Mids welcome World War II veterans

4/1/2013: Last week, more than 30 World War II veterans visited the yard as part of the Naval Academy's Honor Flight program. Honor Flight is a national organization that flies WWII veterans to Washington, D.C., to visit their service's memorial free of cost. Midshipmen generally participate on Saturday mornings at BWI Airport where they welcome the veterans as their plane lands and salute their bus before it drives to Washington, D.C. Full story and photos on Facebook

Traditions threatened by cuts, military academies brace for impact

4/2/2013: At least two military academies have imposed hiring freezes and West Point has postponed the construction of its first new dormitory since 1965, among other looming cuts. U. S. military academies have trained America's future presidents, astronauts and generals, one of them for more than 200 years. But the schools' illustrious histories are not enough to spare them from looming budget cuts from sequestration, and they are preparing to furlough civilian employees, reduce training, delay construction and even scale back pomp and ceremony.

Naval Academy summer training is under budgetary pressure and semester abroad programs could be canceled. Sixteen educational international summer trips - involving 170 students planning to go to Armenia, Chile, China, France, Georgia, Italy, Japan, Oman, Russian and Spain - were axed, and 15 international spring break programs for 73 students had already been canceled. Full story

Naval Academy astronauts return to inspire next generation

4/32013: The course is Human Space Flight. The subject for today: analogues - the scenarios found in the world or contrived in the laboratory that NASA uses to simulate work and life aboard a space ship. Naval Academy professor Ken Reightler leads the class of 13 midshipmen through a discussion that traverses Ernest Shackleton's 1914 expedition of the Antartic, deep-sea exploration and the experiments at Biosphere 2 - and how lessons from each will help astronauts prepare for the first manned mission to Mars. The discussion symbolizes the academy's efforts to lure more alumni astronauts back to the campus - and to maintain a leadership role in space exploration. Full story

Navy football makes changes heading into spring season

4/4/2013: In the current era of college football, coaching changes within a program often make national headlines. At most FBS schools, coaches come and go, and the rabid fan bases are fed a steady diet of spin as to why the new coach will make their team an instant contender for a new-found glory. Yet this is not the case at the U.S. Naval Academy, where subtle change to its coaching staff this offseason will greatly affect the program without changing the overall look and feel of the product on the field. Full story

Mid name 'top 10 college woman'

4/5/2013: The Naval Academy if often recognized for its stellar athletics and academics, but this time the academy is in the news because of one female mid. Midshipman 2nd Class Margaret Gilroy was named one of the top 10 college women across the country by Glamour magazine. She is the only woman in the top 10 from a service academy. Full story

USNA spring formal dress parade schedule

4/6/2013: The Naval Academy Brigade of Midshipmen will present three formal dress parades on Wednesday, April 10, Friday, April 19 and Friday, April 26. The parades will take place on Worden Field and the public is invited to attend without cost. More information

Business students attend UNSA leadership conference

4/7/2013: Each year University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Business Administration sends a select group of students to the U.S. Naval Academy Leadership Conference. The goal of the conference is to bring together the best minds in the practice of study of leadership to exchange ideas and experiences among both military and civilian students. Full story

President to welcome CIC bowl winners to White House

4/8/2013: President Obama will welcome the USNA football team to the White House on Friday, April 12 to present them with the Commander-in-Chief's trophy. Full story

Tickets on sale for the 47th I-Ball

4/9/2013: Tickets are now on sale for the Naval Academy's 47th annual International Ball to be held Saturday, April 13. Tickets are required and can be purchased for $15 each until Wednesday, April 10. The International Ball is a formal event to celebrate and honor the international midshipmen and officers at the academy to broaden international exposure to midshipmen. Currently 58 international midshipmen and nine international officers represent 38 countries at the academy. More information

Blue Angels' season cancellation, no performance at graduation

4/10/2013: The U.S. Navy's cancellation the rest of the popular Blue Angels' aerobatic team's season because of automatic federal budget cuts means the group won't perform at the U.S. Naval Academy's graduation ceremonies. The Blue Angels has been scheduled to perform a demonstration and flyover next month at the graduation events. But military officials said Tuesday that the rest of the flight demonstration squadron's season was cancelled. Full story

Class of 2013 'family salutes' deadline reminder

4/11/2013: Again this year, the summer issue of Yardtales will feature "family salutes." A half page will be reserved for each graduating midshipman. Parents of the Class of 2013 should submit photos in JPEG or TIFF formats, along with the wording of their choice. A proof will be sent for approval. The feature is optional and there is no cost. The deadline for submissions in Friday, April 19. Contact Jan Haupt for more information.

