DCA Update - Extracurricular Clubs

Director’s Notes

What an exciting and wonderful year this has been! We could not be more proud of all of the accomplishments of the DCA Extracurricular Clubs and Forums. We have had a safe and triumphant year marked by both successful home and away events, as well several wins against Navy. Also, there were great opportunities for our clubs and forums to travel with their respective teams and immerse them-selves in other cultures.

We are so grateful for all of the people behind the scenes who make all of this happen. Without the support and efforts of our leadership, Club OICs, Cadet Activity Officers, BTD, and all of the folks here at DCA, none of this would be possible. We are so honored to be charged with such an important mission that lends to the balance and well-being of our Cadets.

To those who are graduating in a few weeks, good luck in your future endeavors, we wish you nothing but success and a bright future ahead of you. For those re-turning next year, have a safe and fulfilling summer break. We will miss you all over the summer, and hope that everyone returns ready to tackle the new academic year and the opportunities it brings. This is the last DCA Update for the academic year; we will resume the Update during Re-orgy Week. Until then, on behalf of DCA, have a great summer!

COL Dean R. Batchelder
Director of Cadet Activities
All For The Corps!
Visit: www.allforthecorps.com

Competitive Clubs

Crew:

• On 1 May, the Army Crew competed in the 24th NY State Collegiate Rowing Championships in Saratoga Springs, NY
• On a perfect day for rowing, the cadets were able to judge their progress against 26 other collegiate teams from across the state of New York
• By all accounts, it was on of the strongest showings in Army Crew history, capturing gold in six of the nine events, finishing as the top collegiate club team, and earning the “Most Improved Team” Cup in the process
• The Varsity Men’s Eight set the tone for the day with a convincing win in their opening heat, sending them to the Grand Final later that afternoon; there they went on to win gold, defeating Ithaca, Marist and RIT
• The winning boat included CDTs Kyle Geiser, Courtland Adams (Team Captain), Dru Milke, Jon Gilbertson, Winston Park, Jeffery Wilkes, Ross Downum, Jeff Olson, and Dave Grossman
• The win marked the first time in program history that West Point will be etched on the cup given to the top crew in this premier event
• The Varsity Women’s Fours continued the trend with the A Army Women’s boat cruising to win in the heats, as well as a 16 second victory over Binghamton, Marist, Canisius and Union in the Grand Final for their event
• The A Army Women’s boat included CDTs Jordan Duran, Caitlin Rowe, Annie Reidinger, Allie Noack, and Rachel Anderson
• The Army B Boat went on to a second place finish in the Petite Finals; in a finals-only race for the Varsity Women’s Pair, CDTs Emma Spell and Arden Percoco won gold with a time of 9 minutes and 7.9 seconds, well ahead of the other five schools in the race
• The next win in a heat was posted by the Women’s Novice Four, manned by CDTs Teresa Hinman, Sarah Beougher, Maria Blom, Simone Askew, and Madeline Carlson; they would go on to capture the fourth gold for Army Crew with a 25 second lead over Union and Marist
• Army Novice B boat finished second the Petite Finals
• The Novice Men’s Four A and B boats finished one-two in their heat, put-ting both boats in the Grand Finals where they would go on to finish 4th and 6th place respectively
• The Novice Men raced an Eight in a seven-boat finals only race; they would go on to win the race by edging out RIT at the finish line by less than a second; the gold medal boat included CDTs Michael Huang, Eric Danielson, Charles Torch, Chris Wagner, John Brooks, Ethan Grogan, Steve Martin, Logan Leahy, and Daniel Sharp
• In a boat combining four varsity and four novice rowers, Army Crew posted another great finish with a second place in the Men’s JV Eight race, losing by a boat length to RIT, while defeating Ithaca and Marist
• The final gold medal of the day for Army went to another mixed boat in the Women’s Open Four event; the team included CDTs Emma Spell, Arden Percoco, Emma Hanna, Ali Darby, and Maria Kruegler

Cycling:

• On 2 May, the West Point Cy-cling team travelled to Trexlertown, PA, to participate in the T-Town Showdown
• The West Point team took first place overall; CDT Kenny Dailey took 3rd overall; CDT Elizabeth Psiaki took 2nd in Women’s overall; CDT Dylan Allen placed 2nd in Men’s Category D; CDT Tristan Manerfeld placed 2nd in Men’s Category B (very impressive for his first track race)
• Categories A, B, C and D represent the ability levels of competitors; category D is considered the beginner level

