USMA Superintendent Directs Stand Down to Strengthen Culture

WEST POINT, NY – In response to the Department of Defense Report on Sexual Harassment and Violence at the Military Service Academies, Lt. Gen. Darryl A. Williams, Superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy announced West Point will conduct a full day ‘stand-down’ to strengthen its culture and change behavior on Monday.

“West Point continues to develop tough, smart and thoughtful leaders of character who will fight and win in the crucible of ground combat and who are prepared to lead in this complex age of persistent conflict. We expect our graduates to live honorably, lead honorably and demonstrate excellence,” said Williams.

“Unfortunately, the results of the 2018 survey show an increase in unwanted sexual contact and sexual harassment among cadets when compared to the 2016 results. These results are unacceptable. The entire West Point community remains committed to ensuring a safe and secure environment, where everyone is treated with dignity and respect,” said Williams.

The stand-down will start at 6:30 a.m. with a character breakfast in the Cadet Mess Hall, where cadets will be joined by senior staff, faculty and coaches for a facilitated discussion about this behavior and the culture at West Point and taking ownership and preventing sexual assault and harassment at West Point. Breakfast will be followed by a superintendent’s address to the entire USMA community in Eisenhower Hall about the issues of sexual assault and harassment at the academy.

“Sexual assault and harassment have no place at West Point or in our Army. It erodes readiness and the trust required to build cohesive teams and is contrary to West Point ideals and Army Values. I want you to know that we are taking these results very seriously, and, in coordination with Army senior leadership, fully mobilizing our efforts to strengthen education, identify and mitigate the root causes of sexual violence, and leveraging the entire West Point team to strengthen our overall culture of character growth” said Williams. “We all recognize that this problem is not isolated to West Point or the Army, but as we are in the business of developing leaders of character for the Army and our nation, we must set and continue to enforce the highest standards of conduct the American people expect and deserve from the Profession of Arms.”

The afternoon will include a character lunch that follows the same format as breakfast, as well as cadet and staff and faculty breakout sessions to discuss the issues and ways forward. Each breakout group will work to develop action plan recommendations of how to address the issue.

“The stand-down is not about training so much as it is about analyzing why sexual violence occurs at West Point and what each individual can do to personally be engaged in shifting the culture to create an environment where everyone is treated with dignity and feels respected,” said Samantha Ross, West Point Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention program manager.

Along with announcing the stand-down during his testimony, Williams discussed the efforts West Point is making to combat alcohol as a contributing factor to sexual assault at the academy, which will include a full review of the access to alcohol on post as well as the presence of alcohol at academy events.

“We have a long way to go but most importantly we must live our Army values and the West Point ideals of Duty, Honor and Country,” said Williams.

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.