Ann Dunwoody to Receive Thayer Award

WEST POINT, N.Y. –– Retired Gen. Ann Dunwoody will receive the prestigious Association of Graduates Thayer Award on Oct. 10, 2019, during ceremonies hosted by Lt. Gen. Darryl A. Williams, Class of 1983, 60th superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

The Corps of Cadets will conduct a parade on the Plain in her honor at 5 p.m. The parade is open to the public.

“With four generations of West Point graduates in my family, I am especially proud that I will have the privilege of trooping the line, and the opportunity to salute the men and women of the Corps of Cadets who will lead and inspire our future Army,” said Dunwoody.

Dunwoody’s great-grandfather, grandfather, and father were all graduates of the U.S. Military Academy: retried Brig. Gen. Henry Harrison Chase Dunwoody, Class of 1866; retired Col. Halsey Dunwoody, Class of 1905; and retired Brig. Gen. Harold H. Dunwoody, Class of 1943. Her brother, Harold H. “Buck” Dunwoody Jr., Class of 1970, was also a West Point graduate.

Dunwoody is the first woman in U.S. history to achieve the rank of four-star general. Dunwoody deployed overseas for Operation Desert Shield/Operation Desert Storm and, as 1st Corps Support Command commander, deployed the Logistics Task Force in support of Operation Enduring Freedom I.

In her last assignment, Dunwoody led and ran Army Materiel Command, the largest global logistics command in the Army, comprising 69,000 soldiers and civilians located in all 50 states and more than 140 countries. She managed a budget of $60B and was responsible for the Army’s Research and Development, Installation and Contingency contracting, Foreign Military Sales, Security Assistance, Supply Chain Management, all Army Depots supporting supply and maintenance functions, manufacturing sites and ammunition plants.

Dunwoody currently serves as president of First 2 Four, LLC, a leadership mentoring and strategic advisory services company and serves on several public, private and non-profit boards.

The Thayer Award, established in honor of Col. Sylvanus Thayer, “Father of the Military Academy,” is presented to an outstanding citizen whose service and accomplishments in the national interest exemplify the military academy’s motto, “Duty, Honor, Country.” The Association of Graduates has presented the award annually since 1958.
Past recipients of the Thayer Award include Dwight D. Eisenhower, Douglas MacArthur, Bob Hope, Neil Armstrong, Barbara Jordon, Walter Cronkite, Tom Brokaw, Colin Powell, Madeleine Albright, Henry Kissinger, and former President George W. Bush. Last year’s recipient was Leon Panetta.

About West Point:
The U. S. Military Academy at West Point is a four-year, co-educational, federal, liberal arts college located 50 miles north of New York City. It was founded in 1802 as America's first college of engineering and continues today as the world’s premier leader-development institution, consistently ranked among top colleges in the country. Its mission remains constant—to educate, train, and inspire the Corps of Cadets so that each graduate is a commissioned leader of character committed to the values of Duty, Honor, Country and prepared for a career of professional excellence and service to the nation as an officer in the U. S. Army. For more information, go to https://www.westpoint.edu.