AN EX NDA'S VISIT TO USMA WEST POINT

An Ex-NDA’s Visit to USMA West Point.

When I joined NDA in 1977, I learnt about equivalent academies in the USA and the UK, that is the West Point and Sandhurst. I always dreamt of visiting them someday in my life and was lucky that I got a chance now.

During my visit to New York, I happened to come across a veteran of the USMA, United States Military Academy, West Point. On hearing about my Indian Army background, he offered to take me on a visit to West Point and I was really thrilled about it.

 On a bright sunny day on 14^th of Sept 2024, we drove down from New York to West Point, about one and half-hours’ journey. After crossing New York city, we crossed the Hudson river and on to a beautiful drive along mountains and forest area with lot of greenery around. It reminded me of approaching khadakvasla, near Pune. The weather was also very good in September. About 150 yards short of the USMA, there is a battle tank on the right where we have both the visitor center and the military museum.

The first thing we saw was the visitor centre. This is really out of the world. The visitor centre gave a deep insight into all the activities of the cadets starting from induction to passing out. In addition to colourful boards and posters there were audio visuals and mini theatre screens to show short films on training activities. It was a wholesome experience.

                                     

  Visitor Center and Museum

 The training curriculum includes Military, Academic and the Character part, with lot of emphasis on character building.  There are many videos showing the exact kind of training and also a lot of displays have been done of uniform and various other equipment.  one of the best things which I liked was the cabin layout as shown in the picture. They had a full size cadet’s cabin with top class arrangements. Neat walls and wooden floors with table, chair, beds, wardrobes and even a wash basin inside. Everything was ultra-modern. I was impressed indeed.  One   tends to compare with the days at the Academy.  However, the veteran who came along with me, added that the room is very good but generally they may have to share which does not happen in NDA.

                                     

Cadets Barracks

USMA is more than 200 years old spread over 16000 acres. There was an Army garrison at West point earlier. It has a training period of four  years in various disciplines and officers get commissioned from here itself unlike NDA, and it is limited to only Army Training. It is like NDA and IMA training combined together.  The   total capacity of the Academy at West point is about 4000. About 1000 odd cadets pass out every year. There are four regiments and each regiment has three battalions with three companies each. A total of 36 companies. The companies are named A to I with suffix 1 to 4. Like A1, A2, B1, B2 etc. Then they have nicknames and mascot. For example, A4 is Apaches. They have four terms. The first year is Plebe year, second Yearling year, third Cow year, Final is Firstie year.  Seniors most courses are the ‘Firsties’, or ‘First Class Cadets’. There is separate club for the ‘Firsties’ where they can have drinks and food. That’s really cool!    

A ‘Course’ in NDA is addressed by its number, like 57^th Course. At USMA, however it is by the year- ‘Class of 1979’.

        Plebe, Yearling. Cow, Firstie

 It was made open to women in 1976 and the first batch of women officers from WestPoint was ‘Class of 1980’. Presently it has about 22% women cadets.

 Among the USMA graduates, there have been 77 ‘Medal of Honour’, the highest Military honour in the US and Two General officers who made to the office of US President. Many have become secretary of state. Several others have contributed immensely in the government and private industry. About one in six officers in the US Army are from west Point.

 After the Visitor centre visit, which took about an hour plus, we decided to get our passes made for entry into the West Point Academy.  However, we were denied direct entry being foreign nationals.  The only way to do it was to take a conducted tour by an authorised tour operator. This was being done couple of times during the day and was for about 75 minutes. The bus tour was a paid affair and the passport was checked by the tour operator. There was also a security check at the main gate, Thayer gate, of west point. The tour was nicely conducted and very well explained.

                        

   Bus Tour

Firstly, he took us to cadet’s Chapel. Very beautifully made Structure. (See Photos) There are many other churches in the campus.

 

Cadet Chapel

There after he took us around the Physical training area. It was a huge building for physical training. Almost all activities could be done indoors.

He took us to a view point where we had a beautiful view from top of the hill. The tour operator termed it as ‘a million-dollar view’ of the Hudson River. (See Photo) various other displays like old guns, the trophy point etc.  were shown.

