CLASS OF 2012 MARCH BACK – Aug. 8, 2008

       WEST POINT, N.Y. – New cadets from the Class of 2012 will conclude their Cadet Basic Training with a 12-mile road march from Camp Buckner to West Point on Monday, Aug. 18.

       The march back begins before sunrise when the new cadets depart Camp Buckner in tactical formation and travel along Routes 293 and 9W and cross over the West Point Golf Course bridge.  This event is the culmination of seven weeks of Cadet Basic Training or “Beast Barracks.”  Cadet Basic Training is a rigorous program that trains new cadets in basic military skills and prepares them for entry into the Corps of Cadets.  The Class of 2012 reported on June 30.

       During the march back, the Class of 2012 will be joined by nearly 200 academy graduates representing 41 classes ranging from 1945-2003.  The graduates participate in the march back to demonstrate their support of the new class, recognize its accomplishments and to connect with the future members of the Long Gray Line.  All will pass in review in front of Quarters 100, the superintendent’s residence, at noon.  For the new cadets, this acknowledges their successful completion of one of the most demanding challenges they will encounter during their four-year cadet experience.

       New cadets will be officially accepted into the Corps of Cadets during the Acceptance Parade scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 23 at 10 a.m. on the Plain.

Editor’s Note:  A brief opportunity to speak to members of the Class of 2012 will take place at the Ski Slope prior to 10 a.m.  Please contact the Public Affairs Office at (845) 938-2006 by noon on Aug. 15 to coordinate coverage.