VMI Turnouts A VMI ALUMNI AGENCIES DIGITAL NEWSLETTER
March 2019
Jonathan Daniels Ceremony 2019 By Mary Price, VMI Communications & Marketing
In a speech given in VMI’s Cameron Hall March 6, 2019, Carolyn Miles, chief executive officer of Save the Children, encouraged the Corps of Cadets to see the world from another’s perspective and follow in the footsteps of Jonathan Daniels ’61, an Episcopal seminarian who gave his life to save a young black girl in Alabama in 1965. Miles came to VMI to receive the Jonathan Myrick Daniels ’61 Humanitarian Award, which was established by the VMI Board of Visitors in 1997 in honor of Daniels, one of only 15 individuals honored in the Chapel of Saints and Martyrs of Our Times in England’s Canterbury Cathedral. The award recognizes individuals who have made significant personal sacrifices to protect or improve the lives of others. Miles, who has traveled to 92 countries advocating for children’s rights, is the first female, and only the fifth individual overall, to be honored with the Daniels Award. In addition to her speech in Cameron Hall, Miles’ agenda on post included a meeting with Honors Program cadets in the morning, an office call with Gen. J.H. Binford Peay III ’62, superintendent, and taking the review of a parade alongside Peay. On hand to see Miles receive the Daniels Award was Richard Morrisroe, a former Catholic priest who was steps behind Daniels Aug. 20, 1965, when a part-time deputy sheriff fatally shot Daniels in Hayneville, Alabama. Morrisroe, who was seriously wounded in the incident, endured an 11-hour surgery and spent six months recovering. Over the years, Morrisroe has made several trips to Hayneville to honor the memory of Daniels, and he’s also attended each of the Daniels Award presentations at VMI. “VMI has chosen to be proud of Jonathan and has chosen to see Jonathan as a continuing asset in a way that inspires students today to still know the name Jonathan, to have an arch ... on [post] in memory of Jonathan,” said Morrisroe. “All of that is so important for today’s students; it’s a long time ago, but they still have that memory.” Morrisroe noted that Daniels’ sacrifice is particularly important today because racism is not a problem solved long ago, but rather one at the uncomfortable forefront of our national conversation today. “[Racism] bears different faces today,” said Morrisroe, who is still a practicing attorney at the age of 80. “Charlottesville [site of an Aug. 11, 2017, riot by white
supremacists] isn’t so very far away or so long ago and yet you have students here trying to provide an alternative to that, and hopefully that alternative will not simply create elite minority students or women students, but will create people in the image of Jonathan [Daniels] to reach out to others who don’t have the advantages they have.” In her remarks to the Corps of Cadets and others, Miles stressed that the world needs more leaders like Daniels if the suffering of millions of children in war-torn countries such as Syria and Yemen is to be alleviated. Syria, she noted, has been at war for eight years – the entire lifetime, or more than the entire lifetime, of some of its youngest residents. Miles commented that Save the Children began 100 years ago this year as a response to the plight of children orphaned by World War I – and today, the impact of war on children only continues to increase. “Nearly one in five children around the world are living in conflict zones right now,” she said. Miles added that today’s wars tend to have a direct impact on children because they are being waged in urban areas, and schools and hospitals are frequent bomb targets. Moral leadership of the kind practiced by Daniels is the only way this will change, Miles stated. “He saw his fellow men and women being mistreated and did not hesitate to stand alongside them,” she said of Daniels. It’s up to the next generation, exemplified by today’s cadets, to make sure that legacy is continued, the 21-year veteran of Save the Children commented. “Children today need leaders like the ones in this room,” said Miles, a mother of three who holds a master’s of business administration from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. “They need leaders who will stand up and say, “These are the things that are right for people.” “We need you to speak up, step out and declare that the kind of treatment that’s happening in war to children is unacceptable. ... I ask you to look at the world from a child’s point of view.” Previous recipients of the Daniels Award include former President Jimmy Carter, who received the inaugural award in 2001; former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Andrew Young, honored in 2006; international humanitarian worker Paul Hebert ’68, in 2011; and Georgia congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis in 2015.
