In May 2003, I had just relinquished the guidon, the symbol of command authority and responsibility for a 130 soldier combat heavy construction company, in Iraq. I was preparing to make a huge transition in my life and career. I was leaving the dust, heat and eternal threat of violence in post-war Iraq to teach civil engineering at the Nation's First Department of Engineering at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. West Point's mission is "to educate, train, and inspire" cadets to become leaders of character in the U.S. Army. The students here are unique in that they know their first job will be leading soldiers as a second lieutenant in the Army. Following graduation and commissioning, new lieutenants attend school for their branch, and then they arrive at their first duty station, eager to begin as platoon leaders.
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