USNA Hosts Astronaut Graduates

By MC3 Nathan Wilkes

The United States Naval Academy (USNA) hosted its annual Astronaut Convocation Mar. 9th in Mitscher Auditorium.

The convocation was an opportunity for the Brigade of Midshipmen to learn about the future of space flight and exploration from leaders in the field as well as current and former astronauts.

“There is a future for all of you in technology, medicine, science, aerospace and teaching,” said Frank Culbertson, Jr., panelist and Naval Academy Class of 1971 graduate. “I encourage all of you to think about how you are going to make a difference and what you are going to say when you get up here 20 or 40 years from now.”

Five of the Naval Academy’s 52 astronaut graduates served as panel members and provided feedback to the full-capacity crowd. USNA Superintendent Vice Adm. Ted Carter spoke of the deep heritage the academy has with aerospace.

“This is something that doesn't really happen anywhere in the country. We have produced more NASA astronauts than any other institution. The very first American in space was a USNA graduate,” said Carter. “We bring phenomenal people back who have graduated from this institution and we have current access to faculty members who are astronauts. USNA has a great history involving aerospace.”

The foundations of the careers the astronauts have built started with their time at USNA. Robert Cabana, the director of NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center and Naval Academy Class of 1971 graduate, explained the hardest lessons are the ones you learn from the most.

“I wasn't able to be a pilot when I first tried, but with time, I was able to do so and more,” said Cabana. “I learned an awful lot at USNA. I grew a lot here. I learned to keep trying. There are things that I didn't want to do and assignments that I later didn't want to take, but some of those ended up being the best experiences of my life. Everything is what you make of it.”

For the midshipmen in attendance, it was a unique opportunity to gather insight from those who have been in their shoes, and gone on to do great things with their lives.

“There’s no other chance you can have to sit down and have a conversation with five astronauts,” said Midshipman 3rd Class Will McMasters. “It’s really awesome to see what the fruits of your labor can become. These people left USNA and did amazing things, and it’s inspiring to see.”

“As an individual who has wanted to become an astronaut ever since he was a toddler, this convocation provided me advice on how to become a prospective NASA astronaut candidate,” said Midshipman 1st Class Vigneshwar Manickam. “The astronauts provided motivation to the many hopeful future astronauts in the crowd by tying their experiences in space directly to their four-year experience at USNA."

Naval Academy Hosts Commander, U. S. Fleet Cyber Command

Commander, U.S. Fleet Cyber Command / U.S. 10th Fleet, Vice Adm. Jan Tighe, delivered a lecture on the Defense Department’s cyber warfare program at the U.S. Naval Academy Oct. 16.

USNA’s Center for Cyber Security Studies hosted Tighe as part of their Cyber Lecture Series.

Tighe, a 1984 graduate of the Academy, addressed the midshipmen, faculty and staff at Alumni Hall and spoke about today’s cyber domain. 

“Collectively we have to recognize the reality of cyber threats, including disrupting and destruction of logistics, networks and equipment,” said Tighe. “Recovering from successful attacks can take long periods of time and many man hours.”

According to the DoD, plans are in place to increase their cyber domain security and operations to 6,000 people and 133 teams by 2016 to engage the rapidly evolving environment.

“The more dependent we become in cyber space, the more opportunities criminals and terrorists have to access to our systems,” said Tighe. “Largely, over time these attacks have warped from trying to get information, to disrupting operations. The most destructive attacks have kinetic effects, by gaining access over systems that control physical operating components.”

The Naval Academy began offering cyber operations as a major through the Center for Cyber Security Studies. Twenty-eight members of the class of 2016 are on track to graduate as the “plankowners” in that major.  All midshipmen at USNA are required to take two classes in cyber operations.

Tighe talked about the evolving nature of the cyber domain and the urgent need for users stay informed and educated of the risks and potential consequences of being uninstructed and unfamiliar.

Building that awareness is at the core of the mission of the Center for Cyber Security Studies, enhancing the education of midshipmen in all areas of cyber warfare and facilitating the sharing of expertise and perspectives in cyber warfare from across the Yard.

“What we have to do is limit the amount of exposure our people’s online behavior have towards creating cyber opportunities,” said Tighe. “It’s as small as not plugging in unauthorized equipment into computers attached to networks and systems, to not opening a link on an unrecognized email source. Unaware users are our biggest risk.”