Dean s Weekly Significant Activities Report. 13 May Picture of the Week

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1 Dean s Weekly Significant Activities Report 13 May 2015 The Dean s Weekly Significant Activities Report is an internal report on all activities conducted within the Departments, Centers & Staff. The Report is provided to the Dean for situation awareness, throughout the organization for shared situation awareness, and to select external organizations for outreach and communication. Portions of the Dean s Weekly Significant Activities Report are further staffed in a report to the Superintendent. POC for the report is MS Lesley Beckstrom at Picture of the Week Graduating Russian Language Majors at Dr. Mansour s home for a farewell dinner. Page1

2 Combating Terrorism Center The Westgate terror attacks in 2013 On 5 May, Combating Terrorism Center Director LTC Bryan Price, CTC Director of Research and Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Sciences Dr. Daniel Milton, and CTC Research Associate Muhammad al- Ubaydi traveled to New York City for an invitationonly screening of HBO s new documentary Terror at the Mall. The film, which was shown at the HBO Theater in Manhattan, examines the 2013 attacks at the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya. The showing was followed by a panel discussion. Director of the Combating Terrorism Center LTC Bryan Price Last week CTC Director LTC Bryan Price was also invited to speak at the National Intelligence University at Bolling AFB in Washington, D.C. On 7 May, LTC Price spoke during the Senior Intelligence Leaders Course, which featured senior officers from 15 different countries. Page2

3 Current Week HIGHLIGHTS: Department of Foreign Languages Spanish: Spanish Semester Abroad Cadets Connor Wernecke and Benjamin Greif participated in an onsite camouflage testing project in Mexico for the Sensation & Perception class. The testing was coordinated by the former head of Engineering Psychology, Dr. Tim O Neill in Mexico with the cooperation of the Mexican Marine Special Forces and the company Protactic. The coordinators reported that the project was successful in no small part due to the cadets Spanish abilities. Dr. O Neill reported that the cadets uncomplainingly helped execute the mission in less-than-ideal weather conditions, setting up the experiment, aiding the testing subjects, and working as interpreters between the Mexican military and English-speaking scientists. In addition, Ben and Connor were working side-by-side with the Mexican Marines Special Forces Special Ops Unit, an elite military unit within an elite military unit, Mexico s primary defense against drug cartels. Dr. O Neill summed the event up as follows: Connor and Ben were invaluable to the execution of two demanding research efforts. Having two research assistants who understood experimental method, spoke Spanish, and are not bothered by hours of hard work under bad conditions made the whole thing possible. Cadet Connor Wernecke observing the test site in Mexico Page3

4 Cadet Ben Greif with a member of the Mexican Marine Special Forces Arabic: Eight Arabic students in Jordan and Morocco have completed their studies and are preparing to return to West Point. The Cadets in Morocco visited the Sahara desert at Merzouga, travelling by camel; one presented a tactics class in Arabic and one ran in a half-marathon. They return to West Point on Wednesday. The Cadets in Jordan wrapped up their studies and attended a presentation from a group of visiting Yemenis, followed by a traditional Yemeni meal. They return to West Point on Friday 15 May. Page4

5 Cadet Shannon Rogers 16 at a Jordanian book fair in Amman, Jordan. Russian: The Russian Language Section held a dinner for the graduating Russian concentrators at Dr. Lawrence Mansour's home. Cadets were able to spend the evening enjoying the company of their fellow cadets and instructors, as well as a selection of Russian foods. Graduating Russian Language Majors at Dr. Mansour s home for a farewell dinner. Page5

6 Department of Physics and Nuclear Engineering Completed Events Hail and Farewell: On 8 May, the Department of Physics and Nuclear Engineering held a Department Hail and Farewell at Schlesinger s Steakhouse. COL John Hartke was welcomed back to the Department by COL Ed Naessens from his year-long Operational Experience. Departing faculty members that were honored at the event included MAJ Sam Heider, MAJ Eric Marshall, COL Bryndol Sones, and LTC Dave Williams. Retirement Ceremony: On 12 May, the Department of Physics and Nuclear Engineering celebrated the retirement of Lieutenant Colonel Samuel H. Amber after twenty-one years as a commissioned officer in the United States Army. LTC Amber excelled in leadership positions in the field artillery, space operations, and at the United States Military Academy. Beginning as a tank company fire support officer in Korea and culminating as an assistant professor and Director of the Space and Missile Defense Command Research and Analysis Center, he amassed an unparalleled record of accomplishments as a strategic leader, soldier, professional engineer, educator, and scholar. LTC Chad Schools acted as Master of Ceremonies of the ceremony while COL Ed Naessens presented the Meritorious Service Medal, the Presidential Certificate of Appreciation for Service in the Armed Forces of the United States of America, the United States Flag which was flown over the United States Military Academy, and the Department of the Army Retirement Certificate and Pin. The ceremony was held in the West Point Room in Bartlett Hall. A small reception was held after LTC(R) Amber made his remarks. Page6

7 Departing Faculty Award Ceremony: On 13 May, the Department of Physics and Nuclear Engineering honored two departing faculty at an award ceremony. COL Ed Naessens, MAJ Sam Heider and family Page7

