Team members of Ranger Challenge, the “varsity sport” of the program at Virginia Military Institute, placed fifth, winning a Sandhurst Medallion for the top five overall teams out of 48 teams in the annual Sandhurst Military Skills Competition at the U.S. Military Academy (USMA) at West Point.

When Erik Gottmann ’25, a cadet at Virginia Military Institute boarded a flight to Austria for a ski trip with his family over winter furlough, he had no way of knowing he and his brothers would be an essential part of a Christmas miracle.

The day was sunny and brisk on Dec. 21 as 22 cadets crossed the stage in Memorial Hall to receive their diplomas during the commencement ceremony. The evening before, the Joint Commissioning Ceremony was held in which four graduating cadets were commissioned to the Army and one to the Navy.

Carter Hugate ’24, a civil engineering major from Chesterfield, Virginia, is the second cadet to qualify for and successfully complete the Army Airborne School in Fort Benning, Georgia.

Maj. Shannon Quevedo, assistant professor in the chemistry department at Virginia Military Institute and whose specialty is analytical chemistry and detection of small molecules using organic phases, is working on research with two cadets to create handheld methods for testing water.

CDQC is a 6-week course, known by many as one of the most challenging and selective qualifications in the United States military. On top of being physically and academically demanding, combat divers are required to work extremely well as members of a team and under high pressure situations.

Nearly 200 young men and women, most of them VMI cadets, commissioned into the armed services in Cameron Hall on Sunday, May 15 in the annual ROTC Joint Commissioning Ceremony. The ceremony was also livestreamed for family and friends who could not attend the event in person.

Cadets conquered many challenges on and off post during 2022 spring field training exercises (FTX).

Eight cadets from VMI, two from each class, traveled to Charleston and competed against the Citadel’s team. A series of challenging events and exercises, the competition was designed to foster camaraderie and showcase the best of each institution.

Though Gabriel Fanjul '23 initially had no desire to attend VMI, his perspective changed after attending an open house and staying with his older brother. Once on post, VMI's support services and system of camaraderie helped make his cadetship successful.