WEST POINT, N.Y. – There was an invigorating enthusiasm in the air within the Eisenhower Hall Theatre as the U.S. Military Academy first-class cadets received and held within their hands envelopes containing their future. With the Commandant of Cadets, Brig. Gen. R.J. Garcia, cue to open the envelopes, the elation began and screams of gratification resonated among the cadets throughout the mammoth auditorium during Branch Night on Dec. 4.
“I’m in absolute euphoria,” said Class of 2025 Cadet Andrew Sanchez, who received his top choice, Engineers branch, but will begin in the Infantry branch. “It’s humbling to know that I now get to wear the same insignia that the Soldiers I’m going to lead one day are wearing. I’m extremely excited to start stewarding our profession, both in the Infantry and then the Engineer Corps as well.”
Sanchez through the branch detail program will serve his Basic Officer Leader Course (BOLC) and first three years in the Army in the Infantry before moving into the Engineers branch. He was incredibly positive about the turn of events that allows him to serve in his branches of choice.
“To spend Infantry BOLC with all my best friends at the academy and making new friends along the way, then getting to lead Soldiers as an Infantry PL and then as an Engineer captain, I’ll be on the front line with them – it is the honor of a lifetime,” Sanchez explained. “I’m super excited for that.”
Sanchez feels he is blessed to receive “the best of both worlds” to begin his career that came from three-and-a-half years of hard work to achieve his branch choices at West Point. However, the evening wasn’t complete until the knowledge of his friends in A-1 Company also obtaining their branches of choice.
“Most of my excitement was not from seeing what I got, it was from seeing what my best friend to my right and other best friend to my left got,” Sanchez stated. “Seeing that they got what they wanted makes the experience a thousand times more special. I wouldn’t want to spend my time here or the next five years with anybody else.”
When it comes to the next step of leading Soldiers after graduation, Sanchez articulated that what the Secretary of Defense Honorable Llyod Austin III, 1975 USMA graduate, said was very poignant to the Firsties in the audience.
“The Honorable Llyod Austin said to us, ‘This isn’t the finish line, this is the start line of your career,’” Sanchez said. “As we’re edging closer to graduation, I think tonight made it feel a little more real. I’m one step closer to knowing what I’m going to do and who I’m going to lead.”
Class of 2025 Cadet Keira Vesy also achieved her top branch choice, Engineers, and is elated at the opportunity to represent the insignia that she received in her envelope.
“It was a lot of excitement and relief … I knew whatever I was going to see would be great, but seeing my first choice was even better,” Vesy stated. “Just knowing that I get to pursue what I want in the Army is a great feeling.”
Vesy said choosing Engineers was due to the branch being involved in the tactical side of the Army with operations and mission sets but is also a very people oriented and technical branch as well.
“It’s a great combination of a little bit of military, then challenging me technically to push myself to be better,” Vesy explained. “It’s a great branch people wise who are super nice and willing to help.”
It is a seminal experience as Branch Night allows cadets to share in each other’s joy as there were many hardships and pain to get to this point, and leaning on each other is truly a way to succeed at the academy.
“I think everybody is right, you’re not going to get through this place by yourself,” Vesy said. “It’s great when you succeed, but when you have those people supporting you, you want to make sure that they’re succeeding and having just as much fun as you are. It was the best feeling in the world … seeing my friends around me celebrate getting their number one choices and it was almost, if not better than the feeling of getting my number one choice.”
A total of 1,028 envelopes were distributed to the Class of 2025 with 18 different branch insignias awaiting to be opened. Infantry led the way with 228 branch assignments with 45 being branch detailed, followed by Field Artillery at 186, Aviation at 108 and Engineers at 100 rounding out the top four branches.
The evening doesn’t happen as smoothly as it does without the hard work of the Department of Military Instruction’s Accessions Team that serves as the career counselors for the Corps of Cadets in guiding and mentoring them through their four years.
“Our goal is to guide cadets – whether they know exactly what they want or are entirely unsure – toward the best fit for themselves and the Army,” said Lt. Col. Ashlie Christian, chief of Accessions. “Our work doesn’t stop at Branch Night. Next semester we will assist cadets with informed post selections, facilitate Post Night and organize the Cadet Accessions Transition Assistance Program.
“The Accessions Team also schedules all the BOLC dates for graduates and ensures their orders are generated to get them successfully to their first destination,” Christian added. “Ultimately, we serve as mentors, facilitators and even planners, ensuring cadets have the tools and knowledge to succeed while helping the Army identify and align talent where it is most needed.”
To see the cadets’ work culminate in such a magical evening is exceptional to Christian.
“I was previously an assistant professor in the Math Department and taught plebe Calculus,” she said. “I had the Class of 2025 when they were plebes and have worked with many of them since then. Watching them grow over the years and now seeing them take this monumental step toward becoming leaders in the Army is beyond exciting.”
As Christian reflects on the privilege to celebrate the milestone with the class and appreciates the incredible work by her Accessions Team through their long hours, it does take the USMA 2004 graduate back to a time where she celebrated this experience much like this class.
“That night was a whirlwind of excitement and anticipation,” Chrisitan said. “I distinctly remember the envelopes we received, each containing the brass insignia of our branch instead of the cards with branch pictures we use today. The room was buzzing with energy as we all tried to feel the shapes through the envelopes.
“When I finally opened mine and saw Aviation, I was thrilled – it felt like the culmination of years of hard work and the start of an incredible adventure,” she concluded. “The Army Aviation community has given me so much: a sense of purpose, amazing mentors and unparalleled experiences. I’m grateful ever day that I get to be part of something that I’m so passionate about.”