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A-HED
AtWestPoint,'Goats'AreanExclusive
Bunch

MilitaryAcademyHonorsLowest-RankingCadet;Custer'sLastPlace
ByBENFOXRUBIN
UpdatedNov.26,201210:37p.m.ET
WhencadetRobertoBecerraJr.walkedonstagetograduatefromtheUnitedStates
MilitaryAcademyatWestPointin2007,theentireceremonygroundtoahaltashe,
beforeacrowdofthousands,transformedintoagoat.
Forthisachievement,Mr.Becerrareceivedarousingovationandwashandedan
envelopestuffedwithcash.
Ina210-year-oldmilitaryacademybristlingwithtraditions,"thegoat"isacurious
customthatonemightnotexpecttofindataschoolbetterknownforitsselectivityand
highstandards.Yeteveryyear,thelast-rankingcadettomakeitthroughtograduationis
anointedthegoat,showeredwithpraise,givenadollarfromeveryotherfellowgraduate
amountingtoroughly$1,000andgrantedthebiggestapplauseatthegraduation
ceremony.
"ItdidcomeasashockwhenIwastoldthatIwasthegoat,"saidMr.Becerra,29years
old,ofElPaso,Texas."AtfirstIhonestlyhadmixedfeelingsaboutit.Iwaslike,'Well,I
don'tknowifIshouldtakethisasanaccomplishmentorasascarletletter.'"
Whilethetitleisinmanywaysajoke,thedistinctivemixoftheschool'sprestige,the
tradition'slonghistoryandtheachievementsofmanygoatsofdecadespastlendsthe
nameanunlikelysignificance,makingitperhapsthemostexclusivelast-placeaward
thereis.
Theoriginsofthegoatareamystery,buttheearliestwrittenreferencetothetermgoes
backto1886,accordingtoauthorandhistorianJamesS.Robbins.Mr.Robbinscounts
thecollectionofgoatstoriesasacherishedhobby,andeventuallywroteabookabout
them,called"LastinTheirClass."

Inmostcases,Mr.Robbinssaid,agoateithertriedhardbutjustbarelymadeitthrough
theschool'stoughacademicandphysicalprogram,oroptedtodothebareminimumto
gettograduation,preferringtosocializeorpullpranksratherthanstudy.Somewere
charismaticrisk-takers;othersdidn'texactlyfitin,thoughthemosttypicaltraitamong
goatsappearstobeastubbornrefusaltogiveup.Farfromfailures,Mr.Robbinsargued,
thesecadetsshouldbeseenassurvivors.
"Thetraditionofthegoatisimportant
WHERETHEYRANKED

becauseitkindofencapsulatesthatAmerican
spiritofyeah,you'regoingtohavethetop
andthey'regoingtogetrecognizedand
they'regoingtogetstarsbytheirnamesand
allthatotherstuff,"Mr.Robbinssaid."But,
youknowwhat?Theguysfurtherdown,they
havetheirchancetoo,andtheycansucceed
tooandit'simportanttorecognizethem."

Beingatthebottommeansgoatsarelastto
picktheirassignmentsaftergraduation,so
whiletopstudentswouldbranchoutto
becomeengineers,thelowestrungjoinedthe
infantry.Despitestartingatthebottom,afewgoatstookadvantageoftheirfront-line
positionstobecomethestuffofAmericanlegend.
DwightEisenhower:61stoutof164intheWestPoint
classof1915U.S.MILITARYACADEMYATWESTPOINT

BeforehebecameaCivilWarherointheUnionArmy,GeorgeArmstrongCusterwasa
popular,fun-lovingpranksterattheacademywhoamassedanawe-inspiringnumberof
demeritsandwasarrestedforfailingtobreakupafightbetweentwocadetsaroundthe
timehisclasswasabouttograduate,Mr.Robbinswrote.Regardedasafearlessfighter,
heisperhapsthemostwell-knowngoatinacademyhistory,graduatingasthelastman
oftheJune1861class,15yearsbeforehisfamouslaststand.
FamedVirginianandConfederateofficerGeorgePickettwasthegoatof1846,andhis
cousinHenryHethwhoreceivedhisfirsttwoofmanydemeritsattheacademyfor
"laughinginranksatmorningparade"wasthegoatthenextyear.
ArecentexampleofoneimpressivegoatisPhillipFant,whosaidhefirstfoundouthe
wasthelastmanwhenhewalkedonstageatgraduationin1993,washandedapillowcase
fullofmoney,shookPresidentBillClinton'shandandreceivedahugecheerfromhis
class.
"IfeltlikeRocky,"hesaid.

FollowinginthefootstepsofCuster,Pickettandothers,Mr.Fant,
whosaidhewaschallengedbythecommitmentsofbothaWest
Pointacademicworkloadandavarsityfootballschedule,was
hardlydiscouragedbyhisbottomranking.Heservedsixyearsin
Armyfieldartillery,hislasttwoyearsasagunneryinstructor.
In1999,Mr.FantjoinedtheFBIasaspecialagent,oneoffewer
than10%ofapplicantsselectedhisyear,wherehehasworkedin
fieldsincludingcounterterrorismandcounterintelligence.He
nowisasupervisoryspecialagentprovidinginvestigativetraining
attheFBIAcademyattheMarineCorpsbaseinQuantico,Va.
RobertoBecerraJr.

"IlookbackandeventhoughIhadstruggles,it'sacompletely
fondmemoryofmytimethere,"Mr.Fant,41,said."WhereIendedupinclasshasnot
affectedmepersonallyorprofessionallyinthenegative."
Therankingsystemwhichfactorsinacademic,physicalandmilitaryscoreshasoften
provenapoorindicatoroffuturesuccess.BuzzAldrin,DavidPetraeus,Douglas
MacArthurandRobertE.Leewereatthetopoftheirclasses,butPresidentsUlyssesS.
GrantandDwightEisenhowerwereclosertothemiddle.GeorgePattonhadtorepeat
hisfreshmanyearforfailingmathandgraduated46thoutof103.EdwardAloysius
MurphyJr.,whoformulatedMurphy'sLaw,endedup403rdoutof449.
Goat-likecustomshavecroppedupinotherplaces.TheUnitedStatesNavalAcademy
dubstheirlast-rankingmidshipmangraduatethe"anchorman."TheIditarodlongdistancedograceandtheTourdeFrancebothnameeveryyear'slastfinisherthe"red
lantern,"aftertheoldpracticeofhangingaredlightonatrain'scaboose.Thelast
athletedraftedfortheNationalFootballLeagueeachyeariscalled"Mr.Irrelevant"and
treatedtoaweeklongcelebrationinhishonor.
"Iknowwhatit'sliketobelast,"ChandlerHarnish,aquarterbackontheIndianapolis
Coltspracticesquadand2012'sMr.Irrelevant,saidofthegoats."Buteventhough
they'relast,they'restillverywellrespected."
Despitehisearlyambivalenceaboutbecomingthegoat,Mr.Becerrasaidhequickly
warmedtotheconcept."Inmyclass,nooneelsecansaythatthey'rethegoatandnoone
elsecansaythatthey'repartofthisspeciallineagethatdatesbacksofar,"hesaid.
Mr.BecerraisnowanArmycaptainwiththemilitarypolicewhohelpedtrainIraqi
policeduringaone-yeartourinBaghdadfrom2009to2010.Heshipsoffforaone-year
tourinKoreanextmonth.

WritetoBenFoxRubinatben.rubin@dowjones.com

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