Photo By Elizabeth Woodruff | Cadets from the U.S. Military Academy Class of 2024 gathered at various locations to...... read more read more
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Cadets from the U.S. Military Academy Class of 2024 gathered at their respective branch locations to select their first Army duty station during the annual Post Night event on Feb. 28 at West Point.
Post Night is conducted using a draft-style process based on the Cadet Order of Merit list, allowing cadets to select their duty station based on where they rank from highest to lowest on the OML. The OML, or class rank, is calculated as a combination of academic performance (55%), military leadership performance (30%), and physical fitness and athletic performance (15%).
“Post Night is an exciting tradition for our first-class cadets,” said Lt. Col. Andy Bryant, acting USMA Accessions chief and Field Artillery branch representative. “It represents one of the final and most significant steps toward the academy’s goal of developing leaders of character for our Soldiers every year.”
Leading up to Post Night, the Department of Military Instruction’s Accessions Division educates cadets about not just the available posts, but also the various unit types available to each branch.
Staff and faculty serve as mentors to the cadets across all branches as at least one member has served at each of the offered posts on Post Night.
“(Staff and faculty) play a very important role in educating cadets on the culture, mission and unit types so they can make informed decisions,” Bryant explained. “It’s important because a lieutenant’s first assignment is one of the most important developmental periods of their Army career.”
DMI Accessions Division manages several USMA processes to include branch education, talent-based branching and inter-service commissioning, but the posting process, with Post Night in particular, Bryant said, “is always one of the most exciting events due to the intimate nature within each branch population and significance to cadets.”
“It is important to remember that when a cadet selects an assignment on Post Night, it is not just for themselves,” Bryant remarked. “They are selecting a platoon or team of Soldiers that needs and deserves leaders of character to inspire and motivate them. I know the Class of 2024 is up to the task.”
Class of 2024 Cadet Daniel Vrablic is one of those cadets up for the task. He branched Military Intelligence and now chose Grafenwöhr, Germany, as his post and said he can’t wait to get his career started.
“I feel I am in a new phase of my cadet and Army career now that I have my branch, unit and location,” Vrablic said. “I am ready to get to the operational force and make a difference.”
Vrablic explained that what factored most in his decision to choose Germany was he wanted to pick a unit that he would be “most excited to go into work every day,” and he chose the 173rd Airborne Division, which is headquartered out of Vicenza, Italy, and consists of six subordinate battalions, one of which is in Germany.
“I want to be pushed and challenged every day, and I believe this unit will best do this,” Vrablic stated.
Now, looking toward the future, Vrablic can feel the reality settling in that graduation is close, but he wants to put his best foot forward to finish the semester and enjoy time with the people closest to him.
“I want to finish West Point as strong as I can, but take in every single day with my friends,” he said.
After his Basic Officer Leader Course, Vrablic will be leading a platoon as a second lieutenant and looking to use all that he learned at West Point to be that motivating, inspiring leader of character his Soldiers will need in today’s Army.
“I want to be as prepared as possible to lead my Soldiers in combat and provide value to the Army – ultimately, to fight and win,” Vrablic articulated. “I pray I am 100% prepared to meet this challenge and I am able to live up to the legacy all previous West Point graduates have laid for me and my peers.”
This year, 873 of the 1,028 cadets selected duty stations with 691 choosing among the 48 contiguous states (CONUS), while 182 cadets chose duty stations outside the continental U.S. (OCONUS).
The following are the duty stations chosen by the USMA Class of 2024:
CONUS: Fort Moore, Georgia (1), Fort Bliss, Texas (89), Fort Liberty, North Carolina (84), Fort Campbell, Kentucky (71), Fort Carson, Colorado (60), Fort Drum, New York (38), Fort Eustis, Virginia (1), Fort Cavazos, Texas (114), Fort Irwin, California (15), Fort Knox, Kentucky (4), Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri (6), Fort Johnson, Louisiana (26), Fort Riley, Kansas (48), Fort Sill, Oklahoma (33), Fort Stewart, Georgia (52), Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia (2), Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington (47), and Eglin Air Force Base, Florida (1).
OCONUS: Alaska (43), Germany (46), Italy (8), Japan (3), Korea (21), Hawaii (45), and Guam (1).
(Editor’s note: The numbers above are a breakdown of available post options that have been allocated to West Point cadets at this time. These are not the final numbers and more will become available as the posts are chosen during Post Night, and the information is consolidated afterward by branch to determine which posts were not chosen.)
| Date Taken: | 02.28.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 02.29.2024 10:37 |
| Story ID: | 464972 |
| Location: | WEST POINT, NY, US |
| Web Views: | 126 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Class of 2024 Cadets select first duty stations during Post Night, by Eric Bartelt, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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