VMI Turnouts A VMI ALUMNI AGENCIES DIGITAL NEWSLETTER
March 2019
Gary and Barbara Hankins ’73 By Scott Belliveau ’83, Communications Officer, VMI Alumni Agencies Dr. Gary Hankins ’73 can look back at a career in medicine that stretches over more than four decades with no little satisfaction. He served 22 years in the Air Force as a doctor, service that included deployment during Operation Desert Shield on the advance team that established a 1,000-bed surgical hospital. For the past two decades, he has been in academic medicine, training physicians in his specialty of obstetrics and gynecology as well as critical care. He has received many honors, including being named as one of America’s Top Doctors for eight years. He now is the chairman of the obstetrics and gynecology department at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas. It is most interesting to note, therefore, that well into his 1st Class year at VMI and when he was the highest standing cadet in the biology department, Hankins had no plans to be a physician. “That all changed at a meeting with my academic adviser, the legendary Colonel Jack Reeves, in the spring of 1972,” recalled Hankins. “He handed me application forms for various medical schools, including the University of Virginia and the Medical College of Virginia, and told me to fill them out. I protested and told him that I wanted to be a forest ranger. He replied, ‘It’s not your call. Every first-ranking biology major goes to medical school, and you’re not breaking that tradition.’” Hankins applied to the schools and then took the required Medical College Admission Test. “I had not prepared at all for the MCAT; therefore, my score was not so high,” he said. “In fact, the professor who interviewed me at MCV described it as ‘lower than snake’s belly in the dirt.’” MCV accepted Hankins, but required
Dr. Gary Hankins ’73, left, with his wife, Barbara, after they hiked the Grand Canyon.
him to take a six-week preparatory course. “Considering that I was my class’ top biology major with a 3.84 GPA and stood No. 3 in my class academically that struck me as odd. I guess those test scores put me in ‘The Most Likely to Fail Club.’” Despite the somewhat unconventional way he entered the profession, medicine became Hankins’ passion, and he counts himself fortunate. “I tell people
that if you can make a career out of something you’re passionate about, you’ll have a productive and fulfilling life indeed.” “I count myself lucky that Colonel Reeves pressed me to go to medical school because I stumbled into a profession that has been fun and rewarding.” The most satisfying aspect of his career has been that he has delivered about 10,000 babies, each of whom he
VMI Turnouts A VMI ALUMNI AGENCIES DIGITAL NEWSLETTER
March 2019
describes as “something of a miracle,” and he relishes the fact that, for each of them, he has been “the first person they ever saw and whoever touched them.” As passionate as he is about his profession, he just as passionate about VMI. Although, he admits, in the early weeks of his rat year, he questioned his decision to attend. “One of my high school coaches, Donny White ’65, essentially talked me into going to VMI, and I arrived sight unseen. It was the last time I did anything without due diligence. It was a very valuable lesson.” He credits VMI with giving him the tools he needed to succeed as an officer and as a physician. As a cadet, he received the William Brent Bell ’67 Military Award which is given to a third-class cadet who has shown great potential as a leader. “I was extremely honored to receive that award. What intensified its impact on me was that, when I received it, the Vietnam War was in full swing. There were few days that the flag in front of Barracks was not at half-staff. The award made me resolve to be the best officer I could be, and that set the tone for my military career.” Asked what else he had learned at VMI that stuck with him, he replied, “First, proper time management and solid organizational skills. I’ll give you an example. When I was a resident, I was expected to put in about 100 hours a week. While it was demanding, my VMI experience taught me how to deal with it.” He also credits VMI with teaching him a proper command presence. “I never commanded a unit in combat; however, I have led surgical teams in situations in which we can save or lose a life literally within minutes. VMI taught me that in such situations a leader must be calm and maintain his composure.” Barbara Hankins, Hankins’ wife, be-
lieves that VMI gave him “character skills that he took into his work life.” According to her, one of them is loyalty. “Gary is always looking to help people below and above him look good.” Another is integrity. “At VMI, the Honor Code is not just a bunch of words. It means something. It stays with you. Gary has carried that into his work.” Summing up the value of his VMI experience, Dr. Hankins said, “VMI made all the difference to me. Nothing that I have experienced since Barracks has come close to VMI’s challenge. It made all the rest of it look rosy.” And it wasn’t just Dr. and Mrs. Hankins who understand VMI’s value. His mother did, too. But, it took some time. “She tried to talk me out of going to VMI,” Hankins recalls. But, over time, she too came to love the school. “I gave her a miniature of my class ring after graduation. She rarely took it off. In fact, by the time she died, you could barely make out any of its detail.” With such attitudes about the value of a VMI education, it is hardly surprising then that Dr. and Mrs. Hankins recently made a $1 million commitment to endow a scholarship at the Institute. They had initially planned to make a substantial gift as a bequest. That changed when their financial adviser assured them that their resources were such that they could make an immediate donation. “He told us,” recalls Mrs. Hankins, “’Do it now and enjoy it.’” As an avid gardener, Hankins immediately took to the idea. “When I plant a fruit tree, I want to see it bear fruit. With an immediate gift, we’d see our philanthropy in action and that added to our enjoyment of the idea.” Their personal experiences prompted them to establish a scholarship. “I was fortunate to have parents who helped pay for my education as a civil engineer,” said Mrs. Hankins. Dr. Hankins said, “I certainly have gotten way more
