Written and performed by retired U.S. Army Green Beret Lt. Col. Scott Mann, the one-man, one-act stage production brings to life the human cost, moral courage, and extraordinary leadership demonstrated during the final days of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021.

Ten members of the Cadet Investment Group (CIG) at Virginia Military Institute, along with an advisor and an instructor in the Department of Economics and Business (ECBU) traveled to Wall Street in New York City (NYC) in December, to meet with financial analysts and traders, including VMI alumni.

VMI welcomes Vladimir Chlouba, Ph.D., assistant professor of leadership studies at the University of Richmond’s Jepson School of Leadership Studies, for a lecture titled, “Displaced but Not Forgotten: The Aterritorial Legacy of the Namibian Genocide.”

Lt. Col. Tim Passmore recently published an article addressing the effect of populist government on international cooperation in International Studies Quarterly, a peer-reviewed academic journal of international studies and an official journal of the International Studies Association.

Virginia Military Institute welcomed retired U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Michael “Mac” McNamara Jan. 12-14 to address the Corps of Cadets. McNamara is a broadcaster and author of “From Trauma to Joy,” and “Colleen Can’t Forget.” Both books address living successfully after experiencing trauma.

Maj. Alison Burke, assistant professor and health professions advisor in the Department of Biology at Virginia Military Institute, recently had a research article published in PLOS One, a peer-reviewed scientific journal.

Col. Jeffrey Smith, head of the Department of Economics and Business and Maj. Isaac Slone, assistant director of operations and training in the commandant’s office, were recognized during the Jan. 17 home basketball game against The Citadel Bulldogs in Cameron Hall.

Virginia Military Institute took part in the inauguration of the 75th governor of Virginia, Abigail Spanberger, in Richmond Jan. 17. The theme of the inauguration was “United for Virginia’s Future.” As governor, Spanberger becomes the first female commander in chief of the the VMI Corps of Cadets.

The pistol club at Virginia Military Institute closed out a successful fall 2025 season in December, after competing in two national-level competitions sanctioned by USA Shooting, the national governing body for international shooting sports in the United States.

Lt. Col. Mark Boonshoft, associate professor and Conrad M. Hall ’65 Chair in American Constitutional History at VMI, has been named co-editor of the Journal of the Early Republic, the quarterly publication of the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic (SHEAR).