Affiliated Faculty
Blake Ritchey is an instructor and regimental guidance officer in the Department of Physical Education at West Point. He is an engineer officer who recently commanded in the 1st Brigade Combat Team (Bastogne), 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). Blake focuses on the intersection of human performance optimization, soldier lethality, and national security.
Capt. Ritchey graduated and commissioned as an engineer officer from the University of Georgia in May 2011. Following the Engineer Basic Officer Leadership Course, he was assigned to 1st Armor Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, where he served as brigade engineer, brigade plans officer, a battalion construction officer, company executive officer, and sapper platoon leader. He deployed as a platoon leader in support of Operation Enduring Freedom—Inherent Resolve. Capt. Ritchey later served as the 326th Brigade Engineer Battalion’s battalion construction engineer, battalion logistics officer, and as a company commander in 1st Brigade Combat Team (Bastogne), 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault).
Capt. Ritchey attended the Engineer Captains Career Course at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. He also completed an MS in geological engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology. He holds an MS in kinesiology from Texas A&M University.