than I deserved, and I did so because people invested their time and talent in me. This scholarship is a way to make an investment in cadets just like people did in me.” With Dr. and Mrs. Hankins ready to help VMI, an unsolicited phone call from VMI’s Call Center proved quite timely. “Gary was at the hospital,” remembered Mrs. Hankins, “and I took the call. The cadet asked if we were interested in donating to VMI. I told him we were, and he politely suggested a gift of $100. I told him we’d be happy to do that, but that we were thinking of something more substantial. When he asked what I meant, I told him, ‘We’re talking about a million dollar endowment.’ The cadet took our information, and we heard from Steve Maconi [VMI Alumni Agencies CEO] the next day.” In the development of the gift, Dr. and Mrs. Hankins worked with Steve Maconi and J. Addison Hagan IV ’97, one of the VMI Foundation’s major gift officers. “It was an excellent experience,” said Mrs. Hankins. “Working with them was a lot of fun.” Dr. and Mrs. Hankins are doing a lot with this scholarship. In large part, they are honoring Hankins’ mother. “I can imagine her looking down and being proud of what we’re doing,” he said They also consider it as helping VMI accomplish its mission of providing the country with the sound leaders it will always need. Most of all, however, they are, according to Hankins, “giving young people the same education and head start in life that VMI gave me.” In the future, Dr. and Mrs. Hankins want the scholarship to help VMI in another way. “I hope it instills in the recipients,” said Hankins, “the idea that people helped them and that it is up to them to help those who follow them into barracks. I’d love it to act as a multiplier with every scholarship recipient going on to establish a scholarship that helps three other people and so on.”
VMI Turnouts A VMI ALUMNI AGENCIES DIGITAL NEWSLETTER
March 2019
Jamaal Walton ’07: Bring on the Challenge By Molly Rolon, Associate Editor, VMI Alumni Agencies
VMI Turnouts A VMI ALUMNI AGENCIES DIGITAL NEWSLETTER
March 2019
Jamaal Walton ’07 came to VMI with a football scholarship and a plan: Earn a biology degree, followed by a career in college athletics – an area the self-described “sports junkie” still loves. Walton’s plan was going along smoothly, until he was featured as part of the “Don’t Do Ordinary” promotions used in the An Uncommon Purpose campaign during his junior year. With his view from the inside the campaign, Walton found marketing and communications encompassed far more than “taking pictures [and] putting up posters.” The creativity and variety innate to the field appealed to him. “I really enjoyed it,” he recalled. “I started to learn more and more, and I said, ‘This is exactly what I want to do.’” Realizing he could work in athletics – and in communications – opened a new world of possibilities for Walton, and he began exploring how to pivot and change paths toward a future in communications and marketing. Biology – which Walton had spent most of his undergraduate career focusing on – is “a different ballgame than marketing. I had to learn a new craft.” To that end, the VMI administration helped Walton obtain a summer internship in the Institute’s communications and marketing department. Col. Walt Chalkley ’72, then the Institute chief of staff, even “gave me the opportunity that summer to stay at his place,” Walton said. Chalkley had worked closely with Walton in Walton’s capacity as class president, and was impressed with Walton. “He is a great young man,” said Chalkley, who keeps in touch with Walton and follows his career. “He’s outgoing, smart, friendly. I can’t say enough good things about Jamaal.” The internship was followed by the beginning of VMI’s graduate school partnership program – a program that gave Walton the opportunity to learn his new craft. As part of the Vision 2039 plan, Superintendent Gen. J.H. Binford Peay III ’62 wanted to establish partnerships with graduate schools. Col. Sonny Craven, then the head of VMI’s communications and marketing, had earned a graduate degree at Florida State University and still had connections there. Carven and Chalkley reached out
