West Point to graduate record number of black female cadets

By By MICHAEL HILL Associated Press | May 23, 2019 at 1:18 PM CDT - Updated May 23 at 1:18 PM

WEST POINT, N.Y. (AP) — The class of cadets preparing to jubilantly toss their caps in the air at the U.S. Military Academy’s graduation ceremony Saturday includes 34 black women, a record number that’s a sign of concerted efforts to diversify West Point’s Long Gray Line.

West Point remains mostly white and mostly male. The 34 women comprise a thin slice of the roughly 1,000 cadets in the Class of 2019. Sometimes, they're the only women of color in a classroom. Still, cadets said they're proud to be part of a milestone at the historic academy after four years of testing their limits.

"I just showed myself and those who thought I couldn't do it initially that yes, I can," said senior cadet Stephanie Riley, of Jacksonville, Florida. "And not just, 'yes, I can.' I can show other little girls that yes, you can come to West Point. Yes, you can do something that maybe the rest of your peers aren't actually doing. And yes, you can be different from the rest of the group."

Riley was among the black female cadets who recently posed for pre-graduation photos in their gray uniforms, holding out ceremonial sabers. The pictures — part of a tradition for graduating cadets — were posted widely online and became a symbol of West Point's increasing diversity.

"I was more excited to just take the picture because it means that we're all graduating and it was great to be there with a lot of my sisters who have been there for me in very tough times during summer training and during the academic year," said senior cadet Gabrielle Young, from Hopkins, South Carolina. "I didn't expect it to have the impact that it did around the country."

While West Point challenges every cadet, experiences can be different for black females.

Riley said people would look to her for comment during classroom discussions about race or slavery. Young said she's acutely aware of how she carries herself and how she's perceived by different people.

"I feel like in some ways that I do have to prove myself a little bit more, prove that I belong here. And even a classmate told me, I think our freshman year, that I only got in because I was a black female," said Young, one of the few in her class chosen for medical school.

West Point boosted efforts to recruit women and blacks after being told to diversify in 2013 by then-Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond Odierno. The academy changed its marketing approach and opened a diversity office. Admissions officials increased outreach to metropolitan areas like New York City, Atlanta and Detroit. Not all of these efforts were aimed specifically at minorities or women, but they broadened the search for qualified candidates.

The addition of NCAA women's lacrosse and rugby also helped West Point attract high school athletes.

The class graduating Saturday includes 223 women, the largest number since the first female cadets graduated in 1980. The class has 110 African Americans, double the number from 2013, and the largest number of Latinos, 88.

"We're beginning to see the fruits of our labors," director of admissions Col. Deborah McDonald said.

In another milestone, Lt. Gen. Darryl A. Williams became the first black superintendent at West Point last summer. In 2017, Simone Askew was the first black woman to become first captain of the Corps of Cadets, the highest student position at academy.

Even with the progress in diversity, West Point has not been immune to issues faced by the military and society. Sexual assault and harassment have been such a persistent problem that Williams suspended classes for a day in February so the entire academy could focus intently on them. And it was only four years ago that 16 black female seniors inadvertently stirred up controversy by raising clenched fists in one of their own pre-graduation pictures.

Critics saw political overtones in a gesture that supporters said was made in good-natured solidarity.

On Saturday, Young and Riley will be among the graduates commissioned second lieutenants in the U.S. Army after an address by Vice President Mike Pence. Riley will go into the Signal Corps. Young will study to become a doctor.

“I don’t think I would trade this experience for anything in the world,” Young said. “I know that I’ve accomplished a lot and I know that I’m prepared for whatever.”

I commend their service. I don’t care for the photo shoot.

God Bless each and every one of them and service to this country .

I commend their service. I don’t care for the photo shoot.

Agreed.

Good for them.....but the picture is lame-o!

It just looks like girls horsing about in celebration after graduation, the girls and the picture are not a problem, the attention drawn it it is.

And good for them, they did the work.

Yep.

I'd bet dollars to donuts they look at it as a check, bennies and a social statement and not service to the country.

Question???? Are things like Saratoga, Chancellorsville, Austerlitz, Meuse- Argonne, even mentioned at the USMA anymore? Are such things studied in any detail??? Honest question.

Question???? Are things like Saratoga, Chancellorsville, Austerlitz, Meuse- Argonne, even mentioned at the USMA anymore? Are such things studied in any detail??? Honest question.

Congratulations would be in order if we didn’t know that a path was cleared for all of them to take the place of better qualified white male applicants.

