Superintendents of the United States Military Academy

The commanding officer of the United States Military Academy

United States Military Academy

The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...

is its Superintendent. This position is roughly equivalent to the chancellor

Chancellor (education)

A chancellor or vice-chancellor is the chief executive of a university. Other titles are sometimes used, such as president or rector....

or president of an American civilian university. The officer appointed is by tradition a graduate of the United States Military Academy

United States Military Academy

, commonly known as "West Point". The Academy was founded in 1802 and graduated its first class in October of the same year. It is the oldest of the five American service academies

Military academy

A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps of the army, the navy, air force or coast guard, which normally provides education in a service environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned.Three...

.

The Superintendency has often been often a stepping stone to higher prominence in the Army. Three Superintendents became Chief of Staff of the Army

Chief of Staff of the United States Army

The Chief of Staff of the Army is a statutory office held by a four-star general in the United States Army, and is the most senior uniformed officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Army, and as such is the principal military advisor and a deputy to the Secretary of the Army; and is in...

: Douglas MacArthur

Douglas MacArthur

General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...

, Maxwell Davenport Taylor, and William Westmoreland

William Westmoreland

William Childs Westmoreland was a United States Army General, who commanded US military operations in the Vietnam War at its peak , during the Tet Offensive. He adopted a strategy of attrition against the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam and the North Vietnamese Army. He later served as...

. The list of Superintendents includes five Medal of Honor

Medal of Honor

The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...

recipients: Oliver Otis Howard, Douglas MacArthur

Douglas MacArthur

, Albert Leopold Mills

Albert Leopold Mills

Albert Leopold Mills was a United States Army Major General who was a recipient of the Medal of Honor for valor in action on July 1, 1898 near Santiago, Cuba. An 1879 graduate of West Point, he served in the Army until his death in 1916...

, John McAllister Schofield, John Moulder Wilson

John Moulder Wilson

-External links:* Biographical Sketch...

. Many Superintendents later became Commanding Generals

Commanding General of the United States Army

Prior to the institution of the Chief of Staff of the United States Army in 1903, there was generally a single senior-most officer in the army. From 1783, he was known simply as the Senior Officer of the United States Army, but in 1821, the title was changed to Commanding General of the United...

, such as Joseph Gardner Swift

Joseph Gardner Swift

Joseph Gardner Swift, the first graduate of the United States Military Academy, was born on 31 December 1783 on Nantucket Island, the son of Foster Swift and his wife, Deborah...

and Hugh L. Scott

Hugh L. Scott

Hugh Lenox Scott was a post-Civil War West Point graduate who served as superintendent of West Point from 1906 to 1910, and Chief of Staff of the United States Army from 1914 to 1917, including the first few months of American involvement in World War I.-Biography:Born September 22, 1853 in...

. The post is now a terminal assignment in the Army; as a condition for detail to the position, officers are required by law to acknowledge that they will retire at the end of their appointment. This formulation was meant to secure the independence of Superintendents from undue command influence; however, in practice the resulting "lame duck

Lame duck (politics)

A lame duck is an elected official who is approaching the end of his or her tenure, and especially an official whose successor has already been elected.-Description:The status can be due to*having lost a re-election bid...

" status restricts their power and influence in the Army. There has been discussion about reverting to the previous system or recalling a retired officer to fill the post.

The billet carries the rank of lieutenant general

Lieutenant General

Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....

, and is not counted against the Army's statutory limit on the number of active-duty officers above the rank of major general

Major General

Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...

. For example, General

General (United States)

In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, general is a four-star general officer rank, with the pay grade of O-10. General ranks above lieutenant general and below General of the Army or General of the Air Force; the Marine Corps does not have an...

Andrew Goodpaster

Andrew Jackson Goodpaster was an American Army General. He served as NATO's Supreme Allied Commander, Europe from July 1, 1969 and Commander in Chief of the United States European Command from May 5, 1969 until his retirement December 17, 1974...

originally retired from active duty as a full general, was recalled to assume the superintendency as a lieutenant general, and reverted to his four-star rank upon his second retirement.

Superintendents

Note: "Class year" refers to the alumnus's class year, which usually is the same year they graduated. However, in times of war, classes often graduate early.

A "—" in the Class year column indicates a Superintendent who is not an alumnus of the Academy.

Superintendents

See also