Jay Rayburn, Ph.D., who headed up public relations, advertising and integrated marketing at FSU’s school of communication. Peay invited Rayburn to tour VMI, and Rayburn walked away impressed with the quality of students he saw at the Institute. Walton was the first alumnus to take advantage of the graduate school partnership program, attending Florida State University and earning a master’s degree in integrated marketing and communications. The partnership works differently for each individual student, university and program of study. Aside from FSU, VMI has partnerships in the areas of business, law and health sciences at schools including the University of Virginia, The College of William and Mary and the University of Richmond. In Walton’s case, the partnership provided him with in-state tuition – “which was awesome” – plus a research assistant position and some in-state tuition waivers, making the final cost for his master’s degree in the hundreds, instead of thousands, of dollars. FSU continues to offer the same benefit to VMI cadets and alumni. “I would take a whole class full of VMI graduates, because they come down here and they excel at everything,” Rayburn said, adding that his fellow faculty members share his high opinion of VMI alumni. “I hope we can continue to get these great students from VMI.” Although it was a seismic shift in fields of study, Walton didn’t mind. “I’m a guy who likes a challenge,” he said. “I love when people think that I can’t do it, or when people look at a goal and say, ‘Man, that’s not attainable.’” Those comments inspire him, Walton said, to prove that whatever the “it” may be, it can be accomplished. While he loves a challenge, he is also passionate about the concept of the whole team. Noting that folks at VMI “went above and beyond to help me out,” Walton concentrates on paying it forward. “I’ve got to lift up everybody else behind me,” he said, and puts his organization’s goals above his own. “I’m not really all about getting any accolades individually. I want to help our team move forward.” At Florida State Walton joined the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, a worldwide organization whose goals include helping, or “lift-
ing up,” others. He has worked with OPPF in various community service aspects – from mentoring local elementary school children to working at food banks. The fraternity’s outlook meshed with Walton’s personal character. “Service before self” is a lifestyle for Walton, whose giving back extends beyond what most would term community service. For the past two years, Walton has been the associate athletic director for external operations at the College of Charleston. He brings his service mentality to work every day, building up those who work for and around him. He holds his staff to a high standard, treats them “the right way” and gives them clear expectations – with hopes that they, in turn, “will do that for everyone else.” Before the CoC, Walton worked in senior leadership at other college athletic departments, including the University of Oklahoma and the University of Alabama. In his journeying through southeastern college campuses, Walton has not been alone. “Everywhere that I’ve been, I’ve had people along the way who have helped me,” he said. Coming to FSU, Walton initially stayed at the property of a fellow alumnus – M.B. Adelson ’73. After FSU, Walton went to work at Savannah State University’s athletics department. The opportunity came through W. Bart Bellairs, the Keydet basketball coach during Walton’s cadetship. The lessons Walton learned as cadet – from accountability to “having the integrity to do things the right way” – have served him since leaving VMI, and the myriad opportunities VMI has made possible for Walton – an athletic scholarship, serving as his class president, assistance in entering a new career path and help from the VMI family around every corner – are something he is not likely to forget. Summing it all up, Walton said, “I’m forever grateful to VMI.” Graduate school partnerships are available to current cadets and recent alumni. VMI has programs in place with 10 institutions and is working with 10 additional universities to renew or begin programs. Fields of study range from law and medicine to business, communications and health sciences. For more information, contact Jessica Libertini, Ph.D., at libtertinijm@vmi.edu or 540/464-7933.
VMI Turnouts A VMI ALUMNI AGENCIES DIGITAL NEWSLETTER
March 2019
Smith ’74: “Why Not Make a Difference?” By Molly Rolon, Associate Editor, VMI Alumni Agencies
J.B. Smith ’74 spent years serving in the military followed by working internationally in the private sector, serving at high levels. He gained experience as a professional engineer and in organizational leadership. Illustrating the internationality of his life, Smith noted that he and his wife, Mary, have seven children – who were born in five different countries. Recently retired, Smith is still using his expertise – in a different capacity. He travels to the Nineveh Plains area of northern Iraq every few months as a volunteer, lending his professional engineering skills and experience in organizational management to the process of rebuilding minority Christian communities. Almost all non-Sunni Muslim residents fled their communities, which were then systematically destroyed by ISIS in 2014-17. Smith’s volunteer work is through the Aid to the Church in Need organization. ACN has a headquarters in a small German village near Frankfurt. During his professional career, Smith and his family lived in twice the village – called Königstein im Taunus. Smith and his wife got to know the organization, and his wife volunteered there. “When they learned that I was getting ready to retire, they asked if I would like to help,” Smith said. “They knew the kind of work I did – the organizational work, and the international experience.” Through the Aid to the Church in Need, the three major Nineveh Plains churches – the Syrian Catholic Church, the Syrian Orthodox Church and the Chaldean Catholic Church – are working together under a cooperative agreement called the Nineveh Reconstruction
Smith, third from left, at a reopening ceremony for a school in Bartella, Iraq. The school was closed when residents fled the Nineveh in the face of ISIS attacks. With the aid of international support, residents slowly began returning in 2018. Smith is lending his expertise in rebuilding the area. Photos courtesy Smith.
