By Lieutenant Colonel Mike Sullivan, USMA 1994
This year’s Service Academy football tradition was commemorated in grand fashion at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in Medford, Massachusetts. A “treaty” signing marked the commemoration of this tradition. This treaty will ensure continued amity and rivalry among the handful of graduates located here at The Fletcher School.
The signatories of this treaty from West Point included LTC Michael Sullivan USMA’94, USA, and CPT Joel Tolbirt, USMA’04, USA The signatories of this treaty from Annapolis included The Fletcher School Dean, James Stavridis ’76, Admiral, USN (retired), LCDR Jeremy Watkins ’03, USN, LT Darek Marino ’09, USN, and Matthew Keller ‘09. A “mighty falcon” represented Air Force; or maybe it was just a rubber ducky that Jeremy Watkins’ daughter Abigail allowed us to use since no Air Force Academy Graduates are currently at The Fletcher School Masters or PhD program.
It was once again bittersweet for those of us from the Long Grey Line. Again, we suffered a defeat on the gridiron to Navy. Regardless, the traditions we learned as Cadets and Midshipmen were alive and well as we took a few moments to celebrate our shared heritage across Service Academies and generations. BEAT NAVY!
Lieutenant Colonel Michael Sullivan is pursuing a PhD in International Relations as part of the Advanced Strategic Planning and Policy Program through the School of Advanced Military Studies at The Fletcher School.