Orienteering:

• The United States Military Academy Orienteering Team hosted an “A-Meet”, or top-tier land navigation competition, in the woods around Round Pond on 2 and 3 May
• This event, the 36th one hosted at West Point, involved many ranked and elite competitors from across North America and Europe
• In addition, many cadets from across USCC honed their navigational skills in the race after a quick cadet-led tutorial introducing them to the sport for-mat
• Utilizing over 18 courses designed by cadets, competitors vied for the best time while navigating through West Point’s notoriously tough terrain over two beautiful days
• Feedback from the 250+ participants was that this year’s event was one of the most physically and mentally demanding events at West Point to date
• Because planning for this event starts a year in advance, the A-Meet also provides one of the most challenging organizational and leadership experiences these cadets will face at West Point

Hobby Clubs

Sailing:

• The Army Sailing Team hosted its annual Spring Regatta on 2-3 May
• Sailors arrived to Cornwall Yacht Club and were greeted with a beautiful, but glassy calm Newburgh Bay
• Due to low and shifty winds, and a strong current, the regatta only executed four races
• Army Sailing won three out of the four races, claiming victory at the regatta for the second straight year
• Stony Brook and Drexel University finished second and third respectfully

Ultimate Frisbee:

• On 3 May, the West Point Ultimate Frisbee Club team competed against Navy in an exhibition game for the first time in recent history
• The club worked with New York City’s professional ultimate team, New York Empire, to host an Army-Navy game at their home stadium, MCU Park
• Army Ultimate staff coordinated with Navy Ultimate and Empire in order to pull off a successful event that was entertaining and highly competitive
• The rules of the game were, the first team to score 15 times wins the game, with halftime occurring after the first team reaches 8 points
• Due to a slow start, Army quickly fell behind Navy, despite some outstanding plays by both teams
• Navy led 8-4 at halftime, leaving Army with quite a hole to climb out of
• After halftime, Army quickly went on to score 2 points, making the score 8-6, then eventually coming to a tie at 11-11
• However, at this point, neither team failed to yield an offensive advantage, alternately scoring until Navy received the disc with the game tied at 14
• Despite phenomenal play, Navy scored to end the game, with the final score of 15-14
• In what proved to be an extremely close game, Army Ultimate left it all on the field and showed great promise in the future of the team
• Afterwards, the team was treated to a game of professional ultimate, in which New York Empire defeated the Ottawa Outlaws
• This year has been a huge success for Army Ultimate, compared to last year, with the team earning more wins, hosting tournaments for the first time, advancing farther in the National Championship Series, and beginning an Army-Navy annual game that also supports out-reach to New York City

Diversity Clubs

Native American Heritage Forum:

• On Sunday, 3 May, cadets from the West Point Native American Heritage Forum put together, and hosted, the 5th Annual Keepers of the Peace Powwow at Trophy Point
• The Powwow included Native American drum groups, and Native American Dancers from a variety of tribes
• The dancers participated in intertribal dances, specialty dances, and social dances that included the public
• There was a Native American craft vendor, as well as a Native American food vendor
• Also, there were two birds of prey performances, which included a variety of hawks, owls, a vulture, and a bald eagle
• Annually, the Native American Heritage Forum hosts this one day event, designed to demonstrate to the community and perspective cadets that West Point is an inclusive environment where all races and ethnicities are welcome and celebrated

Military Clubs

Law Enforcement Tactics:

• On 25 April, members of the West Point Law Enforcement Tactics Team, as well as First Class Cadets that will soon become Military Police Officers, had the opportunity to train with the U.S. Army Ft. Meyer Special Reaction Team, located in Ft. Meyer Virginia
• The training allowed the cadets to gain valuable knowledge in Close-Combat Tactics and specialized law enforcement operations
• Members of the Special Reaction Team trained the cadets on a variety of room clearing techniques, suspect confrontation methods, and breaching procedures
• The day culminated with cadets conducting multiple law enforcement related missions with simulation rounds, while members of the Special Reaction Team played as the op-posing force

Drill:

