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                         March 19, 2004

McCaffrey honored with Castle award

Compiled by Jim Fox
Assistant Editor 

The West Point Society of the District of Columbia awarded Class of 1964 member, retired Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey, the 2004 Castle Memorial Award Saturday at its annual Founders Day dinner. 

The award recognizes McCaffrey’s service in “peace and war, in active duty and in his subsequent retirement, while displaying outstanding qualities of character, distinguished service and stature, which clearly symbolize the highest ideals of West Point.” 

 “It is an enormous honor to be recognized with the Castle Award and to follow my dad, (Lt. Gen. Bill McCaffrey, USMA 1939), who was selected as the 1997 winner,” McCaffrey said. “ West Point has been central to defending America for more than two centuries. 

“We owe much to the academy for creating the values for our Army of duty-honor-country.” 

The former infantry officer was most well known for his command of the 24th Infantry Division’s 400-kilometer left-hook attack into Iraq during Desert Storm in 1991.

After his retirement in 1996, then President Bill Clinton selected McCaffrey to direct the nation’s drug control policy. As director, he developed the United States National Drug Control Strategy.

McCaffrey is currently serving as the Olin-Bradley Distinguished Professor of International Security Studies in the academy’s Department of Social Sciences.

The Castle Memorial Award was established by Ben Castle (USMA 1907) the first president of the D.C. society, in memory of his son Fred Castle (USMA 1930), who was killed on an air mission during the Battle of the Bulge on Christmas Eve, 1944 and awarded the Medal of Honor.