8 COL Ed Naessens and LTC Rob Prins Accelerator: Mr. Kurt Klapfhamer from the National Electrostatics Corporation is visiting the Department this week to repair the accelerator. Future Events COL Naessens Deployment: COL Ed Naessens begins his Operational Experience with predeployment leave on 15 May and reports to the CONUS Replacement Center (CRC) on 24 May. Upon completion of his pre-deployment tasks at CRC, COL Naessens will depart for Afghanistan to serve as the Chief of Staff for the Combined Security and Transition Command Afghanistan for up to one year. COL John Hartke, who has just returned from his Operational Experience with the 36 th Engineer Brigade, will serve as the acting department head. Department Academic Award Ceremony: on 21 May, The Department of Physics and Nuclear Engineering will host an academic award ceremony to present the LTG Leslie R. Groves Award to the cadet with the highest average in nuclear engineering. STEM: During May, the Department of Physics and Nuclear Engineering will participate in the STEM Program. This program is designed for middle school children who participated in hands-on experiments. Summer Leader s Experience: During 1-12 June, the Department of Physics and Nuclear Engineering will participate in the Summer Leader s Experience (SLE). CST: During summer 2015 (17 May 9 August), five officers from The Department of Physics and Nuclear Engineering are supporting cadet summer training events. Page8

9 IAD(A)s: The Department of Physics and Nuclear Engineering is preparing 43 cadets (including seven plebes) to go on AIADs to nineteen locations (two international) this summer. Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering West Point s Exceptional Performance in the 2015 RecycleMania Competition. Competing against more than 450 colleges and universities, West Point took 2 nd place in the 2015 RecycleMania cardboard category. Additionally, West Point finished 4 th in the Per Capita Classic (total pounds of recyclables collected per person), 4 th in bottles and cans category (an improvement over USMA s 8 th -place finish during 2014) and 17 th in paper recycling. The installation, cadets and faculty members strongly supported the recycling effort at West Point allowing these remarkable results. The Department of Cadet Activities and MWR are large supporters of the effort offering cash and prize incentives to the cadet companies that recycle the most during the competition. Additionally, the Cadet Energy and Environment Chain of Command, led by Cadet Will Moore, and the ESSW Club led by CDT Carissa Pekny were active in motivating the Corps of Cadets to increase recycling efforts. Both the Energy and Environment Chain of Command and the ESSW cadet club are initiatives of the Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering in an effort to encourage Cadets to think globally and apply their understanding of human-environment interactions to develop appropriate sustainable solutions to problems. In USMA s internal competition, the top performing companies received cash rewards in the amounts of $750, $400 and $200 for first, second and third place, respectively. This year s top three companies were Company C3 (first place), Company A1 (second place) and Company C1 (third place). On 29 April 2015, the Brigade Tactical Officer, COL Steven Merkel, presented each of these companies and supporting staff from MWR, DPW and DCA with their 2015 RecycleMania awards. The POC is MAJ Rob Nahabedian at robert.nahabedian@usma.edu. Picture: Company C-1 receives top accolades during this year s RecycleMania Awards Ceremony, 29 April 2015, at the foot of the poop deck Page9

10 EV401 Camp Buckner Water Treatment Plant Tour. Cadets enrolled in EV401, Physical and Chemical Treatment Processes, visited the Camp Buckner Water Treatment Plant on April 27 th. The plant operates seasonally to treat water from Lake Popolopen for consumption at Camps Buckner and Natural Bridge. Cadets appreciated the compact and logical layout of the plant, which helped them conceptualize the entire water treatment process. The POC is CPT Rich Rogers at Mr. Tommy Armstrong describes the mixing, flocculation, tube settling, and rapid granular filtration process train to EV401 cadets at the Camp Buckner Water Treatment Plant (left). Cadets pose with Mr. Armstrong outside of the raw water intake house on the shores of Lake Popolopen (right). Art Hinaman (left) and Bill Dauer (right) of the U.S. Forest Service discuss wildfire control to students in Environmental Geology (EV391b). On Wednesday, 6 May 15, Art Hinaman and Bill Dauer, of the U.S. Forest Service, were invited to West Point as guest speakers to talk about wildfires and the Forest Service to students in Environmental Geology (EV391b). Art Hinaman, Assistant Director, Aviation, discussed the use of aviation assets in fighting wildfires. He also talked about the principles of fighting wildfires, and the three elements of a fire triangle: heat, oxygen, and fuel. If one or more of the three elements are removed, the fire will go out. Bill Dauer, Forest Engineer, spoke to cadets during Dean s Hour about the history of the Forest Service, the many activities in which the Forest Service is involved, and the historical relationship the Forest Service has with the Army. The information shared by both guest speakers was well received by the cadets. Art Hinaman is a 32 year veteran of the Army and National Guard, and Bill Dauer is USMA Class of 1981 and former West Point football player. POC is LTC Mark Smith at x3136, mark.smith@usma.edu. Page10

11 G&EnE Officer Retirement. The department's resident meteorologist, Air Force Major Douglas MacPherson, was recognized for 21 years of distinguished service during his retirement ceremony May 8th. Major MacPherson taught courses in meteorology and physical geography to cadets for the last three and a half years. He brought great expertise to the department and was an incredible representative for the Air Force at West Point. He will be retiring to New Mexico and plans to teach high school science. Major MacPherson received the Meritorious Service Medal for his outstanding contributions to the military and the nation during his 21 years of service. USMA 5K/10K. On Saturday, 9 May 2015, three teams from G&EnE competed in the USMA 5K & 10K runs. Two of the department teams competed in the 5K while one competed in the Page11

12 10K. The teams performance were impressive with Team Dirt (MAJ Christian Robbins, MAJ Rich Knox, and MAJ Colin Tansey) finishing second and Team Green (CPT Rich Rogers, CPT Laurel Miller, and CPT David Zgonc) finishing fourth in the 5K. Team G&EnE (COL Mark Read, LTC Philip Dacunto, and MAJ Lauren Koban) finished first in the 10K. Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering teams and supporters at the USMA 5k/10K race. Page12