USNA kicks off sexual assault awareness and prevention month

4/12/2013: Thousands of Naval Academy officers and midshipmen gathered in the famed Tecumseh Court April 1 to rally in support of the nationally-recognized sexual assault awareness month. The Naval Academy will host events and activities throughout the month to increase awareness of sexual assault prevention and response initiatives at USNA. Full story

Former Brookfield East students succeeding on offshore sailing team

4/13/2013: It was the middle of the night and Greg Gerlach (USNA '14) attempted to get some sleep while aboard the US Naval Academy's varsity offshore sailing team's boat. In his third year on the team, Gerlach serves as the executive officer, or second in command, on one of the Navy's 44-foot sailboats and makes sure everything runs smoothly from mechanical issues to the underclassmen learning proper sailing techniques. One of the underclassmen is fellow Brookfield graduate Tom Wester, a freshman at Navy and like Gerlach, is new to the sailing world. Greg Gerlach's parents are WISNAPA members Bryan & Jackie Gerlach, Elm Grove and Tom Wester's parents are WISNAPA members Tom & Sue Wester, Brookfield. Full story

Navy football team relishes return to White House after 2-year hiatus

4/14/2013: For a while, a spring visit to the White House was an annual affaire for the Naval Academy football team. The Midshipmen captured the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy as service academy champion from 2003 through 2009. However, Navy lost the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy,  which had taken up long-term residence in the rotunda of Bancroft Hall, to Air Force in 2010. The 170-pound, three-sided trophy remained in Colorado Springs in 2011, making the Midshipmen realize how much they missed the coveted piece of hardware. Full story

Mids, Johnnies battle again for croquet's Annapolis Cup

4/15/2013: In matchups with fierce rivals, the Naval Academy athletes like to win. Since 1890, Navy has dominated the gridiron against Army in its annual football faceoff on the turf. But, when it comes up against the bookish Johnnies of neighboring St. John's College, Navy falls short in the sport of croquet. Known as the Annapolis Cup, in the three decades since the first match, St. John's has trounced Navy 25 times. This year's annual event is this Saturday, April 20. Full story

Boston Marathon explosion local impact: Navy running team safe

4/16/2013: Members of the U.S. Navy Academy marathon team are safe and uninjured after two explosions occurred Monday at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Two bombs exploded near the finish line of the race on Monday, killing two people and injuring at least 23 others in a terrifying scene of broken glass, smoke and severed limbs. Full story

Michele Obama visits Naval Academy

4/18/2013: First Lady Michelle Obama told the Naval Academy's 4,000 midshipmen that she and the president would honor their sacrifice by making sure the country takes care of them. The first lady was in Annapolis for a State House ceremony where Gov. Martin O'Malley signed into law a bill that aims to make it easier for veterans to transition into civilian life. Full story

Service academies spar for NSA cybersecurity crown

4/19/2013: With steely eyes glued to computer screens, U.S. Naval Academy midshipmen are playing a complicated game with a simple goal: Beat Army - and five other schools. The academy's cyber defense exercise team on Tuesday started its quest for its third CDX trophy, awarded to the winner of the annual National Security Agency's (NSA) Cyber Defense Exercise competition. Full story

Naval Academy mids teach Buzz Lightyear how to fly

4/20/2013: A group of Naval Academy mids found that Buzz Lightyear could fly neither to infinity, nor beyond it, despite the cartoon character's claim. For their final project, four midshipmen decided to determine the aerodynamic capabilities of the toy superhero star of the 1995 Pixar film Toy Story. Full story

