West Point Grad News
Class Notes Updates This Week
The following classes have added updates this week to their Class Notes pages. 1956 | 1966 | 1995. Class Notes
JROTC Building Honors James Adamouski ’95
On Monday, November 11 Loudoun County High School dedicated its NJROTC annex to the memory of Captain James F. Adamouski as part of the 10th anniversary of this program. Army Captain James F. “Jimmy” Adamouski was killed in a helicopter crash in Iraq on April 2, 2003. He was 29, and the first West Point graduate to die in Iraq during the Global War on Terror.
Adamouski, who planned to enter Harvard Business School was killed when the Black Hawk helicopter he was piloting crashed in central Iraq. Because of his Harvard acceptance, Adamouski—an officer of the Second Battalion Third Aviation Regiment of the Third Infantry Division—had not been required to deploy with his unit but chose to deploy and lead his soldiers in defense of his country and, ultimately, fly his final mission.
With the assistance of his West Point Class of 1995 classmates (Eric Pavlick, Paul Maggiano, Jim Kotwis, Craig Wilhelm, Chris Dodd, and Jeff Raines have been instrumental), the Loudoun County school board in Leesburg, VA voted unanimously for his name to be placed on the NJROTC building at the Loudoun HS in Leesburg. Many classmates attended the ceremony and among the speakers was General (Retired) Richard A. Cody ’72, and Lieutenant General (Retired) Ray Palumbo ’81. View photos.
Class Notes Updates This Week
The following classes have added updates this week to their Class Notes pages. 1953 | 1955 | 1957 | 1962 | 1968 | 1973 | 1977 | 1992 | 1998. Class Notes
Velez '77 Appointed CEO at Trident
David Velez has been appointed Chief Executive Officer at Trident. Mr. Velez has been with Trident for over a decade and was most recently the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Velez is a proven hands-on leader with over four decades of experience in both domestic and international markets. Before joining Trident, he held a variety of Senior Executive positions including: Chief Operating Officer of Pepsi Cola Brazil, President of Pepsi Cola for Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, Regional VP of Cardinal Health, Senior VP South America T&B Group and Regional VP Aramark.
Mr. Velez stated that, "This is an exciting time for our company and great day for Trident. Our new ownership has helped us to dramatically strengthen our capital structure to support our investment and growth plans. Equally as important, they are focused on continuing to improve the service to our loyal customers, maintain the rate of capital investment in our core business and most importantly support the thousands of Trident Employees who provide services to our customers on a daily basis. The Trident team reporting to me has deep experience in the industry and will be focused on delivering best in class service to the industry." Read more.
Dr. Holland '68 Elected to National Academy of Construction
Dr. Terence C. (Terry) Holland has been elected as a member of The National Academy of Construction. Holland was selected from more than 300 leaders who were considered for Academy membership. Holland, an independent consulting engineer, specializes in the areas of concrete materials, concrete durability, and concrete construction technology.
Holland was cited by NAC for "significant contributions and enhancements in the areas of materials, practices, and sustainability within the concrete construction industry."
"The 2019 class has been selected not only for their leadership, but for their integrity and their dedication to the engineering and construction industry," said Wayne Crew, General Secretary of NAC. "New members such as Terry Holland bring added expertise to the Academy."
Election criteria for NAC include leadership, exceptional service, a continued commitment to making a contribution, past recognition by peers for innovation, and being recognized as "best of the best."
Boyd '73 Eighth "Tier 1" Firm Recognition
Robert D. Boyd's law firm, Boyd Collar Nolen & Tuggle received their eighth recognition as a "Tier 1" Atlanta family law firm, recognized in the 2020 edition of U.S. World News and World Report’s "Best Law Firms." The firm’s high-ranking results from positive client feedback, peer reviews and exceptional demographic evaluations honored by colleagues within the Atlanta Bar. Firms included in the 2020 "Best Law Firms" list are recognized for professional excellence with persistently impressive ratings from clients and peers.
Achieving a tiered ranking signals a unique combination of quality law practice and breadth of legal expertise. The 2020 rankings are based on the highest number of participating firms and highest number of client ballots on record. To be eligible for a ranking, a firm must have a lawyer listed in The Best Lawyers in America, which recognizes the top 4 percent of practicing attorneys in the U.S. Over 13,000 attorneys provided more than 1,000,000 law firm assessments, and over 7,500 clients provided more than 65,000 evaluations.
