USMA Strategy

The USMA Strategy articulates how USMA better achieves its Mission and Vision through Lines of Effort (LOEs), each having several supporting Strategic Efforts (SEs).

USMA Strategy

The USMA Strategy articulates how USMA better achieves its Mission and Vision through Lines of Effort (LOEs), each having several supporting Strategic Efforts (SEs).

Message from the Superintendent

The mission of the United States Army is “to fight and win our Nation’s wars.” Throughout its history, whether at home or overseas, America’s Army has always answered the call as our Nation’s first line of defense. Through much of that history, the United States Military Academy (USMA) has provided the Army with the highly trained leaders of character needed to lead the defense of our Nation. In peacetime and war, from the early American frontier to the mountains of Afghanistan, West Point has prepared its graduates to lead, fight, and win against any threat in the crucible of ground combat.

As the threats and challenges of the global environment evolve, so too, must USMA to meet the challenges of the modern and future environment in which our graduates will lead. This environment will likely be different from the one that existed when they joined the Army on Reception Day. Our continued improvement is necessary if we are to meet the future needs of the Army and maintain our preeminence as a leader development institution. To that end, we must ensure our graduates have the character, commitment, and competence needed to outthink and outfight our adversaries in any environment. This is what the American people expect from West Point graduates.


The USMA Strategy serves as our roadmap to continue to effectively develop the leaders of character required to lead a 21st Century Army – leaders who live honorably, lead honorably, and demonstrate excellence. Furthermore, the Strategy prioritizes our efforts as we seek to continually improve our professional climate built on values and standards; attract and retain diverse and talented people; modernize and transform our facilities, programs, organizational structures, and associated processes while stewarding our resources; and strengthen our partnerships.
I ask you to familiarize yourself with this Strategy and understand your role in its implementation. Just as it takes a village to develop leaders of character, it also takes the entire West Point team working together, being positive, doing their best, and being good teammates, to make us better.


Thank you for your continued dedicated service to our Army and Nation and for all you do to build, educate, train, and inspire the next generation of leaders of character.

Steven W. Gilland
61st Superintendent

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"To build, educate, train, and inspire the Corps of Cadets to be commissioned leaders of character committed to the Army Values and ready for a lifetime of service to the Army and Nation."

- USMA Mission

About the USMA Mission

USMA’s mission-essential task is to develop3 commissioned leaders of character. Consequently, there are four subtasks to develop commissioned leaders of character: build, educate, train, and inspire. 

The purpose of USMA’s mission-essential task is that the commissioned leaders of character are ready for a lifetime of service to the Army and Nation.

Character development is woven into all aspects of cadet development and is the priority of everyone assigned to West Point.

Key terms (bolded) in the USMA Mission along with other terms and their definitions can be found in the Summary of Definitions.

The West Point Leader Development System (WPLDS) is the 47-month purposeful integration of individual leader development and leadership development experiences within a professional climate where character is caught, taught, and sought.6 Although WPLDS outcomes are shown below, the USMA publication Developing Leaders of Character explains these outcomes, why a leader of character is important, and then operationalizes how we achieve our Mission through WPLDS. 

The achievement of the USMA Mission is manifested when graduates consistently demonstrate the WPLDS outcomes as commissioned leaders of character who:

Live honorably by:

  • Taking morally and ethically appropriate actions regardless of personal consequences
  • Exhibiting empathy and respect towards all individuals
  • Acting with the proper decorum in all environments

Lead honorably by:

  • Anticipating and solving complex problems
  • Influencing others to achieve the mission in accordance with the Army Values
  • Including and developing others
  • Enforcing standards

Demonstrate excellence by:

  • Pursuing intellectual, military, and physical expertise
  • Making sound and timely decisions
  • Communicating and interacting effectively
  • Seeking and reflecting on feedback
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“A Cadet will not lie, cheat, or steal, or tolerate those who do.”

- The Cadet Honor Code
The Cadet Honor Code

The Cadet Honor Code (CHC) is the foundation for character development. Stated another way, following the CHC is the starting point for living honorably, leading honorably, and demonstrating excellence. One can abide by the CHC, but not take morally and ethically appropriate actions, exhibit empathy and respect, nor act with proper decorum, all of which are components of living honorably.

