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Caroline Miller, a saber in her white-gloved hand, leads cadets of Company D with crisp commands.... She also is following in the footsteps of family members who have marched just like this for seven generations, forming a long gray bloodline, longer than any still existing at West Point. Miller's ancestors have fought in the Civil War, World War I, World War II and Vietnam. They have served since her great-great-great-great grandfather graduated when Andrew Jackson was president 173 years ago. Her father graduated here. Her sister too. Such "dynasties" are not unusual at West Point. What sets the Millers apart...

SWORDLESS SAILORS Graduating midshipmen of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis are being told in writing to leave at home or in their vehicles all "ceremonial swords" and anything else "that might be considered a weapon or a threat by screeners" for Friday's outdoor commencement ceremonies featuring an address by President Barack Obama. Inside the Beltway has obtained the academy's list of prohibited items for this year's graduation exercises, which, besides ceremonial swords, includes umbrellas. Yes, cell phones and texting are still allowed.

Cadets graduating from West Point were praised by U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates on Saturday for having the courage and patriotism to join the military in "a dangerous new century." Gates noted that the 970 members of the U.S. Military Academy's class of 2009 were preparing their West Point applications in late 2004, even as American forces were battling fiercely in Fallujah in Iraq. "You made your decision to serve knowing not only that America was at war, as did every man or woman who joined the military after September 11, but that this war would be bloody and...

Cadets graduating from West Point were praised by U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Saturday for having the courage and patriotism to join the military in "a dangerous new century." Gates noted that the 970 members of the U.S. Military Academy's class of 2009 were preparing their West Point applications in late 2004, even as American forces were battling fiercely in Fallujah in Iraq. "You made your decision to serve knowing not only that America was at war, as did every man or woman who joined the military after Sept. 11, but that this war would be bloody and difficult,...

<p>Want to trim the federal budget and improve the military at the same time? Shut down West Point, Annapolis and the Air Force Academy, and use some of the savings to expand ROTC scholarships.</p> <p>After covering the U.S. military for nearly two decades, I've concluded that graduates of the service academies don't stand out compared to other officers. Yet producing them is more than twice as expensive as taking in graduates of civilian schools ($300,000 per West Point product vs. $130,000 for ROTC student). On top of the economic advantage, I've been told by some commanders that they prefer officers who come out of ROTC programs, because they tend to be better educated and less cynical about the military.</p>

Note: The following text is a quote: Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by Attorney General Eric Holder at West Point's Center for the Rule of Law Grand Opening Conference West Point, N.Y. Wednesday, April 15, 2009 It is a distinct honor and a special privilege to be here this evening and to serve as the keynote speaker at the grand opening of this new Center for the Rule of Law. The foundation of this center is firmly based not just on bedrock and concrete, but on the very ideals and vision of the United States Military Academy. As such, this...

(CBS/AP) A group of U.S. Military Academy graduates came out of the closet Monday in a bid to overturn the ban on gays in the military and help West Point create an environment of tolerance and acceptance as they educate future officers, reports the Military Times. The 38-member "Knights Out" contacted the military academy's administration seeking to provide an "open forum" for gay troops and Army leaders, the paper reports. The Pentagon's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy was instituted after President Bill Clinton tried to lift the ban on gay service members in 1993. It refers to the military practice...

President George W. Bush playfully kicked a football and presided over the pre-game coin toss on Saturday as he basked in the pageantry of the annual Army-Navy game, one of the sport's most storied rivalries. The crowd at Lincoln Financial Field let out hearty cheers of "USA, USA" as Bush made his way to midfield for the ceremonial coin toss,…MORE Earlier in the day, Bush got a look at how history will remember him — at least in one artist's view — as he presided over the unveiling of his portrait at The Union League of Philadelphia. "Welcome to...

In May of 1992, Guy R. “Bear” Barattieri achieved the singular distinction of graduating last in his class at West Point... “he was an American hero in every sense of the word. He was one of the most down to earth, giving individuals I ever knew, he had a love for his family that was enormous, and he wore his belief in this country on his chest like a badge of honor.”

Three years after a scandal at the Air Force Academy over the evangelizing of cadets by Christian staff and faculty members, students and staff at West Point and the Naval Academy are complaining that their schools, too, have pushed religion on cadets and midshipmen.

The U.S. Army said Friday it will immediately repair barracks at eight facilities in the wake of inspection at bases worldwide. The inspections were done the last week of April and covered nearly 150,000 barracks rooms. They found that 45 repairs needed priority attention, including new heating and cooling equipment, repainting, mold removal and other work. Army Secretary Pete Geren has said that $248 million in emergency funds has been appropriated to fix problems found during the inspections. The Army on Friday identified eight installations that will get priority attention: Fort Polk, La.; Fort Gordon, Ga.; Fort Bragg, N.C.; Fort...

