USMA Prep School Moving to West Point

As part of the BRAC closure of New Jersey’s Fort Monmouth, the the U.S. Military Academy Preparatory School (USMAPS) will be relocated to West Point, New York on the grounds of the academy.

Army’s ‘Prep’ joining West Point (AP)

West Point, the prestigious military academy on the banks of the Hudson River, will soon have something else to offer future Army officers: Prep school. The base-closing commission voted yesterday to accept the Pentagon’s recommendation to transfer the U.S. Military Academy Preparatory School to the grounds of the U.S. Military Academy. The fate of the school, often called West Point Prep, was wrapped up in a vote to close Fort Monmouth, where the school is currently located.

The decision means West Point Prep’s 202 students, 24 military personnel and 38 civilian jobs will be moving across state lines to New York — a decision cheered by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.). The move will “cement West Point’s position as one of the premier locations for preparing and training our nation’s future military leaders,” she said in a statement.

Even with Clinton’s endorsement, it’s hard to find a reason to oppose this move. There’s plenty of space on the West Point reservation and it’ll save the prepsters a move if they’re accepted into USMA.

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James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.