West Point To Honor Leon Panetta This Fall In Ceremony

WEST POINT, N.Y. (AP) — Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta will be honored at the U.S. Military Academy this fall.

The West Point Association of Graduates announced that Panetta will receive the Thayer Award in a ceremony at the academy on Oct. 4.

The annual award is given to citizens whose service in the national interest reflects the academy's motto of "Duty, Honor, Country." Former President George W. Bush received the award last year and his father, former President George H.W. Bush, received it in 1994.

Panetta was secretary of defense during the Obama administration. He also has served as director of the Central Intelligence Agency and White House chief of staff.

Past Thayer Award recipients also include Gen. Douglas MacArthur, Bob Hope and Neil Armstrong.