West Point - Lieutenant Gen. David H. Huntoon, Jr., assumed command as the 58th Superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy from Lt. Gen. Franklin L. "Buster" Hagenbeck in a ceremony on Monday, July 19, 2010.
Huntoon, a member of West Point’s Class of 1973, assumed the command during a formal ceremony at Eisenhower Hall.
Monday’s ceremony also marked the retirement of Lt. Gen. Franklin "Buster" Hagenbeck, who has led West Point for the past four years. The job was the last in Hagenbeck’s 39-year Army career.
During Hagenbeck’s tenure, West Point saw the introduction of new counter-terrorism training, a rise in enrollment and record recruitment of minorities.
West Point’s academic programs were also recognized under Hagenbeck’s watch. The military academy was named the top college in the United States last year by Forbes Magazine.
Lt. Gen. Huntoon and his wife, Margaret, have four children. Of the four, three are active in the military, including Cadet Stewart Huntoon, a senior at West Point.
Huntoon has no immediate plans for changes at the academy, but said he’ll take some time to assess operations at the academy. "This is a successful, ongoing operation by any metric," he said.
Huntoon has commanded at every level from company through regiment. Other assignments include the Deputy Director of Plans, XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, N.C., and Operation Desert Storm, Saudi Arabia; Commander, 3rd Infantry Regiment, The Old Guard, Fort Myer, Va.; Executive Officer to the Chief of Staff, U.S. Army, Washington, D.C., and Commandant, U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pa.
