Retired Col. Michael Ramsey remembers the day he was commissioned into the U.S. Army in 1979; the Cold War years.

Ramsey had followed his father, who served in World War II and the Korean War, into the Army. Thirty-two years later, he came to Cornell to see his daughter Katherine continue the tradition.

Katherine was one of eight Army cadets, five Navy midshipmen and one Marine Corps midshipman welcomed into the ranks of officers in a commissioning ceremony in Statler Auditorium on the morning of May 28. (The Air Force did not have any graduating seniors this year.)

The world has changed since his days in active duty, Ramsey said before the ceremony.

"These kids have a seriousness we didn't have," he said. But some things -- the things he and Katherine both love, like the camaraderie and discipline; and the things they find frustrating, like the bureaucracy and inefficiency -- are the same.

For him, the good parts have been the memorable ones. And he hopes the same will be true for Katherine.

Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen, commander of the Combined Arms Center at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., and guest speaker at the ceremony, told the new officers that while the day marks an ending, it is also only the beginning.

"Becoming a member of the U.S. military is always a big decision, but to do so at a time when the national security is most at risk says much about who you are and all you represent," Caslen said.

He commended the graduates for their commitment and offered a look at the road ahead.

"You will see the smiles of Afghans having the chance to vote for the first time in their lives and the satisfaction in people who are free to make simple everyday decisions; the relief in an Iraqi mother whose child is receiving state-of-the-art medical care," he said. "You will be witness to life's hardest truths and some of its purest emotions. You will never have to guess."

Then, the ritual: Eight Army cadets, five Navy midshipmen and one Marine Corps midshipman came on stage to deliver the oath of office and receive their shoulder bars. When they left the stage, they were second lieutenants and ensigns.

Some chose a parent or instructor to administer the oath. Andrew Alston chose his wife, Michele Alston, who recited the same oath last year and is now in medical school.

Parents, family members or friends pinned shoulder bars on the new officers. Some, like Navy Ensign Lauren Edwards, beamed. Others, like Marines 2nd Lt. Marc Selli, were solemn. All were proud.

For the eight new Army officers, the ceremony also included their first salute from a petty officer or noncommissioned officer to whom they gave a silver dollar -- a tradition celebrating the role of enlisted personnel in training commissioned officers.

Many chose their senior military instructor, Master Sgt. Michael Davis, to deliver the salute.

"It's a passing of the torch," Davis said, noting that he has framed the 22 silver dollars he's received, along with a picture of the officer who gave it. "I can't count the number of salutes [each officer] is going to receive, but there is only one person who can say, 'I was the first person to give that lieutenant his first salute.' It is an honor and a great privilege. I take great pride in that."

Navy Ensign Konstantin Drabkin said that of his four years at Cornell, this ceremony is the memory he will treasure most. Drabkin, who was born in Russia and raised in Brooklyn, joined the military after the attacks of Sept. 11.

"I just feel so honored," he said. And grateful, he added, for four years of training. "We have some of the best people here. They trained us and trained us and trained us, so we feel ready."

He now heads to flight school in Pensacola. "I'm so excited," he said. "I can't wait."