The U.S. Military Academy, also known as “West Point,” is a four-year university in West Point, New York.

Mission Statement 

The United States Military Academy, founded on March 16, 1802, is a college that educates, trains and inspires the Corps of Cadets so that each graduate is a commissioned leader of character committed to the values of Duty, Honor, Country. Each graduate has the essential attributes for professional growth throughout a career as a U.S. Army officer. West Point graduates earn Bachelor of Science degrees and are commissioned as second lieutenants in the United States Army.The Academy provides a superb four-year education, which focuses on the leader development of cadets in the academic, military, and physical domains, all underwritten by adherence to a code of honor.

Cadets 

Its students, also known as “cadets,” are selected through a highly rigorous admission process, which entails a nomination. Admission is based on intellectual capabilities, character, and physical prowess. With a 2014 acceptance rate of 9.5%, the U.S. Military is one the most competitive  and  prestigious institutions of higher learning in the Untied States, and the world.

Accepted cadets are provided a rigorous four-year education, with all tuition, room and board, and supplemental expenses paid. In exchange, cadets are required to commit to serving in the U.S. Army for at least five years after their graduation, and three years in a Reserve Component.

History 

West Point’s role in our nation’s history dates back to the Revolutionary War, when both sides realized the strategic importance of the commanding plateau on the west bank of the Hudson River. General George Washington considered West Point to be the most important strategic position in America. Washington personally selected Thaddeus Kosciuszko, one of the heroes of Saratoga, to design the fortifications for West Point in 1778, and Washington transferred his headquarters to West Point in 1779. Continental soldiers built forts, batteries and redoubts and extended a 150-ton iron chain across the Hudson to control river traffic. Fortress West Point was never captured by the British, despite Benedict Arnold’s treason. West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in America.