By the time cadets are commissioned, they are expected to have internalized the Spirit of the Code. Cadets demonstrate the Spirit of the Cadet Honor Code when their actions are guided by the virtues of truthfulness, fairness, respect, and responsibility.

Learn more about the Cadet Honor Code
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"West Point is the preeminent leader development institution in the world."

- USMA Vision

About the USMA Vision

Unlike the Mission, which contains USMA’s mission-essential task with four subtasks, USMA’s Vision is what we strive to continue to be. To sustain global preeminence, USMA must continuously transform, adapt, and improve to stay ahead of the rapidly changing demands placed upon future commissioned leaders of character. 

The following five Lines of Effort (LOEs) defined in the USMA Strategy identify the areas in which we seek to improve to continue to be the preeminent leader development institution in the world.

The USMA Strategy's Lines of Effort

The USMA Strategy articulates how USMA better achieves its Mission and Vision through five Lines of Effort (LOEs), each having several supporting Strategic Efforts (SEs). 

The LOEs and supporting SEs are areas in which USMA seeks to transform, adapt, or improve. Thus, they guide planning, resource allocation, program and curricular development, and the achievement of institutional and program outcomes.¹ 

The focus of the LOEs is primarily USMA, but because of the importance of climate in achieving USMA’s Mission and Vision, LOE 2, Promote a Professional Climate, refers to all West Point organizations.² 

Approved by the Secretary of the Army and Chief of Staff of the Army, the five LOEs are directly supportive of the Secretary’s objectives, and the Chief of Staff’s priorities.

Each LOE has between two and four SEs that are systematically assessed. Success is determined by achieving measurable progress both in the implementation of desired change and when possible, the effects of change. The strategic planning horizon for the LOEs is approximately five years, while the horizon for the SEs is dynamic and determined in USMA's annual planning and assessment processes.

#1 - Develop Leaders of Character who Live Honorably, Lead Honorably, and Demonstrate Excellence 

Cadets will face moments at West Point and after graduation when they will be required to act ethically and morally under duress, persevere under adversity, solve complex problems, and respond to setbacks. Sometimes those moments will occur during combat, but most of them will not. 

During these moments, a graduate’s response will reflect the habits developed during their West Point experience. If they build habits of living honorably, leading honorably, and demonstrating excellence, they will most likely respond appropriately. However, if they do not develop strong character, fail to set a moral-ethical example, and tolerate substandard performance, they have a greater chance of failing our Soldiers and Nation.

To further improve how we develop Cadets into commissioned leaders of character, USMA has established three SEs in support of LOE 1.

This effort emphasizes that followership and enforcing standards are cornerstones for individual and leadership development. 

Everyone has a role in teaching cadets what it means to be a good follower and how to effectively enforce standards to sustain unit effectiveness. Every individual that interacts with cadets are role models to inspire appropriate followership and enforcement of standards.

By doing so, we ensure that cadets are taught that a leader cannot allow substandard performance, misconduct, or unethical behavior. 

Allowing this behavior to occur undermines the team and its ability to accomplish the mission.

This effort requires all parts of WPLDS to prioritize, resource, integrate, and when necessary, modify character development experiences. 

There are numerous venues throughout cadets’ 47-month experience in which character development takes place and (that) are deliberately planned.

These experiences begin before R-day, are expanded upon in Cadet Basic Training, and continue during the Cadet Character Education Program (CCEP) and the character thread of courses. 

Additional examples of the CCDE (character development) experiences include prevention training, Cadet Field Training, required military science and physical education courses, along with daily interaction in any class, lab, team room, or company area.

The(se character development experiences) CCDE integrates USMA’s education and training on the primary prevention of harmful behaviors.⁷ 

Because effective character development and primary prevention efforts are mutually supporting, one does not occur without the other. Character development is primary prevention and primary prevention is the application of character in a specific context. For example, teaching and modeling the Army core leadership competencies⁸ are woven throughout the curriculum. These two aspects of character development are part of primary prevention activities addressing sexual harassment, sexual assault, and racially harassing behavior. 

Because of their importance, USMA seeks to integrate character development and primary prevention into every cadet development activity in and out of the classroom. USMA focuses its primary prevention efforts on individual, interpersonal, and organizational elements to foster healthy behaviors, life skills, stress management, and to address risk areas and protective conditions against harmful behaviors.

