oldest service academy, more than 200 years old, but never in its history has it had someone like simon askewmanding a brigade of 4,400. >> so you're the only one with this amount of stripes and stars. >> exactly. >> reporter: askew is the first african-american woman selected to serve as first captain of the core of cadets. >> my focus now is to really be the best first captain i can be regardless of gender or race and that when the first c class graduates in may i'm remembered a as good leader and not necessarily the first african-american woman. >> race does set her apart. as the daughter of a white mom and black dad, it forces her. >> in all senses it was a positive thing. >> reporter: at west point, 22% of cadets are women and less than 4% are black women. >> reporter: seeing someone at least at the surface who you can relate to provides motivation. >> i would ask you to strive for greater things. >> reporter: for some that person is simon, and for her, that person is pat locke. >> it makes everything that you do, that you endure worth it. >> reporter: in 1980 locke was one of the first

but never in its history has it had someone like simone askew. 4,400. >> reporter: so you're the only one with this amount of stripes and this star. >> exactly. >> reporter: askew is the first african-american woman select to serve as first captain of the corps of cadets. >> my focus now is really to be the best first captain i can be, regardless of gender or race. and that when the first class graduates in may i am remembered as a good leader and not necessarily as a good african-american female leader. >> reporter: and yet gender and race do set her apart as the child of a white mom and a black dad, askew says she often felt excluded. >> forced me at a young age to be okay with my own sense of identity. so in all senses it was a positive thing. >> reporter: at west point 22% of cadets are women and less than 4% are black women. >> seeing someone at least at the surface who you can relate to provides a motivation. >> i'm very encouraged by the enthusiasm and attention you guys have provided today and i would just ask you to strive for greater th

congratulations, simone askew. you have big fans in the room.he teams up with his wife on the road to create the perfect harmony. you are watching "cbs this morning." (vo) dogs have evolved, but their nutritional needs remain instinctual. that's why there's purina one true instinct. nutrient-dense, protein-rich, real meat number one. this is a different breed of natural nutrition. purina one, true instinct. i had this chest cold, but my medicine kept wearing off. (coughah! i missed you! then i discovered mucinex. one pill lasts 12 hours,and i'm good. why take 4-hour medicine? one mucinex lasts 12 hours. let's end this. her hair's a hot mess. her eyes are like... "oh, i'm late for work. i have to go." your dunkin' doesn't make you, you, but it helps. dunkin' donuts coffee. pick some up where you buy groceries. he's a nascar champion who's she's a world-class swimmer who's stared down the best in her sport. but for both of them, the most challenging opponent was... pe blood clots in my lung. it was really scary. a dvt in my leg. i had to learn all

well, coming up on "cbs this morning," in the new series "profiles in service" norah talks to simone askewlack woman making history as the first black woman to be the highest cadet and in command of 4,400 cadets. >> reporter: how does what's in here affect what's coming up on the football field. coming up on "cbs this morning," we'll give you more on the juicy details. >>> and more on the prince who bought the da vinci paints and his efforts. that's the "cbs morning news" for this friday. thanks for watching. i'm anne-marie green. have a great day. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com december 8th. i'm kenny choi. ♪[ music ] >>> a live look outside at the bay bridge as we -- we have been waiting for this day, right? tgif! thank god it's friday! good morning, it's friday, december 8th. i'm kenny choi. >> i'm anne makovec. michelle has this friday off. it is 4:30 on another cool morning. [ crosstalk ] >> cool morning and nice afternoon so it will make up for the chill factor right now. we are going to see another day of warm conditions this afternoon an

simone astew. [applause] captin askew: not sure about superstar, ma'am, but we will see what the future holds for me. it is very humbling to be here today. the only to speak, but to west point. of the mostone distinguished graduates. as an aforementioned, the west point class of 1915 is most referred to as the class the stars fell on. as nearly as 40% of the classes 164 graduates attained the rank of general officer. most of the class included notable leaders such as five-star general omar bradley young david d. eisenhower. when general eisenhower and his classmates received their commission as army officers on that june day more than a century ago, they had no idea what history would have in store for them or what history would demand of them. yet they rose to the challenge, , answered the nation's call, and served when we needed them most. since then, generations of west point graduates have assumed, -- leading around the globe in places such as vietnam, panama, bosnia, and most recently iraq and afghanistan. my classmates and i grew up in a nation at war. when we chose to come to west point, we k