News and Features

  • Office 365 transition helps West Point adapt during COVID-19

    Friday afternoon from my dining room I joined a video conference with Col. Ed Teague, the U.S. Military Academy’s chief information officer, via Microsoft Teams.
    The plan was to talk about how vital the introduction of Microsoft Office 365 at West Point has become in the last few weeks, and what better way to conduct an interview about the service than by using it.
    Teague himself quickly found out just how vital the new systems, which were put into place starting in the fall of 2018, are when he was forced to undergo a 14-day quarantine in his home after traveling to Brazil with his wife over spring break to visit their daughter at the Military Engineering Institute. His quarantine and my transition to mostly teleworking, along with a large portion of the academy’s workforce in nonessential positions, made conducting the interview in person impossible. Read More

    Posted on March 26th, 2020 1:49 pm

  • Setting up Coronavirus quarantine at West Point

    The West Point Directorate of Public Works crews are hard at work preparing the old IHG Hotel on post to serve as a quarantine/isolation facility if there are any COVID-19 cases on West Point. The current risk level to the West Point community is moderate and there are two known COVID-19 cases at West Point. Although the current threat is moderate at the U.S. Military Academy, Keller Army Community Hospital and the West Point Garrison are prepared for any contingency. Read More

    Posted on March 26th, 2020 1:45 pm

  • Life in quarantine: A family perspective on West Point

    The new office set up has turned into the couch in the living room with our laptops warming our legs as the children run rampant throughout the house with the dog. Typical office background noise such as copy machines and phone chatter has been replaced by Baby Shark and Peppa Pig playing on the television.
    This is our life in quarantine. My husband, Tony, who works in the academy’s Visual Information department, and I didn’t anticipate returning from spring break just to spend another two weeks in our quarters at West Point.
    After disembarking our cruise ship, our command informed us we would have to self-quarantine, which meant we could not leave our house and we had to practice safe social distancing with anyone we encountered. Read More

    Posted on March 26th, 2020 1:42 pm

  • COVID-19: MWR facility and program updates

    The following services remain OPEN (until further notice):
    • Dog Parks—Please limit groups and cleanup after yourself.
    • West Point Bowling Center—Open 11 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Monday through Sunday. Food delivery and pick up only.

    The following services are closed or cancelled (until further notice):
    • MWR Administrative Offices.
    • Army Community Service—Recommend using MilitaryOneSource.mil.
    • Arts & Crafts—Classes are cancelled. Virtual classes are available via the Arts & Crafts Facebook.
    • Auto Skills.
    • BOSS.
    • CYS (All programs).
    • MWR Fitness Center.
    • Intramural Sports.
    • Leisure Travel.
    • Morgan Farm—Staff on-site to care for animals. All pet kenneling reservations cancelled through April 30.
    •  Outdoor Recreation—All reservations canceled through April 30.
    • Special Events:
    ◦ Brewfest 2020 (April 17) has been canceled. Read More

    Posted on March 26th, 2020 1:38 pm

  • West Point Coronavirus information updates

    USMA PAO has launched the www.westpoint.edu/coronavirus page and released coordinated external messages on USMA Facebook and Twitter pages.

    For more information, contact the West Point Public Affairs Office at paoinformation@westpoint.edu. Read More

    Posted on March 26th, 2020 1:35 pm

  • Army working to develop COVID-19 vaccines as force preps its response

    WASHINGTON—The U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command and U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases are aiding in the development of five separate COVID-19 vaccines, Secretary of the Army Ryan D. McCarthy announced March 19.
    In support of the federal government’s plan to combat the virus, the Army received an additional $900 million in funding to help prevent, detect and treat the disease, McCarthy said.
    “We got to spend a few hours with extraordinary Americans who are at the forefront of this fight. We are giving them all the resources that they can try … to help knock down any roadblocks in their path,” McCarthy said about his visit to Fort Detrick, Maryland.
    The Army is doing all it can to assist the global medical community as they work together to defeat COVID-19, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Read More

    Posted on March 26th, 2020 1:32 pm

  • Radford speaks during annual Kermit Roosevelt Lecture

    British Army Gen. Tim Radford, the deputy supreme allied commander Europe designate, visited the U.S. Military Academy March 3 for the 74th annual Kermit Roosevelt Lecture.
    The annual lecture series was started in 1947 in memory of Kermit Roosevelt, the son of Teddy Roosevelt, who served in both the American and British armies during the First and Second World Wars. The series has included West Point since 1997. Each year, a general in the British Army speaks at West Point, U.S. Army War College, Armed Forces Staff College and the Command and General Staff College to foster the continued partnership between the United States and the United Kingdom. In return, an American Army general speaks at multiple destinations in the United Kingdom including the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Read More

    Posted on March 20th, 2020 6:59 pm

  • High Energy laser engineers engage with West Point cadets

    WEST POINT, N.Y.—Classroom lessons are important, but U.S. Military Academy cadets and instructors learned how invaluable live demonstrations of emerging technologies can be when they received a visit from the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command’s High Energy Laser Mobile Test Truck, along with some of its engineers, March 2-5.
    The cadets viewed live demonstrations of the HELMTT, and some cadets were even able to fire the laser at unmanned aerial vehicles, ceramic plates, steel and concrete. Col. John Hartke, head of West Point’s physics and nuclear engineering department, said it is important for the Army’s future leaders to be familiar with developing technology and weapon systems, because they may be the ones commanding these systems someday.
    “We’re using this as an educational opportunity to teach the cadets about high energy lasers and high energy laser weapons and how they can be used on the modern battlefield,” Hartke said. Read More

    Posted on March 20th, 2020 6:55 pm

  • Class of 2023 cadets to hold leadership positions during PPW

    For nearly 48 hours this coming weekend, the U.S. Military Academy will be in the hands of the Class of 2023.
    As the cadets in the classes above them head out of town for spring break, a temporary regimental staff made up entirely of plebes will take over for almost two days. The annual hand over of responsibility from the first captain to the first plebe will take place Friday afternoon at the end of the modified class day.
    All non-plebes will then be allowed to leave for a weeklong break from the academy, while the Class of 2023 stays behind for Plebe-Parent Weekend. Along with showing their parents and families around the academy, members of the class will oversee the day-to-day operations of the Corps of Cadets that are typically handled by the regimental staff. Read More

    Posted on March 5th, 2020 5:34 pm

  • West Point prepares for full-scale exercise with help from experts

    The U.S. Military Academy and the entire West Point installation will conduct its annual full-scale emergency preparedness exercise March 25.
    The goal of the exercise is to test West Point’s readiness in the event of a direct attack such as an active shooter or terrorist attack. The daylong exercise will test the cooperation of assets from the academy and West Point Garrison as well as local and state agencies.
    West Point leadership has been preparing for the exercise for more than six months, including holding multiple tabletop discussions to run through the scenario on paper and outline the responsibilities of each organization on post.
    To help prepare for the exercise and the possibility of a real emergency in the future, the tabletops on Feb. Read More

    Posted on March 5th, 2020 5:32 pm

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