The Few, the Proud, the Infantilized

I'll admit-half way through this article, I was foaming at the mouth mad. However, by the time I was done reading it, I found myself at least not in total disagreement. Yes-it hurts my pride a bit to admit it, but there are shortcomings in the program.

I showed up at Annapolis at the end of an arduous physical, academic and political journey that began, no exaggerations, as early as the 7th Grade. I had worked hard to obtain the "unofficial" prerequisites anyone not a top tier high school athlete would need to make the cut...to include countless hours of volunteer work, Eagle Scout, the Civil Air Patrol, American Legion Boys' State...marital arts...you name it. I had traveled to meet with the politicians who could endorse or nominate me. I woke hours early every morning to run the hard mountain miles (always for time) that I felt would allow me to "survive" what I expected to be harsh military training. I went to the pool and practiced the "Forty Year Swim" and other expected challenges endlessly...all while holding down a part time job as a grocery clerk. I cried tears of genuine joy the day my acceptance letter arrived...as did my father, a former Army NCO. He had prepared me to face an experience similar to what he had faced...and no, I didn't.

I won't say that the next year was in any way "easy"...because it wasn't. While I found that those miles gave me an edge on some training events, we all know that things get harder when you're tired, under stress, and being driven by someone else. We did a lot of things that sound very similar to what I imagine anyone experiences in "Basic"...but I do seriously think we had a far less brutal pace imposed on us. Without a doubt we were put under stress (don't trust the "nice" YouTube videos...carefully chosen and scripted)...but there's an enormous difference between being screamed at by a twenty-five year old NCO whose deployed multiple time to combat...and a twenty year old upperclassman whose probably watched FMJ and TAPS one too many times. We experienced exhaustion, fear, and challenge...without a doubt, I feel I was tested...but not to the same level as many others. The remaining three years had their challenges as well...many of which I'm extremely proud to have endured. Maybe taken as a whole, the experience begins to approach something on par with "serious" training...but again, it's all about pace, time and prep.

I do take exception to the author's attitude towards our scholastic aptitude though. I was a "rock", and almost didn't make it out because I was a rock...but I had some very, very intelligent classmates. Placed in any other academic environment, I'd assume any of us would've done "better" at our classwork, un-distracted by our primary task; that of training to be future officers. That being said, it is true that as a history major, I left with a B.S.; still, I don't know many history majors who studied intermediate to higher mechanical engineering, calc II, and physics.

I'd like to say that the Academies should continue if for no other reason than the rich history and heritage of each. However, I can't argue with the concept of mixing it up a bit...the notion of requiring an undergraduate degree before attending is admittedly "common sense" on many levels. If you look at the truly respected military leadership courses, schools and selections...they all far and away exceed anything the Academy is preparing one for. Those few who do go on to those achievements were probably packing that fire long before I-Day.