John Vigna

John knew he wanted to attend West Point after his first visit during a sixth-grade trip to an Army football game. Hailing from Roxbury in upstate New York, John was able to visit West Point a few more times before arriving for good as a cadet on Reception Day (R-Day) in July 1984. He graduated in 1988 and commissioned into the Corps of Engineers where he served for over 23 years on active duty before retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel in October 2011.

John is currently an Assistant Professor in the Social Sciences Department at the United States Military Academy and teaches both American Politics and Military History. He is also a project manager for the Army's Office of Ecomomic and Manpower Analysis.

John served in many assignments and deployments in the United States, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East, to include combat tours in two different wars. While on active duty, he was also assigned twice to the United States Military Academy's Department of History where he taught a variety of courses in American History and Military History. He holds a master's degree from Cornell University, specializing in the History of American Foreign Relations, the Cold War, and the Civil War.

John lives at West Point with this two daughters, Olivia and Sophie. He enjoys playing, watching, and coaching sports - particularly coaching his daughters. They also enjoy hunting, fishing, traveling, and spending time with family. John's late wife Lisa - to whom the book is dedicated - was an active duty officer in the Judge Advocate General's (JAG) Corps.