                         

      Hudson View

                                                                                                

 Trophy point and   Monument

 

We also saw the parade ground where the Passing out parade takes place. It was just opposite the living areas of cadets.  We were surprised to see the parade ground, of well grown green grass. We have always seen parade grounds of hard tar road type, where we can dig our heels hard. I wondered how do they do drill here?  Way back in our drill squares, the sparks used to fly when we marched. I was told that they do practice on hard ground but eventually do the final parade here. It appears their drill does not involve too much of digging. As I noticed even at Arlington Memorial Guard Drill in Washington, they keep the feet flat without digging. I was reminded of the ‘Bhooth Chaal’ our drill ustad used to make us do, when we did drill inside the squadron lines on a rainy day.

 

                                           Parade Ground and Living Area Behind 

 During passing out parade the dress and turnout is very impressive. I also learnt that the parents are invited for the POP, but unlike NDA, no accommodation is provided. They have to manage on their own in the town nearby.

Another interesting difference from NDA is that the POP is generally held on friday so that Saturday and Sunday is available for weddings! Yes. 

The cadets plan their wedding in the cadet chapel just after POP. Something which is never heard of in NDA or even IMA. The wedding is also done with military discipline. Only seven weddings a day are allowed, that is fourteen in the weekend. There is draw of lots to decide the lucky couples. It takes about 60 minutes for a wedding and a gap of 30 minutes is given for the next. Surprisingly ,the couples are in the  age group of 21 of 22. In India, one has to obtain permission of CO for getting married and no family accommodation is given till the officer is 25 years old. 

The town was very close to the USMA. Most of cadets go out for shopping and eating out on weekends as there was nothing like ‘Gole market’ inside the campus.

However, they have a well-stocked Cafeteria and stores for their requirements.

All the movements by cadets within the campus is mostly by walking. It is a compact area.  There were no bicycles!! That meant no cycles around the neck of cadets !

The living quarters also appeared very good. A mammoth complex to accommodate 4000 plus cadets. The NDA cadet in me asked the veteran about what are the kinds of punishment given to the cadets in the lines, by the seniors. He informed that it is mostly push ups. Other major punishment is to walk in full dress for certain number of hours depending on the type of offence. These were mostly on Sundays and holidays and in their free time. I did share with him about ALL the kinds of punishments we used to have in the academy.

They have a huge mess accommodating about 4300 cadets at a time.  Wow!

The daily routine starts at 0515h and ends at 2330h. Long day indeed. They also have afternoon classes. Wonder when do they get time for  short  nap !!

                                                     DAILY ROUTINE 

The training is for four years and they get paid during that period. It is about a thousand dollars minus some official expenditure. They get commissioned from there itself. Officers can work for 5 years and be on reserve for 3 years, there after they can leave the Army if they wish to. If they leave earlier, they would have to pay for the training expenses. There are several privileges given for studies in prestigious institutions and Ivy league colleges for their second career.

Some other interesting facts can be about the selection rates. It is about 8- 10% for USMA. Generally, about 12000 plus applications are received. On the other hand, NDA receives about 200 thousand applications and only about 400 are selected. The selection rate here  is 0.2 %.

Notwithstanding the above, the point which impressed me most was the importance they have given to character development. Character and Competence have been considered as mutually supporting facets of a leader. They have adopted active methods with regular discussions, lectures seminars and experiences. The character development is again like a physical and mental training. The USMA prayer has also stressed a lot on truth and honest conduct. And it is learnt that they are very strict when it comes to any case of malpractices. They practice Honour code committee. The cadet honour code is indeed very strong- 

A cadet will not Lie, Cheat or Steal, or tolerate those who do.

Their motto- ‘Duty, Honor, Country’.

       

        Honour Code                                   Building Trust     

             

  

       DUTY HONOR COUNTRY                USMA Prayer                                                       

 The visit took me on a nostalgic journey reliving the academy days after about 47 years. I am grateful to the US Army veteran who could make it happen.

 

12439/A/57

K Eswaran

The author is an Alumni of National Defence Academy, khadakvasla, Pune, India, 57^th Course, ‘A’ squadron, retired from Indian Army after about four decades in 2017. He is presently a social activist and is a founder of a Charitable Trust for the Armed Forces Community - www.helpandserve.in 

Disclaimer

This article is primarily for the interest of those who have gone through NDA or presently there. The views expressed by the author are purely personal based on the observations made during the visit and done in good faith.  The facts and figures given above are not to be quoted anywhere and are only for personal information. Thanks

 

 For further interest, a virtual tour