United States Military Academy West Point - Howitzer Yearbook (West Point, NY)

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Cow Year Highlights: 500th Night, Car Shows, Car Loans, Ring Selections And Summer Assignments 500th night provided a welcome break during spring of Cow year. Besides all of the planned events, champagne brunch and formal ban- quet, it represented only 500 days until we shed the cadet gray and donned the Army blue. Even more, it meant that there was only a little time until we were to become wear- ers of the black brass, less than one semester left as Cows. The next event during Cow year was the car show. It would take a lot more than a rainy day to keep anx- ious cows away from new cars. Celi- cas, Camaros, and Firebirds seemed to be the most popular cars on Thayer roof. There were those who looked longingly toward Corvettes, BMW ' s and Saab Turbos, but only a few purchasers. Gas mileage, sporti- ness, and reasonable prices seemed to be the most important features we were all looking for. Spring came a little late Cow year as an April snowstorm whirled its way through the area making it difficult for the two minute dash to turn Sosh papers in on time and delayin g the two mile run test. The snow finally cleared up as the weather warmed and spring flew by at a speedy pace. As Graduation for ' 82 approached, we the class of ' 83, began to prepare to take over the leadership of Corps. We joined the plebes by attending formation ten minutes early, except we went for sabre practice. Summer detail positions were published as well as shadow detail positions. 422

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pi Beast, Buckner Details Provide The Class Of 1983 With The Opportunity To Practice Leadership For our final summer at West Point we were highly motivated and eager to get our different assignments. C.P. T. (Cadet Preparation and Training) got old very quickly and we were looking forward to the arri- val of the real thing - either at Buckner or Beast. Our new cars and 40-odd days of leave certainly helped us to achieve a high level of motivation and determination to do our best with the classes of ' 85 and •86. The Beast and Buckner details defi- nitely challenged us to develop an effective style of leadership. The ex- perience also provided us with a chance to get to know more of our classmates from other regiments. Some familiar statements from the ■ underclass (both plebes and year- lings) we worked for included: But Sir . . . , Sir, that ' s not what my first detail squad leader told me . . , How am I supposed to do that? , and everyone ' s favorite - Sir, I do not understand. Yes, we heard just about every excuse possible. Very few surprised us, and it was hard to suppress a little chuckle at the at- tempts to draw sympathy. Earning the respect of subordinates while leading them through their development as cadets, be it at Beast or Buckner, provides a feeling that is hard to match. Those cadets who served as members of the detail can count the experience as a highlight of their cadet carrers. ' V '