Carved from Granite: West Point since 1902

Acknowledgments

xi ICOULD NOT have completed this multiyear project without the steadfast support of many people. While I am indebted to all of them for their help, I am solely responsible for any errors that may reside in these pages. During the course of my research and writing, I consulted many experts on topics relating to West Point. Col. Deborah McDonald, the current director of admissions, and Brig. Gen. Dave Allbee, the long-serving chair of the West Point admissions committee, both gave generously of their time to help me understand the complexities of the admissions system. Cols. Kelly Kruger, Dave Gray, and Gus Stafford—all of whom served as senior staff officers at West Point—provided insights that infiltrated the book in various ways. Maj. Jason Daugherty, the Special Assistant to the Commandant for Honor, assisted me in understanding the trends in the modern honor system. Dr. Stephen Grove, the command historian at West Point from 1978 to 2008, was an invaluable authority on virtually every aspect of the Academy, and especially the events of the last three decades. Several of my colleagues within the West Point department of history offered sage advice, but two deserve special mention. Cols. Ty Seidule and Matthew Moten (both experts on military and West Point history) devoted countless hours discussing with me the fine points of each chapter and offering helpful suggestions. In addition to those listed above, I am indebted to my students in LD720—a graduate-level course on the history of West Point. LD720 is part of the Eisenhower Leader Development Program (ELDP), a one-year course of study for future tactical officers that leads to a master’s degree in organizational psychology. (See chapter 7 for more on the ELDP.) In 2009 and 2010, the student-officers in LD720 read selections from the partially completed Carved from Granite manuscript. Their spirited debate on many points of the book helped me improve the manuscript considerably. My analysis and conclusions in several chapters relied heavily on quanti- fiable data derived from a variety of sources. Shirley Sabel, a talented statistician in West Point’s Institutional Research and Analysis Branch, generated much useful and well-organized information that appears in several tables in the book. Similarly, Elaine Shipman, the senior budget analyst in the Office of the Dean, provided historical data and analysis on budgetary issues. Dr. James Acknowledgments xii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Dalton, the West Point registrar, helped gather historical data on class absences and explain their significance. Madeline Salvani, a senior public affairs specialist in the Army Sports Information Office, helped me compile the win-loss records for each intercollegiate varsity team since 1890 (a surprisingly daunting task). Maj. Jason Daugherty provided valuable statistical data from the Center for the Professional Military Ethic on trends in the honor system since 1977. While I did work at several research facilities, I spent the most time by far in the Special Collections and Archives Division of the West Point library. Indeed , I was there so often that the staff set up a permanent and well-appointed work space for me. I am very grateful to the director of Special Collections and Archives, Suzanne Christoff, and her talented staff: Alicia Mauldin-Ware, Susan Lintelmann, Casey Madrick, and Deborah McKeon-Pogue. They are a hardworking and committed group who were always helpful, friendly, and responsive to my many requests for assistance. As the manuscript took shape, several people were kind enough to read all or part of it and to provide constructive criticism. They included Lt. Gen. Dave Palmer, Dr. Lewis Sorley, Dr. Stephen Grove, Professor Clifford Rogers , Brig. Gen. Howard Prince, Professor Robert Citino, Col. Manley Rogers, Brig. Gen. Jack Pollin, Col. Casey Haskins, Bill McWilliams, Brig. Gen. Peter Stromberg, Col. Stephen Hammond, Lt. Col. Dean Batchelder, Lt. Col. Joseph Doty, Professor Robert McDonald, Dr. Bruce Keith, Col. Gregory Daniels , Col. Ray Nelson, Professor Theodore Crackel, Col. Matthew Moten, Col. Ty Seidule, Maj. Jason Daugherty, Maj. Matthew Dawson, Robert Ryan, Holly Betros, and Heather Betros. Publication of Carved from Granite culminates a seven-year effort during which I focused my energy in a narrow direction, often at the expense of those who deserved much better. I owe my wife, Laurel, and our daughters, Holly, Heather, and Rosemary, an enormous debt for their unflagging love and support . While they had every right to demand more of my time and attention, they chose instead to be unselfish enablers who...