Committee. Funding flows in from about 20 different organizations worldwide – ranging from the Hungarian and German governments to religious charities, like the Protestant-based Samaritan’s Purse out of Boone, North Carolina, and Aid to Church in Need, a papal charity of the Catholic Church. Each church has two representatives on the committee, and the Church in Need has organized technical experts to help with the reconstruction. The efforts encompass nearly 400 church properties and 13,000 houses. Smith is one of these technical experts. He provides independent audits to finished projects. “[On] my last trip, I was there for two weeks and I went through and audited homes to verify that the work had been done [to] the standard,” Smith said. His audit includes making sure “there are no issues with the financing, with the quality of the work or the satisfaction of the people.” The finished projects Smith has audited – completed by local laborers with local materials – have been completed to a consistently high standard, and there have been very few homeowners who were not satisfied with the results. About 40 percent of the population – 9,000 families – has returned to the Nineveh Plains, and a nearly equal percent of houses are again habitable. The population is primarily Christian Iraqis, but also includes Muslims and other minority groups, like Yazidis. Three basic things are necessary for people to return to their towns – and to stay there, Smith said. “The first is security. The second is a place to live. The third is a means of earning a living to provide for their families.” Security has been improving, and Smith is affecting the second item – when he audits completed construction projects. In addition, using his organizational and planning skills, he completed a study on employment, interviewing people about work patterns before and after ISIS. He is working on a program that would provide grants for opening and growing small businesses. When he travels to Iraq, Smith flies into the larger city of Erbil where he spends a couple of days. He spends the rest of his time in the smaller villages of the Nineveh Plains – mainly in Qarakosh and Bartella. He travels without security, adhering to the saying “courage is nothing more than fears that have said their prayers,” and eschews luxurious lodgings. “In Qarakosh, I stay at the old seminary. I’ve got a monk’s cot,” he said. He walks around the towns at all hours – oftentimes with a priest he calls Father George – speaking with and encouraging people. “People like to talk to Americans,” he said. “A lot of people speak some English; Google translate is on everybody’s iPhone.” Although he provides a high level of technical and professional expertise, Smith notes that simply talking to people “may be the biggest impact. People know that they’re not forgotten.”
VMI Turnouts A VMI ALUMNI AGENCIES DIGITAL NEWSLETTER
March 2019
The people of the Nineveh Plains – including Christians, Muslims and Yazidis – are settling, little by little, back into the area where they have lived together for centuries. NCR’s rebuilding efforts have made resources available to not just Christians, but any former resident who needs help – including Muslims. Smith recounts a story of a Muslim man, “walking around in a daze,” in disbelief after receiving aid through NCR. The man said, “‘I can’t get any help from my government, but I’m getting help from the [Christian] church,’” Smith remembered. “We see more of that going on. Maybe it will have a positive long-term impact.” The reconstruction program has been called “The Marshall Plan for the Nineveh Plains,” – a phrase often used when “someone wants to make a breakthrough change,” Smith noted. When talking about the architect of the plan, George C. Marshall ’901, it is important to note that Marshall “lived a life of service. You look at him and all that he did, that’s got to be the biggest take away,” Smith said. “I think service is important. As long as you are able and you’ve got the skills for certain situations, why not say yes? Make a difference.”