Navy topples St. John's in croquet match

4/21/2013: Navy wins. For only the sixth time in the 31-year croquet rivalry between St. John's College and the U.S. Naval Academy, the Midshipmen emerged victorious, winning handily, 4-1. It was Navy's first win since 2005. Full story

Wisconsin grad's sister hospitalized, recovering

4/21/2013: A Wisconsin graduate's (Emily Favorite, USNA '12 ) sister, Becky Piper, was severely beaten during a home break-in in Guam. She is currently at Guam Memorial Hospital where she is being treated for injuries to the face and head. Former WISNAPA member, Karen Favorite, New London, is traveling to Guam to be with her daughter. WISNAPA member Linda Kasten is Emily's and Becky's aunt. Members are encouraged pray for Becky's recovery and a send a card on her guest book page. Contact Jan Haupt for contact information.

WISNAPA grad develops mentoring program with local school

4/22/2013:  U.S. Marine Corps students at NPS are giving back to the local community through a Marine-led student-mentoring program. The Motivating Others Through Outreach (MOTO) program is the brainchild of Marine Corps Capt. Kimberly Julka (USNA '08), of Fond du Lac. She is the daughter of WISNAPA member Jeff Julka, Fond du Lac. Full story

Dance team is a lot of kicks at the Naval Academy

4/23/2013: The Naval Academy dance team had to have everything perfect for its first national performance at the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament last month. Navy lost its first-round game to Kentucky, but the dance team was a winner in its inaugural season. Full story

Mids spend their spring break on arctic ice

4/24/2013: Five Naval Academy midshipmen had an unusual chaperone during their spring break; an armed polar bear guard. The mids travelled almost 3,500 miles from Annapolis to Barrow, Alaska, as part of their senior year capstone project. During the March 8-14 trip to America's northernmost city, the students collected data and deployed two buoys to measure temperature and wind speed and record photos and audio of the Arctic. Full story

Navy linebacker attracting NFL interest

4/25/2013: Naval Academy linebacker Keegan Wetzel confirmed on Tuesday night that he has received interest from several franchises in advance of this week's National Football League Draft. Wetzel, who earned the Tony Robino Silver Award as Navy's Most Outstanding Player from the Touchdown Club of Annapolis, is thought to be the first Football Bowl Subdivision player to score a perfect 1,600 on the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT). He boasts a 3.91 grade point average as a systems engineering major and was selected a first-team Academic All-American by Capital One. Full story

Navy football team to be honored on Saturday

4/26/2013: The 2012 Navy football team will be honored by the Washington Nationals on Saturday afternoon before their game against the Cincinnati Reds as part of Military Appreciation Day at Nationals Park. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. and the game will be televised to a large part of the country on Fox. Full story

Zac Brown Band woo Navy with 'Devil Comes Down'

4/27/2013: The Zac Brown Band entertained the U.S. Naval Academy and local fans earlier this month with a raucous live show that crescendoed with a lightning-fast rendition of "The Devil Comes Down to Georgia." A portion of the show was recorded and uploaded to YouTube.

Note: Midn. Wyatt Stone invited his mom, WISNAPA member Dawn Stone, backstage. Midn. Troy Tauber ('13) arranged the pass to celebrate Wyatt Stone's 21st birthday. Full story - Watch video

U.S. will deploy laser on Navy ship headed to Persian Gulf

4/28/2013: For the first time ever, the United States is deploying a solid-state laser weapon. The Laser Weapon System (LaWS) successfully destroyed a drone in flight during a test run and will head to the Persian Gulf aboard the USS Ponce as part of what the military is calling a "at-sea demonstration." Full story and video

C-SPAN features Naval Academy

4/29/2013: C-SPAN's Washington Journal aired segments with Naval Academy representatives April 9 about the education, leadership development and military training offered at the academy. USNA history and mission video - USNA's academic programs video

USNA ethics team wins prestigious national competition

4/30/2013: The Naval Academy ethics team recently received first place in the Berg Cup Competition, a nationally-known undergraduate ethics competition held each spring at the University of Pittsburgh. The competition draws some of the top business schools in the country and requires the competing teams to role play a scenario testing their understanding of business ethics. Full story