By Bill Prince, USMA 1970

Office of the Dean
Attn: BG Shane Reeves

Greeting BG Reeves,

Col. (Ret.) Bill Prince here.  USMA ’70.  By way of introduction I previously served as a Military Academy Liaison Officer (MALO) and am a past president of our local West Point Society.  Thus I have been very involved over the years with identifying and encouraging quality young men and women to apply to the Military Academy.

Over these past several months, I and a number of my fellow members of The Long Gray Line, have become alarmed by reports of Critical Race Theory (CRT) being taught at West Point.

CRT’s advocates identify all white people as racists, and hold that America is a systemically racist country.  Obviously, the doctrine that all white people are racist is, itself, a racist concept.  Such a doctrine, if allowed to infect our cadets, will have a devastating impact on troop morale and unit cohesion.  This extremist, divisive ideology should have no place at West Point.

It appears too many of us that the West Point administration has not been completely forthcoming on exactly what has been and what is being taught regarding CRT.  Inquiries include a demand for detailed information from members of the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, a committee which has every right to the information.

Such stonewalling invariably leads to questions of what, exactly, is West Point trying to hide.  Many suspect that the West Point leadership recognizes the pernicious impact of CRT, but has succumbed to political pressure from the Biden administration.

As I’m sure you are aware, on 06 April 2021, Judicial Watch submitted a Freedom of Information (FOIA) request to West Point seeking access to public records involving cadet training.  On 26 April, USMA confirmed receipt of the request and that the request had been assigned tracking number FP-21-016151.

Unfortunately, the West Point administration has thus far refused, at least as of the date of this letter, to produce the requested documents, in clear violation of the law.  On 05 July, Judicial Watch brought action in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (Case 1:21-cv-01795) to compel compliance with the FOIA request.

I hope you believe, as I do, that West Point should honor the law and supply the requested documents.  Any further delay risks charges that the West Point administration is involved in a cover-up.  This controversy is extraordinarily damaging to West Point’s mission and reputation as well as our ability to encourage quality young men and women to seek admission with the support of their families.

In addition, I urge you and the entire senior leadership at West Point to publicly condemn the promotion of any and all extremist ideologies, especially CRT.

Please let me know that you will ensure that the appropriate personnel abide by the law and respond fully and transparently to the FOIA request.

“Serve with Integrity”

//Signed//

William F. (Bill) Prince
Col. (Ret.), U.S. Army Special Forces

Furthermore, Colonel Prince suggests the following actions you can take to persuade West Point to honor the law and supply the required FOIA information:

1)    Write a letter to – Office of the Dean, Attn: BG Shane Reeves, Taylor Hall, United States Military Academy, West Point, NY 10996 urging him to fully and transparently respond to the FOIA lawsuit.  Express your concern with what appears to be a cover-up regarding CRT training and, stress how damaging this controversy is to West Point’s mission and reputation, and our ability to recruit quality candidates for admission.  Confirm receipt with an email to the Dean’s Executive Asst., Ms. Janine Gizzi, [email protected].

2)    Send an email to the USMA Public Affairs Office, [email protected] expressing the same concerns.  Follow-up with a phone call (845-938-3808).

3)    Call, email and/or write to your members of Congress urging them to support Senate Bill 968 and H.R. 3134, “Combating Racist Training in the Military Act of 2021.”

4)   Personalize and then forward the thrust of this email to other West Point graduates, or at least to those whom you believe still care about cadet well-being and professional dedication in the officer corps.   

5)   Financially support Judicial Watch in its effort to promote transparency, accountability and integrity at West Point.