This effort communicates that all faculty, staff, and coaches must have a common understanding of character development and primary prevention of harmful behaviors, of WPLDS, and of how we can effectively integrate Cadet development. 

SE 3 also emphasizes the importance that everyone must understand their critical role in character development, and how they impact or reinforce the actions of others.

#2 - Promote a Professional Climate

Cadet development occurs in a complex adaptive system in which every member of West Point9 is both influencing others and being influenced. A professional climate10 within West Point is a critical enabler of WPLDS and is essential to developing leaders of  character. 

As mentioned earlier, character is caught, taught, and sought. We catch character from those around us, and a professional climate enables character to be caught. Promoting a professional climate also better prepares our future officers to operate in a dynamic environment and to establish a similar climate in their future units. 

This line of effort is different from the other four in the USMA Strategy in that it addresses overall climate throughout West Point. All West Point personnel, including cadets, promote a professional climate which embraces the iterative and continuous process of character development for all.

To have a professional climate, dignity and respect for all individuals is expected across our enterprise. The West Point team looks out for each other and expects everyone to be a good teammate within and across offices, departments, directorates, the Academy, and West Point. 

We provide a welcoming and growth-oriented environment in which we seek to maximize opportunities for everyone to succeed and that our talented professionals are forged into a cohesive and winning team. 

We also hold each other accountable to our high standards and we welcome that accountability from others.

Promoting a professional climate is a continuous endeavor that requires constant vigilance, personal effort, and mutual accountability. As part of this endeavor, USMA has established three SEs in this LOE:

Stewardship of the Army as a Profession is the responsibility of all Army professionals. This responsibility includes strengthening and caring for the people and other resources entrusted by the American people.¹¹

Stewardship in this effort focuses on the improvement and sustainment of our professional climate. We ensure stewardship of our climate through establishing clear desired outcomes for our efforts, assessing progress using valid measures, and then making appropriate improvements. We also organize and resource appropriately our teams, and ensure expectations, processes, and responsibilities are clearly codified and understood.

Primary prevention efforts are important for enabling a healthy climate where everyone can flourish. This effort emphasizes sustained and effective primary prevention efforts across West Point. 

Sustained and effective efforts begin by establishing desired outcomes, assigning and communicating responsibilities, and developing planning processes that are systematic, synchronized, and inform the allocation of resources.

This effort is a reminder that all character development, prevention, and professional climate efforts can be rendered ineffective if there is not an accurate and shared understanding across West Point about activities or events that impact our professional climate. 

Therefore, we continuously seek to strengthen our internal and external messaging so that all of West Point remains aligned in its character development, prevention, and professional climate efforts.

#3 - Build and Retain Talented and Winning Teams

The strength of any team, but particularly of cohesive Army teams, is in its ability to unify all members behind a common purpose, (common) values, and (a common) trust.

In building a cohesive Corps of Cadets team, we maximize their talent by leveraging the different attributes, experiences, cultures, characteristics, and backgrounds of the applicants that are reflective of the Nation.¹² A result is that West Point develops leaders of character who represent the Army and the population at large.

USMA is not immune to the recruiting challenges facing higher education and in the Army in finding talented and qualified cadets. The competition for talent is underpinned by a historically low propensity to serve in the armed forces,¹³ waning trust in higher education, and historically low higher education enrollments that are projected to continue decreasing.¹⁴

Our competitors continue to use innovative efforts to attract the best of America. USMA must develop transformative strategies to communicate its competitive advantage in both the higher education and labor markets. Because of the importance of attracting future cadets, we have added “build” to USMA’s essential tasks, thereby including it in our Mission.

An implied task for developing leaders of character is to build a talented team of faculty, staff, and coaches. Like cadets, this team also represents the attributes, experiences, cultures, characteristics, and backgrounds that are reflective of the Nation we serve.¹⁵ Additionally, for faculty, staff, and coaches, a blend of active-duty service members and civilian professionals provides diversity in professional experiences.

Attracting talented faculty, staff, and coaches allows us to sustain mission accomplishment and to achieve our vision of preeminence. Thus, we continuously ensure we have the right mix of talent to enable winning teams.

The desired results of LOE 3 are:

  • A Corps that is comprised of exceptional young men and women who are dedicated to winning our Nation’s wars by leading our Nation’s Soldiers.
  • The highest quality of faculty, staff, and coaches to develop leaders of character. 
     

