By Lt. Gen. Tom McInerney, USAF, (Ret.)
Maj. Gen. Paul Vallely, USA (Ret.)
Col. Andrew P. O’Meara, Jr., USA (Ret.)
“Concerned Graduates of West Point”
The Long Gray Line is the assembly of United States Military Academy graduates. It serves as a fount of American battle-tested experience, the institutional memory of the Military Academy, and the watchdog of the United States Corps of Cadets. As such, it is the sacred duty of the Long Gray Line to challenge improper conduct or rogue behavior, such as that which has come to dominate West Point.
The United States Military Academy, founded in 1802, uniquely reflects American exceptionalism and the principles in the Republic’s founding documents. The Academy was established to educate Army officers to defend the Union. As the first engineering school in North America, the Academy contributed skilled engineers to assist nation-building. The cadets trained at the Military Academy served as a cadre upon which to build a professional army and as engineers who built railroads, ports, canals, and fortifications needed by the new nation.
Graduates of the Academy have watched the transformation of West Point into an institution that no longer performs the functions it was founded to serve. More troubling is that merit has ceased functioning as the foundation of professional competence. Evidence of American exceptionalism has disappeared from the Academy.
Members of the Long Gray Line have protested what appears to be the softening of standards, acceptance of intolerance in the name of equity, and the acceptance of incompetence as the price of Affirmative Action. Letters to the Superintendent have identified problems reported at the Academy, seeking explanations for subpar performance. Regrettably, the leadership of the Academy has not responded to the requests.
Today, the Long Gray Line members find themselves confronted by an Academy crisis that appears to consist of incompetence, lost direction, and failure to meet performance standards. Failure to meet the standard established by the oath taken by cadets suggests a decline in integrity and morality. The clash of civilizations on American soil is manifested by a curriculum at the Military Academy in conflict with the principles of the founding documents of the United States of America.
With these opening words, we addressed our Letter of May 24, 2022, to the Superintendent of the Military Academy seeking information regarding irregularities, mismanagement, dereliction of duty, and the appearance of unlawful behavior on the part of the Staff and Faculty of the Academy. Our letter asked for the following information:
- An explanation for the irregularities in enforcing the Honor Code. The Honor Code was removed from cadet authority and then allowed to fall into disuse to preclude any suggestions of social discrimination. Civilian faculty were introduced to provide a more liberal academic curriculum, opening the doors to teaching socialist indoctrination. Affirmative Action was adopted to compensate for the perception of privilege. Critical Race Theory (CRT) was adopted to level the playing field and thereby incorporated fundamental Marxist ideology into the curriculum of the Academy.
- A justification for the mandatory vaccinations of cadets with the COVID-19 virus despite widespread adverse reactions to the injection, as well as provisions for exceptions for cadets with religious objections.
- An explanation for teaching Critical Race Theory/DEI/transgender ism at the Academy that constitutes an attack upon the Constitution and our Constitutional Republic. Our government now measures Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity (DIE). Joe Biden has written Executive Orders making DIE the cornerstone of everything every single part of his Administration does. Diversity and inclusion are not problematic, and if a group is inclusive, it will grow in diversity without doing anything else – inclusion is the key to creating diversity. We also already have a diverse and inclusive society. The United States is statistically the least racist, most diverse, and most inclusive society that the world has ever seen.
- Political activism by left-leaning civilian faculty (and a few woke uniformed officers) constituting political activity on campus, violating the long-standing policy of the Academy and Army Regulations.
- The practice of exclusive reliance upon radical progressive guest speakers to address the Corps of Cadets. There is no evidence of one conservative lecturer in the past five years—this practice results in prejudiced political activism by the Staff and Faculty in violation of Army Regulations.
- An explanation for the failure of the Superintendent to respond to correspondence enquiring about problems identified at the Academy.
- Far too much emphasis on collegiate athletics.
As members of the Long Gray Line, we have observed a rejection of adherence to the Military Academy’s ancient principles that threaten the Academy’s mission.
A letter was dispatched to the Superintendent of the Academy as well as the President and Directors of the Association of Graduates (AOG) with the warning that the Academy is conducting business in a manner that ignores time-honored principles of the Academy, Constitutional Law, and our sworn oath of office.
Join us in saving and restoring the Values and Tradition of the Long Gray Line and West Point. As General MacArthur said in his 1962 address at West Point.
“The shadows are lengthening for me. The twilight is here. My days of old have vanished – tone and tints. They have gone glimmering through the dreams of things that were. Their memory is one of wondrous beauty, watered by tears and coaxed and caressed by the smiles of yesterday. I listen then, but with thirsty ear, for the witching melody of faint bugles blowing reveille, of far drums beating the long roll. In my dreams, I hear again the crash of guns, the rattle of musketry, and the strange, mournful mutter of the battlefield. But in the evening of my memory, I returned to West Point. Always there echoes and re-echoes: Duty, Honor, Country. Today marks my final roll call with you. But I want you to know that when I cross the river, my last conscious thoughts will be of the Corps, and the Corps, and the Corps.” I bid you farewell.”
Concerned West Graduates have formed in 2023 “The MacArthur Society of West Point Graduates to preserve the proud traditions and values of the Long Gray Line.
Released and Distributed by the Stand Up America US Foundation
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