{"id":15965,"date":"2021-05-22T15:11:50","date_gmt":"2021-05-22T15:11:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/05\/22\/defense-secretary-lloyd-austin-will-address-graduating-west-point-cadets\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T01:48:51","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T01:48:51","slug":"defense-secretary-lloyd-austin-will-address-graduating-west-point-cadets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2021\/05\/22\/defense-secretary-lloyd-austin-will-address-graduating-west-point-cadets\/","title":{"rendered":"Defense secretary tells West Point cadets they\u2019re ready"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WEST POINT, N.Y. \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/congress\/2021\/01\/21\/congress-oks-waiver-for-biden-defense-secretary-pick-lloyd-austin\/\" target=\"_blank\">U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin<\/a> told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2020\/10\/12\/first-survey-of-west-point-cadets-attitudes-about-civil-military-relations-raises-concerns\/\" target=\"_blank\">U.S. Military Academy cadets<\/a> Saturday they were graduating during \u201cexceptionally tough circumstances\u201d but that West Point prepared them to face the extraordinary threats from pandemics to terrorism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Austin spoke to about 1,000 cadets becoming U.S. Army second lieutenants in a ceremony held with pandemic precautions at West Point\u2019s football stadium. Austin, a 1975 graduate of West Point, recalled his own years at the academy as he told graduates their West Point training will keep them on course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou\u2019re watching as America\u2019s longest war winds down. And you\u2019re seeing technology change the character of war itself. And even as big and rising powers jostle and compete, you\u2019re seeing new threats from pandemics to terrorism to cyber weapons. And you\u2019re seeing those threats race across borders like a gale,\u201d said Austin, the nation\u2019s first Black defense secretary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI might, I just might, have a bit of insight into what you\u2019re facing: a democracy under strain, economic fallout, painful issues of racism and discrimination, social tensions and the end of a long and controversial war,\u201d said Austin. \u201cWell, that all sounds pretty familiar to those of us from the Class of 1975.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">West Point\u2019s graduation ceremony returned to Michie Stadium a year after the pandemic prompted a change in venue. Last year, then-President Donald Trump spoke to graduates sitting spaced out on the academy\u2019s nearby parade field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"3500\" height=\"2335\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP21142603045771.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-36522\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP21142603045771.jpg.jpg 3500w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP21142603045771.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP21142603045771.jpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP21142603045771.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP21142603045771.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1025 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP21142603045771.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1366 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 3500px) 100vw, 3500px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">United States Military Academy graduating cadets celebrate at the end of their graduation ceremony of the U.S. Military Academy class 2021 at Michie Stadium on Saturday, May 22, 2021, in West Point, N.Y. (AP Photo\/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump\u2019s appearance was criticized as a political move that put the graduates at risk, though the Army said the cadets had to return to campus anyway for final medical checks, equipment and training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All guests at the ceremony this year were required to provide either a negative COVID-19 test result or proof of vaccination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Graduating cadets were spaced 3 feet (1 meter) apart on the field. Each graduate was provided with six tickets, instead of 10, which allowed spacing between different families in the stands of the stadium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cLooking out at all of you, I see the vanguard of a generation. I see patriotic, committed young people coming of age at a hinge in history, who grew up never knowing anything other than a nation at war,\u201d Austin said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The modified ceremony capped an unusual year at West Point in which COVID-19 forced changes in how the military trained and educated more than 4,000 cadets. West Point also endured fallout from a cheating scandal in which dozens of freshmen were accused of cheating on an online calculus exam in May 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cProbably the biggest challenge that I faced that is unique to this year was leading through COVID,\u201d said Cadet Reilly McGinnis, first captain of Corps of Cadets, days before commencement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As the highest ranking cadet, McGinnis had to explain to her classmates the reasons behind pandemic-related rules, such as why seniors\u2019 weekend passes to leave West Point were temporarily restricted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere were definitely some negatives in that. But also it opened up the opportunity for us to really come closer as a Corps and spend a lot of time together building cohesive teams we always talk about,\u201d McGinnis said earlier this week. \u201cJust getting to know our classmates, spending time with them on the weekends instead of scattering all across the country, going on pass.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Austin, a 1975 graduate of West Point, recalled his own years at the academy as he told graduates their West Point training will keep them on 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