To achieve these results, we have established two SEs:

Fewer of today’s youth believe they have much in common with those serving in the military; they have less personal connections to someone with military service and with those who advocate for military service.16 Finally, fewer of today’s youth are physically qualified to serve.¹⁷ 

The good news is that today’s youth want to make a difference in the world around them.¹⁸ We must communicate to potential qualified and talented applicants the value of service to our Army, service to our Nation, and an education from USMA.

To admit exceptional candidates seeking to be leaders of character, we must ensure all potential candidates and those who mentor, nominate, and recruit them understand the value and uniqueness of USMA’s Mission. 

USMA’s pool of candidate influencers includes but is not limited to:

  • Liaisons of Congressional members
  • High school educators and administrators at all levels: district, region, and state, counselors, and JROTC offices
  • USMA’s field force and Military Academy Liaison Officers (MALOs)
  • USMA staff and faculty who participate in the Summer Leaders Experience (SLE) and in CLD-STEM (Cadet Leader Development in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)
  • Civilian Assistants to the Secretary of the Army (CASA)
  • West Point Alumni Society leaders and members
  • West Point Parents’ Clubs
  • Command Teams who lead Soldiers who are prospective cadets

Preeminent leadership development requires attracting, recruiting, hiring, and retaining exceptional, high potential professionals from the military, government, industry, and academia, to serve as faculty, staff, and coaches. To do this, we develop and implement transformative approaches to talent acquisition for our military and civilian staff and faculty. 

Similar as to prospective cadets, this begins with ensuring all potential staff, faculty, and coaches, and those who mentor and recruit them, understand the value and uniqueness of USMA’s Mission.

Examples of new approaches to talent acquisition for faculty, staff, and coaches include:

  • Ensuring USMA assignments are considered developmental and enhancing for career progression (e.g., Tactical Noncommissioned Officer (TAC NCO)).
  • Utilizing diverse social media outlets, hiring platforms, and public engagements (e.g., conferences) to inspire and inform potential future members of the USMA team about the importance and uniqueness of the USMA Mission, its value proposition, and available career paths.
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“To meet the evolving threat, the Army is undergoing a once-in-a-generation transformation to develop the capability to converge effects on land, in the air, sea, space, and cyberspace. This transformation includes investment in our people, reorganization of our forces, the development of new equipment, and the adoption of new concepts on how to fight that allow the Army to maintain superiority over any potential adversary.”

- Army of 2030 Concept

#4 - Continuously Transform Toward Preeminence

The Army of 2030 Concept emphasizes that the Army is undergoing what it calls a “once in a generation” transformation, aimed primarily at developing systems and people who can see, understand, and synthesize information and effects across multiple domains of conflict. 

As it has historically done, West Point must also continue to transform to support the Army. To be the preeminent leader development institution we must continuously transform, or else we risk failing to remain relevant. 

USMA is transforming in many ways to include how we develop cadets, our modernization efforts, capitalizing on those efforts, establishing formal innovative thinking processes across the enterprise, use of data to inform decision making, organizational and governance structures, planning, assessment, resourcing processes, and force protection to name a few. 

At the strategic or institution level, USMA summarizes transformation into four SEs.

USMA continuously innovates its character, individual, and leadership development experiences and how it develops leaders of character in the classroom, on the fields of friendly strife, and in every engagement with a cadet. 

Examples of innovative efforts include capitalizing on the upgrade of the academic buildings, reimagining our organizational structures and processes to improve effectiveness, and developing improved or new practices that are more effective.

Peer institutions with whom we compete for talent are investing heavily in modernization and future capabilities across all domains. USMA’s ability to attract the most talented cadet candidates, staff, faculty, and coaches is significantly influenced by the quality and condition of the facilities and their capabilities. 

Thus, this effort is to modernize the physical and information technology infrastructures. Our holistic, integrated approach to modernization demands that we manage resources responsibly when planning, building, and maintaining high-quality facilities, technology, and utilities that enable excellence in our programs. Our sound planning is documented in our Facility Investment Plan that is forward-thinking, innovative, and well-communicated to our constituents.

