was the first ever to be shown via “instant replay” by a major television network.

found itself on the Navy 7-yard line, first-and-

offense drove the ball down the field and

(PICTURED ABOVE) Former rivals and current friends Roger Staubach (left) and Rollie Stichweh (right) celebrate Rollie’s induction into the Army Sports Hall of Fame in September 2012.

(PICTURED OPPOSITE) Rollie and Carole Stichweh pose inside the Kenna Hall of Army Sports.

64

goal to go, with time running out. The frenzied crowd, flooding down toward the playing field, was so loud that players remember the stadium actually shaking. The noise was so deafening that twice the officials stopped the clock (which was

allowed at the time) so that the Army players could hear the signals. Three rushing plays

quarterback to manage the clock…no excuses.”

That win against Navy in 1964, in which

“Being a West Point cadet,” says Stichweh, “was a transformational

brought Army to a fourth down at the Navy

he threw a touchdown pass and made the

experience for me, and helped me form

2-yard line with just seconds remaining.

game-ending tackle, was the perfect

values and principles which have guided

Army broke the huddle and dashed to the line of scrimmage. As he reached under

punctuation to a spectacular career.

me throughout my life. One has been the

Stichweh, who had been voted captain by

critical importance of teamwork. While it’s

center, Stichweh, realizing that his players

his teammates that season, led the team in

possible for an individual to accomplish

could not hear his signals, stepped away

rushing, passing, and scoring and was

certain things on his own, rarely does that

and, once again, implored the officials to

selected the team Most Valuable Player. He

ever occur without the benefit of terrific

stop the clock so that Army could run what

gathered an impressive array of accolades,

teammates. No one has been luckier than I

would be the last play of an extraordinary

earning All-America (Honorable Mention),

in that regard. Terrific teammates in the

game. But, inexplicably (at least to the Army

All-East (First Team), and Sports Illustrated’s

Corps and on the football squad at Army;

players and fans), this time the officials

“National Back of the Week” recognition, and

terrific teammates in my infantry company in

ignored the request and time expired before

was selected to play in both the North-South

the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Vietnam;

Army could snap the ball. One of the great

Shrine Game and the East-West All-

terrific classmates in the USMA Class of

games in college football history ended in

American Game.

1965; and, of course, terrific teammates in

confusion, with the officials sprinting off the

As a soldier, not surprisingly, it was

my family and close circle of friends. West

field as the Navy players rejoiced and the

again all about his team. A combat veteran of

Point taught me that the ability to form and

Army team staggered about in bewilderment

the war in Vietnam as a member of the

sustain special relationships with special

and painful disappointment.

173rd Airborne Brigade, he received

people flows from mutual feelings of trust

numerous awards, including two for heroism

and honesty. When those elements are in

under fire: the Bronze Star with “V” for valor

place, great things can happen – together.”

As an article in Sports Illustrated magazine days later noted: “The 1963 ArmyNavy game will surely be remembered for

and the Air Medal with “V” for valor. In that

the play that never was. Whatever had

perhaps most difficult of conflicts, he

of Army athletic luminaries, for Rollie

resulted – an Army score or a brave Navy

provided his soldiers with the same brand of

Stichweh the message – as an athlete, a

stand – would have made a perfect ending

inspirational leadership that he exhibited

soldier, a successful businessman, a

to a brilliant day of college football.”

As one of the radiant stars in the galaxy

when he graced the “fields of friendly strife”

community leader, a husband of 48 years to

at West Point. And in the years since his

his wife Carole, a father, and a grandfather –

that day than Rollie Stichweh, who was

graduation, West Point has never left his

has always been the same.

praised by Texas Coach Darrell Royal (who

heart as he has continued to serve his alma

was at the game to scout the Navy team) as

mater in a variety of leadership roles.

And no player had been more brilliant

It has always been about the team. ★

“the best back in the country.”

