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                         January 9, 2004

Chung leading Corps into new year

Story and photo by Spc. Eric S. Bartelt
Features Editor

Making a big jump is nothing new to Cadet 1st Class Grace Chung, who has performed with the Cadet Sport Parachute Team for the last three years. But her biggest leap so far was when the academy named her the new first captain of the Corps of Cadets.

First Captain Chung was promoted from deputy brigade commander to replace Craig Lubinski Dec. 19 because of administrative actions.

“Despite the circumstances, it’s an exciting opportunity to be the first captain,” Chung said. “You get many opportunities while you’re here and I want to take advantage of that and learn as much as I can before I move on to the Army.”

U.S. Military Academy's Commandant of Cadets, Brig. Gen. Leo Brooks, said Chung will be an asset to the Corps.

"Grace Chung is an outstanding example of excellence in all West Point program areas: military, physical and academic," he said. "She commands tremendous respect from her peers and is a proven leader."

Chung’s early U.S. Military Academy experience was a struggle and for awhile she doubted if coming to West Point was the right decision.

Over time the negatives turned into positives and led to her becoming only the second female cadet leader in the academy’s 200-plus year history.

“Honestly, I don’t look at it as being the second woman to be first captain,” Chung said. “We get a new commander every year and I just happen to be a woman.

“But at the same time it shows that it’s not an impossible thing,” she added.

Brooks said Chung has proven her ability through her previous roles in the Corps.

"Her performance of duties as the commander of Cadet Basic Training 2nd Detail this summer and as the Deputy Brigade Commander for the first semester of the academic year, make her ideally suited to assume the title First Captain," he explained.

Going from second-in-command to the top dog is something Chung is handling.

“When you’re second-in-command, you should be able to step up to the plate no matter what and that is the way it should work,” she explained. “I don’t think there’s much difference as far as what you’re prepared to do.

“There are some differences because of the nature of the jobs, but as far as preparation, I think I’m in a good position to handle the job,” Chung said.

Leadership skills are something that has flourished since her arrival here, she explained, and she believes West Point has a great system to get that out of every person.

“My only leadership experience before I got here was as captain of my high school soccer team, but West Point made me a better leader, more aware of other people’s needs and taught me to work well with others,” Chung said. “Good leadership means understanding others and West Point has done that for me.”

While leading the Corps of Cadets might not be as thrilling as parachuting into Michie Stadium, Chung said the uncontrollable factors of skydiving will help her handle the Corps.

“The experience I’ve gained on the jump team is something that I could never get anywhere else,” she said. “You get to know people's strengths and weaknesses; you know if they are having trouble with stability or trouble pulling the rip cord.

“It’s a matter of getting them to trust you, because that may someday save their lives," she added.

The experience of jumping also helped her focus on details.

“The smallest attention to detail as far a packing a parachute or safety procedures in an aircraft helps when leading masses of people,” Chung said. “You can get wound up in the big things or big ideas and lose sight of the little things that really count or make a difference -- the little things that can make or break a unit.”