USMA continues to be extremely fortunate with executing a long-term modernization and revitalization plan supported by the Army. A signature example is the upgrade of the Cadet barracks that is spanning over ten years and now provides a modern living environment. Another important example of the Army’s support is the construction of the new Cyber Engineering Academic Center, which will modernize the capabilities of many of our academic disciplines and sustain their cutting-edge research capability that enhances cadet education, develops the faculty professionally, and addresses important issues facing the Army and Nation.¹⁹ 

We must continue to clearly justify and actively pursue continued Army funding for the current critical phase to update all USMA’s academic buildings and the military complex infrastructure (Camp Buckner and Camp Natural Bridge).

Given the Nation’s precious resources allocated to USMA involving personnel, finances, and facilities, we must sustain and improve our efforts to steward them.

USMA ensures that its teams are educated and trained on processes and systems that are integrated in delivering effective resource management while achieving audit readiness and accountability. Our transformational efforts require disciplined initiative when creating new efforts. 

We need to clearly identify the desired outcomes and how we will know if successful. We will effectively assess, prioritize, and resource accordingly.

The final effort is to secure West Point to ensure the safety and security of all who live and work at West Point. 

In addition to serving as a vital center for the Army’s leader/officer development mission, West Point is also a National Historic Landmark. Visitors to West Point experience its historic past and see (and are inspired by) how it prepares cadets to be officers for the Army. 

The balance USMA faces between being accessible to the public and protecting the West Point Community is a continuous challenge. It requires vigilance, innovative planning, maintenance of mutual aid partnerships, and a maturation of those partnerships when conducting exercises and reporting and analyzing threat information.

#5 - Strengthen Partnerships

Developing and maintaining external relationships are essential to the preeminent development of leaders of character. These relationships enhance cadet development and enable USMA to provide its wealth of intellectual capital in service to the Army and Nation.

An example in which USMA benefits from its partnerships is with its Association of Graduates (AOG). This partnership has resulted in USMA receiving significant support generating a broad range of cadet development opportunities. Externally funded opportunities include:

  • Individual leadership experiences in and out of the classroom
  • Cultural immersion opportunities
  • Club and athletic team endowments
  • Research centers supporting cadets, the Army, and the Nation
  • Enhancing renovations and capital improvements to West Point infrastructure

As both a military command and an Academy, USMA is a unique institution of higher education that is a respected and desired intellectual resource for the Army and Nation in meeting their intellectual and research needs. 

Providing intellectual capital is a tremendous opportunity for us to serve the Army and Nation. USMA is closely connected to the operational Army, academe, our allies, and partners aligning with both current and future needs, not only for commissioning graduates, but also as an intellectual and research focal point for the future, and to enhance advocacy and support for the Academy and the Army. 

USMA maintains several hundred partnerships across the Army, DoD, government, academe, and industry organizations all of which enhance cadet education and develop staff and faculty while providing advocacy and support for the Academy and the Army. Below are just a few examples of impactful partnerships:

  • Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisitions, Logistics, and Technology (ASA ALT)
  • Army Futures Command
  • Lockheed Martin and the Mitre Corp.
  • Middle States Commission on Higher Education
  • Columbia University and MIT Lincoln Labs

USMA has identified three SEs in the LOE to improve:

USMA maintains an entrepreneurial mindset in leveraging its intellectual capital with external partners and stakeholders across these three SEs. 

As stated in this effort, the collaboration with external partners and constituents must enhance USMA’s preeminent leadership development and top-tier programs. We continue to provide cadets and faculty the relevant and innovative skills and abilities that make our educational experience nationally recognized.

This effort is to synergize USMA’s partnership efforts. It begins with ensuring collaboration with our capabilities and efforts in all domains that reflect adaptation, innovation, and a culture of excellence and winning. By providing the right information to the right partners, our synchronizing efforts optimizes effects bringing mutual benefit to our partnerships.

The final effort for LOE 5 is to develop and implement a framework for planning and assessing partnerships. Given the resource constraints in which we are all operating, this framework will inform how we prioritize efforts for the most beneficial and effective partnerships.

Stewardship of the USMA Strategy

The stewardship of the Army Profession and our professional climate is everyone’s responsibility and begins with the USMA Superintendent, who also serves as the Senior Commander of West Point. 

The Superintendent publishes Annual Guidance that prioritizes areas within the LOE SEs. The LOEs defined in the Strategy are his priorities, which he continually emphasizes with internal and external stakeholders and ensures they guide staff and faculty in planning, resourcing, and assessment. 