But if you ask Stichweh today to talk about that 1963 game and his national headline-garnering heroics, he will smile and politely shift the conversation to the 1964 game and Army’s upset win over another

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Staubach-led Navy team. Because that game – and that win – were all about the redemption, and believing in the power of dedication and comradeship, and the spirit of West Point. And if you ask him about the officials’ puzzling refusal to stop the clock on

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team. He will tell you that it was all about

that last play of the 1963 game, his answer is never shirked his responsibility, never sought to place blame, and who always put his team first: “It was my responsibility as the

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what you would expect from a leader who

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Trainor Family E ArMy ADvEnTurES ABounD By ryan J. yanoshak

I

t is a charming story. The way Donna Brazil and Tim Trainor first met has a fairytale feel. They were sophomore cadets, Yearlings in West Point speak, in

combatives class which at the time was co-educational. Tim was supposed to bend down on all fours so Donna could jump off of his back for a forward dive roll. It didn’t go exactly as planned and she ended up tripping over Tim. It didn’t matter. They started talking and eventually had their first date on Christmas Eve. It went well, very well. That meeting in combatives class has turned into a marriage that includes three children and a tremendous impact on the United States Military Academy.

Tim is now General Trainor, Brigadier General to be exact, and West Point’s Dean of the Academic Board. Donna is now Colonel (Ret.) Donna Brazil after concluding a tremendous military career that included two teaching assignments at the Academy.

Their military careers have taken them around the world and the number of cadets they have impacted totals in the thousands.

Not only are they graduates of West Point, all three of their children have also accepted the 47-month challenge of attending school at the U.S. Military Academy.

Zach is the youngest and entered West Point this summer as a freshman after completing a year at the U.S. Military Academy Preparatory School. He is a recruited football player who hopes to make his impact in the classroom and on the “fields of friendly strife” as a running back under first-year head coach Jeff Monken.

Daniel is a member of the Class of 2015. While you might see his younger brother on the football field, you will hear Daniel at a bevy of Army sporting events when he sings the National Anthem and is the President of the Glee Club.

Cory is the oldest of the three children and walked across the stage during

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commencement exercises in 2013 when her Dad presented her with her West Point diploma. Now stationed in Hawai’i, she currently holds the rank of second lieutenant.

“If you would have asked me back then, I was going to school, I was going to college,” Brazil says. “I wasn’t sure if the Army and West Point were for me. Then I graduated from an all-girls catholic high school on a Sunday and enlisted in the Army on many good and a few crazy ways. My family was always interested in serving in the community but I didn’t understand the military. I came here to go to college and came to love West Point, for what West Point stood for, the values, the structure. It really resonated

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a Wednesday so I could go to prep school. My life has never been the same since in

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A long and distinguished military career wasn’t the original plan for Brazil. She thought for sure a civilian college was what was best for her and then changed her mind.

with me.”

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— Brig. Gen. Tim Trainor

serving. What I love about the Army is the

operational Army. Then, I was able to

people I get to work with and the teams I

come back and get to work with such

got to be a part of. When the opportunity

outstanding young men and women.”

came to return to the faculty, we jumped at

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“Certainly, the best parts of my day are the interaction with cadets and faculty members. I say cadets first because they have such energy. The majority of them have a positive energy that fires you up.”

it. West Point continues to have criss-

of the U.S. Army and served posts in

crossed lines in our lives.”

Germany, Honduras, Fort Bragg, N.C., Fort

“My life is like team sports,” says Brazil. “Team sports are made up of

Riley, Kan., and Sarajevo, Bosnia.

He collected his MBA from the Fuqua

people and people matter. I have always

School of Business at Duke University and

been interested in people and

a Doctorate in industrial engineering from

understanding them. You can’t be a good

North Carolina State University. After

leader if you don’t understand people and

graduating from Duke, Trainor returned to

that’s the core of what we do. I felt very

West Point to teach before returning to the

strongly that the core course in leadership

field.

was as much a class in psychology than

Trainor came back to West Point a

anything else. The idea of learning to

second time, as professor and head of the

understand yourself and people and the

Department of Systems Engineering.

situation is what the course was all about.

“Certainly, the best parts of my day

“I loved it. The idea of preparing

are the interaction with cadets and faculty

cadets for what they didn’t know was

members,” says Trainor. “I say cadets first

pretty cool. When the opportunity came to

because they have such energy. The

return for my Ph.D and to come back to

majority of them have a positive energy

1983, she served in a host of commands,

West Point and not only teach cadets but

that fires you up. When I think about

including Kaiserslautern, Germany, Fort

to teach and mentor Captains and Majors

cadets they all come here intellectually

Bragg, N.C. and Fort Riley, Kan. She

was really a good fit to what I found my

sharp and physically fit and that’s great.

earned her master’s degree from the

strengths to be and what I found

We do a good job of recruiting those

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

enjoyment in. “

characteristics. What strikes me so much

After graduating from West Point in

and then returned to West Point to teach from 1992 to 1995.

