Ladies and Gentlemen, I Thank You Very Much for the Opportunity to Speak with You Today

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United States Military Academy

Association of Graduates

Bicentennial Celebration

West Point Societies’ Community Outreach Kit

Template Speech (5 minutes)

Ladies and Gentlemen, I thank you very much for the opportunity to speak with you today about what truly is a celebration of America’s greatness: the Bicentennial anniversary of the founding of the United States Military Academy.

The Bicentennial Celebration will center around the Academy’s home at West Point, which has stood stalwartly for 200 years. The young men and women cadets at West Point today study the Academy’s history to prepare for their service and for the time when they will write their own history.

The history of West Point mirrors the history of our Nation. Washington built Revolutionary War fortresses there. The Academy molded many of the distinguished architects of America’s military triumphs. West Point graduates led their troops into the battles of the Civil War, both World Wars, and later in the Gulf War. Our young Nation grew stronger with the backbone of canals, bridges, ports and railways engineered by West Point graduates. West Pointers walked on the moon, and they led some of America’s largest corporations.

And throughout our history, the members of the Long Gray Line have stood and continue to stand for one singular thing. This, above all else, is our motto, the creed and soul of the Academy: Duty, Honor, Country.

Pershing, Eisenhower, MacArthur, Schwarzkopf. Our Nation’s cherished freedom was passed on to each succeeding generation on the backs of these great men – who all graduated from the Academy. Today’s cadets will soon take up this eternal relay.

But today’s cadets also must safely transport this gift over decidedly different terrain. Our Nation is enjoying an unprecedented time of peace, yet the rest of the world is rife with conflict. Each cadet graduates as an officer in the U.S. Army, and he or she must now lead volunteer soldiers in missions that are ever-changing and never getting simpler.

Throughout it all, the Academy’s mission has been unwaveringly fixed to protecting our Nation. Carrying out that mission has changed over the years, but West Point today remains fixed on producing leaders for the Army’s in the new, full spectrum of operations, from all-out war at one extreme to humanitarian peacekeeping at the other.

The nearly yearlong Bicentennial Celebration of the Long Gray Line began last August with the acceptance of the class of 2005, and it ends in June with the graduation of the class of 2002, the Bicentennial Class. The celebration is about where we have left our footprints over the last 200 years, and where we are headed.

I am a member of the storied Long Gray Line. It is one of my proudest distinctions and one that I hold in the highest regard. My deep pride comes as an American whose Nation is built on the foundations laid from West Point and paid for through the devotion of members of the Long Gray Line.

As Americans, we can look forward to the beginning of the Long Gray Line’s third century of service. And, through our appreciation and this Bicentennial anniversary, we can look forward to another two hundred years of service to this great land.

I say, God bless America.

Duty. Honor. Country.

Go Army.