USMA’s six directorates (Dean, United States Corps of Cadets, Department of Admissions, United States Military Academy Preparatory School, Band, and the Army Athletic Association) and all USMA’s governing structures, led by the Academic Board and Policy Board, are stewards of the USMA Strategy. They ensure that the USMA Strategy guides new and existing efforts and ensures appropriate resource to support their effectiveness. 

USMA publishes an Annual Report that assesses the WPLDS outcomes and the SEs for each LOE. Note that the assessment of the WPLDS outcomes is focused on the Cadets’ achievement of them, while the assessment of LOE 1 is focused on the assessment of the efforts described in the three supporting SEs. 

The USMA Annual Report synthesizes and analyzes assessments from the directorate midyear updates and the annual reports of the six directorates²⁰ on progress in meeting the Superintendent’s Annual Guidance and in achieving efforts in support of the LOE SEs. 

The Annual Report also integrates assessments from USMA’s governing structures, USMA staff progress updates, external and internal surveys and inspections, West Point’s Command Climate Assessment, results of the previous Annual Guidance, and institutional performance indicators. Based on progress in meeting the SEs, the Superintendent approves new institutional supporting efforts for the SEs or the discontinuance of efforts that have not been deemed cost-effective. 

Given the dynamic nature of the USMA Strategy, USMA periodically reviews the SEs within each LOE to determine if they need to be updated or replaced.

Challenges and Opportunities for Transformation and Preeminence

Strategic Environment 

The critical years ahead require ingenuity, innovation, and transformation for the Army to meet its future threats. New technologies empower individuals and groups of people to see more, share more, create more, and organize faster than ever before. Global interconnectedness offers instant communication to vast audiences of disparate views and intentions, making the consequences of actions complex and difficult to predict. The advances in artificial intelligence are potentially revolutionary for doing and creating more with greater speed and effectiveness.

The dynamic environment in which graduates lead Soldiers will be different on graduation from what it was when they joined the Army on Reception Day. This environment challenges us to provide the right developmental experiences and opportunities that develop the Corps of Cadets into the values-based leaders of character who have a desire to serve, want to make a difference, and can face adversity and overcome challenges. 

The Army Profession requires this; the Nation expects it.

As information technology enhances communication and information sharing, West Point graduates are leading in an increasingly decentralized manner. We continue to operate in a wide variety of environments ranging from tropical to desert and urban to rural.

Thriving in these environments requires leaders who embrace initiative, outthink adversaries, treat others with dignity and respect, and possess the competence and strength of character necessary to build cohesive teams, fight, and win. 

West Point graduates must be prepared to lead units that are ready to accomplish any task, in any location, at any time, while exercising ethical judgment and providing team-oriented leadership.

As a military organization, USMA is in a competition for resources to include both financial and personnel. Flat or uncertain budgets, personnel shortfalls, and increased capital investment requirements for the Army create a challenging environment for the achievement of USMA’s Mission and Vision. As an institution of higher education, the Academy competes for talented young Americans with other top-tier universities.

To be successful in this competitive market, we must promote USMA’s value proposition. USMA is a leadership laboratory that prepares young men and women to be leaders of character for the Army and our Nation. 

Cadets receive a fully-funded, world-class education while being grounded in character development; they are immersed in a demanding, values and standards-based system that challenges them and their leadership abilities; and they are surrounded by a supportive team of staff, faculty, coaches, cadets, and alumni who inspire them to be the very best they can be, to live honorably, lead honorably, and demonstrate excellence.

Significant contributors include a modern infrastructure, cutting edge technology, and cadet opportunities for study in depth through a variety of academic majors, and institutional and program accreditations.

Timeless Areas of Excellence

Although not highlighted in the LOEs, there are several areas in which USMA must continuously sustain excellence:

USMA’s three development programs continuously innovate to provide rigorous, world-class education and training that prepare cadets to thrive in complex and uncertain environments. 

Faculty, staff, and coaches tirelessly seek to improve how they develop cadets into leaders of character.

USMA upholds a regulation on academic freedom in which faculty members and cadets are encouraged to engage in the study and discussion of contentious subjects. This further develops cadets into honorable and discerning officers who can be trusted to think critically and creatively about complex, ambiguous issues while simultaneously making timely analytical decisions.

