The U.S. Army marked its 238th birthday on Friday, June 14. To help the Army celebrate the occasion, four students from The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park, NY who are also veterans worked with Chef Kate Cavotti to prepare a special birthday cake. The cake was cut during a birthday ceremony in Times Square in New York City.
General John Campbell, the vice chief of staff of the Army (second in command to General Ray Odierno), was joined by the oldest and youngest soldier in that branch of the military for the cake cutting, using an Army saber. Invited guests then enjoyed a piece of the birthday cake—which was transported to Manhattan from the CIA’s Hyde Park campus early on the morning of June 14.
The day before, General Odierno cut a second birthday cake made by Chef Cavotti and the CIA students live on national TV on Fox & Friends.
The CIA’s relationship with the U.S. military dates to the college’s founding in 1946, when its primary goal was to train veterans returning from World War II to enter the post-war workforce. Today, about 150 veterans from all branches of the armed forces are enrolled in the CIA’s associate and bachelor’s degree programs, supported by the benefits of the Post-9/11 GI Bill and Yellow Ribbon Program.