Brazil returned to Chapel Hill for her doctoral studies and came back to West

Nor was her husband thinking about

about them is a genuine desire to serve

a military career that began centered on

others. It is genuine. That’s what gets me

academics.

fired up and you get that youthful zeal that

“I can’t say I had an epiphany where I

Point to teach again in 2001 in the

wanted to get involved in academics,”

is directed to serving others as an Army officer.”

Department of Behavioral Sciences and

says Trainor. “The Army is very good

Leadership, a position she held until her

about offering you opportunities in your

13th Dean of the Academic Board,

retirement in May of 2013.

career that maybe take you in a direction

assuming that position in 2010.

“I didn’t understand at the time how

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Trainor entered the Engineer branch

you didn’t think about. I was stationed at

From there, he was chosen as the

“Being the Dean of the Academic

much I would enjoy teaching,” she says. “I

Fort Bragg when the Army offered me the

Board is really an honor for me,” says

thought I would like it; I didn’t think I

great opportunity to get my MBA and

Trainor. “I don’t say that lightly. It truly is an

would love it. The Army is about people

come back to teach at West Point. I came

honor to be entrusted to serve in this

and teams. You get to be a part of an

back to West Point and loved it, although I

position where I have a large impact on

incredible team the whole time you are

wanted to get back out into the

the development of cadets and the

programs we use to serve the Army and

significant role in the other programs,

graduated from West Point in 1981. His

the nation as leaders of character.

working with the Superintendent and

wife, the former Eileen Mulholland, was

Commandant.”

my classmate. I wasn’t surprised that my

“Primarily, what I do is ensure that the programs that we have are developed,

Like his wife, Trainor can be found at

daughter decided to come here. She

assessed and refined as needed to make

most sporting events, supporting the

always had what I thought it took to be a

sure that we are educating and

cadets no matter the sport.

successful cadet in terms of her

developing cadets to be the best leaders they can. That’s the biggest thing I do,

While the couple’s three children

personality. She decided to come last-

have all attended the same school, it has

minute. Cory wanted to study engineering

ensuring that our programs are

been a much different experience for

and play lacrosse and also wanted to join

developed and implemented so they

each.

the Army. She applied at several schools

deliver the best possible education. My

“West Point has had a tremendous

and was going to go to Rensselaer

primary focus is on the academic

impact on my life,” says Trainor. “My wife

Polytechnic Institute on an ROTC

program and education. I also have a

is a graduate. My brother, James,

scholarship. She changed her mind at the last minute and decided to come to West Point. What convinced her was she spent time going to classes like any cadetcandidate and met with the team and they convinced her it was the place for her.

“My oldest boy, Danny, was all set to go to Wake Forest on an ROTC scholarship and changed his mind and decided to come to West Point, and I am glad he did. My youngest, Zack, just finished a year at the U.S. Military Academy Prep School and is excited. All three are following in our footsteps but on very different paths which is amazing given we are a military organization. Our oldest played lacrosse and was high in the cadet leadership chain and did very well academically. Danny is also doing well academically and he chose to major in the humanities. He is involved in the Glee Club and his path is very different.”

“Zack is a recruited football player so his path will be very different as well.”

What’s next for the Trainor family is

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mostly undetermined but you can be sure that Trainor and Brazil will attend as many continue to work closely with cadets and enjoy the role education plays in their career.

The kids? Well, they are just

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sporting events as schedules allow,

beginning an Army adventure that is sure aren’t even aware. ★

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to open many doors, plenty of which they

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Acknowledgements Editorial Contributors Bob Beretta is the Executive Athletic Director at the United States Military Academy. A local product with deep-rooted ties to the Hudson Valley, Beretta is in 14th year on the senior leadership team and 28th overall in West Point’s athletic department.

Formerly an award-winning sports information director, Beretta now oversees Army’s football, hockey, baseball and women’s basketball programs, among other duties. He also manages Army’s athletic communications, multi-media, broadcasting and sponsorship endeavors. A graduate of St. Bonaventure University, Beretta is a member of the Football Writers Association of America, U.S. Basketball Writers Association, National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics.

Harrison Antognioni is in his second year with the Army Athletic Communications staff. He serves as the primary contact for the Black Knights’ men’s soccer, women’s basketball and women’s lacrosse programs. Antognioni arrived at West Point after working as an intern at St. Michael’s College in Colchester, Vt., where he assisted with the publicity and media relations of the college’s 21 sports. A graduate of St. Michael’s College, Antognioni also worked with the Burlington Free Press and Green Mountain Rock Crushers, a professional ice hockey team.

