Knights Out

02/13/2025

02/06/2025

Dear Fellow Grads, Cadets, and Friends of Knights Out,

I was angry and disheartened to learn that the West Point Directorate of Cadet Activities issued guidance late yesterday afternoon to disband Spectrum, in addition to several other important affinity groups.

As a founding member of Spectrum and the first Cadet in Charge, I know very well the importance of this club to cadets, grads, and faculty.

Knights Out will advocate for Spectrum’s reinstatement - full stop. However, our mission has always been, first and foremost, to support the people behind the club—the cadets, faculty, alumni, and allies who make our community stronger.

Before Spectrum’s founding, Knights Out provided safety, community, and help to LGBTQI+ cadets and alumni who had formed informal “underground” communities under the constraints of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and the trans service ban. We will continue to support our people; that will never change.

Knights Out is an independent nonprofit and we will continue to advocate for open and inclusive service regardless of the policies established by the Academy or the administration.

Please reach out to [email protected] if you have questions, suggestions, or resources you’d like to make available to our cadets or active duty colleagues - your support is more important now than ever.

This is a painful moment for our community, but I couldn’t ask for a more courageous group of people to fight alongside.

10/13/2024

🏈 Join us for a joint Knights Out / USNA Pride tailgate! 🎉

We’re excited to invite you to a pregame tailgate for the Army Navy football game on December 14th! Co-hosted by Knights Out and USNA Pride, this tailgate will have everything: great friends, food, adult beverages, and *mostly* friendly rivalry!

📍 Location: Just outside the stadium - look for the Knights Out and USNA Pride banners! 🕒 Time: tailgate starts at noon!

Come decked out in your best Army or Navy gear and get ready to cheer, eat/drink, and enjoy the day with fellow grads. Whether you’re rooting for Army or Navy, let’s show our spirit together (but it should be Army).



Let’s make this a day to remember! See you there! 🌟🏈

02/14/2024

🚨We're proud to announce our 2024 annual gala will be held on April 20th at the West Point Club, West Point, NY. Tickets are on sale now! Visit us at http://knightsout.org or get tix @ https://ticketing.events/app/portal/1/10666/12th-annual-knights-out-gala

01/09/2024

We are a little behind on promoting the 12th Annual Gala, so we've extended the Beat Navy Early Bird sale. Get your tickets before January 21st to take advantage of the reduced prices.

Honorees to be announced soon.

09/26/2023

This April, Knights Out presented the 2023 Legacy Award to COL(R) Stewart Bornhoft ‘69. The Legacy Award is presented annually to West Point graduates who have positively impacted the Long Gray Line and increased inclusion in our ranks, and COL(R) Bornhoft is emblematic of that achievement. Known as Knights Out’s consigliere, Stewart has provided counsel to our board since its beginning. With 26 years of service in the Army - which included commanding combat engineers in Vietnam and later Engineer Districts in Charleston and Omaha, serving as the Director of Public Works at Fort Sill, OK, and serving as the USMA Superintendent’s Aide, among other achievements - Stewart is a font of wisdom and experience, and our gala was no exception.

A public advocate in the fight to repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and, later, to challenge the Defense of Marriage Act, Stewart embodies the values we seek to recognize and honor with our gala. Learning from his decades of service to the nation were an inspiring ending to a phenomenal event, made even moreso with the attendance of Stewart’s classmates of the Class of 1969 and two of our past Legacy Award recipients.

Congratulations again, and thank you COL(R) Stewart Bornhoft ‘69!

09/24/2023

This Spring, Knights Out presented the Courage award to the Honorable Shawn G. Skelly. Ms. Skelly serves as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Readiness, a position she has held since July 2021. She previously served for 20 years as a Naval Flight Officer, retiring with the rank of Commander. She joined the Obama administration in 2013, serving in the Department of Defense and ultimately as Director of the Office of the Executive Secretariat as the Department of Transportation. Among other accomplishments, she is a co-founder of Out in National Security and served on the Atlantic Council’s LGBTI Advisory Council.

Ms. Skelly’s inspiring and powerful remarks were emblematic of everything we hope the gala to be, each year. Congratulations again, Ms. Skelly, and thank you for your service to our nation!

09/24/2023

Over the summer, Knights Out conducted interviews with interested board candidates. We are excited to announce that this month, we welcomed four new board members and subsequently held our officer elections.

Our new officers are:
Executive Director: Andrew Fitzsimmons
Vice President: El Cook
Secretary: Megan Holt
Treasurer: Steven Choi
Communications Director: Aaron Pell
Spectrum Liaison: Zoe Kreitenberg

At-Large Board Members:
Dan Manning
Jurelle Mendoza
Andrew Perry
David Reyes
Jessica Tabb
Margaret Wilson

We congratulate our new officers and board members, and thank our returning board members for their continued service to our community.