On Saturday, December 2, 2006, Polish and American graduates of the U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Naval Academy and U.S. Air Force Academy gathered in Warsaw to watch, via satellite, and root for Army or Navy as “America’s Teams” took the field in the 107th annual Army-Navy football game. The event was sponsored by Colonel Stanley Prusinski, Chief, Office of Defense Cooperation, and Lieutenant Colonel Brad Mitchell, Assistant Army Attaché, both of whom graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1980 and 1990, respectively.
This year, the “Midshipmen” of Navy topped Army’s “Black Knights,” 26-14, as a result of two, fourth-quarter interceptions by Navy. While members of the Service Academies are intense rivals on the fields of friendly competition, once off the field, a brotherly affinity exists between the midshipmen of Navy and the cadets of Army and Air Force. American soldiers, sailors and seamen who are deployed around the world closely follow Academy athletics, especially football games. For the men competing on the gridiron, there is a sober realization that, upon completing their four years at the Academies, they may soon be deployed and fighting alongside their onetime athletic rivals in the defense of liberty.
U.S. Service Academy alumni are particularly proud of the fact that Polish officers have graduated from these institutions. Inducting Polish officers into the Academies broadens the educational opportunities for both American and other foreign cadets and midshipmen. The long-lasting friendships built between Polish and American alumni pay great dividends as top-quality graduates rise through the ranks to someday command and control coalition operations.
Perhaps the closest bond with Poland exists at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York. There, the cadets, at their own expense, erected a monument in honor of the great Polish-American patriot Thaddeus Kościusko who fought for the American cause during the U.S. Revolutionary War and coordinated the fortification of the operationally critical heights at West Point which would one day become the site of the world’s premier military Academy.
“Go Army!” “Go Navy!” “Go Air Force!”
For further information on U.S. Service Academies please see the following websites:
• U.S. Military Academy
• U.S. Naval Academy
• U.S. Air Force Academy
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