Mark Beech is a second generation West Point graduate and a senior editor at Sports Illustrated magazine. He is the author of When Saturday Mattered Most: The Last Golden Season of Army Football. A member of West Point’s Class of 1991, Beech spent five years in the United States Army before pursuing his journalism career. Beech spent a decade covering college football for Sports Illustrated and has also written about a wide range of other sports including college basketball, horse racing and NASCAR. He currently is the magazine’s National Hockey League and horse racing editor.

Wayne Coffey is an award-winning sports writer for the New York Daily News and the author of more than 30 books. A resident of the Hudson Valley, Coffey authored The Boys of Winter, a book about the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team, among others. A three-time Pulitzer nominee, Coffey has been named one of the nation’s top feature writers by the Associated Press three times in the last six years.

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John Feinstein is an award-winning sportswriter, author and sports commentator. The author of 32 books, including “A Civil War: Army vs. Navy” about the Army-Navy rivalry and “The Last Amateurs,” a book about Patriot League basketball, Feinstein is a writer for the Washington Post and hosts The John Feinstein Show on CBS Sports Radio in addition to his commentary work with the Golf Channel. A graduate of Duke University, Feinstein served as an essayist for CBS Sports Network during the 2013 football season and was featured in Army’s broadcasts.

Jack Ford has spent more than two dozen years in front of the television camera as presenter of numerous news and entertainment programs. An Emmy and Peabody Award winning journalist, Ford is a former trial attorney. Ford is a visiting professor at Yale University, New York University and the University of Virginia and the author of The Walls of Jericho.

He was the Executive Producer of the documentary “Marching On: the 1963 Army-Navy Game and the Assassination of JFK” that aired on CBS Sports Network and is currently working on a story about the Army-Navy rivalry for “60 Minutes Sports.”

Kevin Gleason is an award-winning columnist at the Times Herald-Record in Middletown, N.Y. A staff member of the paper since 1989, Gleason has covered nearly every sport at West Point, first as a writer and feature author, and later as the paper’s signature columnist. He is a graduate of SUNY Plattsburgh.

Brian Gunning, now Specialist, Marketing and Public Relations at St. Luke’s Hospital, spent seven years as a member of the Army Athletic Communications staff. He served as the primary media contact for Army’s football, men’s basketball and golf programs among other duties. A graduate of Ithaca College, Gunning worked at Ithaca, Syracuse University, Marshall University and Ohio University before arriving at West Point. A College Sports Information Director of America award winner, Gunning was also responsible for layout and design for the Army football game program and many of the Army Athletic Association’s collateral materials.

Tracy Nelson is now Public Relations Representative at Paychex, Inc., following seven years as a member of the Army Athletic Communications staff. Nelson served as the primary contact for Army’s lacrosse and hockey programs and prior to that women’s basketball, women’s tennis and volleyball teams. A graduate of St. Bonaventure University, Nelson worked at Lafayette College before West Point. A College Sports Information Director of America award winner, Nelson was also responsible for oversight of the Army Athletic Association’s official website throughout her West Point tenure.

Mady Salvani is in her 46th year with the Army Athletic Association and is a member of the Black Knights’ Athletic Communications staff. Salvani serves as the primary contact for Army’s women’s soccer, rifle and softball programs and is also the Director of Research and Special Projects. A talented photographer, Salvani started her career with West Point’s Public Affairs Office and recently completed her 51st year working at the Academy.

Mike Vaccaro is the lead sports columnist at the New York Post, a position he has held since 2002. Previously a columnist at The Star-Ledger, Kansas City Star and Times Herald-Record, Vaccaro is also the author of several books, mostly recently “Mariano Rivera: Saving Grace,” which was published last year.

Ryan J. Yanoshak is in his eighth year as a member of the Army Athletic Communications staff. He serves as the primary contact for Army’s football program and oversees the Athletic Communications office. A graduate of Bloomsburg University with a master’s degree from East Stroudsburg University, Yanoshak also serves as Deputy Licensing Director, and as the Special Assistant to the Executive Athletic Director.