At USMA, shared governance is the principle that, while its leadership exercises chain-of-command authority (legal decision-making), such authority is best exercised after carefully considering input in appropriate situations from the professional wisdom and perspective of the faculty, staff, and cadets. 

Shared governance occurs at USMA in its many boards, committees, councils, and working groups. Shared governance requires time and commitment from leaders but has numerous benefits when implemented effectively:

  • Promotes creative approaches to existing goals and new challenges
  • Enhances the quality of decisions and builds commitment
  • Improves the speed of implementing decisions
  • Provides opportunities for faculty and staff development

Effective planning begins with setting attainable goals or outcomes, planning and resourcing efforts to achieve them, and then assessing our ability to meet them. 

A commitment to continual improvement is a hallmark of the Academy’s culture as our continuous assessment efforts inform future decisionmaking, planning, and resourcing.

About the USMA Strategy

The development of the USMA Strategy was a deliberate process that included a review of the USMA Mission and Vision statements, and the existing Strategy. The review was informed by previous strategies and missions (where we have been), assessments of our current LOEs, outcomes, and efforts (where we are), meetings with internal and external stakeholders, and the objectives and priorities of the Secretary of the Army and Army Chief of Staff (where we need and want to be). The one-and-a-half-year review was collaborative and included participation by those who facilitate and are responsible for institutional planning, implementation, and improvement. The LOEs address external as well as internal contexts and constituencies.

  1. Sustainable Strategic Path
  2. Data Centric Army
  3. Climate Resiliency
  4. Build Positive Command Climates
  5. Reduce Harmful Behaviors
  6. Adapt How We Recruit and Retain Talent
  1. Warfighting
  2. Delivering Combat Ready Formations
  3. Continuous Transformation
  4. Strengthen the Profession

Back to USMA's Lines of Effort

Definitons and Footnotes

The set of enduring moral principles, values, beliefs, and laws that guide the Army profession and create the culture of trust essential to Army professionals in the conduct of missions, performance of duty, and all aspects of life.²¹

A trusted vocation of Soldiers and Army civilians whose collective expertise is the ethical design, generation, support, and application of landpower; serving under civilian authority; and entrusted to defend the Constitution and the rights and interests of the American people. ²²

Army Professionals are honorable servants in defense of the Nation, experts in the performance of their duties, and responsible stewards of the Army profession. ²³

The Army Values are loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage. We expect leaders of character to demonstrate all seven Army Values which is consistent with how we have defined a leader of character.

USMA must recruit and retain the best talent in a highly competitive market. Having “Build” in the Mission Statement prioritizes competition for talent as a resourced, enterprise effort.

Good character a person’s reliability to do what is good and admirable in any situation—to do the right things, in the right ways, for the right reasons.

Character education (CE) - refers to all formal and informal experiences where virtues and the Army Ethic are taught with the goals of intellectual understanding and reasoned application. CE provides the vision and building blocks for developing the necessary judgment to determine the right action for a given situation.

  • CE can be formally delivered in multiple venues to include the character thread in the academic program, character education during Commandant’s hour, classroom instruction in the physical program, and character discussions during Cadet Summer Training.
  • Informal CE happens in multiple venues to include trip sections, club meetings, sponsorship events, talks between classes, sporting events, military training events, social events, and any other environment where an informal conversation about character can take place.)

Character development at USMA refers to all developmental activities/efforts throughout the Cadets’ 47-month experience that contribute to their development of character. It is the integration of the following: character education, leadership competencies, holistic health and fitness, primary prevention, stewardship and accountability, and positive climate.

Climate is the collection of shared attitudes and perceptions of people within an organization or unit and reflects the efforts of leaders to build cohesion or trust among their personnel.

An officer is a leader in the Armed Forces with a commission from the President.

