WEST POINT – The US Military Academy Class of 2021, graduated 995 cadets who were also commissioned as second lieutenants in the Army on Saturday.
Throughout the week leading up to graduation, proud family members of graduates arrived early to obtain their COVID-19 clearance. Each cadet was able to invite six guests to attend the in-person event at Michie Stadium.
And for the graduation speaker, Lloyd J. Austin III, the nation’s 28th secretary of defense, a proud 1975 West Point graduate, he noted, “Every time I come back here it feels like I’m coming home.”
That home has changed since Austin was a cadet. He gave a shout out to First Captain, Lieutenant Reilly McGinnis saying, “I am particularly proud that this year senior cadets from West Point, the Air Force Academy and the Naval Academy are all women.”
The Class of 2021 was quite diverse. Among this year’s graduates are 13 international cadets. The class includes 240 women, 148 African-Americans, 78 Asian/Pacific Islanders, 88 Hispanics and 10 Native Americans. There are also 49 class members who are prior service, four of those are combat veterans.
Austin reflected upon how West Point taught him how to be a team member. “Lieutenants, on challenging – challenging deployments, you will have to work together with your teams to survive and succeed, and this institution excels at instilling exactly that spirit. You’ve learned how to follow with loyalty. You’ve learned how to lead with honor. You’ve learned how to question with rigor. You know, looking out at all of you I see the vanguard of a generation. I see patriotic, committed young people coming of age at a hinge in history, who grew up never knowing anything other than a nation at war. And so now, you’re about to graduate into a changing country and a changing world where many of the old ways of doing business don’t hold up anymore. You’re seeing raw divisions at home and the painful aftermath of the pandemic.”
Austin assured the cadets that West Point has prepared them well for the world they are about to enter. “So let me assure you of something, and this is from very personal experience. No matter how strong the headwinds, West Point will keep you on course. It worked for my class and it will work for yours. Some things change, but the skill set taught here is made to last because it teaches you to adapt. It teaches you to stick with it as your class motto says until the battle is won.”
Looking out over the cadets, Austin concluded, “Those who came before you are so proud to see you sitting here today and we believe in you, in each and every one of you. And we know that you will prevail and we know that you will make us proud for democracy, for liberty, for the Constitution and for duty, for honor, for country.”
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