West Point celebrates 200th anniversary.(Chicago Tribune)

WEST POINT, N.Y._The austere motto of the United States Military Academy does not include the word "change."

But as West Point celebrated its 200th anniversary in March, change is making a mark inside the academy's somber, gray stone classroom buildings. Retooling its curriculum to fit the needs of a global, open-ended war on terrorism, the academy has added a general course on terrorism this year and is developing others on cyber and nuclear terrorism.

As for West Point's 4,000 cadets, the academy's motto of "duty, honor, country" has more immediacy than before the terrorist attacks on New York City, 50 miles to the south. The cadets are keenly aware that when they graduate as second lieutenants in the Army, they will become front-line leaders in the new war.

"Coming in, it seemed more like a college education," said Kirby Atwell, 20, a first year cadet, or "plebe," from the Chicago suburb of New Lenox who wants to be a helicopter pilot. "But now I'm thinking more about my commitment beyond West Point. I'm more motivated to get out there and fight."

His resolution is hardly theoretical. Two West Point graduates were killed in February when a helicopter crashed in the Philippines as part of …