Different from climate, culture consists of the long-held values, beliefs, expectations, and practices shared by a group that influences how an organization operates.²⁴

"Develop” in the title of USMA’s LOE 1 correlates to “educating, training, and inspiring” in the USMA Mission and is the engagement in a set of learning experiences designed to achieve specific goals and long-term objectives.²⁵

  • Individual leader development builds each cadet’s knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to develop as a leader.
    • Individual development is enacted through USMA’s three programs:
      • Academic
      • Military
      • Physical
    • Cadets are challenged to think under pressure and to make morally and ethically appropriate actions regardless of personal consequences.
  • Leadership development is the deliberate, continuous, and progressive process that develops cadets into competent, committed professional leaders of character.²⁶
    • Leadership development builds each cadet’s ability to positively influence others.
    • Initially, cadets develop key followership attributes
    • As they progress to their more senior classes, they assume formal leadership positions in which they practice leading other cadets and cadet organizations.

USMA educates cadets with critical thinking and problem-solving skills needed for a global, multi-domain environment. 

More broadly, education is a structured process to impart and utilize knowledge through teaching and learning to enable or enhance an individual’s ability to perform in unknown situations.4

In accordance with Department of Defense Instruction 6400.11, 2022, harmful behaviors are defined as self-directed harm and prohibited abuse and harm, including sexual assault, harassment, retaliation, suicide, domestic abuse, and child abuse.

Through the professional excellence of its staff, faculty, and coaches, USMA imbues in cadets the passion and ability to achieve the WPLDS outcomes and steward the Army Profession through immersion in the history, traditions, and values of the Army and West Point.

A USMA graduate who lives honorably, leads honorably, and demonstrates excellence.

In the execution of its Mission Statement through WPLDS, USMA defines this leader as a graduate who lives honorably, leads honorably, and demonstrates excellence.

Ready is consistent with the Army’s focus on readiness. Additionally, we expect graduates to continue to serve our Nation in other ways after leaving the service.

USMA trains cadets to develop the military and physical skills needed for future warfighting. Training increases the capability of individuals to perform specified tasks or skills in well-defined situations.

1 USMA’s institutional outcomes are the West Point Leader Development System (WPLDS) outcomes. Program outcomes include those of the academic, military, and physical programs, and also of USMA’s disciplinary programs.

2 West Point consists of all tenant units on the installation, for example, USMA, U.S. Army Garrison, Keller Army Community Hospital, Dental Command, the Logistics Resource Center, and Fort Hamilton.

3 Develop: Engage in a set of learning experiences designed to achieve specific goals and long-term objectives. Learning experiences often occur in the workplace, and include coaching, mentoring, job rotation, development assignments, on the job training, and self-study courses. Army Regulation (AR) 350-1, Army Training and Leader Development, 243.

4 Ibid, 244.

5 Ibid, 252-253.

6 The Jubilee Center for Character Education and Virtues, “The Jubilee Centre Framework for Virtue-Based Professional Ethics,” 8.

7 In accordance with Department of Defense Instruction 6400.11, 2022, harmful behaviors are defined as self-directed harm and prohibited abuse and harm, including sexual assault, harassment, retaliation, suicide, domestic abuse, and child abuse.

8 Army Doctrinal Publication (ADP) 6-22, C1, 2019, 1-19.

9 See footnote 1 for a description of West Point.

10 See above for the definition of climate.

11 Army Doctrinal Publication (ADP) 6-22, C1, 2019, 1-5.

12 The Army People Strategy, October 2019, and the 2023-2025 Army People Strategy Military Implementation Plan.

13 Joint Advertising Marketing Research and Studies (JAMRS) 2022 State of the Officer
Recruiting Market, Slide 9.

14 Enrollment Advisory Board (EAB), 2023 Higher Education State of the Market, Slides 4-5.

15  2023-2025 Army People Strategy Military Implementation Plan.

16 “Youth’s Career Decision Making, Understanding Youths’ Career Interests and Values,” 2023 and “2022 College Market Survey Results, State of the Officer Recruiting Market,” Office of People Analytics.

17 Ibid.

18 Ibid.

19 USMA Regulation 150-6, Academic Research, 1 July 2020.

20 Directorate annual reports are in accordance with USMA Regulation MA-19-02, Strategic Planning and Institutional Effectiveness Processes. The directorate reports and updates measure progress using measures of performance and measures of effectiveness.

21 ADP 6-22, Army Leadership and the Profession, C1, 2019, Glossary – 1.

22 Ibid, Glossary – 1.

23 Ibid, 1-2.

24 AR 600-100, Army Profession and Leadership Policy, 5 April 2017, 2.

25 AR 350-1, Army Training and Leader Development, 243.

26 Ibid, 247.

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