Cow Year Cadets in their third year of study are called "cows" or "second-class cadets." Cow Year Cadets in their third year of study are called "cows" or "second-class cadets." Breadcrumb cow milestones USMA_pillars MENU Leadership Development Cadet Life Cadet Support Cadet Milestones Plebe Milestones Yearling Milestones Cow Milestones Firstie Milestones Cadet Community The Journey Continues Junior, second class, sergeant, “cow.” By cow year, you are finally an upperclassman! Along with the privileges of being an upperclassman come additional responsibilities. Your cow year begins the summer before your third academic year, either with a summer leadership detail or an Individual Advanced Development program. The academic year then kicks off with the Affirmation Ceremony where you commit to serving in the U.S. Army and defending the Constitution. For the next two years, your time at West Point will focus on learning and developing as a leader of character. Cow year is marked by several poignant events, including the celebration of having only 500 days left at the academy, picking out and ordering your class ring, taking your final Howitzer (yearbook) photo, and receiving your cow loan. Additionally, opportunities for growth and development inside and outside the classroom, both at the academy and abroad, are widely available your cow year, so it is critical to take advantage of those that interest you. Affirmation Oath Ceremony On the eve of your first day of classes as a cow, the entire class reports to a specific location to take the Oath of Affirmation. This ceremony affirms your commitment to complete the next two years of study and your active-duty service requirements as an U.S. Army officer. Once you’ve affirmed, you incur an obligation to the nation to complete your service. Learn more about service commitment 500th Night and Ring Melt In a tradition started with the Class of 1965, "500" is the number that marks how many days your class has left until graduation and commission as Army officers. Your class will celebrate 500th Night with a formal banquet at Washington Hall, the academy's prestigious dining facility. The Ring Melt happens just before the weekend begins. In a moving ceremony, USMA class rings donated by graduates are placed into a cauldron, melted down, and the gold (along with shavings of legacy gold from over 800 previously donated rings) is used in future class rings – truly a physical embodiment of the Long Gray Line gripping hands. Career Starter Loan Several financial institutions offer optional career starter loans to cadets in their cow year. This low-interest rate loan is a tremendous way for cadets to start to build a solid financial future. Some cadets choose to use the loan to help purchase an automobile as part of their expanding privileges. Increased Privileges After Affirmation and 500th Night, second-class cadets increasingly experience events that point their way to graduation and service in the Army. Some cadets have greater privileges – more opportunities to leave campus and the ability to park a privately owned vehicle on the post. The Career Starter Loan (cow loan) helps you start to think about your financial future and economic resources after graduation. The Ring Show is filled with excitement as each cow chooses a class ring design (the class and USMA crests are on the sides of every ring, but the stone and embellishments are individually chosen). With privileges come responsibility, and cadet sergeants have responsibility at the squad, platoon, and company levels besides working with a cadet officer (a "firstie") in various staff assignments that run the Corps of Cadets.