Army ROTC Earns MacArthur Award By Mary Price, VMI Communications & Marketing For the third time in the past four years, the Army ROTC unit at Virginia Military Institute has been named as one of eight winners of the prestigious MacArthur Award. The awards have been presented annually since 1989 by the U.S. Army Cadet Command and the Gen. Douglas MacArthur Foundation. They recognize the ideals of duty, honor and country as advocated by MacArthur, one of only five men in modern times to rise to the rank of general of the Army. The MacArthur award is based on a combination of the achievement of the school’s commissioning mission, its cadets’ performance and standing on the command’s national Order of Merit List, and its cadet retention rate. “[The MacArthur Award] is meant to recognize excellence,” said Col. Michael Wawrzyniak, professor of military science with Army ROTC. “We’ve been recognized as the top program in our brigade.” The VMI unit represents the U.S. Army Cadet Command’s 1st Brigade, which consists of the nation’s six senior military colleges and five of the junior military colleges. The 2018 cohort produced 140 second lieutenants, “which is by far the highest in the country,” Wawrzyniak said. He explained that there are 274 schools across the nation offering Army ROTC, making the competition for the highest number of commissions especially fierce. What’s more, the 2018 cohort also produced 47 Distinguished Military Graduates. “That was as high as we’ve ever had,” said Wawrzyniak. ROTC cadets from across the nation ranking in the top 20 percent on the Order of Merit list are named Distinguished Military Graduates. Army ROTC is the largest ROTC program at VMI, providing military instruction to about two-thirds of the Corps of Cadets. VMI’s Army ROTC also won the MacArthur Award in 2015 and 2016. Army ROTC cadets prepare for the 2018 fall FTX. VMI photo by Kelly Nye.
The partially-destroyed cross at the seminary in Qarakosh, Iraq. ISIS attempted to destroy the cross, along with nearly everything in the northern Iraq area called the Nineveh Plains, home to a large population of minority Christians. J.B. Smith ’74, who stays at this seminary when he travels to Iraq, is assisting in the rebuilding efforts.
VMI Turnouts A VMI ALUMNI AGENCIES DIGITAL NEWSLETTER
March 2019
O’Donnell ’19 to Receive AMCSUS Award By Maj. John Robertson IV, VMI Communications & Marketing
Cadet John O’Donnell ’19 has been selected as a 2019 Association of Military Colleges and Schools of the United States Leadership Award winner. Gen. J.H. Binford Peay III ’62, superintendent, offered his congratulations to O’Donnell “on this high honor recognizing your record in competition nationally with the very best ROTC officers commissioning in the United States Army this summer. VMI is proud of you. Well done!” The award, which consists of a $1,000 check and a plaque, was presented at the AMCSUS Awards Banquet Feb. 25. The award recognizes the exceptional leadership characteristics displayed by cadets from the top ROTC programs in the nation, and is given annually to two cadets at the college level and two at the high school level. AMCSUS consists of 40 military colleges and high schools, including the nation’s senior and junior military colleges. Headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia, the nonprofit organization advocates on behalf of its member institutions and promotes high military and ethical standards. The award has been earned by VMI cadets several times in the past decade. Recent recipients include Chad Surganovich ’10, Hardy Hendren ’15 and Luke Phillips ’17.
Safety, Security Focus of Infrastructure Improvements By Mary Price, VMI Communications & Marketing The post infrastructure project, a $33.2 million initiative that includes a wide variety of infrastructure upgrades, will soon kick off across post. At completion, it will bring enhanced safety and easier access from Jordan’s Point to the main post. And while some aspects of the project, such as constructing a new building to house the VMI Police Department, will be easily noticed, others will be unseen but just as vital. Housed in the Bachelor Officers’ Quarters, a building that dates to approximately 1870, the VMI Police Department has long been in need of a more secure and modern home. The BOQ is structurally unsound, explained Col. Keith Jarvis ’82, director of construction, and thus the Virginia Department of Historic Resources has given permission for its demolition. “Our research on the history of the building’s architecture showed it to be an old building but not necessarily a historically significant building,” said Jarvis. A new facility, designed to match the historic faculty houses on officer’s row, will be built on the site of the Bachelor Officers’ Quarters. While demolition and construction are ongoing, the police department will be housed in trailers on the gravel lot across Main Street, immediately adjacent to the Corps Physical Training Facility. Also enhancing safety will be a widening of Anderson Drive, which forms the back entrance to post via Jordan’s Point. The one-lane bridge that passes over Woods’ Creek will be replaced by a two-lane bridge with a higher weight limit, and a sidewalk will be added to facilitate pedestrian access. Less visible items are also part of the post infrastructure project. Renovations to the heat plant behind barracks are on tap, along with repairs and upgrades to the underground steam distribution network. There will also be upgrades to the building automation system, which is the computer network system that manages the heating, ventilating and air conditioning system in each building on post. Replacing the water line loop around the Parade Ground and upgrading the stormwater management system is another item. The final item is making repairs to stairs and sidewalks across post and repairing the retaining walls on Stono Lane, all of which have degraded over time. Ninety percent of the funds for the post infrastructure project will come from the state, with the remainder to be supplied by VMI. Work on the project will begin in mid-March, with completion scheduled for the fall of 2020. Anderson Drive will be closed in the winter and spring of 2020 to allow for the road to be widened and the bridge replaced. Members of the VMI community should expect such disruptions, both Jarvis and Payne noted, but they will pass in time. “There is going to be pain, but pain is only temporary, and we are doing all that we can to minimize that pain for the general public, the alumni and cadets,” said Payne.
