The Class of 2021 toss their hats into the air after they graduated at the US Military Academy’s graduation ceremony at Michie Stadium West Point, New York on May 22, 2021. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP) (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images)
On Saturday, nearly 1,000 cadets in West Point’s 2021 graduating class set off to become Second Lieutenants in the U.S. Army upon graduation.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin had the opportunity to deliver the commencement address. Austin highlighted the adversity graduates experienced over the past year as they continued studies amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Lieutenants you are ready. In this young century, adaptation is the name of the game. Leadership is the name of the game.” Austin added, “West Point has given you what you need to tackle any worthy challenge…to embrace in an honorable mission.”
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin hands out diplomas to U.S. Military Academy graduating cadets during the ceremony for class 2021 at Michie Stadium on Saturday, May 22, 2021, in West Point, N.Y. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
Austin spoke to the graduates reassuring them that although they are graduating in extraordinary circumstances, extraordinary circumstances are what the U.S. Army does. Succeeding the graduation exercises, the class threw their hats in celebration after 47 months of attendance in the prestigious academy.
Source: One America News Network
