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On March 16, 1802, President Thomas Jefferson signed into law a bill of the United States Congress authorizing the establishment of "a military academy to be located at West Point in the State of New York." During 2002, the Bicentennial of the founding of the United States Military Academy were observed at West Point and at other designated places throughout the world.
The purpose of the Bicentennial is "to commemorate the 200th Anniversary of the founding of the United States Military Academy by celebrating its contributions to the Nation and the people of the world."
The United States Military Academy has been educating, training, and inspiring leaders of character for our United States Army and for the nation for more than 200 years. West Point provides a 47-month leader-development program steeped in academic rigor, military discipline, and physical challenges, all built upon a moral-ethical foundation. The academy is an internationally recognized institution for academic, military and physical excellence, and we are proud that today's cadets will become tomorrow's military, public and private-sector leaders.
West Point's purpose is to produce leaders of character who are prepared to provide selfless service to our Army and the nation. West Point provides a broad-based and balanced curriculum to ensure graduates acquire knowledge, skills, and attributes necessary for them to effectively address the complex and uncertain challenges they will face in their personal and professional lives. When students enter the United States Military Academy at West Point, they are beginning a profession. Career development starts on the first day; everything cadets experience is focused on developing them as leaders of character who will serve as officers in America's Army upon graduation, when they are commissioned as second lieutenants in the U.S. Army. As they begin their military careers, they become leaders of Soldiers, and each new promotion brings additional responsibility and increased opportunity.
West Point is about choosing a direction in life that puts service to the nation first and allows each graduate to be a standard-bearer for their generation and the generations that follow. The cadets who graduate as commissioned officers and serve the nation are our lasting legacy and are what makes West Point great.
While academic courses are the building blocks of most typical universities, career development at West Point is geared toward the cadet's goal of being an officer in the United States Army, so military discipline and training are paramount to their officer development. Cadets are immersed from day one in a military environment where they are organized in companies and serve in leadership positions within the Corps of Cadets. The heart of the military training takes place during the summer. The basic Soldier skills of rifle marksmanship, land navigation, and close combat are but the underpinnings of each cadet's initial training the first summer; by graduation every cadet has participated in small-unit leadership training; attended military schools such as Airborne and Air Assault; served as senior leadership to junior cadets' summer training; and interned as an office in active duty units across the globe. Each summer of training builds the leadership skills of the previous, so that by graduation each cadet is prepared to lead Soldiers and serve our nation. No matter what major course of study they choose, cadets graduate with the knowledge, confidence, and ability to be successful in their careers.