Cadets, vets, and instructors from the United States Military Academy at West Point came down to Fort Hamilton Army Base on April 2 to give local middle and high school students the inside scoop about the Army academy up the Hudson River.
The superintendent of the 214-year-old military academy, Lieutenant General Robert Caslen Jr., was the keynote speaker at the event, and spoke to his goal of making West Point “the city’s academy.”
“Our goal is that West Point Day is an opportunity to connect with the diverse people of New York City, and to continue to build a relationship with the city, so that we become part of [the city’s] cultural makeup and that New York City starts thinking of West Point as their city’s academy,” he said.
The event included a performance by the academy’s drill team and displays by other school cadet clubs, including the men’s boxing club, the fencing team, the Latin dance club, and the pipes and drums club.
Attendees also got to meet folks with the Department of Defense’s Warrior Games — an eight-sport event for injured veterans that the academy is hosting in June. Around 250 athletes from all branches of the military will compete in events including archery, cycling, shooting, and wheelchair basketball, among others.
The games are open to the public, and judging by the enthusiastic response from locals, there should be some Brooklynites in attendance, according to a retired sergeant who represented the games at the base on Saturday.
“We had a good response from people, it sounds like a lot of people will be coming up,” Stefan LeRoy said.
