Lloyd James Austin, III

West Point's role in our nation's history dates back to the Revolutionary War, when both sides realized the strategic importance of the commanding plateau on the west bank of the Hudson River. General George Washington considered West Point to be the most important strategic position in America. Washington personally selected Thaddeus Kosciuszko, one of the heroes of Saratoga, to design the fortifications for West Point in 1778, and Washington transferred his headquarters to West Point in 1779. Continental soldiers built forts, batteries and redoubts and extended a 150-ton iron chain across the Hudson to control river traffic. Fortress West Point was never captured by the British, despite Benedict Arnold's treason. West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in America. Several soldiers and legislators, including Washington, Knox, Hamilton and John Adams, desiring to eliminate America's wartime reliance on foreign engineers and artillerists, urged the creation of an institution devoted to the arts and sciences of warfare. President Thomas Jefferson signed legislation establishing the United States Military Academy in 1802. He took this action after ensuring that those attending the Academy would be representative of a democratic society. Colonel Sylvanus Thayer, the "father of the Military Academy," served as Superintendent from 18l7-1833. He upgraded academic standards, instilled military discipline and emphasized honorable conduct. Aware of our young nation's need for engineers, Thayer made civil engineering the foundation of the curriculum. For the first half century, USMA graduates were largely responsible for the construction of the bulk of the nation's initial railway lines, bridges, harbors and roads. After gaining experience and national recognition during the Mexican and Indian wars, West Point graduates dominated the highest ranks on both sides during the Civil War. Academy graduates, headed by generals such as Grant, Lee, Sherman and Jackson, set high standards of military leadership for both the North and South. The development of other technical schools in the post-Civil War period allowed West Point to broaden its curriculum beyond a strict civil engineering focus. Following the creation of Army post-graduate command and staff schools, the Military Academy came to be viewed as the first step in a continuing Army education. In World War I, Academy graduates again distinguished themselves on the battlefield. After the war, Superintendent Douglas MacArthur sought to diversify the academic curriculum. In recognition of the intense physical demands of modern warfare, MacArthur pushed for major changes in the physical fitness and intramural athletic programs. "Every cadet an athlete" became an important goal. Additionally, the cadet management of the Honor System, long an unofficial tradition, was formalized with the creation of the Cadet Honor Committee. Eisenhower, MacArthur, Bradley, Arnold, Clark, Patton, Stilwell and Wainwright were among an impressive array of Academy graduates who met the challenge of leadership in the Second World War. The postwar period again saw sweeping revisions to the West Point curriculum resulting from the dramatic developments in science and technology, the increasing need to understand other cultures and the rising level of general education in the Army. In 1964, President Johnson signed legislation increasing the strength of the Corps of Cadets from 2,529 to 4,417 (more recently reduced to 4,000). To keep up with the growth of the Corps, a major expansion of facilities began shortly thereafter. Another significant development at West Point came when enrollment was opened to women in 1976. Sixty-two women graduated in the class of 1980, to include Andrea Hollen, Rhodes Scholar. Just as women are a vital and integral part of the U.S. Army, so they are at West Point. In recent decades, the Academy's curricular structure was markedly changed to permit cadets to major in any one of more than a dozen fields, including a wide range of subjects from the sciences to the humanities.

Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 25,000 students and 1,200 faculty members, it is one of the largest universities in the state. Auburn was chartered on February 7, 1856, as the East Alabama Male College, a private liberal arts school affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. In 1872, the college became the state's first public land-grant university under the Morrill Act and was renamed the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama. In 1892, the college became the first four-year coeducational school in the state. The curriculum at the university originally focused on arts and agriculture. This trend changed under the guidance of Dr. William Leroy Broun, who taught classics and sciences and believed both disciplines were important in the overall growth of the university and the individual. The college was renamed the Alabama Polytechnic Institute (API) in 1899, largely because of Dr. Broun’s influence. The college continued expanding, and in 1960 its name was officially changed to Auburn University to acknowledge the varied academic programs and larger curriculum of a major university. In 1964, under Federal Court mandate AU admitted its first African American Student. It had been popularly known as "Auburn" for many years. Auburn is among the few American universities designated as a land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research center.

George Herbert Walker School of Business & Technology at Webster University, a leading provider of business education worldwide. With an international student body and a network of campuses throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, and cyberspace, Webster University know firsthand what it takes to succeed in the dynamic global business environment.

CGSC’s mission is to educate and develop leaders for full-spectrum joint, interagency, and multinational Operations; act as lead agent for the Army’s leader development programs; and advance the art and science of the profession of arms in support of Army operational requirements. Since its inception in 1881 as the School of Application for Infantry and Cavalry, the Command and General Staff College has evolved to meet the educational and operational needs of the United States Army. Since World War II, it has generally been known as the school for Army majors, though the College contains other schools and it educates officers from other military services and from other countries.

The US Army War College educates and develops leaders for service at the strategic level while advancing knowledge in the global application of Landpower. Root Hall Entrance The purpose of US Army War College at this time in our Nation's history is to produce graduates from all our courses who are skilled critical thinkers and complex problem solvers in the global application of Landpower. Concurrently, it is our duty to the Army to also act as a "Think Factory" for Commanders and Civilian Leaders at the strategic level worldwide and routinely engage in discourse and debate on ground forces' role in achieving national security objectives. We will accomplish this dual purpose along the following lines of effort: Provide high quality Professional Military Education at the strategic level that further develops accomplished officers and civilians, both graduates and faculty, who depart our institution armed with the right balance of theory, history, practice, and communication skills to clearly articulate options for solutions to complex strategic problems and immediately be of value to any organization. Aggressively Conduct Research, Publish, Engage in Discourse, and Wargame with the entire faculty, staff, students and fellows; generate ideas and test concepts as the Army's intellectual broken field runner for the application of Landpower at the strategic level. Conduct Strategic Leader Development through agile, constantly reviewed and updated courses of instruction and other products that advance strategic leadership skills and senior leader abilities in the Profession of Arms. Attract, Recruit, and Retain a high quality faculty and staff.