Making A Difference In The Cyber Domain: A 2014 Grad Returns To West Point To Teach And Mentor

Allyson Hauptman was born in January 1992 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, outside Philadelphia. Her father is a personal injury attorney, and her mother works with insurance claims. She grew up with her two older brothers. She played the viola and guitar and enjoyed creative writing as a young girl. In high school, she gravitated to the orchestra, a literary club, and the Latin honor society, where she served as president. When her orchestra partner went to the Naval Academy, she began considering an academy herself and attended summer experiences at USNA and USAFA, as well as coming to West Point for a swim camp. Academies appealed to her because she considers herself goal focused, and guaranteed employment upon graduation was a bonus. She recalls stepping on the Plain for the R-Day parade and the pride she felt. When she was a Plebe, her Team Leader took her to the company gym in the barracks, and she felt that working out there broke down walls. As a 4’11” woman, she always felt that she needed to prove herself, and she spent a lot of time rucking before her summer detail as a Buckner squad leader. The next summer, she dreaded CLDT (Cadet Leader Development Training), but had a good time and made friends. She did CTLT (Cadet Troop Leader Training) with the Field Artillery but was more impressed with the introduction to Air Defense Artillery. The Jewish Chapel became a home away from home, and she sang in the choir and met her future husband there. As a very organized “Type A” person, she did well academically and earned a Rotary Scholarship to Estonia for Cyber Security. As a Cow, she was the Academic NCO for her company, and as a Firstie she served as the B-2 Company XO and then as the Battalion Commander for 1st Battalion, 2nd Regiment. She worked hard for her grades in DPE and is very proud of the C-‘s she earned there, acknowledging the assistance and encouragement she received from MAJ Lauren McKenna. She was on the Fencing Team and the Policy Debate Team, and discovered that the sub-cultures on those teams meshed well with her personality. She noticed that women “were harder on women” than the men were, and the message was “don’t mess up.” She recalls that women were quickly labeled at the academy, shaping their reputation. At one point, the Brigade Surgeon tried to have her medically boarded out of the Academy for being too small, but her TAC team went to bat for her and she was allowed to stay. Since graduation, she has maintained contact with other women alumni and feels that there is a strong network. She commissioned as an Air Defense Officer, but in 2015, she transferred to the new Cyber branch. Following graduation, she went to Estonia for graduate school while her husband was stationed at SHAPE in Belgium. When they returned to the United States, they were stationed at Ft. Eisenhower for Cyber BOLC, and they spent the next seven years there. While there, she worked in the Cyber Protection Brigade. After the career course, she stood up and commanded in HHC in the 11th Cyber Battalion. Following that, her husband was selected to teach in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and when a PhD candidate dropped out, she was selected to return to ACI (Army Cyber Institute) after earning her PhD at Clemson. Reflecting on her military service, she notes that what she does benefits other people, and she is proud of that. She ends the interview by stating that West Point develops trustworthy leaders of character.