WEST POINT – Approximately 1,300 cadet candidates reported to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point on Monday, Reception Day, when Class of 2020 members began their rapid, yet smooth transition into military life.
“So far the Class of 2020 is doing a really great job of moving in,” said Cadet Adam Kratch, Cadet Basic Training Commander who is from Long Valley, NJ. “The biggest focus today is making sure that the Class of 2020 learns how to conduct themselves in a military manner, and learns the basic aspects of military discipline so when we march them out for the Oath Ceremony they look good for their parents.”
Known on-campus as “R-Day,” the day-long induction is organized and conducted by the college’s upper classmen, seniors and juniors, giving them the invaluable opportunity to practice and build on the leadership skills that the 214-year-old institution is famous for instilling.
Upperclassmen give the new cadets quick instrucions on all the basics, including saluting, and of course, marching
Cadet candidate Devin Dye of Delton, Alabama, is no stranger to the army. His father and grandfather graduated West Point.
“I’ve grown up in the army with my dad being in the army and it’s all I’ve ever known,” Dye said. It’s going to college and being in the army at the same time; two birds with one stone. I don’t know if I’m ready to lose my hair, but I’m definitely ready.”
Early in the morning, the candidates, still wearing civilian clothes and hair styled the way they liked and carrying all of their personal belongings, stood in line with their families waiting for their turn to enter Eisenhower Hall for a briefing on the big day.
Mark Olsen of La Crosse, Wisconsin said that the “60-second good-bye,” which is the last opportunity parents, friends and relatives have to hug and kiss their loved ones, “was very emotional, and that he had tears in his eyes” as he left his daughter Kirsten behind.
Candidates then went to Thayer Hall for “in-processing.” Here six tailors would measure the entire class, by noon, for their initial military clothing. The new class also received government issued clothing, which included socks and underwear. The barbershop began cutting candidates’ hair at 7 a.m., and planned to continue until 4 p.m., when they would weigh the cuttings that in years’ past amounted to approximately 40 pounds.
Cutting hair at West Point for 10 years, barber Antonia Mazzola said that the most important thing was to make the cadets feel relaxed when they sit in her chair. She said that many come in very tense from the day’s events, which could result in a poor cut.
Looking now like military cadets, the candidates file into small classrooms where they review a formal contract, which states the terms of their service, including completing coursework at the college, service expected thereafter, remaining unmarried with no children to support while a cadet, separation of service, and the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
After reading the document completely, the group stands and raises their right hand and repeats the Oath of Allegiance stating they support the U.S. Constitution and the national government, giving up any previous allegiances to a state or country. Only then do the candidates sign the contract, after which, the attorney who administers the oath and witnesses their signatures welcomes them to the army.
Outdoors, in the Cadet Central Area, cadets receive manuals and other paperwork, as well as instruction on how to march, stand and salute. Skills that they will showcase later to families and friends when the entire Class of 2020 parades on the Plain to take the – now ceremonial – Oath of Allegiance from the U.S. Military Academy Commandant of Cadets, Brig. Gen. Diana Holland.
The next step for the new cadets is six weeks of Cadet Basic Training, known as “Beast Barracks” where they will learn the basic skills of a solider before classes begin in the fall.