Maybe the Citadel could teach West Point a thing or two...
https://today.citadel.edu/leaving-h...d-efforts-to-develop-and-retain-marines/

It was his efforts as the head of the Marine Corps task force created in the wake of the “Marines United” scandal, however, that may have the most lasting and significant impact on the Marine Corps of today. The scandal broke in early 2017 and revealed a significant social media presence of active-duty and veteran male Marines who denigrated their female counterparts through the unauthorized sharing of photos and the posting of demeaning and degrading comments about the presence of women in the Corps. General Robert B. Neller, Commandant of the Marine Corps, created the task force to address the cultural issues in the Marine Corps which led to not only the misconduct but the acceptance and tolerance for behavior clearly not in keeping with the Marine Corps’ core values of honor, courage and commitment.

The ACMC has headed the task force since its establishment and has worked with Marines of all ranks to update training and regulations in order to send a clear message to all Marines as to what is appropriate and acceptable in the realm of social media. “While those changes address the immediate behavioral issue, we also remain committed to addressing and evolving our culture by changing the way we educate, train, and lead our Marines—we will not tolerate a lack of respect for any member of our team,” said Walters.

The initial meetings of the task force were especially enlightening for the four-star general. “We unpacked it all in those first couple of meetings.” Meetings that were supposed to last an hour ended up surpassing the four and a half hour mark as the ACMC ensured that everyone, from the most junior Marine present to the sergeants major and generals, had an opportunity to provide input. “We had to get it all on the table. And then once it was all on the table and all of us were exhausted, we had to sort through it. Make sense of it. Organize it. And decide what we’re going to do with it.”

In its first six months of existence, the task force was instrumental in publishing guidance on social media misconduct including a “Leaders’ Handbook and Discussion Guide” and ALMARs and other messages providing guidance to all Marines to ensure they have a clear understanding of the issue, are able to identify what constitutes misconduct, and understand what actions, both punitive and administrative, are available for the Marines who continue to engage in such behavior. Of note, 160 persons of interest (22 civilians and 138 Marines) who have engaged in the egregious conduct on social media have been identified, and numerous courts martial, nonjudicial punishments and administrative separations have been conducted through mid-2018.

“I think it’s important to recognize that our understanding of the issue has evolved over time,” said Gen Walters. “How we handle cases today is much different and more effective as a result of what occurred with “Marines United.” Moving forward, we are planning to establish a permanent structure that can address all of the factors that contribute to the negative subculture that has allowed this behavior to exist.”

So no chance that “some” of them are just bad ass hard working patriotic females that want to serve the greatest country in the world?


Dang.

So no chance that “some” of them are just bad ass hard working patriotic females that want to serve the greatest country in the world?


Dang.

My comment was pure sarcasm , just saying ..

IMO not one of them went into the service for love of country .
This .

There's nothing wrong with those wenches that 2 years op con to 1st Marine Recon wouldn't fix. They'd be dead or Americans, one way or the other.

God forbid we ever have to really go to war again.

The NCO ranks and the officer ranks should always have been and should always be a meritocracy. Any deviation for any purpose will have unintended consequences that we’ll face at our own peril.

Beoceorl: I also wish to commend those young women for their intent to serve our nation.
But as a multi-time victim of affirmative action and seeing the harm that it led to (inferior people being hired/promoted/made excuses for etc etc etc!) - I would bet a one hundred dollar bill that there are about "34" more qualified persons who were "affirmatively" passed over to make room for these young women!
I do NOT blame them for this travesty I blame our courts and the liberal politicians that appointed/allowed them to be!
Again i commend the young black women for their intentions to serve the United States of America (that is no longer color blind or interested in equal justice!)!
Sad reminder of 29 (twenty nine!) years of my life where I dealt with the repercussions of "affirmative action" each and every day - many of my fellow officers referred to this system as "rig a jig a job"!
As crass and nearly vulgar as that sounds it was quite truthful.
GO TRUMP
MAGA
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

I am sure they will all advance through the ranks based on skill and leadership qualities--

24 Hr KKKampfire at its best....

I don't know whether these ladies earned their appointments through merit or because of their skin color. But, it is clear in the photo that many of them are out of shape. Additionally, anyone who would allow themselves to be in such a photo in uniform lacks the judgment necessary to be a military officer. If this photo is representative of academy graduates in general, our military is not able to defend us any longer. I am a former military officer who was never in a unit with anyone as out of shape looking as the majority of the females in this photo.

Damn 16bore , I'd never have thought you'd be the brainwashed type . Yeah OK blacks perform better at everything - they're just kept down by whitey - got it .

David Walter: IF... for even one second, YOU believe, that the higher ranks of our armed services have only been filled with those "most merited" then you, sir, are an idiot!
PERIOD!
Our armed services have long since fallen victim to the scourge of "affirmative action"!
That is a fact and for you to deny same, is, again, idiocy of the first order.
By the way thank you for your service.
Sheesh.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

All majors and LTC,s at least
1st look below zone promotions on both ranks.

You watch a basketball game lately?

That would be quick Karl.

Damn 16bore , I'd never have thought you'd be the brainwashed type . Yeah OK blacks perform better at everything - they're just kept down by whitey - got it .