WASHINGTON, April 22, 2008 – Success on today’s and tomorrow’s battlefields requires military leaders guided by conscience who refuse to be “yes men,” Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said in a speech last night to future Army officers at the U.S. Military Academy. Gates told the cadets at West Point, N.Y., that he considers principled dissent a sign of a healthy organization, but he also encouraged loyalty among the dissenters. The Army will need leaders of “uncommon agility, resourcefulness and imagination, leaders willing and able to think and act creatively and decisively in a different kind of world and a...

BREWSTER, Mass. -- The man who had been the oldest living graduate of the United States Military Academy has died. Retired Col. Benjamin Whitehouse died at the age of 105 Wednesday at a Brewster nursing home. He suffered a stroke last month. The West Point Association of Graduates says Whitehouse graduated in 1927 and left military service in 1929. He worked in the automative industry before re-enlisting the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Whitehouse served in North Africa, Italy, France and Germany, earning two Bronze Stars, before retiring from military service in 1957. He's survived by two children,...

RAMADI, Iraq -- Spc. Gerald Bradner, 21, from Brookneal, Va., is an intelligence annalist with 3rd Battalion, 69th Armored Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division stationed at Camp Blue Diamond. He graduated William Campbell High School in 2004 and will attend the U.S. Military Academy, better known as West Point, in August 2008. Bradner is the first person from William Campbell High School to go to West Point in more than 40 years. RAMADI, Iraq -- Spc. Gerald Bradner, 21, from Brookneal, Va., is an intelligence annalist with 3rd Battalion, 69th Armored Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division stationed at Camp Blue Diamond....

A Day in the Life of President Bush (with photos): 12-01-07 Enjoy your visit to Sanity Island PHOTO (s) OF THE DAY ~~Cardboard cutouts of President Bush are represented on both sides of the field at the annual Army/Navy Football Game today. Army cadet Andrew Batule from Honolulu, Hawaii, cheers while standing along side a cardboard cut out of President George W. Bush during the first half of Army's NCAA college football game against Navy in Baltimore, Maryland December 1, 2007. A group of Midshipmen from the United States Naval Academy hold a cardboard cut-out of U.S. President George...

This weekend was Memorial Day weekend and today's dose is a tribute to this special weekend in honour of America's fallen heroes. Rolling Thunder made their annual trip to Washington to honour the fallen on Memorial Day Weekend including visiting the White House on Saturday. On Saturday Vice President Dick Cheney delivered the commencement speech at West Point. Today the President attended Memorial Day ceremonies at the Arlington National Cemetery. In the Green Zone in Baghdad there were the first official high level talks between the US and Iran in 27 years. Americans celebrated Memorial weekend in different ways through...

WHITE PLAINS - The mere presence of Vice President Dick Cheney does not turn West Point into a public forum and is not an "open invitation" to protesters, a federal appeals court ruled on Friday. Cheney is scheduled to deliver the commencement speech at the U.S. Military Academy today, and about 1,000 people had hoped to march onto the campus for an anti-war demonstration. But the Army denied permission, a federal judge in White Plains agreed, and the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused on Friday to issue a preliminary injunction that would allow the march...The protesters' attorney, Stephen...

Court: Protesters Can't Enter West Point For VP's Speech POSTED: 1:11 pm EDT May 25, 2007 UPDATED: 1:13 pm EDT May 25, 2007 WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- The mere presence of Vice President Dick Cheney does not turn West Point into a public forum and is not an "open invitation" to protesters, a federal appeals court said Friday. Cheney is scheduled to deliver the commencement speech at the U.S. Military Academy on Saturday and about 1,000 people had hoped to march onto the campus for an anti-war demonstration. But the Army denied permission, a federal judge in White Plains agreed...

WEST POINT, N.Y., April 26, 2007 – It seemed very much like the passing of the torch as Marine Gen. Peter Pace spoke to the U.S. Military Academy Class of 2007 here yesterday. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Gen. Peter Pace speaks to cadets of the U.S. Military Academy Class of 2007 in West Point, N.Y., April 25, 2007. Defense Dept. photo by Staff Sgt. D. Myles Cullen  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Pace probably will be the last chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff with combat experience from Vietnam. He spoke to cadets...

WEST POINT, N.Y. (AP) _ Muslims at the U.S. Military Academy numbered just two in 2001. This year, there are 32. Now West Point has opened its first space dedicated to Muslims, a worship hall complete with a pulpit facing Mecca. The space officially opened Thursday. "I knew the Army had a policy of religious tolerance, but I didn't know it was to this extent," said first-year Cadet Ahmed Moomin, 20, from the Maldives. Until now, Friday prayers were held in an increasingly crowded first-floor office, said Imam Asadullah, the academy's Muslim cleric. The number of Muslim cadets jumped by...