MG(R) McNair '55 Honored with 2019 Community Leadership Award
Major General (Retired) Carl H. McNair, Jr. has been awarded the 2019 Community Leadership Award presented by the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia. General McNair was recognized for his lifetime of community leadership, public service, and philanthropy during 2019 Raise the Region Gala held on Friday, October 4, 2019, at the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner.
This award is the longest standing community- based recognition award in Northern Virginia and is presented annually for outstanding commitment and dedication to improving the quality of life for all Northern Virginians.
"Major General Carl McNair is a local hero. He had a remarkably distinguished 32 years career in the Air Force followed by the same in the private sector. We could not be more pleased to honor Major General McNair with the 2019 Community Leadership Award," said Eileen Ellsworth, President, and CEO of the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia. "He's one of the most generous local philanthropists Northern Virginia has ever seen," stated Ellsworth.
"When you talk about character, competence, and commitment Carl epitomizes that for all of us. He's been an absolute role model for me and everyone in the community. He's lived a life that I think most of us would love to live," said Phil Panzarella, COO Easterseals DC MD VA. Read more.
General Officer Announcements
The following officers were confirmed by the Senate:
Lieutenant General Paul J. LaCamera ’85 for appointment to the rank of general and assignment as
Commanding General, U.S. Army Pacific
Major General Michael E. Kurilla ’88 to for appointment to the rank of lieutenant general and assignment as
Commanding General, XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg, Fort Bragg, North Carolina
The Chief of Staff of the Army announces the following officer assignments:
Major General John A. George ’88 to Commanding General, Combat Capabilities Development Command, U.S.
Army Futures Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD
Major General Frederick R. Maiocco Jr. ’86, USAR to Commanding General (Troop Program Unit), 76th
Operational Response Command, Salt Lake City, UT
The following Army National Guard officers have been confirmed by the Senate for Federal recognition in the
next higher grade:
Brigadier General Pablo Estrada Jr. ’88 to Major General
Voelz '92 Releases "War under the Mango Tree"
Glenn Voelz has released the novel War under the Mango Tree, a darkly painted satire of war, money, and corruption on the far-flung reaches of Pax Americana. At a remote military camp in Africa, American soldiers wage a high-tech manhunt against a notorious warlord. As the quixotic campaign unfolds, a cast of glory-seeking generals, rapacious mercenaries, and corrupt officials are all determined to get him, though each for different reasons. Meanwhile, a hapless band of compatriots, pawns in a mysterious shadow war, race to discover the truth about their target before it's too late.
David Edlund, USA Today bestselling author of Guarding Savage, calls it "a thoroughly entertaining lampoon of the US military machine...Not since Catch 22 has a novel this brilliant come along." Available now at Amazon.
The sequel, Operation Hermes, will be published in 2020.
Price '98 "Targeting Top Terrorists"
Lietenant Colonel (Retired) Bryan Price has released the book: Targeting Top Terrorists: Understanding Leadership Removal in Counterterrorism Strategy. When President Barack Obama announced the assassination of Osama bin Laden, many Americans hoped the killing of al-Qaida's leader would sound the death knell for the organization. Since 9/11, killing and capturing terrorist leaders has been a central element in U.S. counterterrorism strategy. This practice, known as leadership decapitation, is based on the logic that removing key figures will disrupt the organization and contribute to its ultimate failure. Yet many scholars have argued that targeted killings are ineffective or counterproductive, questioning whether taking out a terror network's leaders causes more problems than it solves.
In Targeting Top Terrorists, Bryan C. Price offers a rich, data-driven examination of leadership decapitation tactics, providing theoretical and empirical explanations of the conditions under which they can be successful. Analyzing hundreds of cases of leadership turnover from over two hundred terrorist groups, Price demonstrates that although the tactic may result in short-term negative side effects, the loss of top leaders significantly reduces terror groups' life spans. He explains vital questions such as: What factors make some terrorist groups more vulnerable than others? Is it better to kill or capture terrorist leaders? How does leadership decapitation compare to other counterterrorism options? With compelling evidence based on an original dataset along with an in-depth case study of Hamas, Targeting Top Terrorists contributes to scholarship on terrorism and organizational theory and provides insights for policy makers and practitioners on some of the most pressing debates in the field.