VMI Turnouts A VMI ALUMNI AGENCIES DIGITAL NEWSLETTER
March 2019
VMI Hosts Army Combat Fitness Test Trials By H. Lockwood McLaughlin, VMI Communications & Marketing
On Dec. 13-14, 2018, approximately 50 representatives from all the ROTC brigades across the country descended upon VMI to learn the details of what will soon become the Army’s standard for evaluating soldier physical fitness. For close to 40 years, the Army Physical Fitness Test has essentially been the same. Since 1980, the requirements set forth by the Army to test strength and endurance has consisted of three parts: Push-ups, sit-ups and a two-mile run. Depending on one’s age group and sex, parameters are set to determine passing and maximum scores for each of the three tests. For push-ups and sit-ups, participants are given two minutes for each challenge and the two-mile run is timed on a flat track. In recent years, however, there have been moves to update that test to better reflect the physical fitness needed by a soldier in combat. That initiative has resulted in a new standard: The Army Combat Fitness Test. “I think the number one goal is to find a better assessment
Participants learn the standing power throw, in which they throw a 10-pound medicine ball as far as possible behind them. VMI photo by H. Lockwood McLaughlin.
of the combat readiness of a soldier,” said Maj. (promotable) Brandon Lindsey ’02, VMI Army ROTC instructor and National Guard liaison. As one of the final parts of the refining process before making the ACFT official, the Army has chosen select test groups from a wide range of units within its structure. This includes everyone in the Army – from Special Forces and administrative units to Army ROTC units. In December, VMI had the chance to play an important role in fielding the new test. “We’re the only ROTC unit in the nation to be picked,” said Lindsey. “VMI hosted it since we had the most cadre and we were initially the main focus for the training.” Approximately 50 representatives from all the brigades within Cadet Command from across the country came to VMI to learn and experience the new six-part test. “We were able to learn how those six events are done,” said Lindsey. “… how to set it up to standard, how to administer it, how to grade each event. And then also on top of that, we took it ourselves to know how to take it.” The six events include deadlifts, a standing power throw, pushups, a sprint-drag-carry exercise, leg tucks and a twomile run. Each part has parameters and guidelines for proper execution. “This will be the test for record in some fashion or form,” added Lindsey. “The Army’s looking at our results and the way we did it to help shape how they roll this thing out next year.” Along with its large Army ROTC presence, VMI also happened to be particularly well suited to host a training session because of the facilities available. The training session was originally planned to be held outside, but the weather pushed the exercises indoors to the Corps Physical Training Facility. “It has training rooms and plenty of seating and just everything we needed,” Lindsey said. This spring, the Army department will administer the new test to VMI’s Army ROTC cadets and the results will be a part of the evaluation process towards making the new test official. For those cadets though, the old three-part APFT remains the official test of record. “This spring and this fall are going to be an exciting time,” added Lindsey.
VMI Turnouts A VMI ALUMNI AGENCIES DIGITAL NEWSLETTER
March 2019
Richards ’19 SoCon Tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler
Cadet Neal Richards ’19 was named Most Outstanding Wrestler after winning the 174-pound individual championship at the 2019 Southern Conference Wrestling Championships, hosted by Appalachian State University March 10, 2019. The red-shirt junior automatically qualifies for the NCAA Division I Tournament, with the chance to earn All-American honors. Richards, the top seed in his weight bracket, earned a first-round bye. He defeated Kyle Homet in the second round by technical fall (23-8) to reach the finals. Richards won by a major decision in the finals, besting second-seeded Andrew Morgan 16-6 to win his first SoCon title. Richards has now won 21-straight matches entering NCAA Championship competition. He has a 28-3 record with 10 pins, six technical falls and six major decisions. Chris Beck reached the consolation semifinals at 197
pounds. Coming in as the sixth-seed, he fell just 2-1 to No. 3 Anthony Perrine of Gardner-Webb. In the consolation bracket, Beck outlasted Finlay Holston of Davidson 7-3 before again losing just 2-1, this time to Rod Jones of Chattanooga. The last Keydet to win his weight class at the Southern Conference championships was Josh Wine at 285 pounds in 2011. Adam Britt ’03 was the last VMI grappler to be named the SoCon’s Tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler. Richards will compete March 21-23 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for the chance to become VMI’s first All-American since Leslie Apedoe ’99 at 285 pounds in 1999. Richards was named SoCon Wrestler of the Month for February for the second straight month. Richards is also a five-time Southern Conference Wrestler of the Week selection.
