I recently attended my 20 year reunion at the US Military Academy, and got to catch up with friends I hadn't seen in two decades. I told my wife it was probably the best time I ever had at West Point, cadet years included. I had no idea I was going to enjoy catching up as much as I did and I think most of us in attendance felt the same way. We all vowed to stay in better contact with one another, and in some way this Blog entry is intended to help facilitate that communication. I remember, in thinking back, the incredible emphasis placed on our SAT scores, grade point averages and the other (so called) performance indicators in my early career years. And today I have to ask myself just how significant are those indicators really and how reliable are they? Take Patton for example, a guy who took five years to graduate from West Point, but by all accounts was a superb tactician and leader. One thing I found interesting was finding out who was still in the Army and who had gotten out. For example in my cadet company (C2) there were only two attendees still in uniform. John Halstead, now an instructor at the academy and Jack Maloney, who, it should be noted has the rare distinction of being a triple century man. That means he marched over 300 hours of "punishment" tours while he was at the academy, yet he has his head on straight today and is very successful by all standards. My point being that without much of a track record early in a career, I can understand to some degree why we use potential indicators to help stagger the field. However, my feeling is we should not place too much emphasis on them because they do not seem to really be very reliable at indicating future potential. From: Comment: Tony Silva Saturday, March 08, 2008 Looking for" Jack" John E. Maloney- Just wanted to say hello one class behind you in High School T.Silva Tom Wenneson Thursday, November 02, 2006 Mike, Good question. I think that given the limited real-life experience most high school kids have, SATs, ACTs and grades are the only bench mark a University can rely on. They enhance the purely objective decision with all other factors (sports, Student Government, etc), but it's only a start. From that point on, those factors matter little, except as a marker of potential. As another said, its the performance that matters from that point on and it becomes progressively more accurate in predicting future performance. Trey Tumminello Friday, October 20, 2006 Mike, My only regret is that it took most of us 20 years to get back in contact w/ one another. As I look back, I now more fully realize how pivotal those four years were. It was truly a blessing to see how happy and content everyone seemed. Though no longer together, I count all of you as the closet friends I've had. Thanks for hosting this site. Let's keep in touch The BP Friday, October 20, 2006 John, for your sake, I hope you have a very large quarters! John Halstead Friday, October 20, 2006 Mike, thank you for creating and hosting this site. It was a joy seeing many at the reunion. For me, it seemed liked yesterday when we vowed never to see West Point again while watching it fade in our rear view mirrors. Life has treated everyone well. From my assessment, it seems everyone is successful based on their personal definition. The circus picture with all the smiles wonderfully captures this assessment. Melanie and I hope the circus advantages our blessing of living on West Point by visiting and staying with us. This is a limited time offer; we only have a year and a half left here until the next PCS. Andrew Lombardo Friday, October 20, 2006 (continued) it's the same thing as when we were LT/CPTs in the Army,a nd our past grades no longer mattered, just our performance. Andrew Lombardo Friday, October 20, 2006 Mike and classmates, It was really great seeing everyone at the dinner on Fri night, as that was all I could attend having just gotten home off a year+ deployment on Oct 4. While I agree that such scores may prove meaningless in the "long run" as far as potential goes, in the short- to near-term, they still have tremendous value. My son is a senior this year and we are in the throes of considering colleges. They base their acceptance and more importantly, their merit scholarships largely on SAT/ACT scores and HS classes/grades. Bottom line - the higher the scores, the more $ offered off of the tuition. Also, when interviewing brand new college graduates that have little to no experience, what do you base your decision on as to whether to bring a candidate in for an interview - their college grades, classes, and internships. So in the short- to near-term, it still matters. Once out in the workforce, however, these type achievements pale in light of actual work experience and res Jon Guy Friday, October 20, 2006 (continued...) time we seem to devote to the human factors. That's the first step on a long, lonely road. I'm glad that we resolved to stay closer, and honestly think we will achieve it -- so long as we don't allow ourselves to feel too busy, too self-important to care. And by the way, I popped in on Gresh the Monday after the reunion when traveling in Florida (he sends his best). Beware all you Circusmates: I may do the same to you, too, sometime. Jon Guy Friday, October 20, 2006 Mike, first let me say how much I enjoy seeing that photo -- since it reminds me what a great time we really did have two weeks ago. You can see it in our faces; delighted just to be together again after so long apart, conversations seemingly picked up where last left off in 1986 or whenever. You're right, Jack's silver oak leafs were a pleasant surprise, but not too much of one. Back in 1985, we C-2'ers bonded together behind Jack and testified as to his true leadership abilities, his true potential to serve the country. If anything, his determination to walk 300 pointless hours proves his mettle, rather than disproves it. If your premise is that SAT's and military development grades do not serve as accurate indicators of potential, it perhaps doesn't go far enough: isn't the real premise that such indicators are only useful when a knowledgeable human (or in our case, group of humans) interpret and give context to such "numbers"? The busier we get in our lives, the less time we seem t Tom Voris Thursday, October 19, 2006 Definitely a good time. Mike, you are the first to get us all to keep in touch. It was great to see you. My band will be doing a national tour this summer on the Warped Tour and all 8 of "The Fabulous Rudies" will be crashing at your "pad!" http://www.myspace.com/fabrudies - I'll be sending you some pic's! Bill Beane A4 Thursday, October 19, 2006 Well said, Mike. It took heart and drive for each of us to get to USMA, and that same heart and drive seems to have stood each of us in good stead in the years since, no matter how we compared to one another as cadets. FJNohmer Thursday, October 19, 2006 Mike Curry...the man with limitless energy! It was a great event...even greater to see how well so many have done...and not in terms of job/$$$/etc..., but in terms of how satisfied they are in what they do and how they do it. To see the children of my classmates and how proud they are them was a highlight for me... Peace- Rick