32 Friday, November 28, 1980
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THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
First Jewish Woman at Naval Academy
Involved in West Point Exchange Program
Beauty hath so many
charms one knows not how
to speak against it; and
when a graceful figure is the
habitation of a virtuous soul
— when the beauty of the
face speaks out the modesty
and humility of the mind, it
raises our thoughts up to
the great, Creatof; but after
all, beauty, like truth, is
never so glorious as when it
goes the plainest.
—Sterne
WEST POINT, N.Y. —
She is a midshipman at
West Point. She was the
first Jewish woman to
attend the U.S. Naval
Academy. She plays the
contrabass bugle, the
largest instrument in the
drum and bugle corps,
though she is probably one
of the smallest musicians in
the corps. She wants to be a
flight officer, but one of
these days she might write a
book.
A non-conformist 20
year-old midshipman,
Sarah Kovel, is currently
attending West Point on a
half-year exchange pro-
gram between the service
academies, at the same time
maintaining a family tradi-
tion. Though she opted for
the Navy, she follows in the
military footsteps of her
father, Col. Maxim Kovel,
who graduated from West
Point in 1957, and her
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SARAH KOVEL
brother, Lt. Jacob Kovel, a
1980 USMA graduate . Both
are engineers.
Sarah considered ocean
engineering as a career goal
and choose Annapolis in-
stead of West Point. •A sec-
ond year statistics class,
however, convinced her that
she wasn't going to enjoy
engineering, so she
switched her major to
English.
"I really enjoy English
and eventually I'm going
to write a book. In any
case, I'll get trained for
whatever I do in the mili-
tary. I want to be a flight
officer. As a physics
major still wouldn't
know how to fly a plane,"
the slight - red-haired
young woman explained.
One of six naval cadets on
exchange at West Point this
year, she is the only woman
in the group. Her white uni-
form stands out from the
Army gray and occasionally
she is greeted with a joking
"Hi, there, nurse." The ex-
change program at West
Point allows her to audit a
course in military science
that she would't have had at
Annapolis.
Sarah was a high school
sophomore when the deci-
sion was made to admit
women to the military
academies and she in-
stantly decided that she
wanted to go.
Her father's military
career took the family to
many Army posts. She and
her brother Jacob were born
in West Germany. Her
three sisters, Ruth, Rebecca
and Rachel were born re-
spectively in North
Carolina, Ft. Belvoir, Va.,
and West Point when Col.
Kovel was teaching there.
They have also lived in
Brooklyn, Leavenworth,
Kan., and California.
Despite all that moving
around, the family has
maintained another
strong tradition —
Judaism. Sarah is the
granddaughter of the late
Rabbi Mordecai Cohen of
Annapolis, Md. She had a
Bat Mitzva and was con-
firmed.
Her mother, the rabbi's
daughter, teaches Hebrew
school. Her father is on the
advisory board of the West
Point Jewish Chapel Fund.
Sarah finds Jewish life at
West Point to be stronger
and more organized than at
Annapolis.
"At the Naval Acadmey,
we were given time off for
religious services on Sun-
day and no services were
held at the Academy. We
decided we wanted our serv-
ices held on Friday night
and permission was
granted. Midshipmen
mostly lead the services be-
cause there is no rabbi, al-
though we sometimes have
visiting chaplains.
"It seems there are
more -Jewish students at
West Point and a larger
Jewish community here.
Friday night services
here provide an informal
atmosphere where up-
perclassmen can talk to
plebes and where cadets
can relax and get to know
one another in addition
totaking part in religious
observance," she said.
"It is pretty well accepted
among the cadets that the
Jewish services are a good
deal because they are very
informal. The groups at the
Catholic and Protestant
services are so big that you
DAYENU
don't get to know the other
students. Because Jewish
cadets get extra leave for
Jewish holiday services,
some other cadets joke
about threatening to con-
vert to Judaism," she said.
She added, "The Jewish
community at the Military
Academy works very hard
to make the experience
pleasant, but it will be much
nicer when a Jewish chapel
is built."
Jewish services are cui
rently held in a chemistry
lecture room with a portable
ark. A $5.5 million West
Point Jewish Chapel Fund
has reached the halfway
mark. A national campaign
is under way to raise the
rest of the funds. The rock-
faced modern chapel, which
will be built on a site be-
tween the Protestant and
Catholic chapels, will in-
clude a museum-gallery
and will be open to the 2.5
million visitors who come to
West Point each year.
Sarah Kovel has a
model for Jewish life in
the military because her
family has maintained a
strong one. She isn't quite
sure yet what life as a
woman in the Navy will
be like — as a flight offi-
cer, an intelligence offi-
cer, her second choice, or
in any other field.
"I don't know too many
women officers," she admit-
ted.
As a young woman who is
willing to break new
ground, she only sees that
as a challenge.
Be very circumspect in
the choice of thy company.
In the society of thine
equals thou shalt enjoy
more pleasure; in the
society of thy superiors thou
shalt find more profit. To be
the best in the company is
the way to grow worse; the
best means to grow better is
to be the worst there.
—Quarles
eisimmalb
As the menorah lights are
kindled once more,
may your heart be filled with
the special beauty
that is Hanukah.
Michigan National
Corporation Banks
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"With your 25 Honorary Chairmen, there's
no room on it for the new Temple President."
Copr. 1980 Dayenu Productions
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