<p>June 27, 2006 </p>
<p>Veteran soldiers lend expertise at USMA </p>
<p>By Greg Bruno
Times Herald-Record</p>
<p><a href="mailto:gbruno@th-record.com">gbruno@th-record.com</a> </p>
<p>West Point - Tyler Gordy marched into Eisenhower Hall with the swagger of a seasoned veteran.</p>
<p>Clad in Army green, a Purple Heart ribbon pinned to his chest, the 22-year-old Iraqi war veteran looked more like an Army officer than a new cadet at the U.S. Military Academy.</p>
<p>But yesterday, he was just one of 1,320 new cadets reporting for duty on Registration Day at West Point.</p>
<p>"Whenever you're a new guy, you have to start at the bottom," Gordy of New Castle, Calif., said minutes before beginning his military academy career. "I want to sit back and be a sponge." </p>
<p>Nearly five years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, veteran soldiers are increasingly common among the ranks of West Point plebes.</p>
<p>This year, 29 veterans joined the Long Gray Line. Last year, there were 30.</p>
<p>West Point officials say there are a host of reasons for the uptick in prior-service cadets.</p>
<p>Some veterans come for the education. Others, having seen the worst in leaders during their own tours, want to lead their own soldiers differently. </p>
<p>For Gordy, it was a desire to serve his country as only a West Point graduate can.</p>
<p>"I had great leadership. I had West Point graduates," he said of his 11 months fighting near Baghdad in 2003. "I can't say enough about them."</p>
<p>In many ways, it was their leadership that got Gordy home alive. </p>
<p>One day in September 2003, while on patrol near Mosul, he was injured by a grenade that sent shrapnel slicing through his left leg. </p>
<p>Gordy was fortunate. After the injury, he was largely limp-free. But a friend lost both legs. </p>
<p>He said it was his commanders' steady leadership that helped him through the difficult time. </p>
<p>"I want to emulate them," Gordy said. </p>
<p>West Point officials say they don't actively recruit combat veterans, but they do encourage them. </p>
<p>"We're always looking for good soldiers that are in the force," Academy spokesman Lt. Col. Kent P. Cassella said. "It's a huge difference. The cadets that don't have any combat experience, they hunger for that knowledge."</p>
<p>Mary Erdman is one of those hungry new cadets. </p>
<p>At 18, the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., freshman admits she has no idea what she's in for. She knows West Point is a good school, but she doesn't know much else.</p>
<p>"I wanted to come here because everyone is so accomplished," she said before entering Eisenhower Hall, where her West Point career was to begin. </p>
<p>"I don't know how to do an about-face. I don't know how to march."</p>
<p>Smiling nervously, she added: "I hope (the veterans) will teach me."</p>