Experiencing a Revolution Eight Cadets Studying in Egypt See History in the Making by Kathy Eastwood Orders from the Embassy
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ArmyFebruary Pistol 24, vs. 2011 Navy1 8 a.m. Saturday-Sunday, Tronsrue Marksmanship OINTER IEW® Center. PVOL. 68, NO. 8 SERVING THE COMMUNITY OF WEST V POINT, THE U.S. MILITARY ACADEMY FEBRUARY 24, 2011 Experiencing a revolution Eight cadets studying in Egypt see history in the making By Kathy Eastwood orders from the embassy. Staff Writer “We were monitoring the situation closely,” Maj. Mark West Point cadets went to Egypt Whiteman, DFL Arabic instructor, to study language but unwittingly said. “There was no Internet or became witnesses to history in the cell phone availability, but the making. cadets did a remarkable job of Eight members of the Class communicating through land lines.” of 2012, Cadets Brett Schuck, Whiteman said the cadets’ Brendan Mahoney, Brendan Lopez, first stop was to the American Patrick O’Shaughnessy, Matthew Embassy to receive briefi ngs while McGoffin, Kalan Snyder, Jason the embassy kept the DFL updated. Steimelm and Bennett Holcomb, “Dr. Kevin Kilpatrick put the along with two U.S. Naval Academy cadets up (for four days awaiting midshipmen, arrived in Egypt evacuation) because he lives in Jan. 25 for a semester-long Study a secure compound in Cairo,” Abroad program at the American Whiteman said. “Kilpatrick’s son University in Cairo. Conner is a Class of 2012 cadet Three of those cadets, Holcomb, and his father routinely hosts cadets Mahoney and Snyder, were in who are visiting the country.” Egypt last July on a Department “Some of the local men of the of Foreign Languages’ summer neighborhood set up a checkpoint/ program to study Arabic at the outpost out front of the Kilpatrick Drayah Language School in Cairo. house and guarded the area all night Their next visit found them long,” Snyder said. “Even in the landing in the middle of a revolution. mobs in downtown Cairo, they saw Cow Bennett Holcomb had previously visited Egypt over the summer with 16 other cadets in an “From the fi rst day we fl ew into looters running off with things, and immersion program sponsored by the Arabic section of the Department of Foreign Languages. Cairo, despite the unpredictable would call them out as thieves—it The more recent trip in January found Holcomb and seven colleagues in the midst of a revolution. situation, we all wanted to stay,” was not anarchy.” COURTESY PHOTOS Snyder said via e-mail. “It was The evacuation of the cadets Heather Chadwick, the Study Abroad program Soldiers who represent the United States throughout electric—it wasn’t the civil war we from Cairo to another Arabic- director, said about 40 percent of the Study Abroad the world. watched on the news. It was just speaking country went relatively participants are non-language majors. “We do this through a ‘crawl, walk and run’ action,” an exciting time for the Egyptian smooth. “There are criteria,” Chadwick said. “The cadets Chadwick said. “Cadets may crawl by spending time in people and we felt it was a rare “There was a day’s delay usually are either juniors or seniors and must have three classes or walk with an Advanced Individual Academic privilege to be there, even when at the airport due to the mass semesters in a language. Development or run with a semester of work-study in most Western reporters and others evacuations,” Whiteman said. “The cadets are required to study fi ve courses, a country.” were afraid to come in.” “Then they fl ew to Athens, Greece three in the language of the host country and they must The Study Abroad program at West Point began Snyder said even though they and were delayed. Eventually, complete the requirement needed during the semester in 1998 when cadets traveled to France to study at the were caught up near the protests by (a university in the Middle East) abroad for graduation,” she added. École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr. accident on the way back to their agreed to accommodate the cadets. The purpose of the program is to provide cadets (Editor’s note: Due to operational security, the hotel, no one wanted them involved. They were a great help in getting the a broader perspective and a better understanding of name of the cadets’ current location was withheld from “The police, especially the cadets registered and quartered.” foreign countries which is a critical undertaking for publication.) undercover men, redirected us from Although the Naval Academy the action and total strangers would does not have a work-study whisper to us passing by to avoid relationship with the university, this street or that street,” he said. the two midshipmen were To learn more about “We had no real worries as to our accommodated as well. Whiteman safety. We wandered out during the said it was remarkable how helpful the Study Abroad Program day to talk to people, get food and the university was during this Four programs exist under the Department of Foreign look around where things looked process. Languages’ Study Abroad Program: Semester Abroad, remarkably unchanged aside from Before the uprising in Egypt, Spring Immersion, Summer Abroad and the Foreign the Army’s presence in the streets.” cadets generally went there, Academy Exchange Program. To learn more, visit www. When the cadets entered the Morocco or Jordan for Arabic dean.usma.edu/departments/dfl/. country, they were told to take their studies. 2 February 24, 2011 News and Features Pointer View Lusk Reservoir may be inviting to walk on, but it’s strongly suggested not to attempt walking on the ice. TOMMY GILLIGAN/PV For safety reasons, stay off the ice Submitted by the West Point • Do not try to climb out immediately. or hockey stick—to extend the reach of the Safety Office, the West Point Fire Instead, kick to get horizontal in the water rescuer. 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According to NDPA, • Try to throw an improvised assist, such no ice is safe ice. as an empty jug with a line attached, to the Available online at www.pointerview.com “Ice seldom freezes uniformly,” NDPA victim; Get more board member Gerald M. Dworkin said. • If going onto the ice to retrieve the “It will be thinner when it has formed victim is unavoidable, use a device to Pointer Become a fan at: www.facebook.com/ over moving water, and where it surrounds distribute the rescuer’s weight over a wide View westpointpao partially submerged objects such as rocks or area such as a fl at-bottom boat, ladder or Photo galleries available at www.fl ickr. tree limbs.” boogie board; Online com/photos/west_point/sets/ If you fall through ice, NDPA recommends: • Use a reaching assist—such as a branch POINTER VIEW ® 40 Mulberry Street, Middletown, NY 10940 The Army civilian enterprise newspaper, the Pointer View, is an authorized publication for members of the Department of Defense. 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