Classmates,
Recently I had the opportunity to participate in a Council of Class Presidents meeting in Annapolis. We meet twice a year, Spring and Fall, to discuss and share topics of interest across all classes, and we get reports from USNA and the Alumni Association and Foundation staff. This meeting we received updates on activities and programs from the Superintendent, the Provost, the Athletic Director, Coach Newberry, and the Alumni Association and Foundation staffs. This is a long post, but it has some great information I know you will find interesting. After listening to our Superintendent and Provost I remain extremely enthusiastic about the direction our Naval Academy is headed. Find out why below:
Superintendent Update (LtGen Michael Borgshultie ‘91)
The Superintendent has reviewed the USNA Strategic Plan 2030 and has updated it to 2035. His priorities are all focused on USNA as a Warfighting-Centered Educational Facility and being the nation’s premier Military Service Academy. He has created several Operational Planning Teams (OPT), all led by an O-6, to review the following areas:
Ø Admissions OPT
– Must overhaul admissions process to make appointment offers sooner. USMA, USAFA, Ivy League Schools and other colleges are making offers earlier than USNA, and we are losing good candidates. (Note: He understands the nomination process may need to be updated as well.) He wants to use AI tools to improve our processes by reviewing old applications against successful grads and their Fleet performance to determine if we are looking too hard at the wrong things (like SAT scores perhaps?). He wants to determine how to measure a candidate’s “grit factor.” In addition to English and Math teacher recommendations, he wants to add a recommendation from a coach or ECA leader. He is also reviewing Admissions staffing and organization.
Ø AI Tools Integration Across the Institution OPT
– Wants to take a holistic view of AI across USNA and shift the mindset such that AI is considered a “thinking partner.” The end state is to have AI educated graduates able to leverage tools to increase lethality.
Ø USNA Branding OPT
– Concerned we are losing the marketing game. Wants to meet our younger generations in their digital spaces by understanding how they consume media.
– Will keep Branding “Admissions Focused” by updating our website design to making it more action focused to attract “gritty, smart, tough Americans.”
Ø Robotic Autonomous Systems OPT
– Envision future where every Mid gets a drone.
Ø YP Next: Unmanned Systems Integration OPT
– YP’s will act as “motherships” for air, surface and subsurface unmanned systems
– Have already tested drones taking off/landing from YPs, and flew a drone with a fiber optic cable between 2 YP’s to establish secure, local comms – executed this both at anchor and underway. More testing planned with summer YP cruises.
Infrastructure Update
Ø Bancroft Hall center section renovation is complete
Ø Ramsey Road (Columbarium) seawall improvements complete Summer 2026
Ø MacDonough Hall estimated open in Fall 2026
Ø Plans to ask for funds in the 2027 Budget “plus-up” to continue work on raising the seawalls around the Yard.
Professional athletes. We are limited to five each year (includes all sports and increased from 3). We need to use their “juice” to recruit top candidates for our Navy and Marine Corps. Army Navy game is not about football; it’s about recruiting and connecting society to the military. Almost 8 million viewed the Army Navy game. Planning to make it a weeklong, Super Bowl like event. (It is still about football! Beat Army!)
New Commandant announced: Captain Clinton Cornell ’01 has been named USNA’s 92nd Commandant and is currently serving as Commander, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group ONE in San Diego, CA. He is designated as an EOD Warfare officer with qualifications as a special operations officer, surface warfare officer, deep sea diving officer, combat craft patrol officer, and naval parachutist. You can read the announcement here: 92nd U.S. Naval Academy Commandant Announced :: USNA…
PROVOST’S PRIORITIES (Dr. Samara Firebaugh):
Focused on a Warfighting-Centered Education, creating over 30 new courses developed for Academic Year 26 (Here is a sampling of the courses):
Machine Learning for Electronic & Acoustic Warfare
The Rise and Fall of ISIS
Shipbuilding: Operations Analysis to Initial Design
Naval Ship Design Analysis
Power & Influence in the Indo-Pacific
Economics of National Defense
Wargame Theory
Russian Military Strategy & the Ukraine War
Contemporary Politics of Iran
The Middle East & US National Security
The Chinese Art of War
Emphasizing Warfighting Centered Education USNA, through the Provost, is providing threat briefs (CUI & Classified) to the faculty, as well as tours of Norfolk and Quantico. Additionally, she is facilitating collaboration on projects between faculty and INSURV, Navy Cryptologic Warfare Development Group (NCWDG), COMSUBGRU2, Naval Special Warfare Dev Group, and Black Sea Technologies.
Here are a couple of examples of USNA Faculty helping the Fleet:
1. Assoc. Professor John Donnal wrote the software now deployed on surface ships for the additive manufacturing of repair parts while underway.
2. Assoc. Professor Mike Kutzer developed deployable underwater adhesives (inspired by barnacles) in collaboration with the Naval Research Lab.
Capstone Day is when First Class present their major projects. Projects today, IMO, seem much more advanced than in our day. For example, there were…
127 Projects related to AI, Data Science, or Machine Learning
64 Projects related to Drones, Robotics or Autonomous Systems
50 Projects related to Shipbuilding or the Industrial Base
41 Projects related to Great Power Competition, China, Russia or Iran
80 Projects related to Cybersecurity
59 Projects related to Energy Security or Contested Logistics
ATHLETIC DIRECTOR’S REPORT (Michael Kelly):
Interesting note from the AD – 78% of Power 4 Conference players are in the portal…Navy continues to place emphasis on player development. Our players know if they work hard and improve from year to year, they have a great chance of playing and not having someone from the portal swoop in and take their position. Navy Football has had two back-to-back seasons that are better than the past 145 years. Coach Newberry only has to win two games a year to go to the Oval Office!
NAAA continues to support 36 NCAA Division I sports teams (tied with OSU), 16 club sports, as well as support to intramurals and the PRT.
Navy wins the Navy/ Army Star series again with a record of 17-8-1 (.673). Overall, for the 2025-26 season Navy record vs. Army is 23-10-1 (.691).
Navy Marine Corps Stadium improvements:
1. South endzone tailgating area enclosure will be completed for the ’26 season
2. North endzone indoor facility on track for completion in the summer of 2028.
Mr. Brian Newberry, Head Coach Navy Football – Spring ball went really well. Defense is deeper than ever. We are much better than last year on the Offensive Line. – – – – Looking forward to having an indoor facility at Halsey and a more permanent facility later. He’s worked hard to have the right coaches that know they have a higher moral purpose than just X’s and O’s on the Football Field. He looks forward to being the Defensive Coordinator this year.
He said Jackson Gutierrez and Braxton Woodson both looked good at QB during Spring practice. Blake Horvath will be impossible to replace, and Blake is going to coach at NAPS. The Transfer Portal has allowed us to have better recruiting of High School student athletes than we expected because other Division I programs are searching for collegiate talent that they can convince to transfer rather than searching for high school athletes who might turn out not to be talented enough to play college ball.
Miscellaneous from the Alumni Association
Col John Ripley ‘62 was authorized by the President to receive the Medal of Honor.
If you are interested in getting the Daily Shipmate every day, go to USNA.COM or email john.schofield@usna.com
Thanks for your attention through this long post.
Fair winds…
Glen
Glen Woods
President, USNA Class of 1978