David Walter: IF... for even one second, YOU believe, that the higher ranks of our armed services have only been filled with those "most merited" then you, sir, are an idiot.
VarmintGuy

"I feel like in some ways that I do have to prove myself a little bit more, prove that I belong here.

Most if not all are headed to be QM, ADA, CM, OD, SC, MI officers.. only the best ie top of the class from West Point to ROTC programs get the most desirable branches and renegade knows what #1, #2 is Armor #3 FA. So sleep well knowing that.

I'm not sure making the Army into the Postal Service is in our best interest.

Service Academies Produce Officers in Combat Arms MOS, - Hence MOST are Infantry, Armor, FA, Some will go to ADA and EN. VERY FEW West Pointers (Academy Grads) go support or CSS.
Oh yeah, Aviation and Medical Service Corps gets quite a few.

Great work ladies, Photo should have not been made public -
Imagine if al the White girls, Black guys, Indian, LAtinos, whatever else had their candid fun photos made, then the "White Guys" people would scream RACISM.

All Army are OD Green through and through.

I never got accepted to West Point.

They are doing better than me.

I had alot of branch detailed young officers regret their decision and fight tooth and nail to stay combat arms when their 2 or 3 yrs were up and had to head to soft shell fields.

Only route for em to stay combat arms was SF selection.
About 75 - 80 % of em went that route insted of going to combat support fields.

My last 3 yrs was spent in Rotc.

I seen it all from top of the pack to the bottom of the pack.
Spent the summer of 07 at Ft lewis evaluating 6 2hr Sqd Stx lanes each day .

You wouldnt beleive some of the schit I seen.
From super trooper to rain man in charge of a squad.

If ya gave a cadet "U" rating unsatisfactory.
You was the one standing in front of 2 O4,s and 1 O5 explaining in detail why the cadet failed..
You was the fault the cadet failed , not his cadre at his college.....

It was like I had to educate the board each time on FM 7-8 and basic infantry battle drills in detail. It got old real fast and Icould tell they was hoping I would kow tow to them and " correct" my eval.
Cadets green card evaul right their with em ready for some pen magic if I would just " change my mind"......



Me and 2 other NCO evaluators went up before that schit that summer probably 5 - 7 times each.
None of us would change our reveiws.
We all had the same mindset and talked with each other alot.
The board would just extend the cadet 4 days and piggy back into another regiment and get a "S" evaul by a check the block evaluator to pass.

Amongst all us Walker evaluators that summer it was plainly obvious. That some walkers were candyman guys and others were trying to hold up a minimum standard at least.

The 3 of us eventually got assigned to other duties that summer
When the the STX board committee officers got tired of us holding cadets to the minimum standards.
The 2 O4,s were chem corps and Trans corps, the 05 was a reject infantry officer that made rank and was retiring.

I got "banished" for my last 3 weeks to NCOIC night shift of the TOC.
Whatever....
Smokes
Chubby treats
Internet access
56 bucks a day per diem
Didnt have ta walk 12 hrs a day
Write 6 evals on the fly.
And go justify my "U" evals in front of a couple of dipschits on the stx commitee.
Got back to Austin Peay
My LTC ( combat engineer) had the entire download from my summer of being a big meanie from that commitee basically saying APSU would not be tasked with providing an infantry nco to eval STX lanes in 2008.
We both laughed our azz,s off about it.
Got ph calls from my Bde Csm and Col.
Basically along the same tone of laughing about it and thanks for sticking to your guns this summer and doing your best to require at least minimum standards.


I retired sept 1 2008.

Which country has the biggest, baddest, and most feared military in the world?

Prussia!

LOL!

Do you dream in Deutsche ?

Geno

How the hell did that big fat one pass the physical standards?

Ich haben halb henchen mit pomme frits und ein dunkel ult bitte

Or

Grosse brotchen und swei rot brat mit Cola bitte.

I forget the words for those little meat cheeses in wedge shaped foil wrappers
At autobahn rest stops

Man a big old bag of them and chewy brotchen bread
Made conveying to grafenvohr a little bit more bearable in the back of a 113 for 6 or 7 hrs.

Or

And Enough german to get laid or my face slapped in German



I learned food and booze words mostly
Kartufel salat



Oh yeah.....

Love canned kartufel salat

Kinda sweet sour taste with tiny little bits of ham in it.


Great ......
Now I'm hungry........

Affirmative action Bullschitt

Which country has the biggest, baddest, and most feared military in the world?

The main question I have, that has not been answered is, "Why is it news that West Point has graduated the largest class ever of female cadets with darker skin than their caucasian counterparts? Why exactly is this news? Perhaps 16 bore or one of his proteges could answer this?

None of us give a cshit.

That 250 lb'er center right a product of West Point physical fitness?