It is with a deep sadness and regret that we report the loss of Lieutenant Commander Wesley Anthony Brown ’49, CEC, USN (Ret.) on 22 May. He was a true trailblazer who was the first African-American to graduate from the Naval Academy. Commander Brown leaves a legacy, not only with the Naval Academy, but with the history he made.

14 midshipmen set out on a 70-mile 5-day march over spring break to honor Stonewall Jackson’s Shenandoah Valley Campaign in 1862. This trip was a new approach to achieving leadership and survival skills at the Academy, one with blisters in what is now called an “epic” learning experience.

Football coaches may like men big, but the Marine Corps likes them more aerodynamic. Before the former Navy Football guard 2nd Lt. Jeff Lenar ’10, USMC, deployed, he had to rethink his frame.

The 2012 Stutt Lecture (endowed in honor of William ’49 and Carolyn Stutt) at the U.S. Naval Academy featured Dr. George Lucas Jr., the Distinguished Chair of Ethics at the Stockdale Center, considering Just War theory and its applicability to the cyber realm. How do the traditional Just War criteria engage this tradition?

The Navy announced it is naming a new destroyer after CAPT Thomas J. Hudner Jr. ’47, USN (Ret.), a rare honor for a living person, who earned the Medal of Honor during the Korean War for intentionally crashing his fighter plane to save his wingman, ENS Jesse Brown, the Navy’s first black pilot.

Yet another example of how Navy beats Army – we bury their forts. Under the firing range on Greenbury Point lie 100,000 bricks from what was an old Army fort, forgotten in the shadow of Fort Severn. “This is one of the most altered pieces of land I’ve every worked with,” said Mechelle Kerns Galway, Naval Academy adjunct assistant history professor, working on the mystery in honor of the Battle of 1812 anniversary.

In March 1912, the four-masted 176-foot schooner Herbert D. Maxwell, filled to the brim with fertilizer (not exactly gold ingot), sank in the Chesapeake at 4:30 pm off Thomas Point after being hit by the steamer Glouchester. 25 midshipmen just found the wreck.

Carlsbad senior Cody Stell has wanted to attend the Naval Academy and become a Marine Corps pilot in the Class of 2016 for as long as he can remember. Goals were set at a very young age: excel academically and at sports, participate in extra-curricular activities, earn a pilot's license and go to the Naval Academy. (Don’t forget the nomination.) Were all of his goals met?

LT Bradley Snyder ’06, USN, swam for three individual gold medals in various events. A former member of the Academy’s swim team, Snyder was blinded by an IED in Afghanistan last year, who quickly went back in the pool to aid in his recovery.

Katy Perry did her civic duty by performing at the Naval Academy recently. What happened the next day is a rare occurrence for USNA though. A short video of her smoochy interaction with one midshipman (“Tanner” Beasley ’14) went viral and landed on national gossip websites and TV shows across the country.

With another Commissioning Week completed, we have had plenty to reflect on, especially regarding alumni and friends who are in the news and connecting with us at the Alumni Association and Foundation. Members of the Class of 1972 known as "The Dozen" recently reconnected … (read more)

According to RJ, goalies have to be “a little crazy. To play goalie, I think you have to have a couple of screws loose.” He also says, “In a game, I want to get hit by a ball,” and he grew up a Red Sox fan in New York, so we guess the first comment is absolutely true. Writer Gary Lambrecht recently interviewed him.

The Alumni Mentoring Program (AMP) pilot is the 50th Legacy Gift of the Class of 1969 intended as an offering by all alumni for all alumni. They need 600 protégés and 400 mentors now to conduct a meaningful AMP pilot. Find out more.

10 Naval Academy senior aerospace engineering majors traveled to DC earlier this month to tour Boeing’s newest airliner, the 787 Dreamliner, when it visited as part of its international “DreamTour.” The midshipmen, almost all of whom are headed to flight school after graduation, include many who want to pursue a career in experimental flight test.

Former Rhodes Scholar Col. Robert Earl ’67, USMC (Ret.), recently wrote this article about cell behavior and use and our high school students. He has served in the federal government, in the defense industry and as a teacher in public schools, so he knows restrictive vs. permissive.

During their 40th reunion, the Class of 1972’s “The Dozen” sat down with Byron Marchant ’78 to share their experiences at the Academy and give advice to the midshipmen. Present were Jay McMillan; Ed Burnett; Nelson Jones; Gene Lovely; LtCol Charles Rucks, USMCR; Walt Crump; Loyd Keaser; and Earl Smith.