Image Contributors Anthony Battista is in his 21st year as a photographer and graphic designer at West Point. A graduate of Rhode Island School of Photography, he opened his own printing business working with Hudson Valley professionals for 13 years before taking a two-year sabbatical spent in Maine photographing the scenic beauty of its coastal islands and towns. He shot the anchor photo for the Trainor Family piece.

John Pellino is in his 14th year as a photographer and graphic designer at West Point. A graduate of the University of Central Florida, he spent six years on active duty in the United States Army with assignments in Panama and the Pentagon. He also served as head coach of West Point’s women’s club lacrosse team from 2009 to 2014. Pellino shot photos for the Maj. Ashlie Christian, 2nd Lt. Lindsey Danilack, Becky Halstead, William Hurtado, Sam Lessey, Lichtenberg family, Dave Magarity and Mady Salvani stories.

Danny Wild is in his eighth year as a reporter and photographer for MLB.com, the official website of Major League Baseball. He began volunteering at West Point as a photographer in 2009 after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in journalism from SUNY New Paltz. His work with Army has been published by ESPN.com, Sports Illustrated magazine, The New York Times, Daily News and more. Wild shot the anchor photo for the Rollie Stichweh piece.

MISSION FIRST

Mission First was printed by the Elm Press.

Staff Sgt. Terrance Payton is a Public Affairs Non Commissioned Officerer for 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division. A graduate of the United States Defense Information School, he spent 12 years on active duty in the United States Navy and the United States Army with assignments in Germany, Naval Air Station Norfolk, Naval Engineering Station Lakehurst, N.J., Fort Lee, Va. and Fort Bragg, N.C. Payton provided the anchor photo for the 1st Lt. Erin Anthony story.

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Tommy Gilligan has been a professional photographer for over 11 years. He spent four years working as a staff photojournalist for the United States Military Academy and now works as a freelance photographer. Prior to arriving at West Point, Gilligan served as a Photographers Mate in the United States Navy for six years.

Gilligan also shoots for the New York Giants as well as other professional and NCAA teams. Gilligan provided photos for the Herman Bulls, Dan Christman, Col. Greg Gadson and Bob Novogratz pieces.

Jon Malinowski is Professor of Geography in the Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering at West Point.

Currently in his 20th year on the faculty, Jon has volunteered as a photographer for the Army Athletic Association and other West Point offices for a decade. His work has been published in Sports Illustrated magazine, ESPN The Magazine, and several major newspapers. He provided photos for the Andrew Avelino story.

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★ FIRST MISSION

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Mission First is dedicated to the American Soldier

“Yours is the profession of arms, the will to win, the sure knowledge that in war there is no substitute for victory, that if you lose, the Nation will be destroyed, that the very obsession of your public service must be duty, honor, country.

Others will debate the controversial issues, national and international, which divide men’s minds. But serene, calm, aloof, you stand as the Nation’s war guardian, as its lifeguard from the raging tides of international conflict, as its gladiator in the arena of battle.

For a century and a half you have defended, guarded, and protected its hallowed traditions of liberty and freedom, of right and justice … … You are the leaven which binds together the entire fabric of our national system of defense. From your ranks come the great captains who hold the Nation’s destiny in their hands the moment the war tocsin sounds.

The long, gray line has never failed us. Were you to do so, a million ghosts in olive drab, in brown khaki, in blue and gray, would rise from their white crosses, thundering those magic words: Duty, honor, country.”

— Gen. Douglas MacArthur during his speech to the United States Corps of Cadets in accepting the Sylvanus Thayer Award, May 12, 1962

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The Statue To The American Soldier was presented to the United States Corps of Cadets in 1980 on behalf of the West Point Class of 1935 and the West Point Class of 1936.

It is inscribed with the following: PRESENTED TO THE CORPS OF CADETS “THE LIVES AND DESTINIES OF VALIANT AMERICANS ARE ENTRUSTED TO YOUR CARE AND LEADERSHIP”

OFFICE OF DIRECTORATE OF INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS

MISSION STATEMENT

To provide an extraordinary Division I athletic experience that develops leaders of character committed to the values of Duty, Honor, Country.

United States Military Academy Office of Directorate of Intercollegiate Athletics 639 Howard Road West Point, NY 10996 www.goARMYsports.com

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Please visit the Army Athletics You Tube page at youtube.com/armyathletics for bonus video interview content from each of the subjects featured in this year’s edition of Mission First. This will allow you to hear the voices, see the facial expressions and feel the passion of our subjects as they discuss a myriad of topics related to this way of life we call, Mission First.