• On 2 May, team members from the Black Knight Drill Team, in con-junction with the West Point Admissions office, travelled to Daytona Beach, FL, for the National High School Drill Team Championships (NHSDTC) and the World Drill Team Championships
• The event drew a crowd of nearly 5,000 people for the competition
• This event allowed the Drill Team to interact with prospective cadets from across the nation in one place
• Over 200 students and their families visited the booth throughout the day
• The Drill Team looks to schedule this strategic outreach event annually, and will also compete in the 2016 World Drill Championships, which takes place at the same venue, to further promote West Point on the national scale
• The Drill Team also supported the Retiree Day parade, at West Point, with a performance before the Corps of Cadets marched out on the plain
• The team performed a modified version of their signature Platoon Exhibition performance in front of the hundreds of guests in attendance
• The modified nine man performance block was the teams final performance for the year

Support Clubs

Parachute:

• On 2 May, the West Point Parachute Team successfully conducted three demonstrations
• The first demo of the day was out at Lake Frederick for the thousands of Boy Scouts in attendance for the Camporee
• The next demonstration was during a Retirement Review, and was conducted mainly by team members in the cow class
• Finally, the team conducted a demonstration into the Army Lacrosse vs. Notre Dame game, were the Firsties jumped in to Michie Stadium
• The team was able to split up the ground crew over the three demonstrations to complete each one without a hitch
• The beautiful weather, mixed with an awesome crowd, made the demonstrations a wonderful farewell to the Firsties on the team

Pipes and Drums:

• On 30 April, the West Point Pipes and Drums, along with the Celtic Dancers, proudly welcomed graduates and friends of the academy at the West Point Association of Graduate’s Donor Tribute Dinner
• Several pipers, drummers, and dancers provided three songs of traditional highland music to welcome guests before they enjoyed a dinner alongside cadets, donors, and friends
• The performance culminated with the familiar tune of “Caissons Go Rolling Along,” which inspired a standing sing-along of the Army Song by all the guests in attendance

Scoutmasters’ Council:

• This past weekend, a total of 6,442 people attended the West Point Annual Invitational Camporee
• Starting with cadet setup on Thursday, 30 April, the Scoutmasters’ Council staff members began preparing to receive the troops who arrived starting around noon on Friday
• In a matter of nearly 7 hours, nearly all of the troops had arrived and set up campsites on the grounds of Lake Frederick
• Saturday began with a robust opening ceremony, involving a simulated combat demonstration, which fed into the competitive site exercises that consumed the rest of the day
• As troops progressed to each site, they encountered everything from camouflage and weapons displays, to team building exercises, such as a Leader’s Reaction Course and the Ranger Challenge
• While the Camporee involves 16 total competitive sites, they all draw on the common value of teamwork as a key to success
• Concluding Saturday with a bonfire, the troops prepared themselves for a Pass in Review on Sunday Morning; the reviewing party consisted of honorable guests BG John C. Thomson III, CSM Dawn Ripplemeyer, and COL (Ret.) William J. Dieal (West Point Class of 1962 and founder of the West Point Scoutmasters’ Council and Annual Invitational Camporee)
• While the Camporee is largely planned and executed by cadets, it relies on the extensive support of countless agencies, both internal and external to the Academy
• The Camporee is arguably one of West Point’s largest and most significant annual outreach events, and provides an outlet for cadets to develop their leadership skills
• Over the past 53 years, the Camporee has grown from a small, localized event, into one of the largest national scouting events
• Because of this growing trend, and the fundamental values shared between the Academy and the scouting program, about 20% of the those who attend the Camporee ultimately end up applying to the Academy with a desire to answer the call to a lifetime of service as a cadet, officer, and citizen of the United States

Academic Clubs

American Institute of Chemical Engineers:

• On 5 May, cadets from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) went to the Brother-hood Winery in Washingtonville, NY, to learn about the process of creating wine
• Brotherhood Winery is America’s oldest winery in continuous operation, starting in 1839 and continuing through Prohibition by making church wine, and still today creating wines featured on the White House’s Presidential Wine List
• Cadets learned the entire wine making process, and the time-consuming process of aging wines in a precisely maintained moisture and temperature conditions
• Cadets also watched the assembly line process for bottling wines at the on-site bottling, corking, and labeling facility
• The visit was an interesting way for the cadets to see how engineering applies in everyday products created in the local area

DCA Happenings

Cadet Programs

On Thursday, 30 April, Cadet Programs presented Stress Relief Day outside of Grant Hall. Massage therapists, therapy dogs, and live music were all available for cadets to enjoy and partake in.

On Wednesday, 29 April, Cadet Programs supported the 1st Regiment Spring Fling. There were live bunnies, live music, cake, games, and egg decorating.