VMI Turnouts A VMI ALUMNI AGENCIES DIGITAL NEWSLETTER
March 2019
Cappuccitti Joins Women’s Soccer Coaching Staff
Kuntz and Moore Added, Complete VMI Football Staff
Chris Haught-Thompson, new VMI women’s soccer head coach, named John Cappuccitti as an assistant coach for his program Feb. 26, 2019. A native of Mount Prospect, Illinois, Cappuccitti comes to the Institute after serving as an assistant under Coach Haught-Thompson for the women’s soccer team at Knox College this past season. He helped the Prairie Fire to a 13-5-3 record en route to a both a regular season and conference tournament championship. Three team members were named All-Region and five were named to the All-Conference team including the Defensive Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year. His many responsibilities included designing individual training sessions, recruiting, travel organization for road trips, opponent scouting, directing film sessions and in-game evaluation. From 2016-18, he instructed for Coerver Coaching and helped participants focus on ball skill and tactical thinking. Since 2017 he has evaluated teams for the Chicago Rush, placing a focus on skill and talent to play at the club level. He ran summer camps for his former high school from 2015-17. After transferring from Loyola University of Chicago following his freshman season, he played three seasons at Lake Forest College in Lake Forest, Illinois, where he was named the Midwest Conference Offensive Player of the Year in 2016 for leading the league in goals and points per game. He was a two-time All-MWC honoree and was named to the NSCAA All-North Region third team in 2016. A team captain his junior and senior season, Cappuccitti received the Forester Commitment Award in 2018 and was named to the Lake Forest All-Sportsmanship Team. He led the Foresters to NCAA appearances in 2016 and 2018. Before his final season he played on a USA Division-III select team that played in Brazil in 2017, where he scored four goals and had three assists in four games. After his senior year, Cappuccitti played professionally in Croatia on a select tour team for FC Select in 2018. He had an assist and started two games, including one against Zagreb Dinamo second team. Cappuccitti earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Lake Forest College in June 2018.
Scott Wachenheim, VMI head football coach, has completed his 2019 assistant coaching staff with the hiring of Pat Kuntz as defensive line coach and Chris Moore as tight ends/specialists coach. Kuntz comes to VMI after serving three years on the Indiana University staff as a defensive graduate assistant working primarily with the defensive line. Kuntz is a four-year letter winner at Notre Dame (2005-08) and was a three-year starting nose guard for the Fighting Irish. He was named Lineman of the Year in 2007 and 2008 and led the nation in passes broken up by a defensive lineman in 2007. After graduating from Notre Dame with a degree in sociology, Kuntz signed with the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2009. Kuntz began his coaching career at his high school alma mater at Roncalli High School in Indianapolis, serving as defensive line coach from 2010-2015 and the defensive coordinator for the 2015 season. “Pat Kuntz is a passionate coach who will bring positive energy to our defensive line,” said Wachenheim. “Having played the game at the highest levels, he knows the details and intensity required for productive defensive line play. Beginning his coaching career at the high school level, Pat learned how to be a patient teacher. As a graduate assistant at Indiana University, Coach Kuntz’s work ethic earned the highest praise.” Moore was the assistant head coach at Indiana Wesleyan for two seasons and was the run game coordinator. He helped build the offense into one of the top scoring offenses in the country, averaging 39.7 points per game – which ranked eighth nationally. He previously served three seasons at Trinity International University in Illinois as offensive coordinator in 2016, and run game and co-offensive coordinator in 2014 and 2015, respectively. Moore also held assistant coach positions at Alderson-Broaddus in West Virginia from 201013 and served a brief stint at West Virginia Wesleyan as running backs and tight end coach. Moore is a Liberty University graduate and played three seasons on the offensive line at William & Mary. In 2010, Moore was a student assistant with the Liberty University staff working on the defensive side of the ball. “It is great to bring Coach Chris Moore back to the state of Virginia,” said Wachenheim. “He is an experienced coach who has worked with multiple position groups and has coordinated offenses. He is very familiar with our style of offense, having worked with Coach Brian Sheppard at West Virginia Wesleyan College and Alderson Broaddus University.” Spring practice will commence March 26, 2019, and end May 3. Scrimmages will be held April 13 and April 27. A full practice schedule will be published in the coming weeks.